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Germany denies it might host Euro 2012 football tournament

DPA/The Local
DPA/The Local - [email protected]
Germany denies it might host Euro 2012 football tournament
Can Ukraine dig out of this one? Photo: DPA

The German Football Association (DFB) has denied speculation that UEFA is making contingency plans for Germany to host the Euro 2012 if the political situation in Ukraine do not improve.

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"There is no contact with UEFA regarding this question, and there is no official inquiry. The UEFA executive committee will meet to discuss the Euro 2012 in Bordeaux at the end of September," DFB General Secretary Wolfgang Niersbach said on Tuesday in response to a report this week by UK daily paper the Daily Telegraph.

But UEFA President Michel Platini has not ruled out a change of plans. "The preparations are not what we thought they were," he said in early July during an inspection trip in Ukraine and Poland, the countries set to co-host the football tournament. "If there aren't stadiums in Kiev and Warsaw, then the Euro won't take place there," he added.

Poland is on schedule with tournament preparations, but a lack of transportation infrastructure and tense political situation apparently have UEFA thinking twice about Ukraine's role.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Berlin and Leipzig are both under consideration as main host cities if things don't work out in Ukraine, because of Germany's geographical proximity to Poland and existing football infrastructure after hosting the 2006 World Cup.

But UEFA spokesman William Gaillard denied this. "We have simply encouraged Ukraine to double its efforts," he said on Tuesday.

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