UEFA: Euro 2012 less profitable than in 2008

By Associated Press.

Published July 16, 2012 at 5:18 pm

People walk pass statues of mermaids, the symbol of Warsaw, decorated with the flags of countries represented in the European football tournament, in Warsaw, Poland on Friday July 13, 2012. Warsaw city hall plans to give a mermaid to each of the 15 other countries who competed in Euro 2012, which took place in June in Poland and Ukraine.

Photo by AP

UEFA is likely to get slightly lower profits from the European championship that was co-hosted by Ukraine and Poland compared to those the European football's governing body got from the tournament in Austria and Switzerland four years ago.

Tournament director Martin Kallen said Monday that UEFA’s profit from the Euro 2012 will be just under 250 million euros ($394 million) it got in 2008 because of additional funds UEFA had to spend on helping Poland and Ukraine organize the mega event.

Kallen said exact figures will be released sometime next year.

Ukraine and Poland had to significantly upgrade their infrastructure to host the three-week tournament that is Europe’s biggest sporting event.