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Today's Paper | December 29, 2024

Published 14 Jun, 2008 12:00am

‘No plans to hold Euro 2012 outside Poland and Ukraine’

VIENNA, June 13: UEFA has no contingency plan for the 2012 European Championship if co-hosts Poland and Ukraine are unable to meet construction deadlines.

Ukrainian Football Federation vice president Boris Voskresensky told Russian newspaper Sport Express that the company renovating the 80,000-seat Kiev Olympic stadium which will host the final is “incapable” of finishing the job on time due to a lack of necessary materials and resources.

UEFA spokesman William Gaillard said on Thursday that president Michel Platini will lead a delegation after Euro 2008 and visit the co-hosts from July 1 to gauge the organizational progress.

“At this stage, we are not discussing any Plan ‘B’ in terms of new countries,” Gaillard said. “There are alternative scenarios, there are proposed different cities within Poland and Ukraine — like Krakow and Odessa — which could host matches.

UEFA had already given Poland and Ukraine an ultimatum in January to work faster.

“In January, we gave them four to six months to fix things and give us a progress report,” Gaillard said. “At this point we are not more concerned than we were in January, but at the same time we are not less concerned.

Scotland has reportedly told UEFA it could step in and host the tournament.—AP

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