UEFA praises Poland

The governing European soccer body, UEFA, has noted that preparations for the 2012 soccer championship in Poland and Ukraine are progressing in a satisfactory manner. In its latest report on the improvements, UEFA even withdrew its "code red" status from Poland's stadiums.

A few areas of worry still dot the Polish map, especially concerning a lack of airports and hotels, but the majority of trouble spots lie on the Ukrainian side of the border. Worry has been expressed over Kiev's stadium, for example.

"So far you are doing a good job," said UEFA president Michel Platini in Nyon, Switzerland, after he met with the heads of both the Polish and Ukrainian soccer federations. Platini's remarks were very favorable and much different from what he had said following a previous UEFA report in July. At that time, Platini's sharp criticism gave rise to speculation that the right to host Euro 2012 would be stripped from Poland and Ukraine.

"It was bad early this year, but it is quite all right now," commented David Taylor, UEFA's general secretary.

"According to UEFA, the greatest progress is visible in the construction of stadiums, especially in Kraków and Poznań. None of the Polish arenas remain marked with a 'code red,'" said the Polish Football Association's Adam Olkowicz during a press conference. He said that the expansion of Polish airports was the largest challenge at the moment.

UEFA was especially interested in the situation in Ukraine, where the government closed down the agency formerly responsible for coordinating Euro 2012 preparations. A new coordinating office is now supervised directly through the Ukrainian prime minister's office. Ukrainian state officials told UEFA that everything was going according to plan, including the financing for Euro 2012 projects.

Putting even more pressure on Ukraine, Platini for the first time noted the possibility that Poland could host the event by itself, if necessary.