Kyiv event begins year to go celebrations

The countdown to UEFA EURO 2012 has started in earnest in Poland and Ukraine with Wednesday set to mark exactly a year to go until the final tournament kicks off.

A special press conference was held in Kyiv to celebrate the occasion with international media, key figures from UEFA and some of the Ukrainian public and football authorities all in attendance. UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino underlined the mood ahead of the final tournament's first visit to central or eastern Europe, saying: "We are absolutely positive that UEFA EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine will be a success."

Ukraine's deputy prime minister Borys Kolesnikov, who is overseeing UEFA EURO 2012 preparations, added: "Ukraine will be 100% prepared for UEFA EURO 2012. We are working hard on all projects and can see the real developments. We also are going to improve the state programme for tournament preparations."

President of the Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU), Grygoriy Surkis, pointed out that the tournament will not only leave Poland and Ukraine with a fantastic sporting infrastructure, renovated transport systems and an accommodation infrastructure, but will also give renewed impetus to local football in the host nations. "Together with sporting infrastructure, the social projects stimulating people to lead a healthy lifestyle are being revived now," said the UEFA Executive Committee member.

"Ukrainian and Polish coaches will have a unique opportunity to watch the best football forces in Europe and adopt the most effective methods that have been developed. It is believed the energy of the European Championship is second to none, even to World Cups. I have no doubt we'll see the some class teams in action next summer and watch some outstanding performances from the greatest players."

Other key figures present in Kyiv included head of Kyiv state administration Oleksandr Popov, UEFA Events SA operations director Martin Kallen and Ukrainian tournament director Markiian Lubkivskyi.