UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino has said he is confident that the Euro 2012 European Football Championship in Ukraine and Poland will be a success.
"We are absolutely positive that Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine will be a success," he said at a press conference at the Kyiv city administration on June 7 to mark exactly a year to go until the final tournament kicks off.
Infantino noted that one-and-a-half years ago Ukraine was in grave danger of losing its right to host the championship.
"But today, due to the efforts taken by the local organizing committee and government agencies, all our doubts have disappeared," he said.
Infantino expressed confidence that Ukraine would be prepared for Euro 2012, while noting that perhaps not all roads will be ready and not all hotels will provide a proper level of services, but "the hospitality of Ukrainians will compensate for all this."
He said that 12 million requests for the purchase of Euro 2012 tickets had already been received and added that Ukraine and Poland would be the first Eastern European countries to host a European football championship.
