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Ukraine delighted at UEFA choice, vows to win tournament
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-11-09 09:57
KIEV, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Ukraine's top soccer official on Tuesday expressed
delight that a joint bid by his ex-Soviet state and Poland made the short list
to stage the 2012 European championship and vowed to press ahead to win the
tournament.
Hryhory Surkis, speaking immediately after returning from the UEFA meeting in
Malta, said the bid made it into the top three despite major shortcomings he
vowed to put right in time.
"We knew when we entered the competition that our infrastructure was lacking.
There are lots of things we just don't have -- roads, hotels, airports," Surkis,
President of the Ukrainian Soccer Federation, told a news conference.
"But we were different from the others in that we had a good programme, a
very strong proposal."
Surkis said he "nearly fell of his chair" when the top two leaders were
announced, Italy and a joint Hungary/Croatia bid.
"When I then heard that Ukraine was third, this was the happiest moment of my
life," he said.
"We have been living in a fairytale for a year. Give us the chance to turn
the fairytale into a reality. We can do this."
Offering the championship to Ukraine and Poland -- both ex-communist states
-- would have a "multiplier effect" in stimulating the development of both
countries' economies.
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