The Euro 2012 tournament  will be co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine. The event is the final one to be 16 teams as the future one in 2016 will broaden to 24 teams. Poland and Ukraine defeated Italy and Croatia/Hungary for the right to host the tournament.
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The games will basically be split 50/50 between the two hosts. Polish cities to host matches will be Warsaw, Gdansk, Wroclaw and Poznan. The Ukrainian cities will be Kiev, Lviv, Kharkiv and Donetsk.
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The final will take place in Kiev which will also hold a semi-final. This will be at the Olimpiysky National Sports Complex which after development will be one of the leading stadia and sporting complexes on the planet. The new venue in Warsaw is also being built and promises to be a state of the art stadium.
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The draw for the competition has been carried out and qualifying fixtures will get started following the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Each of the nine group winners and the best runner-up will be given direct entry into the competition. Following that the remaining eight runner-up will be drawn into two-legged playoffs.
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From Group A you would presume Germany and Turkey would be too strong with Austria and Belgium being the contenders.
Group B looks to be a three way competition between Russia, Slovakia and Ireland.
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In Group C it looks like it will be comfortable for Italy and Serbia. France is the favorite from Group D with Romania looking at the one to take 2nd.
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There is a northern European vibe to Group E where it probably will be Netherlands and Sweden.
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Croatia and Greece are the likely challengers with regards to Group F as are England and Switzerland for Group G.
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From Group H it looks like Portugal and Denmark and lastly from Group I it would appear to be Spain and the Czech Republic.
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Qualifying concludes in October 2011 by which time passion and expectancy for the Euro 2012 Finals will be well and truly underway.
Tags: euro 2012, euro 2012 poland, uefa euro 2012, Ukraine euro 2012