Hungary will make a joint bid with Croatia to host the 2012 European Championship after the country's cabinet gave its approval, the Hungarian Football Association announced yesterday.

It is the third time Hungary have bid to host a major soccer tournament after they failed for Euro 2004 and Euro 2008 which went to Portugal and Austria/Switzerland respectively.

The two nations would host two four-team groups each for the 16-team tournament, which is the second largest international soccer tournament behind the World Cup. They will face tough competition from Italy and Greece, while Poland and Ukraine are also considering a joint bid.

The deadline for bids is January 31 and European soccer's governing body UEFA will then draw up a short-list of three candidates in November before announcing the host country in December 2006.

Croatia would have to have four suitable stadiums for the tournament with the likely candidates being the cities of Zagreb, Split, Varazdin, Rijeka and Osijek. The Hungarian FA will decide later on the venues.

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