"The experience of hosting the World Cup for us in South Africa was one which was very ambivalent and one which vas very exciting, and one which was also very draining in many respects. Would it happen at the cost of 10 years worth of housing investment which could have been built with the money that we used at the World Cup? Nowhere, not in Germany, not after Beijing, not after Sidney has it been proved tangibly that a major global sporting event let to direct foreign investments and that this investment was anchored in local economy. Any growth that may have occurred was very short term, was very much linked to a particular season which was those events".

"Championship place a crucial role for our country even at the same time this is a big challenge as it was mentioned. We are heavily impacted by post Soviet Marx mentality. In this 20 years we still have not managed to achieve European standards of living. But thanks to UEFA EURO-2012, these improvements are now on agenda in the championship with shortly deliver a leap in quality of life of Ukrainian citizens. I consider now the tournament is an important step in the integration process of our country to the European community".

"I am opposed to making a business of sports. Why do we have to link infrastructure or investment, or urban regeneration, or attracting foreign investment, or attracting tourists to kicking a ball around the field? These are national tasks. They have to be undertaken in any case. We have spent on the Commonwealth Games in Delhi 18 billion dollars. What about all those one billion people and more who are not going to be beneficiaries of whatever is the legacy (if any) of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi?"

"And sport has an absolutely unique power to touch lives, to join people up all over the world, to capture attention, and to generate positive perceptions... EURO 2012 will also deliver much needed investment for this country: renew bridges, roads… but hotel and other accommodation, an infrastructure that will be permanent long after EURO 2012 is ended. And if I had to sum up in a word what hosting a major event like this can offer, that word would be catalyst or trigger".