KYIV, 13th Dec.2009 (WAM) -- The UEFA Executive Committee has made its decision concerning the selection of host cities for UEFA EURO 2012 in Ukraine. On the second day of its meeting in Funchal, Madeira (Portugal), the UEFA Executive Committee has decided that Kyiv, Donetsk, Lviv and Kharkiv will all host matches at UEFA EURO 2012.
Such a decision was taken by the UEFA officials after examination and discussions of the state of infrastructure preparations in Ukraine and careful consideration of the documents and guarantees submitted to UEFA by the Ukrainian government and the candidate cities. In addition, UEFA has confirmed Kyiv as the venue of the final match of UEFA EURO 2012, UKRINFORM UKRINFORM Information Center 'Ukraine-2012' reports. "We can finally give the green light to a symmetrical tournament with four cities in Poland - Warsaw, Wroclaw, Poznan and Gdansk - and four cities in Ukraine - Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv and Donetsk. The final will take place in Kyiv," the UEFA President, Michel Platini, said. "The work is not finished. UEFA experts will obviously continue to accompany the two countries towards the final tournament. The decision of the Executive Committee was unanimous. We have confidence in Poland and Ukraine," he said. President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko hails a decision of the UEFA Executive Committee to confirm Donetsk, Lviv and Kharkiv as host cities for group matches of UEFA EURO 2012 and Kyiv as the venue of the final match of UEFA EURO 2012. "EURO 2012 is our nationwide project, this is our pride and an affair of our honor. The idea of the championship has taken millions of Ukrainians, it is beyond politics, it is a nationwide priority," Yushchenko emphasized. He believes the UEFA decision is a great victory of entire Ukraine. Viktor Yushchenko confirmed an invitation for the guests from the world to arrive in Ukraine for the final tournament of the UEFA European Football Championship. Thus, the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, to be held in Ukraine and Poland from 9 June until 1 July 2012, will be staged in eight cities: four Ukrainian cities (Kyiv, Donetsk, Lviv, Kharkiv) and four Polish cities (Wroclaw, Poznan, Gdansk, Warsaw). The UEFA EURO 2012 kick-off match will take place in Warsaw. The final will take place in Kyiv. As UKRINFORM reported, decision regarding the match schedule for UEFA EURO 2012 and the appointment of the host cities staging the other knockout matches will be taken at a later stage.Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2009.
