Rob Hughes, a columnist for the NY Times, one of the most prominent newspapers of USA wrote about EURO 2016 candidacies emphasising on Turkish bid in his column on May 24th.

Indicating that France and Italy represent traditional homes to this tournament while Turkey is bidding for a third time to stage its first event on this scale Hughes wrote “European soccer could this week accept Turkey as a major part of its territory long before the European Union does so politically.”

Referring to France and Italy he wrote “their plans depend in large measure on private financial support, while Turkey says its bid will be completely underwritten by the government.” Hughes argued that the voting members’ would take side with the country that proposes secure and safe financing for the investments required.

He wrote “UEFA has already moved the bounds of the tournament further east for the 2012 tournament, to Poland and Ukraine. However, while Poland appears on track, Ukraine’s construction efforts are behind schedule” and highlighted the stadium investments worth of 1.4 billion USD  guaranteed with the letter signed by Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and additional 38 billion USD that will be invested in transportation, accommodation and communication infrastructures.

“Rumblings from UEFA indicate that the technical and evaluation recommendations that will be presented to the executive committee on Friday strongly suggest that Turkey is ready.” Hughes wrote as he continued “There is no question that when it comes to sports, Turkey is one of the better organized nations, especially in male youth soccer. And there is no disputing that Erzik has been a voice of reason on many of world soccer’s policymaking bodies for two decades.”

Indicating that Turkey has long been waiting in order to be integrated with Europe even before the foundation of the European Union, Hughes also mentioned the views of Italy and France, the competing bidders on Turkey. On President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Hughes wrote “he does not believe that Turkey belongs in Europe for a simple reason: It is in Asia Minor” and for the Prime Minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi he expresses his thoughts as “a man with deep roots in soccer through his ownership of AC Milan, has taken the contrary view. He urged the European Union two years ago to accelerate Turkey’s membership bid.”

“Sports and politics, according to the constitution of UEFA, are separate issues. They are, however, inseparable where Turkey is concerned. The country has soccer at its core. Its major clubs, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, employ global superstars, and its stadiums have recently staged the finals of the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. And the Turkish state now offers unconditional guarantees for the 2016 games” wrote Hughes before concluding his column with the words quoted from TFF President Mr. Özgener’s interview “All the guarantee letters in our bid dossier are signed without reservations or changes. We believe we have prepared an almost perfect bid.”