Euro 2012

GENEVA — UEFA president Michel Platini will visit Poland and Ukraine in July to check on their preparations for co-hosting the 2012 European Championship.

The two countries have to intensify their efforts over the next few months in order to meet UEFA’s requirements, Platini told a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday.

But “there is no Plan B,” he said, referring to possible alternative venues in case the former eastern bloc states fail to put in place the necessary infrastructure to host the event.

UEFA spokesman William Gaillard said Platini will travel to Poland and Ukraine after Euro 2008, held in Austria and Switzerland in June.

Gaillard said UEFA’s main concern is whether the hotels and transportation networks - including airports, railways and roads - will be sufficient to host the hundreds of thousands of fans expected for the event. (more…)

Jewhen Czerwonenko - the boss of the Ukrainian National Agency for Euro 2012 said on Wednesday, that if works connected with preparation for Euro 2012 in Lvov will not speed up, the role of the host Odessa or Charkow - reserve cities can get.

Visiting Odessa Czerwonenko said this city have great chances to be the host for future finalists of the European championships.

It is already next, after the UEFA representative Matteo Gambuto, statement giving the distinct signal that Lvov can lose the status of the city - host. Let us remind, that a few days ago telling about problems of “different cities” Gambutto meant exactly Lvov. (more…)