Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Thursday rejected claims that Poland could ditch its troubled co-host Ukraine and find a new partner for the 2012 European football championships.
"I'm going to reassure the Ukrainian government that we still want to organise Euro 2012 with Ukraine," Tusk told reporters, saying he planned to visit Kiev on Friday."The rumours of another scenario - in other words, a plan for Poland to organise it with another country - are baseless," he affirmed.In 2007, Poland and its eastern neighbours Ukraine were unexpectedly picked by European football's governing body UEFA as co-hosts for the continent's showcase tournament.But there have been recurring concerns over their ability to be ready in time. Poland, however, has won plaudits from UEFA, leaving Ukraine in sharp focus because of its deep economic recession and regular political bust ups.Tusk said he was "aware" of Ukraine's headaches but said he was convinced by "the will of our Ukrainian friends to overcome them".Speculation has ebbed and flowed that Germany, Poland's western neighbour, could come on as a substitute. Its 2006 World Cup stadiums, plus its solid transport and hotel infrastructure, outstrip anything on offer in Ukraine.In May, UEFA formally confirmed four match venues in Poland: the capital Warsaw, the Baltic port of Gdansk, and the western cities of Wroclaw and Poznan.But it only accepted the Ukrainian capital Kiev. Three other venues in Ukraine were given until November 30 to provide assurances they were capable of properly hosting games.Last month, Ukraine's Euro 2012 pointman Ilya Chevliak also admitted that the country was struggling to build the hotels needed to accommodate fans, because construction had been meant to be financed by the private sector, now battered by the economic crisis.
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