UEFA will set the prices of tickets for the Euro 2012 European Football Championship for Ukrainians taking into account the average wage of the Ukrainian public, Ukrainian Vice Premier Borys Kolesnikov has said.

“Michel Platini (the UEFA president) has set stringent terms for [UEFA's] marketing department to make tickets for Euro 2012 affordable to every Ukrainian citizen. UEFA is likely to consider the average wage in Ukraine according to data from the State Statistics Committee when setting the price of tickets,” Kolesnikov said at a press conference in Kyiv on Monday.

The vice premier did not give the expected price of tickets, adding that another task set by Platini was to prevent a black market for tickets appearing both in Ukraine and Poland.

Source: InterFax (http://www.interfax.com.ua/eng/main/36263/)

UEFA President Michel Platini has said he is satisfied with the progress of the preparation of Kharkiv for hosting matches of the Euro 2012 European Football Championship.

“I think that the situation in Kharkiv is good. Everything is under control,” he told journalists in Kharkiv on Thursday.

According to Platini, there are scarcely any problems in the city. “There is a stadium, a hotel; a new airport is being actively prepared. A lot has been done there,” he said.

The UEFA president said Kharkiv residents, as well as residents of Donetsk, are very enthusiastic about holding the tournament in their cities.

When asked by journalists to compare the stadiums in Donetsk and Kharkiv, Platini said that both the stadiums are “beautiful and good.”

At the same time, he added that it is improper to compare the level of preparation in different cities, as the level of development of separate areas of the municipal economy vary from city to city.

“Kharkiv is doing well. There is much still to be done,” the UEFA president said.

Source: Interfax (http://www.interfax.com.ua/eng/main/35954/)

Poland and Germany will play an international football friendly on September 6, 2011 to mark the opening of the new National Stadium in Warsaw.

The match was organised by the Sportfive agency as a partner of the Polish Football Federation (PZPN).

“The opening of the new stadium is a big moment and we are looking forward to testing the new premises and our standing in the international friendly against the German national team”, said Franciszek Smuda, the Polish team’s Head Coach.

The 55,000-seat stadium has been built as a venue for Euro 2012, and will host the opening match of that tournament, as well as other group and knock-out stage matches.

Source: Sport Business (http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/174992/germany-friendly-the-first-match-at-poland-s-national-stadium)

Travelodge are running a sale with rooms from just 9 GBP for stays between 28th August and 28th November 2010.

This is great news for fans of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who are looking for rooms near Wembley, Hampden Park, the Millenium Stadium and Windsor Park.

The sale starts at 6am on Thursday 15th April 2010 and when the rooms are gone, thats it.

Don’t miss out and get in early to book your room on 15th April direct on the Travelodge website>>

Terms and conditions apply. Full details on the Travelodge website.

Ukraine, under a two-month deadline from UEFA, will accelerate construction of key sport and infrastructure projects needed for co-hosting Euro 2012, a top Ukrainian official said on Monday.

UEFA president Michel Platini last week gave the Ukrainian government until June 2 to show signs it could catch up on preparations for the tournament.

“The stadiums in Lviv and Kiev and two airport terminals are the ones which we need to focus on right now,” Borys Kolesnikov, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for Euro 2012, told reporters.

The Euro tournament is due to take place in four Ukrainian towns – the capital Kiev, Lviv, Donetsk and Kharkiv.

But economic troubles, a severe winter and political tension have led to long delays in preparations by the ex-Soviet republic ahead of the 16-nation tournament which it is co-hosting with neighbouring Poland.

“The most serious delay is at the Lviv stadium. The UEFA put the stadium in the ‘black’ risk category, not even in the ‘red’ one. But I want to say that everything will be ready close to the set times,” Kolesnikov said.

Ukraine, within the next two months, has to complete the foundation levels of planned airport terminals in Lviv and Donetsk, finish the eastern wing of the Lviv stadium and concrete structures in the Kiev stadium’s western wing.

Kolesnikov said the government had issued 550 million hryvnias ($69 million) for Euro 2012 needs during the past 20 days and wanted to issue a total of 26 billion hryvnias ($3.3 billion) from the 2010 state budget to help modernise stadiums, develop airport infrastructure and build roads.

Source: Reuters India (http://in.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idINIndia-47625920100412)