Ukraine to host EURO 2012 anyway
Published 25 April, 2009, 10:45
It has been confirmed that Ukraine will host the European football championship in 2012, along with Poland. But while Ukrainian football is doing well, the same can't be said about the country's economy.
The news comes after fears Ukraine could lose the event due to a lack of progress in building stadiums and infrastructure. A little more than a year ago, Michel Platini's visit to Kiev left many fans shaken in Ukraine and Poland. The UEFA president announced that the countries could lose their right to host the EURO 2012 football championship because of slow preparations.
This time around, the one-time football great broke some good news.
“It is absolutely impossible that the championship could be moved anywhere else. We understand all the difficulties in Ukraine's and Poland's preparations, but we're pretty happy with the way things are going,” said Michel Platini.
Those words undoubtedly made more than 80 percent of Ukrainians happy – that’s how many support the idea of hosting the tournament. But the post-Soviet state just can't do without a protest. A crowd of twenty gathered at the football association's headquarters to deliver their message to Mr. Platini.
“Why is it that only big stadiums are being built for EURO 2012, but smaller ones are not? Look, here's a stadium in my neighbourhood, but we were told it would be removed, and replaced with this skyscraper,” complained Alexander Gudyma, one of the protesters.
Ukrainian football is on a high at the moment, with one of its teams guaranteed a berth in the UEFA cup final this year. But the same can't be said about the country's economy.
Ukraine is among the states most affected by the world financial turmoil. And although it is said to be recovering, most of the construction projects in the country remain frozen, besides for the exceptional ones.
The Republican stadium in Kiev is the proposed venue for the Euro 2012 final. Deliberations over its reconstruction nearly ruined Ukraine's aspirations of hosting the championship. But now, it is one of the few construction sites in the country operating 24 hours a day.
The government is said to have invested billions in the EURO 2012 projects. But as stadium building is reported to have entered its final phase, experts are still questioning whether the tournament is a luxury Ukraine can afford.
”The main idea is to have the stadiums ready by late 2010, this is the priority. As for other programmes, they are hardly financed. Investment projects for building bridges and roads – even in the cities which are not hosting the championship – have no funding at all,” says Andrey Blinov, economic analyst.
Experts say to find the cash needed for the football event, the government will most likely turn to private investors. And given the high level of support for the EURO 2012 project in Ukraine, they say this may well be the last chance for Prime Minister Tymoshenko's cabinet to gain more public trust.
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