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UEFA have received five bids to host the European soccer championship in 2012, European soccer's governing body announced in a statement on Friday.
They comprise joint bids from Croatia-Hungary and Poland-Ukraine and single bids from Greece, Italy and Turkey.
Bids from Azerbaijan, Romania and Russia which were submitted by the initial deadline in February were not followed through by Thursday's final deadline.
The five bidding candidatures will be reduced to a short-list of three on November 7 and the decision on who will host the event will be taken by UEFA's Executive Committee in December 2006.
Italy are the only country to have staged a version of the finals in the past, hosting a four-team tournament in 1968 and an eight-team tournament in 1980.
The current 16-team tournament is the third biggest sporting event in world sport after the World Cup and Olympic Games.
Last year's finals were staged in Portugal and the next finals will be held jointly by Austria and Switzerland in 2008.
| Source: Reuters | Dec.14.2002 |
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