World Cup show will key for Ukraine, Poland to host Euro 2012

WARSAW, Jun 3: Poland and Ukraine have a strong chance of hosting the 2012 European Championship and hope a good showing at the World Cup will boost their hopes further, Poland's deputy sports minister says.

Piotr Gawron, appointed late last year to run Warsaw's side of the joint bid, said the pair now lead the running, helped by a combined population of 80 million and the offer of the first Eastern European finals since the fall of the Iron Curtain.

All three remaining bidders -- the others are Italy and a joint entry by Croatia and Hungary -- submitted their offers to Europe's governing body UEFA on Wednesday. A 12-man commission will make a final decision on the winner on December 8.

''I'm convinced we have a better than even chance, maybe even more than 80 per cent,'' Gawron, 40, told Reuters late today in his office outside Legia Warsaw's ground.

''The Croatians and Hungarians are probably our biggest competition. I love football but this is about something more (for east European countries). It would give a huge boost to jobs and growth.'' Poland and Ukraine's combined 80 million population dwarfs 15 million in Hungary and Croatia. Against the Italians, their major weakness is infrastructure, with shortfalls in hotels and transport links and stadiums that do not meet UEFA requirements.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on Friday urged Kiev authorities to take steps to end a row over a construction site next to the city's Olympic stadium, which has prompted warnings from FIFA that it could ban games there on safety grounds.

Like his Ukrainian counterparts, Gawron plays down such concerns.

''We have found a variety of solutions to these problems,'' he said. ''Of course, billions will have to be invested, but at the end of the day that's the point. If a small country like Portugal can do it, then there is no question that we can too.''

REUTERS