Poland and Ukraine today won the race to host the European Championships in 2012 after beating off bids from Italy and Croatia-Hungary.
The Poland and Ukraine bid received eight votes to Italy's four.
Croatia and Hungary got none. It is the first time either country
has been chosen to host a major tournament.
The European championship finals, held every four years, are
second only to the World Cup in importance in the world of soccer.
Greece are the current European champions after pulling off a
surprise victory in Portugal in 2004.
Austria and Switzerland are co-hosting Euro 2008.
"There are 85 million people now waiting for this big
football event," Polish FA chairman Michal Listkiewicz said after
UEFA president Michel Platini had revealed the winner.
"The friendship between our nations has a very long history.
This big tournament will be an important milestone in the history
of our two Slavic nations."
His comments were echoed by Ukrainian soccer federation
president Hryhory Surkis.
"This is a decisive day for our country. It will provide new
opportunities for our country as it strives to integrate with
Europe," he told Ukrainian television in Cardiff.
The decision of UEFA's Executive Committee to choose the Ukraine
and Poland bid dashed the hopes of Italy, who had been slight
favourites to be named host nation for a third time.
Poland and Ukraine's bid appeared to have been undermined on
two fronts.
FIFA had threatened to ban Poland from international
competition after its government removed the country's football
association from power in January after a scandal involving corrupt
referees.
The unstable political climate in Ukraine where a
presidential decree dissolved parliament and called for a new
election next month, also raised doubts.
In a statement, Ukraine president Viktor Yushchenko said that
the decision offered a great opportunity to both countries to host
an "extraordinary" sporting event.
"Holding the 2012 European championship will be a wonderful
opportunity for Ukrainians and Poles to welcome the best
representatives of Europe's soccer family and produce an
extraordinary sporting event," he said.
"Ukraine and Poland will be able to show millions of fans the
unforgettable charm of their cities and the history they have
preserved so beautifully and put on a display of Slav hospitality
and culture," added the pro-Western Yushchenko.
The projected Polish venues for the 2012 tournament include
Gdansk, Poznan, Warsaw and Wroclaw while the Ukrainian cities of
Kiev, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv would stage games.
Kiev's Olympic Stadium, used to host soccer at the 1980
Moscow Olympics, is the proposed venue for the final.
