Poland and Ukraine host Euro 2012
Uefa president Michael Platini reveals the surprise hosts of Euro
2012
Poland and Ukraine have been chosen to host the 2012 European
Championships.
Italy was widely expected to win the Uefa vote in Cardiff, with another
joint bid from Croatia and Hungary also in the running.
However, Italy's bid was overshadowed by last season's referee corruption
scandal and on-going problems with football-related crowd trouble.
It will be the first time that either Poland or Ukraine has hosted a
major football championship.
Poland and Ukraine will host Euro 2012
Uefa president Michel Platini said: "Poland and Ukraine are surely a
worthy winner. However, there are no losers today, rather only bids that have
not won this time round."
606: DEBATE
Poland and Ukraine hosting will improve the infrastructure in
theses nations
SM
Platini's announcement prompted scenes of jubilation in the host
countries.
Polish Football Association chairman Michal Listkiewicz said: "There are
85 million people now waiting for this big football event.
"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 football 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 said.
Poland and Ukraine's bid team staged an impressive presentation on
Tuesday, featuring Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko, Liverpool keeper Jerzy
Dudek as well as boxer Vitali Klitschko, former Olympic champion Sergei Bubka
and Ukraine president Victor Yushchenko.
I think the problems we have had with violence have been decisive in
this vote
Italy's Euro 2012 bid leader
Nonetheless, the bid was still considered the outsider of the three.
Poland is still recovering from a match-fixing scandal and its government
has been warned by Uefa and Fifa about political interference in the country's
football governing body.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has been hit by a political crisis, with the president
trying to dissolve parliament.
Nigel Adderley, BBC Five Live's reporter at the vote in Cardiff, said:
"It's a massive slap in the face to Italian football.
"Only last night, members of the Uefa executive committee were hinting
that although Italy has had problems, they still felt it is a place that can
develop a tournament and has the experience."
Italy's bid leader Luca Pancalli said the recent violence in Italy,
including events at Roma's Stadio Olimpico in which riot police clashed with
Manchester United fans, may have proved crucial.
"I think the problems we have had with violence have been decisive in
this vote," he said.
"It is not just one incident - there was the tragedy in Sicily in
February when a policeman was killed and then the problems in Roma for the
Manchester United match, these things have been a big obstacle for us."
Poland and Ukraine's victory fits in with new Uefa president Michel
Platini's policy of redressing the balance of power in football throughout
Europe.
However, it is understood Platini did not attempt to mobilise support
behind any one bid.
According to Uefa sources, Poland and Ukraine won in the first round of
voting with eight of the 12 votes while four went to Italy and none to Croatia
and Hungary.
The governments and football federations are now obliged to make
improvements
Poland coach Leo Beenhakker
It will be first time the former eastern bloc has hosted the tournament
since Yugoslavia in 1976.
Poland's Dutch head coach Leo Beenhakker said the decision was hugely
important for the game in the winning countries.
Beenhakker said: "Eastern Europe has a great history in sport and in
football and they still have great players but what they have been missing has
been good infrastructure, stadiums and training facilities.
"Now the governments and the football federations are obliged to realise
all their promises within the next five years and make these improvements.
"This is fundamental for football in Poland and Ukraine."
Games will be played in four Ukrainian cities (Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk,
Kiev and Lviv) and six Polish venues (Gdansk, Krakow, Poznan, Warsaw, Wroclaw
and Chorzow).
Kiev's Olympic Stadium, used to host football at the 1980 Moscow
Olympics, is the proposed venue for the final.
The tournament will feature 16 teams, although Uefa is looking into
increasing that to 24 from 2016 onwards.
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