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Publisher Ivan Malkovych, 'Euro 2012 friend' from Ukraine Ukraine and Poland are searching for "friends of the Euro 2012 European Football Championship" to help promote the tournament.

A presentation of a project entitled "Euro 2012 Friends" took place in Kyiv on Friday. During which President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine Serhiy Bubka, President of the Ukrainian Athletic Federation Valeriy Borzov, singer Sviatoslav Vakarchuk and poet and publisher Ivan Malkovych became the first Ukrainian friends of the championship.

"This project is aimed at promoting the tournament. We want to attract as many people as possible to participation in the preparations for Euro 2012… so that not only the actual organizers of the project but the whole country lives with this project," said UEFA Euro 2012 Tournament Director in Ukraine Markiyan Lubkivsky at the presentation.

He also noted that not only celebrities could become "friends" of the Euro 2012 European Football Championship.

"This is a very wide project… We would like everyone to become 'a friend of Euro 2012'," he said.

As to functions of "the friends," Lubkivsky said: "They will participate in various events, promo-events, [and] hold meetings inside and outside the country to familiarize themselves with the process of the preparation for the tournament."

He also informed that a painting contest starts on September 15, and the winners of the various age categories will also become Ukrainian friends of the European Football Championship.

According to Lubkivsky, "friends" will be selected over the year.

On September 4, before a friendly match between Poland and Ukraine, the project will be presented in Poland, reads the press release.