The summer of 2012 will see the eyes of the footballing world focused on Poland and Ukraine as the three-ring circus that is the European Championships rolls east. After some powerful displays in qualifying the usual suspects are looking strong and there seem to be a fair few dark horses who’ve got a good chance of making their mark at the tournament.

But this isn’t the place for a considered appraisal of the likely winners and losers at UEFA EURO 2012™, it’s a place to get some useful trivia that’ll come in handy on your UEFA EURO 2012™ package.

1: According to the office for National Statistics there were around 515,000 Poles living in the UK as of March 2010. Despite popular belief they weren’t all plumbers.

2: Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg could qualify to play for the Ukraine at UEFA EURO 2012™ thanks to his paternal grandmother, Kira von Engelhardt. She was the daughter of a Ukrainian baron who fled the Bolsheviks during the 1917 revolution. He could also qualify to play for the Netherlands through his Dutch mother, Hermance van den Wall Bake.

3: Andriy Shevchenko is Ukraine’s most celebrated footballer. He has played for his country 102 times and captained them on 52 occasions. He’s also a legend in Milan where he became the club’s second highest goalscorer ever with 175 goals in 296 games. What is less well known about the former Chelsea striker is that after the Chernobyl Nuclear disaster in 1986, the entire Shevchenko family had to abandon their home and move to the coast in fear of radiation sickness.

4: As joint hosts, Poland and Ukraine are guaranteed a place at the finals, which is just as well as history really isn’t on their side. Poland have only ever qualified for one European Championship (2008), while Ukraine have never graced the finals with their presence.

5: Depending on who you listen to the Ukrainian capital Kiev (or Kyiv if you want to be authentic) is home to the world’s deepest underground railway station. The Arsenalna station is 105.5 metres below ground. Or it’s the second deepest at 102 metres. No-one really seems to know.

6: In both Poland and Ukraine, they celebrate the tradition of Wet Monday over Easter. It has its origin as part of a pagan rite of spring where pouring water and whipping each other with willow branches is an act of cleansing and renewal. Nowadays, however it’s just an excuse for groups of young men to throw buckets of water over attractive girls. Unfortunately, none of our trips to UEFA EURO 2012™ will take place over Easter.

7: Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe and is home to more than 6,600 species of fungi.

8: According to the Russian food historian William Pokhlebkin, the popular dish of Chicken Kiev wasn’t actually created in the Ukrainian capital. It was dreamt up in the kitchens of the Moscow Merchants Club in the early 20th century and only later was it claimed by the restaurateurs of Soviet Kiev.

9: Dynamo Kiev won the Ukrainian Premiership nine years on the trot from the 1992/3 season until 2000/1. In fact, during the 20 year history of the Ukrainian Premiership, Dynamo have won 13 times. And on the seven occasions when they didn’t win it, they came second.