European football's governing body (UEFA) has selected four cities in Poland but only one in Ukraine to host matches at the sport's 2012 European Championship.
In an announcement Wednesday, UEFA chose Warsaw, Gdansk, Wroclaw and Poznan to host matches in Poland. But the football body said its inspectors found "important shortcomings regarding infrastructure" in co-host Ukraine. UEFA said "significant work" must be undertaken to meet the minimum requirements for the event.
As a result, UEFA approved only Kyiv in Ukraine to host group and quarterfinal matches and a semifinal. The city had been scheduled to host the final, but that will only happen if major improvements are made in the next six months.
UEFA declined to give Ukrainian cities Lviv, Donetsk and Kharkiv hosting duties at this time. The three cities have been given until November 30 to show they can make the necessary upgrades.
Some information provided by AP, AFP