Ukraine to bid for Euro 2020

Kiev: Euro 2012 host Ukraine has announced it would bid for the right to stage some Euro 2020 games.

The tournament will be spread across 13 stadiums in 13 countries, UEFA said last month, with the aim being to reduce the economic burden on any single country. "Members of the Ukrainian Football Federation executive committee unanimously decided to file an application from Ukraine to participate in the European football championships 2020," a statement on the federation`s website said Tuesday. There was no word on which hosting package the country might apply for. UEFA president Michel Platini said last month that interested nations may apply for group games plus one knockout round fixture or the final plus the two semifinals - or both. In June, Kiev, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Lviv played host to Euro 2012 matches. Donetsk mayor Alexander Lukyanchenko claims the 52,000-seater Donbass Arena would fight with the Ukrainian capital for the right to stage Euro 2020 matches. Others to have expressed interest include Munich, Cardiff`s Millennium Stadium and Bulgaria`s Vasil Levski Stadium in Sofia. Rome, Berlin, Istanbul and Madrid have also been mooted as possible venues. The organising committee of the 2018 World Cup in Russia has also expressed an interest in staging some of the games as a legacy feature. The bidding process will start in April, with the final decision to be made in September 2014. Euro 2020 will feature 24 teams, the second to do so after Euro 2016 in France. IANS