UK: Poland and Ukraine to co-host Euro 2012

Poland and Ukraine have been chosen to co-host the European Championship soccer tournament in 2012, UEFA announced on Wednesday. European soccer's governing body said it had selected the two countries ahead of Italy and another joint bid from Croatia and Hungary to stage the finals. The Poland and Ukraine bid received eight votes to Italy's four. Croatia and Hungary got none. It is the first time either country has been chosen to host a major tournament. The European championship finals, held every four years, are second only to the World Cup in importance in the world of soccer. Greece are the current European champions after pulling off a surprise victory in Portugal in 2004. Austria and Switzerland are co-hosting Euro 2008. "There are 85 million people now waiting for this big football event," Polish FA chairman Michal Listkiewicz said after UEFA president Michel Platini had revealed the winner. "The friendship between our nations has a very long history. This big tournament will be an important milestone in the history of our two Slavic nations." His comments were echoed by Ukrainian soccer federation president Hryhory Surkis. "This is a decisive day for our country. It will provide new opportunities for our country as it strives to integrate with Europe," he told Ukrainian television in Cardiff. The decision of UEFA's Executive Committee to choose the Ukraine and Poland bid dashed the hopes of Italy, who had been slight favourites to be named host nation for a third time. Poland and Ukraine's bid appeared to have been undermined on two fronts. FIFA had threatened to ban Poland from international competition after its government removed the country's football association from power in January after a scandal involving corrupt referees. The unstable political climate in Ukraine where a presidential decree dissolved parliament and called for a new election next month, also raised doubts. In a statement, Ukraine president Viktor Yushchenko said that the decision offered a great opportunity to both countries to host an "extraordinary" sporting event. "Holding the 2012 European championship will be a wonderful opportunity for Ukrainians and Poles to welcome the best representatives of Europe's soccer family and produce an extraordinary sporting event," he said. "Ukraine and Poland will be able to show millions of fans the unforgettable charm of their cities and the history they have preserved so beautifully and put on a display of Slav hospitality and culture," added the pro-Western Yushchenko. The projected Polish venues for the 2012 tournament include Gdansk, Poznan, Warsaw and Wroclaw while the Ukrainian cities of Kiev, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv would stage games. Kiev's Olympic Stadium, used to host soccer at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, is the proposed venue for the final. Following are details of the stadiums and cities involved in Poland and Ukraine's winning bid to host the 2012 European Championship: CITIES: Matches will be played in six Polish and six Ukrainian cities. Poland: Gdansk, Poznan, Warsaw, Wroclaw and in reserve Chorzow, Krakow. Ukraine: Kiev, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv and in reserve Kharkiv, Odessa VENUES POLAND: GDANSK: Baltic Arena, to be built between 2008-2010. Planned capacity: 44,000. POZNAN: Municipal Stadium. Built in 1980; home to Lech Poznan. Under renovation. Current capacity: 24,166. Planned capacity in 2008: 46,500. WARSAW: National Stadium; to be built between 2007 and 2009. Planned capacity: 70,000. WROCLAW: Olympic Stadium. Built in 1936, now under renovation. Current capacity: 10,000. Planned capacity in 2010: 45,000. CHORZOW: Slaski Stadium. Built in 1927, now under renovation. Current capacity: 47,202. Planned capacity in 2010: 60,000. KRAKOW: Wisla Stadium. Built in 1954; home to Wisla Krakow. Now under renovation. Current capacity: 14,657. Planned capacity in 2010: 33,000. UKRAINE: KIEV: Olympic Stadium. Built in 1923 and later expanded, it holds 84,000 and is the proposed site for the 2012 final. Proposed reconstruction and upgrading would reduce capacity to 75,000. Used for soccer at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. FIFA and UEFA have threatened to withdraw permission to hold matches here over construction of a nearby shopping complex. DNIPROPETROVSK: Stadium with 35,000 seats to be completed in September. DONETSK: Ultra-modern stadium with 50,000 seats -- home to Shakhtar Donetsk -- to be completed at the end of 2008. LVIV: Ukraina stadium, built in the 1970s and later renovated, currently holds 40,000. Plans call for construction of a new stadium or reconstruction of the present facility. ODESSA: Chornomorets stadium, dating from the 1960s, holds 35,000. Plans call for complete reconstruction. KHARKIV: Metallist stadium, also from the 1960s, has a capacity of 30,000. The facility is to undergo renovation. FOOTBALL HONOURS POLAND: Third place at 1974 and 1982 World Cups. Olympic gold medallists in 1972; silver medallists in 1976 and 1992. UKRAINE: Dynamo Kiev won European Cup Winners' Cup in 1975 and 1986. Three players who have played for Dynamo been named European Footballer of the Year -- Oleg Blokhin 1975, Igor Belanov 1986, Andriy Shevchenko 2004. Qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 2006, reaching the quarter-final where they lost to Italy.

ITN Source | April 19, 2007

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