UEFA expects record high profits in the 2011-2012 financial year which includes the Euro 2012 championship co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine.

UEFA’s revenue should reach 2.3 billion euro and net profit 116 million euro, shows a report by UEFA presented in Paris on Tuesday.

UEFA stressed that the European Football Championships regularly produce substantial revenue, but in the years preceding and following the Euro championships the financial balance is often negative.

"The net profit is positive in the year when a Euro tournament is organized and negative in the years between championships,” UEFA wrote.

Between the years 2009 and 2010, for example, UEFA reported deficit of 66.4 million euro (it was expected to be even higher, amounting to 80 million euro).

UEFA’s chief financial officer Joseph Koller said that profit from Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine should increase that taken during Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland by at least 3 percent.

Tickets for Euro 2012 went on sale over the internet this month, with a lottery being held in April to allocate the tickets which are being hugely oversubscribed. (mg)

Source: PAP