Euro 2012

Turkey has offered to host the 2012 European Football Championship if Ukraine and Poland, co-hosts of Europe’s biggest football organization, back out over the economic turmoil that badly affected Ukraine, the Turkish sports minister said on Wednesday.

Turkish State Minister for Sports Murat Basesgioglu told a parliamentary committee meeting that Turkey has hosted major international sporting events in the past and could competently host Euro 2012.

News reports earlier said that Ukraine’s severe financial crisis was threatening the country’s ability to host the 2012 European Championship as most construction projects have stalled due to a liquidity crunch.

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Dniepropietrowsk was given the first stadium into use.

The stadium will host footballers and the Polish and Ukrainian fans during the Europe Championships in 2012. The district council in Dniepropietrowsk informed that a special state committee received the object.

Igor Kołomojski, the Ukrainian oligarch, was the one who founded the stadium in Dniepropietrowsk. The value of the investment equals about 45 million euro. The object was planned to contain over 30 thousands of spectators and its building has lasted for three years.

UEFA left us the right to organize Euro 2012 - emphasize the Saturday Ukrainian newspapers after the session of the Executive Committee of the European Football Association that took place in Bordeaux. They decided that Poland and Ukraine would host the event.

“There really were reasons to worry about. Practically, during the whole past year the preparations for Euro 2012 have not gone ahead: great plans stopped on the paper only. The event did not sleep as well - Italy, Germany one after another declared that they are even now ready for the Europe Championships’ - wrote “Komsomolskaja Prawda in Ukraine”.

‘Hazeta 24′ believes that working on the development of infrastructure that was made in the summer had great influence on the decisions of UEFA concerning Ukraine. All is about the acceleration of the demolition of trade centre in the neighborhood of the Olympic Stadium in Kiev and the beginning of the object modernization.

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UEFA gives an ultimatum. Stadiums in Warsaw and Kiev have to come into being. Otherwise, we will lose championships.

There is no plan “B” for Warsaw and Kiev. If the stadium are not built in these cities on time, the Europe championships will be taken away by Germany or Russia.
- UEFA does not imagine the situation in which Euro 2012 would not take place in the capitals of Poland and Ukraine - Warsaw and Kiev’ says Michael Listkiewicz, the chairman of the Polish Football Association.

Michel Platini has already been talking about it after the meeting of Executive Committee of UEFA making organizers think about it ‘Whether Euro will take place in Poland and Ukraine depends on the pace of works in the main arenas in Warsaw and Kiev.

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