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Ukraine handed Euro 2012 deadline

Wed, 13 May 2009 15:39:18 +0000

Uefa has given three Ukraine cities until the end of November to prove they are capable of staging Euro 2012 games.

Ukraine is co-hosting the tournament with Poland but so far only its capital Kiev has been deemed a suitable venue.

Lviv, Donetsk and Kharkiv have until 30 November to prove their suitability. Warsaw, Poznan, Wroclaw and Gdansk have been confirmed as the Polish venues.

"There are huge infrastructure problems to be resolved in Ukraine," Uefa president Michel Platini explained.

The Olympic Stadium in Kiev, which is still being built, had been touted as the venue for the final, but the infrastructure problems in Ukraine have led Platini to consider other options.

"Kiev is okay according to Uefa's criteria for all matches leading up to the semi-final," he said.

"But the final match will be held in Kiev only if specific conditions with regard to the stadium, airport infrastructure, regional transport and accommodation are met by 30 November.

"If it's not Kiev, it could be Warsaw."

Two other cities in Ukraine - Dnipropetrovsk and Odessa - were told they would not be retained as sites as they had failed to meet the tournament requirements.

Poland and Ukraine were announced as co-hosts by Uefa in April, 2007.

The tournament, the last to be contested by 16 teams before 24 finalists take part from 2016, is scheduled to begin on 9 June and end on 1 July 2012.

UEFA to choose host cities for Euro 2012 tournament

Tue, 12 May 2009 16:33:54 +0000

A month after reassuring Poland and Ukraine that they will retain the right to co-host the 2012 European Championship, UEFA will announce this week which cities will stage the tournament's matches.

Poland and Ukraine have each put forward six possible host cities for European football's showcase event, but only two - Warsaw and Kyiv, as the capitals - have already been guaranteed games. Warsaw is to stage the tournament opener, while Kyiv will host the final.

The other venues - Poznan, Gdansk, Wroclaw, Krakow and Chorzow in Poland, and Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Odessa in Ukraine - are still seeking the right to host matches. They are awaiting the decision from UEFA's executive committee, which opens meetings Tuesday in Bucharest.

UEFA has said that six to eight cities will stage games, but it remains unclear whether the division of venues between Poland and Ukraine will be equal.

UEFA president Michel Platini hinted during his visit to Kyiv last month that fewer Ukrainian cities might get to host Euro 2012 games and that most matches could go to Poland.

The final decision on host cities will allow organizing officials in both countries to focus their preparations and should put to rest speculation that UEFA could strip Poland and Ukraine of hosting rights.

Both countries originally experienced a series of delays with building the stadiums, roads, airports and hotels needed to stage the competition after being awarded the tournament two years ago.

But they have made strides in the past 12 months, and Platini praised their efforts during visits to Warsaw and Kyiv last month.

UEFA observers satisfied with Ukraine's Euro 2012 preparations

Sat, 09 May 2009 20:04:14 +0000

Ukraine's preparations to host Euro 2012 have been given a boost by UEFA observers, who have pronounced themselves satisfied with the country's progress, the UNIAN news agency reported on Saturday.

The verdict, following a mid-April fact-finding trip to Ukraine, was expressed on Friday in a report at the Swiss headquarters of European soccer's governing body. The meeting was attended by Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Vasyunik and the president of the Ukrainian Football Federation, Hryhory Surkis.

The assessment centered on progress in improving infrastructure in the six Ukrainian cities that could stage games in the finals, which Ukraine is co-hosting with Poland. The preparation of stadiums, airports, public transport and tourist accommodation were all looked at.

UEFA's executive committee is expected to decide which cities will host matches at a meeting in Romania this month.

The organization's president, Michel Platini, has said the decisions on host cities would be largely based on infrastructure.

Games will be played in Kiev and three other Ukrainian cities, with Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk, Lvov, Kharkov, and Odessa in the running.

Source: RIA Novosti