You're reading: Two thirds of Ukrainians believe investments in Euro 2012 may be misused

About two thirds of Ukrainians said they believe state investments allocated for the organization and hosting of final matches of the Euro 2012 European Football Championship may be misused, according to the findings of a poll conducted by GFK Ukraine.

Senior researcher for social and political research at GfK Ukraine, Inna Volosevych, said at a press conference on June 7, referring to the results of the study conducted by the company, that 66% of Ukrainians said they are afraid that state money invested in the Euro 2012 could be misused.

According to her, about a quarter of those polled said they believe that the invested funds would not be returned, and about 20% of Ukrainians said they are afraid that the Ukraine would fail to prepare properly for the championship.

On the whole, according to the study, an absolute majority of Ukrainians (89%) support the hosting of the final tournament in Ukraine, and only 3% of Ukrainians and 1-2% of residents of host cities do not support hosting Euro 2012.

Some 73% of the respondents said that the positive influence of the Euro 2012 on the development of the country would exceed the value of state expenditures on hosting the tournament.

With regard to expectations from hosting Euro 2012, some 61% of respondents said they hope for the modernization of infrastructure, and about a half said they hope for the attraction of foreign investment and the promotion of Ukraine in the world.

According to the study, the plans of foreign visitors to visit cities hosting the Euro 2012 are the following: 51% of foreigners are planning to visit matches in Kyiv, 30% in Lviv, 26% in Donetsk, and 25% in Kharkiv.

About 1,000 respondents across whole Ukraine and 800 residents from each city hosting the Euro 2012 were polled via telephone interviews by GfK Ukraine in January-February 2011. In addition, about 1,000 foreigners were polled in the airports of cities hosting the Euro 2012 matches.