A month after reassuring Poland and Ukraine that they will retain the right to co-host the 2012 European Championship, UEFA will announce this week which cities will stage the tournament`s matches, The Canadian Press reported.

Poland and Ukraine have each put forward six possible host cities for European football`s showcase event, but only two - Warsaw and Kyiv, as the capitals - have already been guaranteed games. Warsaw is to stage the tournament opener, while Kyiv will host the final.

The other venues - Poznan, Gdansk, Wroclaw, Krakow and Chorzow in Poland, and Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Odessa in Ukraine - are still seeking the right to host matches. They are awaiting the decision from UEFA`s executive committee, which opens meetings Tuesday in Bucharest.

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UEFA has said that six to eight cities will stage games, but it remains unclear whether the division of venues between Poland and Ukraine will be equal.

UEFA president Michel Platini hinted during his visit to Kyiv last month that fewer Ukrainian cities might get to host Euro 2012 games and that most matches could go to Poland.

The final decision on host cities will allow organizing officials in both countries to focus their preparations and should put to rest speculation that UEFA could strip Poland and Ukraine of hosting rights.

Both countries originally experienced a series of delays with building the stadiums, roads, airports and hotels needed to stage the competition after being awarded the tournament two years ago.

But they have made strides in the past 12 months, and Platini praised their efforts during visits to Warsaw and Kyiv last month.

The Canadian Press