UEFA representatives to make inspecting tour of Russia

In the middle of September, UEFA representatives will make an inspecting tour of eight Russian cities on the country's list of application for hosting Euro-2008.

The tour will be of crucial importance for a result of the application, president of the Russian Football Union Vyacheslav Koloskov said at a press conference. The committee of seven UEFA inspectors will visit Moscow, St.Petersburg, cities on the Volga river - Volgograd, Kazan and Samara - as well as the southern cities of Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar. They will examine the cities' infrastructures, state of the airports, hotels, security systems and stadiums.

The conclusions will be discussed with the UEFA committee for arranging the 2008 European Cup. The final choice of the host city will be made at a session of the UEFA executive committee on December 12th. Russia's chances of winning are fairly high, Koloskov believes.