Poland and Ukraine want to host Euro 2012 · 2007-04-16 14:06
Poland and Ukraine aim to jointly host the 2012 European football championships not for national pride alone, but to establish integration of eastern Europe’s football, Playfuls reported.
“UEFA has said explicitly that it wants to develop football in the east (of Europe), so our joint bid with Poland is the best choice in this sense,” said one football official in Kiev, Ukraine.
“The political situation in Ukraine is definitely not a plus for our joint bid,” said Polish football legend Zbigniew Boniek. The political power struggle between the nation’s president Viktor Yushchenko and prime minister Viktor Yanukovich is overshadowing the bid.
UEFA inspectors have reportedly complained about road conditions, but Polish sports minister Tomasz Lipiec said last Thursday that the tournament offers a chance to improve this situation.
“This is a chance for development of airports, roads, hotels and stadiums in Poland,” he said.
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