Ukraine's government secured a deal this week with a commercial property developer to tear down part of a shopping centre and enable Kiev's Olympic Stadium to be used for the 2012 European football championship.
The shopping centre, which is adjacent to Kiev's 84,000-seater stadium, had been cited as a problem by UEFA regards hosting games as its proximity violated crowd control regulations. Permission to hold games there, including the prestigious Euro 2012 final was being withheld and fears were that the Ukrainian capital would not play such a major role in the championships as was first thought.
Both Poland nor Ukraine are under scrutiny by UEFA and are being accused of moving too slowly in their preparations for the tournament. Nonetheless both countries remain optimistic about meeting their deadlines. |