No. 40 – August 2005 in UEFA competitions Call for respect qualifiers 2006 World Cup women’s crown Germany retain in UEFA competitions Call for respect qualifiers 2006 World Cup women’s crown Germany retain 8.05 06 03 06 03 12 12 COVER IN THIS ISSUE A longer winter break? 08 Germany’s , named Technology for the benefit of football 10 best player in the final, races towards Germany win the European goal. Once again, the Germans Women’s Championship 03 MEPs visit UEFA 11 won one of the major competitions UEFA calls for greater respect 12 in women’s football, the European Update on the Championship. 2006 World Cup qualifiers 06 News from member associations 17 PHOTO: EMPICS

SpiritEditorial before the letter

Fifty years after the European Champion Clubs’ Cup was launched, a new season of European club competitions is already under way… with Liverpool FC in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League. The rulemakers of the UEFA club competitions have always thought that the winners of ’s most prestigious competition should be allowed to defend their title. Every previous champion has been given that opportunity and eight clubs – with Real Madrid at the top of the list – have gone on to lift the trophy in two or more consecutive seasons. This year, a combination of circumstances showed that the rules were not sufficiently stringent to ensure that the reigning champions could defend their crown. We therefore faced a difficult dilemma: should we bring a long tradition to an end or amend the rules a little? In a season in which we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the European club competitions, we chose the second option, while trying to keep any detrimental effect on the other participants to a minimum. Therefore, the rules have been amended in order to ensure that the same situation cannot occur again. Just as it is important to hold strictly to the rules where the integrity and propriety of the competitions are at stake, it is equally vital to show flexibility when the letter of the law conflicts with its spirit. Like the founders of the Champion Clubs’ Cup 50 years ago, we wanted the best teams in the continent to be involved in the competition. And the winners of the UEFA Champions League are surely part of that elite group.

Lars-Christer Olsson Chief Executive

Liverpool FC (Luis Garcia) will be allowed to defend the title they

won in Istanbul. EMPICS we care about football

02 uefadirect 8.05 European GermanyWomen’s stayChampionship unbeaten BARKER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES BARKER/AFP/GETTY

UNLIKE THE MEN’S EVENT A YEAR AGO, WOMEN’S EURO 2005 WAS Agency to complete an impressive

RESPECTFUL TOWARDS THE FORM BOOK. GERMANY COMPLETED A QUARTET line-up.

OF SUCCESSIVE VICTORIES IN A THRILLING FINAL AGAINST NORWAY, Spectacular tournament ALLOWING THEIR COACH, -MEYER, TO ‘HANG UP HER BATON’ IN STYLE Their reward was to be asso- AFTER LOGGING UP AN UNPARALLELED RUN OF SUCCESSES DURING ALMOST ciated with a spectacular final tourna- NINE YEARS AS CONDUCTOR OF THE GERMAN ORCHESTRA. ment which produced only one goal- less draw and where the 15 matches Yet, despite the widely coverage of their thrilling five-goal yielded no fewer than 50 goals at predicted outcome, the final tourna- opener against Finland peaked at an average of 3.33 per game. Only ment ably staged from 5 to 19 June 2.9 million. All of the remaining one player was sent off and the yellow in the north-west of England 14 games were also screened card was produced 32 times, at an hand in hand with The FA on a pan-European basis and average of 2.1 per game. At the provoked a good deal of reflec- audiences in Germany, for men’s event in Portugal, four teams tion on the current state of example, comfortably topped averaged more than three yellow the women’s game and, more the two-million mark. Sponsors cards per match on their own. especially, its future. were deeply committed to the In other words, the emphasis Over 70,000 spectators event, with commercial partners was on football – and the eight par- turned out to see the host nation’s frequently identified with major UEFA ticipants played it with different styles three games, and the television events teaming up with England’s and different expectations, even audience following the BBC’s live Northwest Regional Development though the ‘Nordic Armada’ account-

03 England’s One of the Rachel Yankey tournament’s escapes Scandinavian a challenge from duels: Dane Mariann Finland v Denmark. Knudsen. GETTY IMAGES GETTY IMAGES

ed for half the finalists. Sweden, for posting them next to the dressing- had enough virtues to be rated example, were disappointed to go room door just before leading her among the potential title-winners yet home after the semi-finals; Finland team onto the field. went home after the first week. were delighted to do the same. Lead- They were beaten by England ing his country into a final tourna- during added time at the end of their Immensely competitive game ment for the first time, Michael Käld first match; drew with Sweden; and In other words, the tourna- shrewdly designed a side capable of made history by beating Denmark 2-1 ment demonstrated that the women’s ‘doing a ’ by focusing on col- to reach the semi-finals. But the mid- game has become immensely com- lective virtues and, even though there night chimes ended their Cinderella petitive and that levels of fitness and weren’t exactly hundreds to choose story when defensive jitters allowed technique have improved dramatic- from, playing to the strengths of a the Germans to go 3-0 up after only ally in a relatively short space of squad containing five girls who were 12 minutes of the semi-final. “It was time. England and Denmark, fallers playing their football with Swedish like playing against men,” Anne after the opening three hurdles, clubs. Team spirit was a crucial ele- Mäkinen admitted afterwards. “They proved that their young teams are ment, with skipper Anne Mäkinen were so strong and skilful. If you on the verge of great things. And the playing her part by writing inspira- had to name an all-star team, you contribution of players aged 16 or 17 tional slogans on pieces of paper and could just go for Germany’s line-up.” (Karen Carney and Eniola Aluko of It was easy to agree. The goal England, Louisa Necib of , scored by the Finns from an effective- Isabell Herlovsen of Norway…) em- ly rehearsed corner was the first the phasised that the new generations Germans had conceded in the tourna- are progressing rapidly. ment. But they were the only team The semi-finals and the final to dominate in the group phase. produced 14 goals. A day after the After two games, Group A was Germans had dropped the final cur- headed by Denmark and tain on the Finns, Sweden and Nor- England, both of way played out an epic battle be- whom were elimi- tween neighbours and rivals, with nated after losing Marika Domanski Lyfors sadly writing to Finland and the last chapter of a nine-year ro- Sweden on a dra- mance with the national team when matic final match the Norwegians sealed a thrilling day. A glance at the Group B table – rated by the critics as the tougher of the two – might Fair play award suggest that Italy, the only for Norway team not to take a point, were Norway, the competition outclassed. It was not the case. runners-up, won the fair play Carolina Morace’s side was techni- award. With an average of cally gifted, well organised and scored 8.492 points, they some beautiful goals, but had the edged out France misfortune to fall behind early in (8.476) and Ger- each game and, obliged to take many (8.471). Heidi Kackur (11) risks, struggled to cope with the high Six of the partici- and Finland were unable tempo imposed by three high-quality to stop a German pants obtained an excellent side including rivals. Much the same could be said of Sandra Minnert (13) average of eight points or more.

in the semi-final. GETTY IMAGES Elisabeth Loisel’s French side, which

04 uefadirect 8.05 Italian Silver Elisa Campo- for Norway. rese (10) tries to dispossess France’s Sonia Bompastor. GETTY IMAGES SVEN SIMON

Results

Group A Referees 5 June Blackpool Sweden – Denmark 1-1 (1-1) Seitz (USA)

5 June Manchester England – Finland 3-2 (2-0) Gaal (HUN) EMPICS

8 June Blackburn Denmark – England 2-1 (0-0) Ihringova (SVK) Norway’s Lise Klaveness battles with Germans 8 June Blackpool Sweden – Finland 0-0 Damkova (CZE) and in the final. 11 June Blackburn England – Sweden 0-1 (0-1) Petignat (SUI) 11 June Blackpool Finland – Denmark 2-1 (2-1) Ihringova (SVK) It was a fitting climax to a tourna- 1. Sweden 3120215 ment of such a high overall stan- 2. Finland 3111444 3. Denmark 3111444 dard that it re-opened debate about 4. England 3102453 whether more than eight teams should be allowed to accumulate Group B top-level experience at events of 6 June Warrington Germany – Norway 1-0 (0-0) Petignat (SUI) this kind. It also emphasised that 6 June Preston France – Italy 3-1 (3-0) Toms (ENG) Germany, champions of Europe at 9 June Preston Italy – Germany 0-4 (0-2) Seitz (USA) 9 June Warrington France – Norway 1-1 (1-0) Gaal (HUN) club level before the national team 12 June Warrington Germany – France 3-0 (0-0) Ionescu (ROU) travelled to England, are still setting 12 June Preston Norway – Italy 5-3 (4-1) Damkova (CZE) the benchmarks. Other nations will, 1. Germany 3300809 before the next finals in 2009, be 2. Norway 3111654 aiming to match them for strength 3. France 3111454 and tactical discipline combined 4.Italy 30034120 with fleetness of foot, mobility and Semi-finals the high levels of technique that 15 June Preston Germany – Finland 4-1 (3-1) Damkova (CZE) make their players look so comfort- 16 June Warrington Norway – Sweden 3-2* (1-1) Seitz (USA) able on the ball. Germany are still * after extra time the undisputed No. 1 but the 2005 Final finals in Europe demonstrated very 19 June Blackburn Germany – Norway 3-1 (2-1) Ihringova (SVK) plainly that the rest of the European hierarchy is closing up.

3-2 win in the 19th minute of extra time. But Swedish disappointment represented joy for Bjarne Berntsen (one of the three male coaches at the finals), who had been at the helm of the Norwegian team for just over five months.

High overall standard They went on to give Ger- many a much harder fight than the 3-1 scoreline might suggest during the final played to a crowd of over 20,000 at Ewood Park in Blackburn amid heavy rain showers and occa- GETTY IMAGES sional background peals of thunder. The matches involving England – seen here against Sweden – attracted big crowds.

05 Cristiano The Goalless Ronaldo Netherlands draw between attacks the (Dirk Kuijt, Slovakian left) beat and Greece. defence: Romania Portugal are (Cosmin living up to Contra) their role as in both favourites. meetings. ??????????????? OUDENAARDEN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES ASFOURI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES OZER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES 2006 World Cup

Germany beckons – for someQualifiers more than others!

NONE OF THE EUROPEAN QUALIFYING GROUPS FOR THE 2006 WORLD CUP HAVE YET BEEN DECIDED.

BUT WHILE SOME TEAMS ARE VERY CLOSE TO SECURING THEIR TICKET FOR GERMANY, OTHERS ARE ALREADY OUT

OF THE RUNNING. THE FINAL STRAIGHT LOOKS SET TO BE FULL OF EXCITEMENT, BOTH IN THE RACE TO TOP THE GROUPS

AND IN THE CONTEST FOR BEST RUNNERS-UP AND PLAY-OFF PLACES.

In Group 1, the Netherlands – who are unbeaten – are still in first place. Their this spring was unblemished and included two wins over dangerous opponents Romania. However, the team coached by cannot afford to rest on their laurels, since they are still being closely pursued by the Czech Republic, who have also enjoyed some excellent results in 2005, scoring an impressive 22 goals in four matches since the beginning of the year. Trailing the Dutch by a single point, the Czechs have certainly not given up hope of winning the group, especially as they will host the current leaders in October. Since the Netherlands and the Czech Republic are racing so far ahead, second place in this group is likely to mean automatic qualification for the finals as one of the two best runners-up. Romania have it all to do to close the gap, while Finland, FYR Macedonia, Armenia and Andorra are clearly too far behind.

Ukraine almost there Apart from Germany of course, who have qualified automatically, Ukraine are probably the European team closest to qualifying. In Group 2, the Ukrainians have only dropped four points since the competition began and have a 100% record in 2005. Their excellent win over Greece on the Euro- pean champions’ own territory suggests that the hardest work is done. Howev- er, the battle for second place is an exciting one between two traditional rivals, Turkey and Greece, who are separated by just one point. After drawing in Istan- bul, ’s men appear to have an easier run-in than Turkey, who have terminated the contract of coach and replaced him with . The disappointing Danes still have a theoretical chance of qual- ifying, but will have their work cut out in order to finish in one of the top two places. As for Albania, Georgia and , they are now just playing for pride. In Group 3, Portugal are living up to their favourites’ tag. By holding Slovakia in their own country and beating them in , the Portuguese have managed to keep their closest rivals at a distance. Ukraine, led by Andriy But with a match in hand in third place, Russia are certainly still in Shevchenko, with a shout. The Russians still have a home match with Portugal to are on the brink

SUPINSKY/AFP of qualifying. look forward to, but must also travel to Slovakia. Although they are bravely hanging

06 uefadirect 8.05 Belgium Israel kept them- are still in selves in the running the hunt after a with a draw draw in the against Republic Serbia and of Ireland. Montenegro. ISAKOVIC/AFP/GETTY IMAGES ISAKOVIC/AFP/GETTY CAFFREY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Italians by four points, despite beating goal! They still have to travel to them in October 2004. In 2005, how- Spain, however. Lithuania, Belgium ever, the Slovenians have struggled, and even Bosnia and Herzegovina are failing to win a single match. Belarus, still in with a chance of qualifying, it has to be said, are proving a tough but San Marino are definitely out of nut to crack, as demonstrated by their the reckoning. record of four draws, one win and just Croatia are in the driving one defeat. Scotland, for their part, are seat in Group 8, which they lead a still entertaining a faint hope of clinch- point ahead of Sweden. They have ing the runners-up spot, while Moldova won their three matches in 2005 and clearly lack the wherewithal to compete have only dropped two points overall. with the other teams in the group. In order to overtake the Croatians, Sweden will need to exact revenge Duel for their earlier defeat by beating The duel between Poland and them on their own soil. It is hard to England at the top of Group 6 is fasci- imagine how Hungary, who lie six nating, while the others in the group and five points behind the top two

DILKOFF/AFP/GETTY IMAGES DILKOFF/AFP/GETTY fight for the scraps. Although they lie respectively, can trouble Croatia and The Croatians, including Dado Prso (9), second, two points behind the Poles, Sweden. Similarly, Bulgaria, Iceland have performed well this year, including a win over Rossen Kirilov’s Bulgaria. England are clearly in the strongest and Malta only have bit parts to play. position. They have a game in hand André Winckler in there, Latvia have a of ground and will face the current leaders at to make up, while Estonia, Liechten- home in their final match. Meanwhile, stein and Luxembourg are no longer despite some good results, in a position to qualify for Germany. Austria are some way behind and a difficult run-in (three Very tight situation out of four matches away from In Group 4, the outcome is home) suggests that they have only looking as clear as mud. The Republic an outside chance. Northern Ireland, of Ireland are currently top, one point Wales and Azerbaijan have one thing in clear of Switzerland, who have a game common: they are all still looking for in hand. However, Israel and France their first victory. are also very well placed. It would be In Group 7, Spain are still hit- foolish to try to pick a winner, although ting the headlines as they struggle to the Irish seem to be in a good posi- break clear at the top. Their last two tion as they still have home matches to home matches are prime examples. come with France and Switzerland, After a narrow victory over Lithuania, who also have to play each other. the Spaniards scraped a draw with France will have to excel themselves to Bosnia and Herzegovina by equal- qualify since they have to travel to both ising in the 96th minute! De- Ireland and Switzerland. As for Cyprus spite everything, they are still and the Faroe Islands, their only ambi- unbeaten and top the group, tion must be to finish the competition although Serbia and Mon- with more than the single point they tenegro, just a point be- have each won so far. hind with a game in Although it is no surprise that hand, are possibly Italy are dominating Group 5, the story better placed. Spain’s Michel Salgado gives everything is far from over. By holding Norway to The latter to stop Zvjezdan a draw in Oslo, Italy managed to main- are yet to Misimovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. tain a four-point lead over their Scandi- lose or even

navian rivals. Slovenia also trail the concede a GETTY IMAGES

07 Switzerland v Faroe Islands: the international calendar has to be respected. PA/EMPICS EMPICS

ANDERSEN/AFP/ GETTY IMAGES Longer winter break Pros and cons

METEOROLOGISTS ALL AGREE: THE EARTH IS GETTING WARMER. LAST WINTER SEEMED TO SUGGEST OTHERWISE THOUGH.

RAIN AND SNOW SWEPT DOWN ON THE WHOLE OF EUROPE, CAUSING NUMEROUS MATCHES TO BE POSTPONED.

The Alpine country of Switzer- sions already, the Swiss Football We waited for the agreement of FIFA land was hit particularly hard by League has looked into the possibility and UEFA before giving it the green the phenomenal snowfall. Neuchâtel- of a summer championship like light. A few years ago, we started Xamax, whose is being that in the Scandinavian countries. the season around 5-7 July, but that rebuilt, have been renting a stadium It decided against the idea both times, was not the answer because we situated at an altitude of 1,000 metres. on the grounds that the disadvan- still had to play matches at the end The club had planned to use a special tages outweighed the benefits. Last of February/beginning of March, pitch cover like those common in winter has reopened the debate. which is the most difficult time. France, but it exploded, buried under Edmond Isoz, director of the SFL, is A Scandinavian-style championship several metres of snow. For the first cautious not to overreact to what was from March to November would time in a decade, two full programmes probably an exceptional situation: affect all levels of Swiss football, of league matches as well as a host “It is important to take some time to including the amateurs, because of other individual games were post- think. In three or four years’ time, of the relegation and promotion poned in Switzerland. On two occa- first-division pitches will be synthetic. system. The amateur season reaches its climax in June, when numerous special events are held. The weather is good and the crowds are large. That would not be the case in November, which would result in severe financial losses. It would also be necessary to play a transitional 18-month season in order to reor- ganise all our competitions.”

Importance of the international calendar Edmond Isoz believes the main problem lies with the interna- tional calendar: “League matches could not be played if the national team qualified for the World Cup, for example. It is also unthinkable for a country as centrally located as Switzerland. Swiss fans do not have far to travel to get to other countries. We would be unable to cope with such competition. In fact, in my opinion, the dates set aside for international matches in June are a big problem. I would prefer it if they were moved to the beginning of May, as this would enable us to play for longer in June and catch up with all the postponed matches. Could lower At the moment, it would be absurd league football adapt to a to resume the championship for one

KEYSTONE new calendar? or two matches after a ten-day gap.

08 uefadirect 8.05 in winter. problems of thetoughest pitches: one Maintaining ers andvolunteers can enjoy their competitions. Thismeans the play- unless they are involved in national amateurs start later, inSeptember, playable. Football isnotballet!The on somepitchesthatwere barely mercial director, says: “ sult. Jean-Yves LeHouede,FFFcom- seem to loseoutfinanciallyasare- early inthesummer, butdoesnot its championship,ithasto startvery rigours ofwinter. With20teams in Synthetic pitches possible. system istherefore theonlyone their Christmasbreak. Thecurrent the players are keen to holdonto mid-January andmid-February, but The problems always comebetween tion time.Whenwould we play? requires pre-tournament prepara- have to finishearlier, sinceFIFA The championshipwould therefore tional players couldhave abreak. pean Championshipsothatinterna- forward theWorld CupandEuro- same time.We would have to bring to pay for allthesethingsatthe sive time.Supporters cannotafford of theschoolyear canbeanexpen- companies are closedandthestart the Belgiansare onholiday, alotof ing earlieralsohasitsdrawbacks: lems withtheirpreparation. Start- late, ourclubsinEurope have prob- to anearlierstart:“ mercial andsportingproblems linked fessional league,describesthecom- Phillips, director oftheBelgianpro- the usualdate inAugust. Jean-Marie end ofJuly, butdecidedto stickto start itschampionshipseasonatthe I have beeninthisjob enced suchabadwinter since this isthefirst timeIhave experi- calendar andthestatistics, since compatible withtheinternational impact ontransfers, whetheritis vian system, we needto lookatthe May. Before adoptingtheScandina- ensure theleagueseasonendsin We therefore have nooptionbutto France wasnotspared the Belgium hadplannedto ” If we start too ” I have played .

??????????????? weather’s good. matches whenthe like comingto “ Blanc pointsout: as Lyon’s Laurent the seasonearly, used to starting The French are natural pitches. just asgood latest designsare real solution.The pitches are the I thinkartificial to stage matches. are well equipped to make sure they professional clubs the south.TheLeaguehasasked the are differences between thenorthand is rather temperate, althoughthere family holidays. TheFrench climate Moreover, people which tends to be thecoldestmonth.” actually bebetter ifthewinter break was simplymoved to February, the summerrecess, thegrass will suffer. It’snotfeasible, butitwould high-quality grass. Ifwe lengthenthewinter break attheexpense of best andtakes root. Ideally, we needathree-month break to ensure makes an interesting point: days. You alsohave to take theinternational calendarinto account.” rupted, butalso the statusquo partlysothatsupporters’ habitsare notcompletely dis- August andstillhave timefor along winter break. also donothave any difficulties.They always starttheirseasoninmid- tradition wasabandoned.TheGermans,thanksto theirunder-soil heating, period andthesupporters wouldnotbehappy ifthiswell-established In fact,thematchescomeparticularlythickandfast duringthefestive Between grassandtradition Pascale Pierard Willy Adrianssens, whoisresponsible for thepitchatBruges, Eugen Desiderato, press officerofGrasshoppersZurich,favours The Englishplay allthrough thewinter withoutany problems. way inJune. season under tional club got theinterna- Bohemian) (Gent v Intertoto Cup The UEFA ” ” “because thecrowds would besmallerduringtheholi-

SIMON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES “It isduringthesummerthat thegrass grows is good. the weather when matches love attending Spectators

English teams play rightthrough thewinter. Southampton vMiddlesbrough lastDecember: DENNIS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES P.P. 09

BOUCAU/AFP/GETTY IMAGES The Talk in discussions the auditorium continued at the House during of European the breaks. Football.

InformationDiscussion technologies forum

AS PART OF ITS HATTRICK ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME FOR ITS MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS, UEFA ORGANISED A WORKSHOP

ON NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN NYON ON 14 AND 15 JUNE.

Led by a committee of experts, from each other’s technological ex- of excellence where information the two-day gathering was meant to pertise in order to optimise access to technology is concerned, forming a raise awareness among general secre- information. focal point for internal technical taries and IT department managers of know-how and its management of the importance of computer technology UEFA Media Technologies external partners. in association administration. This Orchestrated by UEFA Media discussion forum was held under the Technologies, the two days of discus- Applications already on-line banner of exchange and transparency. sion formed part of a new UEFA strat- For the time being, a range egy: firstly, to facilitate communication of applications are already used to link Group of experts with the football family, and then to UEFA with the different members of How should an association maximise information exchange. the football family: find the best IT solution to a specific Set up by UEFA, UEFA Media ■ via various Extranets: administrative problem? By developing an internal Technologies is a service company documents, club licences, competi- system or choosing the leading market whose remit is to: tion rules, match calendars, a dis- product in order to meet its needs? ■ provide technological solutions, edi- cussion forum and address lists are These are two of the questions that torial content and support designed available to the 52 member associa- were addressed by the members of a to assist the development of Euro- tions and coaches; committee of experts. pean football; ■ .com as content distributor: During the workshop, repre- ■ explore and exploit every possibility as soon as an article is published on sentatives of sports governing bodies in the modern media world; uefa.com, it can be automatically (UEFA, IOC), various national associa- copied onto an association website; tions (France, Netherlands, Sweden, ■ assist the football family with its Czech Republic, Italy, England, Den- IT development projects. ■ developed for UEFA, the “Helga” mark) and IT companies, as well as a Created in 2004 through a system manages event logistics, professor from the University of Lau- merger between UEFA’s IT department transport and accreditations. The sanne and communications consultants and the company UEFA New Media, system has already proved its worth all shared their range of experiences. which devised European football’s Inter- at EURO 2004, congresses and The purpose of the event was to enable net site, uefa.com, UEFA Media Tech- other meetings organised by UEFA. the participants to exchange and learn nologies is meant to be a unique centre Information system 2009 – FAME The second phase of the de- velopment project, “Football Adminis- Modern communication techniques have become indispensable to successful tration & Management Environment” football administration. (FAME) is UEFA’s most ambitious project in terms of IT systems develop- ment. Its aim is to create the most complete and sophisticated tool avail- able for modern football administra- tion. This new concept will build on existing systems and incorporate targeted solutions for football, TV broadcasting rights, events and inter- nal relations within a single portal. A true platform for communi- PHOTOS: UEFA PHOTOS: cation, the forum showed how infor- mation technologies have now become a strategic tool for the benefit of football.

10 uefadirect 8.05 Parliament- Arrival arians: friends at the House of football. of European Football. ??????????????? From Brussels to Nyon Visit of the ‘Friends of Football’

OVER THE COURSE OF TWO HIGHLY SYMBOLIC DAYS, BRUSSELS FINALLY CAME TO NYON. THIRTEEN MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT VISITED THE HOUSE OF EUROPEAN FOOTBALL ON 30 JUNE AND 1 JULY, OPENING A NEW CHAPTER IN UEFA’S RELATIONS WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION.

The 13 ‘Friends of Football’ – William Gaillard, Director of Communi- 11 men and two women – represented cations & Public Affairs, and UEFA’s eight different EU member states: Head of Media Services then presented Ivo Belet (Belgium), Richard the 50-year history of the organisation Corbett (UK), Ryszard Czarnecki and ‘Vision Europe’, its new strategy. (Poland), Szabolcs Fazakas (Hungary), At the end of the first day, Glyn Ford (UK), Neena Gill (UK), Lasse CEO Lars-Christer Olsson offered a Lehtinen (Finland), Manolis Mavromma- deliberately “provocative” assessment of tis (Greece), Christa Prets (Austria), several challenges facing European foot- Jacek Protasiewicz (Poland), José Silva ball. These included the slide of some modern football: the new club licens- Peneda (Portugal), Hannu Takkula of the richest clubs towards over-com- ing scheme; the Top Executive Pro- (Finland) and Tadeusz Zwiefka (Poland). mercialisation and an “entertainment” gramme; greater use of sporting UEFA’s Brussels Office organ- ethos; the role of players’ agents; gam- sanctions to punish bad behaviour on ised the visit for one simple reason: bling and the spread of money launder- and off the pitch; and a new working to allow MEPs to see how UEFA works ing; and the status of sport in the EU. group on players’ agents. on a day-to-day basis, away from the The MEPs responded enthusias- At the start of day two, glamour of the big tournaments. tically to the Chief Executive’s presenta- Gianni Infantino, Director of Legal Politicians are not familiar with many tion and asked how they could support Services, led an in-depth debate on of our activities, and such a visit gives UEFA’s efforts. Hungarian MEP Szabolcs the central marketing of broadcasting them the chance to see the full range Fazakas encouraged UEFA to see the rights and UEFA’s new rules on the of what we do. European Parliament as a “partner”. local training of players. Here again, Day one began with an intro- Mr Olsson outlined some of MEPs responded positively to UEFA’s duction from David Will, representing the initiatives that would better equip arguments and asked how they could the UEFA Executive Committee, who UEFA and its member associations best offer support. chaired the two days of debates. to confront the many challenges of Later in the morning the Head of Stadia and Security presented UEFA’s activities to ensure fans’ safety and combat hooliganism, while the Manager of Corporate Social Respon- sibility and Assistance Programmes took the MEPs through UEFA’s work against racism as well as its charity portfolio. As MEPs returned to their home countries, all participants agreed that the visit had taken rela- tions between UEFA and the Euro- pean Parliament to a new level. Armed with a better understanding

PHOTOS: UEFA PHOTOS: of each other’s needs, both sides had already identified new ways of Building a bridge between politics and sport. working together.

11 Preparation Shirt-pulling: an of a UEFA Champions offence that League match should be ruthlessly in collaboration with punished. TEAM staff. EMPICS/UEFA EMPICS

MeetingsUnder the bannerand activities of respect

THE UEFA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE TOOK THE RATHER UNUSUAL STEP OF MEETING AT A FOOTBALL STADIUM –

THE HOME OF MANCHESTER CITY, TO BE PRECISE – ON 17 AND 18 JUNE, WITH LENNART JOHANSSON IN THE CHAIR.

The Executive Committee holders would be guaranteed the right In order to prevent a repeat had chosen Manchester as the venue to defend their title with a place in the of the deplorable incidents that took of its third ordinary meeting of the group stage as a top seed. This will place at certain European matches year because of the final round of the only increase the number of places that earlier in the year and to improve European Women’s Championship, an association has in the UEFA compe- behaviour in in general, the the final of which was to be held in titions if the title-holders do not qualify Executive Committee discussed a Blackburn on 19 June. for these competitions through their variety of measures, such as sporting Since its previous meeting in domestic league or if their association sanctions, the strict application of a Tallinn in April, the Committee had has only one Champions League berth. Code of Ethics and educational meas- taken two important decisions: at an Exceptionally, the Executive ures. It stressed the importance of extraordinary meeting in Istanbul, it had Committee decided to allow Liverpool FC respect, which is the basis of fair play, extended the contract with the TEAM to enter the 2005/06 edition at the particularly towards referees. Precise agency covering exploitation of the first qualifying round stage. instructions on which types of behav- UEFA Champions League commercial The first part of the meeting iour are acceptable from players, rights for a further three seasons (until in Manchester was devoted to a strate- coaches and managers will be issued 2011/12); UEFA will also acquire a 20% gic discussion on safety at European in the autumn, with communication share in the company TEAM Holding SA. competition matches. The members a key element of education. In addi- In a telephone conference held were reminded of the principle of strict tion, amendments to the Laws of the on 10 June, the Executive Committee liability, under which the national asso- Game may also be proposed to the had also decided to amend the regula- ciations and clubs are responsible for International FA Board in order to tions of the UEFA Champions League the behaviour of their players, officials improve respect for the Laws of the to ensure that, in future, the trophy and supporters. Game and referees’ decisions. Shirt- pulling, simulation and contesting of decisions are all under scrutiny. Elite coaches’ attention will also be drawn to the need to respect referees and their decisions. Generally speak- ing, cooperation between referees and coaches should be expanded for the benefit of both groups.

Club licensing update Introduced last year, the UEFA club licensing system is still in its experimental phase, as the Executive Committee noted when discussing the report on checks that had been made on ten associations selected at ran- dom. Although these checks (which actually took the form of advisory eval- Respect rather uations) highlighted certain problems than contest referees’

GETTY IMAGES decisions. and infringements by licensors which

12 uefadirect 8.05 Italy are the European Under-21 champions.

be paid as fixed amounts, with the remainder to be split according to the commercial value of the clubs’ na- tional TV markets. EURO 2008 schedule As well as adopting the regula-

UEFA tions for the 2006-08 European Championship, the in future will have to be punished by the to be played in June 2007 in a country Executive Committee relevant UEFA body, the overall picture to be chosen in December this year. approved the sched- is generally positive: the licensing sys- Thereafter, the competition ule for EURO 2008. tem has already resulted in enormous will revert to its normal two-yearly The final round will progress and some significant changes. pattern, with a draw completely inde- be played from 7 to 29 June in the pendent from that of the World Cup Austrian cities of Vienna, Salzburg, Odd years or European Championship. In order Innsbruck and Klagenfurt and the for the Under-21s to facilitate the organisation of the Swiss cities of Basle, Zurich, Berne and Geneva. The Committee decided Interest in the European Under-21 final round, the host country will to amend the schedule used at EURO Championship has steadily grown always be determined two years in 2004 in order to balance out the rest from one edition advance, with the host nation quali- to the next, if only fying automatically for the finals. because an increasing number of players Centralisation in this age category of UEFA Cup rights are already first-team regulars – Last season saw the launch of or even stars – at club level. a new structure for the UEFA Cup, However, this biennial compe- which included tition suffers from the fact that it group matches for always has to compete with the Euro- the first time. EMPICS pean Championship or World Cup Although the central- finals, or even the Olympics. isation of the TV and 2004 semi-final between Greece The Executive Committee marketing rights had and the Czech Republic: rest periods therefore decided that, in order to been planned as part of the new struc- will be more equal in future. enhance its value, the final round ture, it had been postponed in order periods for the four semi-finalists should be held in June in odd years. to leave time to consider in more detail following their quarter-final encoun- In order to hold a final round the advantages it might bring. ters. In 2004, Portugal and Greece in 2007, the qualifying competition will In February, the majority of enjoyed two more rest days than be condensed. UEFA’s lowest-ranked the members of the European Club their semi-final opponents, the national associations will therefore play Forum expressed a wish to centralise Netherlands and Czech Republic respectively, but there will only be two-legged matches between March the rights for the final stages of the one day’s difference in 2008. and July 2006, leaving 42 teams to con- competition (from the quarter-finals In order to produce this test the group matches in August and onwards). At its meeting in June, the change, the order of matches has Executive Committee gave the green September. There will be 14 groups had to be amended and it is possi- of three teams, with each team playing light for this system to be introduced ble that the top two teams from just two matches – one at home and from the 2006/07 season. the same group could face each one away. The 14 group winners will For the first two seasons, the other again in the semi-finals. enter a play-off round and the seven clubs will be guaranteed a minimum of Under the previous system, they winners will qualify for the final round, CHF 52.5 million. 60% of this sum will could only meet again in the final.

13 Real Madrid, winners of the first final. Grassroots football deserves enormous attention. UEFA AFP Celebration Convention on the Mutual Recognition pean Women’s Under-19 Cham- of 50 years of Coaching Qualifications: pionship, European Under-17 of European cups ■ Israel (B and A licences) Championship); ■ Kazakhstan (B licence) ■ the creation of an Internet plat- The first ever match in the Euro- ■ Latvia (B licence) form for the live transmission pean Champion Clubs’ Cup, ■ Liechtenstein (B, A and Pro licences, of UEFA matches, reflecting its between Sporting Portugal and in partnership with Switzerland) desire to remain at the forefront Partizan Belgrade, was held in ■ Lithuania (B licence) of technology and to increase the Lisbon on 4 September 1955. ■ Portugal (B licence) appeal of the uefa.com website, This season is therefore the ■ San Marino (B licence). which attracted 1 billion visitors 50th anniversary of this competition, in 2004. which has steadily grown in impor- First signatories Obituary tance over the years and became to the Grassroots the UEFA Champions League in the Hubert Claessen (Germany), 1990s. Football Charter a member of the UEFA circle of The draw in Monaco in The national associations of former committee members, died August will provide an opportunity to Germany, England, Scotland, Norway on 14 June at the age of 91. He had launch the celebrations and to unveil and the Netherlands have become the been a member of the UEFA Appeals the anniversary logo. first to sign the UEFA Grassroots Foot- Body from 1974 to 1988. The A book, a champions’ hall of ball Charter. They were invited to take German Football Association (DFB) fame and other promotional activities this step on account of the quality of had appointed him as an honorary their infrastructures and programmes will be launched at different stages member in recognition of his for coaches and players, as well as of the season, culminating in the many years’ service as a member the philosophy on which their commit- final in , 50 years after the same of the DFB Council. ment to grassroots football is based. city hosted the first final between Accession to the Grassroots Real Madrid and Stade de Reims. Out-of-competition Football Charter is seen as recognition doping controls by UEFA of the quality of this work, New members echoing the coaching licences awarded in UEFA Champions of the Coaching under the auspices of the UEFA League Convention Convention in the technical field. In order to step up the fight Following the recommenda- against doping, UEFA has, tion of the Jira Project Panel and the In summary amongst other measures, recently created an anti-doping Technical Development Committee, The Executive Committee also approved: unit within its administration. the Executive Committee approved ■ the regulations of the youth competi- Another measure has been the addition of the following national tions for the 2005/06 season (Euro- introduced for the new season, associations as members of the UEFA pean Under-19 Championship, Euro- with out-of-competition anti-doping controls for the 32 teams involved in the group matches of the UEFA The Stade de France Champions League. will host the UEFA Champions League final 50 years after the first Out-of-competition controls Champion Clubs’ Cup final was staged are not new to UEFA, which also at the . undertook such testing before the final round of the European Cham- pionship. Four players from each of the 16 teams involved at EURO 2004 in Portugal were tested. Nevertheless, this is the first time this type of control has been carried out in a UEFA club competi- tion. Around 960 players may be Légende Légende Lég Légende Légende selected for blood and/or urine tests. Légende Légende Post-match testing will, Lég Légende Légende FLASH PRESS ??????????????? Légende Légende. of course, continue as before.

14 uefadirect 8.05 Press conference Tournament after the 2005 hosts, the UEFA Champions Netherlands League final. (Collins John, in white), were eliminated by Nigeria in the quarter-finals. VOS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES VOS/AFP/GETTY EMPICS/UEFA

Media Officers Panel European champions Greece Four of Europe’s seven meeting managed to win only a single point representatives were still involved against Japan from their three matches. at the quarter-final stage, but none Under the guidance of UEFA’s For Germany, however, the tournament of them progressed any further. Director of Communications will be viewed as a success at various Italy lost to Morocco and the Nether- & Public Affairs, William Gaillard, levels: firstly, because their rejuvenated lands to Nigeria in penalty compe- the UEFA Media Officers Panel team finished third following a 4-3 titions, while Germany lost in extra- met at the House of European extra-time win over Mexico. They had time to Brazil. Spain, meanwhile, Football on Thursday 23 June won their group undefeated before held Argentina for most of their 2005. losing 3-2 to Brazil in the semi-finals. match before going down in the Topics for discussion in- The hosts were also able to last 20 minutes. cluded UEFA’s new 10-year strategy note that their organisation of next Nigeria won their semi- as outlined by Chief Executive year’s finals was already well under way final (3-0) against Morocco, while Lars-Christer Olsson at the recent and, in particular, that the German Argentina beat Brazil 2-1 in the Congress in Tallinn, as well as UEFA’s public were looking forward to watch- other semi-final. new working relationship and division ing the matches in 2006 after turning In the final, Argentina beat of responsibilities with UEFA EURO up in large numbers to this dress Nigeria 2-1. Third place was won 2008 SA. rehearsal. by Brazil, who beat The participants also dis- Morocco by the same cussed how communication channels World Youth scoreline. between UEFA media officers at UCL venues and UEFA corporate staff Championship – could be clarified, and how best to Afro-American duel deal with problems that can arise at Penalty kicks were the stumbling matches, such as matches being block for the European repre- abandoned or incidents with referees sentatives at the World which may have an impact on UEFA Youth Championship as an institution. held in the The presentations were sent Netherlands by e-mail to media officers unable from 10 to attend due to commitments at June to FIFA events such as the World Youth 2 July. Championship in Holland and the FIFA Confederations Cup. The media Mike Hanke (no. 9), officers’ next meeting was held in one of the new Zurich on 18/19 July at a joint work- additions to the German team. shop with UEFA Champions League venue directors. Confederations Cup – South American domination For the first time, the FIFA Confederations Cup, played in Germany from 15 to 29 June, con- cluded with a final between two teams from the same continent. Current world champions Brazil showed that they will again be one of the favourites at the 2006

World Cup finals (for which they are STOLLARZ/AFP/GETTY IMAGES well on the way to qualifying). They beat Argentina 4-1 in the final, taking revenge for a defeat three weeks earlier in the World Cup qualifiers.

15 , Liverpool winners won the of the UEFA Super Cup Super Cup in 2001 last year. against Bayern Munich. LINGRIA EMPICS

Super Cup to remain in Monaco Calendar for the 2005/06 season The UEFA Super Cup has been staged in Monaco since 1998. UEFA Champions League Preceded each year by meetings, 12/13 July 2005: first qualifying round, first legs draws and a gala evening, it 19/20 July: return legs serves as the official opening 26/27 July: second qualifying round, first legs of the club season, even though 29 July, Nyon: draw for the third qualifying round the qualifying rounds begin 2/3 August: return legs more than a month earlier. 9/10 August: third qualifying round, first legs The contract with Monaco 23/24 August: return legs expires this year, providing an 25 August, Monaco: draw for the group matches opportunity to look at ways of dev- 13/14 September: group matches, match day 1 eloping this event, a topic that 27/28 September: match day 2 has been discussed in various UEFA 18/19 October: match day 3 circles in recent months. 1/2 November: match day 4 In Manchester, the Executive 22/23 November: match day 5 Committee brought to its conclu- 6/7 December: match day 6 sion a debate which had covered 16 December, Nyon: draw for the round of 16 ideas such as separating the events 21/22 February 2006: round of 16, first legs (match and draw/gala) or moving 7/8 March: return legs the Super Cup to another continent. 17 March, Nyon: draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals After assessing sporting 28/29 March: quarter-finals, first legs and commercial factors as well as 4/5 April: return legs logistical issues, the majority 18/19 April: semi-finals, first legs seemed to prefer the status quo, 25/26 April: return legs i.e. to continue to combine the 17 May, Paris: final match with the other events. The Executive Committee agreed and, UEFA Cup after considering the three potential host cities (, Geneva and 14 July 2005: first qualifying round, first legs Monaco), decided to invite the 28 July: return legs Principality to continue hosting the 29 July, Nyon: draw for the second qualifying round 11 August: second qualifying round, first legs UEFA Super Cup and its associated 25 August: return legs events until at least 2008. 26 August, Monaco: draw for the first round In Manchester, the 15 September: first round, first legs Executive Committee 29 September: return legs approved the regula- 4 October, Nyon: draw for the group matches tions of the 2005 UEFA 20 October: group matches, match day 1 Super Cup. 3 November: match day 2 The match will be 24 November: match day 3 played at the Stade Louis II in Mo- 30 November/1st December: match day 4 naco on 26 August and will feature 14/15 December: match day 5 Liverpool FC, winners of the 16 December, Nyon: draw for the rounds of 32 and 16 15/16 February 2006: round of 32, first legs 2004/05 UEFA Champions League, 23 February: return legs and CSKA Moscow, UEFA Cup 9 March: round of 16, first legs holders. Liverpool have previously 15/16 March: return legs participated in the UEFA Super Cup 17 March, Nyon: draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals on four occasions, winning it twice 30 March: quarter-finals, first legs (in 1977 and 2001). 6 April: return legs This will be the Moscow 20 April: semi-finals, first legs club’s first appearance in the com- 27 April: return legs petition, since their victory in Lisbon 10 May, Eindhoven: final secured their first European trophy.

16 uefadirect 8.05 The forthcoming rounds of the festival will be held in Belarus’ other regional capitals, where we hope the children will really enjoy themselves! from member Newsassociations Alexander Leshchik

their international football idols, includ- ARMENIA ing Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Zidane and Henry. Some also drew some of our own An unprecedented success stars, especially the heroes from the Under-19 team. 31 May was a day of great celebration not At the end of the event, each only for the Armenian Under-19 national child was rewarded with a ball and foot- team, but also for Armenian football in ball kit. PRESSBALL/A. SHICHKO general. On that day, the whole Armenian Arayik Manukyan Grassroots football to the fore under nation gathered at Zvartnots airport to the UEFA banner. celebrate our youngsters’ unprecedented success in Hungary in the second round of the European Under-19 Championships. BELARUS BELGIUM For the first time, the Armenian Under-19 team, led by legendary Armenian coach UEFA Summer of Grassroots New Executive Committee Samvel Petrosyan, reached the final round Football 2005 – a starting point Following the General Assembly held of the competition, where they will com- The Belarus FA is doing its best to play on 25 June, the Belgian Football Associ- pete against the strongest teams in an active part in organising different ation (URBSFA) has a new Executive Europe. In Hungary, the Armenian young- UEFA and national programmes related Committee bureau. sters finished top of their tough group, to the development of football in Jan Peeters was unan- ahead of such strong and talented teams Belarus. imously re-elected as Belgium, Italy and the hosts Hungary. For example, many successful as President for a fur- Thousands of enthusiastic fans and memorable tournaments have been ther year, while three were present at Armenia’s main airport organised for children, veterans and dis- new vice-presidents to welcome their heroes. After the cele- abled people over the last two seasons. were chosen from brations went on late into the night, the We are pleased to say that among the Executive Under-19 players, coaches and officials

we will continue to spend time and Committee mem- NEWS PHOTO were received the following day by the money organising such events and pro- bers. Roger Vanden Armenian Prime Minister, who rewarded Michel Preud’homme grammes. Stock was re-elected the players with diplomas. This year, our federation has as first vice-president, while Pierre 1 June was International Chil- taken part in the UEFA Summer of Schiepers (Limbourg), Guy Lambeets dren’s Day and this occasion was cele- Grassroots Football 2005 programme. (National League) and David Delferière brated in a special way in the Armenian On 23 June, we organised the “number (Hainaut) were selected as second, capital Yerevan. Around 400 children one” sport festival, using the training third and fourth vice-presidents respec- from different football schools gathered facilities of FC BATE Borisov as the tively. in front of the Republican stadium and venue for the older age group and the Michel Preud’homme is the drew different football images on the “Stroitel” centre for the juniors. Children new Chairman of the URBSFA’s Techni- ground. In their pictures, the children from the five regional summer camps cal Committee. At the proposal of the showed their passion and deep devotion participated in the competitions. URBSFA, he succeeds Karel Vertongen to football. Many of them skilfully drew The tournament was split into as chairman of this committee. The two groups of five teams in each age former international goalkeeper, who category. In between matches, training is already a member of the Executive and skills sessions were held for all the Committee, will combine this new role participants. Around 160 footballers with that of technical director at Stan- took part in the tournament. dard Liège. Thanks to the practical support A new system has been adopt- of UEFA, the Belarus FA presented the ed for the play-offs. winners and participants with trophies From next season, only one team will and medals. The best players received be relegated directly from division 1 memorable prizes and all the players to division 2. In the 2005/06 and were awarded certificates of attendance 2006/07 seasons, the division 2 play- R E B offs will involve four clubs: the team

K and souvenir T-shirts. The important A

H thing was that there were no losers and finishing second from bottom (17th) Celebration of Children's Day with drawings there is tremendous support for the in national division 1 and the three at the Republic Stadium. idea of making this an annual event. sectional winners in national division 2.

17 The winners will either remain in or be and Herzegovina, where the deadlines promoted to national division 1. This were postponed until the release of CZECH REPUBLIC system was agreed by the Pro and Na- the fixture lists for the 2005/06 sea- tional Leagues, with the latter receiving son on 5 July. The new 2005/06 Pre- Inauguration of a mini-pitch compensation, primarily of a financial mier League season will kick off on nature. 6 August. The new clubs in the Pre- The inauguration of the first mini- François Vantomme mier League will be NK Jedinstvo from pitch to be built in the Czech Republic Bihac and FK Radnik from Bijeljina. within the framework of the UEFA Sarajevo-based ZNK SFK 2000 assistance programmes took place in BOSNIA AND won the women’s championship Nymburk (approx. 60km from Prague) HERZEGOVINA again, beating ZNK Iris from Zenica on Wednesday 29 June 2005. and ZFK Borac from Banja Luka in the New championship starts final rounds. FK Modrica Maxima are on 6 August the national junior champions, while Although it was allocated two places NK Siroki Brijeg won the cadets’ in the Intertoto Cup, Bosnia and Herze- championship. govina was not represented in this com- Bosnia and Herzegovina’s petition because its teams did not meet national team played two group 7 UEFA’s licensing requirements. The qualifying matches for the 2006 champions NK Zrinjski, from the city of World Cup in Germany at the begin- Mostar, qualified for the first preliminary ning of June. They won a total of four round of the UEFA Champions League, points in these matches in San Marino and Spain. Blaz Sliskovics’ men were while NK Siroki Brijeg, semi-finalists in CMFS the national cup competition, and NK expected to beat San Marino, but Zepce entered the UEFA Cup preliminary created a surprise by drawing 1-1 with The mini-pitch in Nymburk. round. These three clubs fulfilled the Spain in the Mestalla stadium. These The opening ceremony was licensing conditions. NK Zeljeznicar, four points increased the chances conducted by Czech FA representatives who finished second in the league, and of Bosnia and Herzegovina finishing in including Ladislav Maly, director of mar- FK Sarajevo, the cup winners, who had second place in group 7. keting company Fotbal Trading, Josef both qualified for a UEFA Cup place, A seminar was held in Sara- Hadraba, member of the Czech FA’s Ex- were not entered because they did not jevo from 13 to 18 June as part of the ecutive Committee, and Otakar Mestek, meet the licensing requirements. plan to provide regular training for director of the Amateur Football Depart- The champions of Bosnia and coaches from Bosnia and Herzegovina ment. The project was also supported Herzegovina, NK Zrinjski, faced Dude- and other countries in the region. The by local authority representatives, espe- lange, the champions of Luxembourg, participants came from FYR Macedo- cially Ladislav Kutik, Lord Mayor of in the first preliminary round of the nia, Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, Nymburk. UEFA Champions League. NK Siroki Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, as well This event highlighted the fact Brijeg and NK Zepce were drawn against including representatives of the Jor- that there is more to football than the Teuta from Albania and Baskimi from danian FA. professional game alone and proved the FYR Macedonia in the UEFA Cup first Four Academy modules are high level of interest in young football preliminary round. being held this year. The first module players and young people in general. While the UEFA Club Licensing was held in Copenhagen in April and After the official inauguration Panel stuck rigidly to the licensing dead- the second in Sarajevo. The seminar ceremony, young players had the lines, it was a different story in Bosnia agenda included visits to the football schools in Vogosca, Lukavica and the chance to try out a brand new artificial municipality of Pale. The participants surface on the mini-pitch, playing two also visited the Open Fun football matches during the afternoon. All the schools project, which was launched players enjoyed the experience. in nine schools in Bosnia and Herze- Representatives from Czech govina in 2004. Television were also present, giving TV This project was supported viewers a chance to watch a very inter- by the Bosnia and Herzegovina FA. esting report during the evening news The participants visited the FA head- bulletin. quarters and were introduced to the Petra Volkova work of the national youth teams. The FA’s support for the “children’s house of football”, which is to be built as part ENGLAND of the new stadium in Ilidza, was also discussed. The CCPA OFFS project, run in cooperation with the national Stadium safety and security federation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, In a year marking the 20th anniver- extended further than the other coun- saries of the tragic Bradford City fire tries of the region, according to Esad and the Heysel stadium disaster in May

F. KRVAVAC F. Hadzijusufovic, the project coordina- 1985, an FA-led delegation visited Peru Handshake before the match tor for Bosnia and Herzegovina. in June to deliver a two-day seminar on Spain – Bosnia-Herzegovina. Fuad Krvavac stadium safety and security.

18 uefadirect 8.05 The FA’s Head of Stadium Safe- young players to become better ath- ty, Chris Whalley, the Football Licensing FINLAND letes and responsible youngsters off Authority Chief Executive, John de Quidt, the pitch. The FA coaches again held and the head of the UK National Football Pohjola Cup events held in June several lectures for the players about Information Point of the National Crimi- the importance of training, school, nal Intelligence Service, Tony Conniford, The annual Pohjola Cup tournaments for family and all the other major aspects discussed the massive strides made the Finnish FA’s regional teams were held in a young player’s life. FA physios in the UK to combat hooliganism and in Vaasa and Mikkeli. The events form an also led warm-ups and instructed the improve spectator safety. important part of the FA’s player educa- players. Coach and referee education The delegates were interested tion strategy and provide a great scouting are also part of the Pohjola Cup’s to hear how authorities in the UK had opportunity for the national youth teams. extensive remit. succeeded in bringing supporters back This year’s events kicked off in Vaasa, Jukka Salasuo to stadiums up and down the country where boys competed in the C14 and C15 and the powers given to the police to age groups (born in or after 1991 and deal with football violence. 1990 respectively). In the C14 tourna- Peru is staging the FIFA U-17 ment, the final was played between the FRANCE World Championship in September, and participants at the seminar were keen to Beach football learn valuable lessons from their coun- Launched four years ago by the French terparts in the build-up to the event. Football Federation (FFF), the “Beach “Peru is continuing a process football” programme looks set to enjoy of stadium development and the Peru- considerable success again this sum- vian Football Federation is hoping to mer. drive forward some proposals on new There is no doubt that the legislation to combat violence in sport,” idea is an attractive one: through what said The FA’s Head of Stadium Safety, is essentially a recreational activity, Chris Whalley. GETTY IMAGES the aim is to enable as many holiday- “I think the key message from The Finnish women's team celebrate their makers as possible to experience or our seminar – that success in England qualification for the semi-finals of EURO 2005. discover football in a context different was achieved by a partnership ap- from the traditional grass pitch or the proach between football, government neighbouring regions of Uusimaa and TV screen. and the police – really struck a chord. Helsinki. Uusimaa were crowned champi- Run in July and August by the “I got the impression that they ons by winning the final 4-0. Helsinki Amateur Football League with the par- were hoping to use this seminar as a finished second and the region of ticipation of qualified coaches, the stimulus for getting all relevant par- third after beating Eastern Finland in the FFF’s “Beach football” programme is ties in Peru around the table in order bronze medal match. In the C15 catego- particularly remarkable for its simplicity to tackle their problems together, not ry, Turku were crowned champions after and conviviality: participants, who need in isolation.” beating Satakunta in the final. Uusimaa not be licensed, can register free of The event in Peru comes after finished third. Vaasa, which claims to charge on the day of the tournament two highly successful seminars on the be Finland’s sunniest city, did not disap- either as individuals, as a family or same subject in Ecuador and Chile last point, since the matches were played as a group of friends. There is always year, all three taking place as part of in glorious weather, providing fantastic space for everyone and the event is The FA-CONMEBOL cooperation agree- conditions for the talented youngsters. enjoyed by all. ment signed in 2003. Only two days later, it was the Teams of seven players (a Nada Grkinic girls’ turn in Mikkeli. Girls’ and women’s goalkeeper, four outfield players and football in Finland have received a huge two substitutes, with rolling substitu- boost after the national women’s team’s tions allowed) play seven-minute success in the European Championship matches without changing ends on a in England. The first ever Finnish senior pitch measuring 40 x 20 metres, national team to reach the semi-finals marked out in the sand using inflatable of a major tournament has taken interest rings, refereed by the players them- in women’s football to an unprecedented selves under the supervision of FFF level in Finland. coaches. It’s that simple! The girls’ tournament was also Everything is set for two enjoy- played in very good conditions in the city able days of celebration, involving an of Mikkeli. The age groups in this tourna- average of 100 teams per tournament ment were C14 (born in or after 1991) under the banner of conviviality and and B16 (born in 1989). In the C14 cate- fair play, essential values in any form gory, Vaasa region won the cup after of football. beating Turku 1-0 in a very close final. At a time when football, which Uusimaa finished third. In B16, Turku now, very happily, has begun to give once again came second, this time women the place they deserve, is be- beaten by on penalty kicks. coming more and more diverse, beach

THE FA Keski-Pohjanmaa finished third. football is setting an example – and a Left to right: Tony Conniford, These tournaments involve not good one at that. Chris Whalley and John de Quidt. only playing football, but also teaching Philippe Tournon

19 in the 1986 and 1990 World Cup finals, GERMANY losing the first and winning the second. One of Europe’s greatest clubs, Preventing addiction Real Madrid CF, have also agreed to play through grassroots sport an exhibition match to salute their former Hungarian player Ferenc Puskás (in col- The German Football Association (DFB), laboration with the Hungarian FA and the Organising Committee of the 2006 national team). Real will field their best FIFA World Cup and the Federal Office for players in the match on 14 August Health Education (BzgA) invited experts against the Ferenc Puskás XI, a Hungarian to a special conference on the theme of all-star team. “Preventing addiction through grassroots Tickets went on sale in late FLF sport – the example of youth football”, June and it seems likely that both games An extremely important General Assembly. held in Frankfurt am Main on 29 and will attract capacity crowds. 30 June 2005. Márton Dinnyés Experts from the worlds of poli- by an overwhelming majority of the tics and sport discussed ideas and ways votes cast by the meeting delegates. in which football and addiction preven- The most important innovations are: tion could effectively work hand in hand. KAZAKHSTAN ■ the liberalisation of transfers Dr Hans-Dieter Drewitz, Chairman of the of young players DFB Youth Committee, hailed the event New General Secretary ■ the adoption of the youth cate- as a success: “We are very pleased that gories proposed by UEFA this conference is the starting point Askar Akhmetov was appointed as the ■ the abolition of the play-off system of further cooperation with the BzgA”. new General Secretary of the Football in the national division and the return Prof. Dr Klaus-Peter Brinkhoff, who gave Union of Kazakhstan on 15 June 2005. to the traditional 14-team system from the first talk on the social function of Askar Akhmetov was born in the 2006/07 season sport among children and adolescents, 1972. In his previous career, he has ■ the rule that a club’s first team said “Football clubs can help children say served as an assistant to the President may only play an official match if its no to drugs – but they need the help of of the National Olympic Committee team sheet contains at least five players prevention experts.” Heinrich Thiemann, of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in the who either hold Luxembourg citizenship State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, or were first licensed as footballers Health and Social Security, agreed: “Our at the OSCE embassy in Vienna and with the FLF. From the 2006/07 season, aim is to make addiction prevention an as an assistant to the general director this figure will rise to seven. automatic component of youth work in of the Khabar agency. This last point in particular sports clubs.” At the end of the confer- The main aims of his work will is designed to support the training of ence, former world-class hurdler Dr Har- be to implement UEFA’s club licensing home-grown players and is extremely ald Schmid, a leader of the “Make chil- system and to work more closely with the important for young players registered dren strong” initiative, cast a glance into FIFA and UEFA administration, especially with clubs in Luxembourg. The FLF the future: “We want to introduce new in the Goal and HatTrick programmes. Board believes that this new rule corre- measures to help coaches gain qualifica- Kazakhstan’s clubs have serious sponds with the measures taken by UEFA tions in addiction prevention and to in- problems. In the 2004/05 season, none to promote the local training of players. crease the social expertise of the DFB’s of them were granted a licence to take It is hoped that, in the medium children’s and youth departments.” part in the UEFA club competitions. In the to long term, these measures will help Maximilian Geis 2005/06 season, only FC Kairat will com- to increase public interest in football in pete in the UEFA Champions League. Luxembourg and improve the standard The other clubs (FC Irtysh, FK Taraz and of the country’s national team. FC Tobol) do not meet UEFA requirements. The Luxembourg FA will con- HUNGARY Alexander Keplin tinue to focus on the development of football, particularly youth football, in MLSZ confirms two great Luxembourg in the coming seasons. fixtures for August LUXEMBOURG Joël Wolff Hungary will host two great football teams in mid-August. The Hungarian Football Federation has arranged a match A groundbreaking General Assembly MALTA with Argentina on 17 August as part of An extremely important Extraordinary its traditional ‘national day’ celebrations General Assembly of the Luxembourg FA which will take place on 20 August. In (FLF) was held in Differdange/Obercorn Service mark granted to Malta FA previous years, Hungary have played the on Saturday 18 June 2005. The Malta Football Association, as the likes of Germany, Spain and Brazil to Many of the reforms to the FLF licensor responsible for issuing licences mark the occasion and they are set for Statutes and Regulations, proposed by to Maltese clubs for the purposes of par- a tough test against the first South Amer- the new FLF Board (in office since Febru- ticipation in the UEFA club competitions, ican team to qualify for the 2006 FIFA ary 2004) under President Paul Philipp has recently been granted the Qualicert World Cup. were officially adopted at the meeting. service mark by the Société Générale As a player, Hungary’s head Some of the amendments to the de Surveillance (SGS), a systems and coach Lothar Matthäus was in the West Statutes, which are crucial to the future services certification company based in German sides that took on Argentina of Luxembourg football, were adopted Geneva, Switzerland.

20 uefadirect 8.05 The workings of the Malta FA Luz, where he and his father received licensing body had been thoroughly scru- PORTUGAL a cheque for EUR 40,000, which had tinised over a period of time before SGS been raised by the players and coach- were satisfied that all processes met the The dream of young Martunis ing team and from an auction of requirements of the UEFA ‘National Foot- Portuguese shirts. Several Portuguese ball Body Licensing Standard’. Martunis, the young boy who was companies are helping Martunis as This official endorsement of the found with a Portugal team shirt after well as other victims of this terrible Malta FA’s compliance with UEFA require- the tsunami that struck Asia last natural disaster, like the Paços de Fer- ments testifies to the association’s will- December, visited Portugal this week, reira municipality, which has helped ingness to maintain high levels of profi- following a promise made by the with new furniture for Martunis’ ciency in the important area of licensing future home. for UEFA competitions. Hugo Pietra As regards financial criteria, the licensing manager representing the Malta FA, Mario Gauci, and financial expert Charles Buhagiar were among the dele- ROMANIA gates from several UEFA member asso- ciations who attended an information Intense activity in the meeting earlier this year at UEFA head- youth sector quarters in Nyon, Switzerland. Due to the change in the national The purpose of this meeting championship system at all youth and was to inform all national associations junior levels (the 2004 edition was about changes that UEFA is planning to played from spring to autumn, while make regarding the financial criteria for FPF/FRANCISCO PARAISO the next edition, 2005-06, will start the club licensing system. As a result National coach Luiz Felipe Scolari and Martunis. this autumn), the Romanian FA’s of discussions on the subject and ques- Youth and Junior Department had to tionnaires to all associations, new pro- Portuguese FA just after the tragedy. find a way of covering a seven-month posals will be submitted to the UEFA The eight-year-old boy, who survived gap. Executive Committee for approval next alone for 19 days after the natural To this end, it organised September and for possible implementa- disaster, was found on a Banda Aceh several competitions, all of which con- tion as from the 2008/09 season. beach wearing a Portugal shirt. cluded in June. For example, the finals Alex Vella By then, he was very weak and in of the National Schools Indoor Cham- need of medical care. pionship and the FA Youth and Junior Martunis immediately Cup, which provided a competitive captured the hearts of the focus for the young players, were Portuguese people when the both played before the end of June. TV images were seen and some of Portugal’s most prominent entities In addition, the national offered their help to assure the future youth teams have been busy prepar- of the boy, who is in Portugal with his ing for the first qualifying phase of father and a doctor. the European Championships, which The match between Portugal starts in the autumn. In June, for and Slovakia seemed like the ideal example, the traditional “Trofeul occasion for Martunis to visit the Ardealul” for national Under-16 teams country he supports in international was held in Arad (western Romania, football and the Portuguese FA 500 km from Bucharest). The tourna- arranged a special programme for ment was won by Romania, who him, with several sightseeing trips in won all three matches: 1-0 v Moldova, Lisbon. Besides the Lisbon Oceana- 4-0 v a local team and 2-1 v Slovenia. rium, little Martunis visited the Lisbon Slovenia finished second (with 4 zoo, the Portuguese FA headquarters, points), Moldova third (3 points) and as well as other sights in the Por- the local team fourth (1 point). tuguese capital. The national Under-18 team will take However, one of the high- part in the 9th edition of a tourna- lights of his visit was when he was ment to be held in Niigata (Japan) welcomed by all the Portuguese team in mid-July. The team coached by players at the hotel where they had Costel Pana will be the first Romanian gathered to prepare for the match national youth team to participate against Slovakia. There he finally in such a tournament in Japan and D. AQUILINA met his idols and received expectations are high, since this a shirt signed by all the is a talented group of players who players, including his idol, have already won an international Manchester United’s tournament (in Italy) and are capable Cristiano Ronaldo. of doing well in the European Valletta FC played Buducnost Podgorica Martunis attended Por- qualifiers. in the UEFA Intertoto Cup. tugal’s match in a packed Estádio da Paul Zaharia

21 The Turkish Under-20 team SERBIA AND played in the FIFA World Youth Cham- MONTENEGRO pionship in the Netherlands, where Mini-pitch to promote they managed to qualify for the second women’s football round before returning home after losing 3-0 to Spain. The Serbia and Montenegro Football The TFA’s preparations for its Association is in the midst of an ambi- move to the Atatürk tious mini-pitch construction programme. are under way. The venue of the 2005 It has already opened five such Champions League final will be the new facilities in Sremska Mitrovica, Jagodina, home of the Turkish Football Associa- Lazarevac, Gornji Milanovac and Belgrade. tion. The opening ceremonies SvFF Ilker Ugur have attracted a great deal of publicity. Model of the renovated stadium. In Sremska Mitrovica, for example, the mini-pitch was inaugurated by national now planned in Stockholm, Gothenburg coach Ilija Petkovic in the presence of and Malmö. The Gothenburg clubs UKRAINE local authority representatives, FA offi- will have their new arena ready in 2008, cials and numerous members of the while in Malmö a decision on whether Football forum in the Carpathians media. Gifts were presented to the to build a new stadium or renovate the children by international player Dejan A 10-day Ukrainian football forum has current arena is eagerly anticipated. been held in a picturesque part of the Milovanovic. Venue development is one In Lazarevac, the inauguration Ukrainian Carpathians. This was the of the most critical issues for Swedish third time the finalists in the Ukrainian was used as an opportunity to promote football today, both as a means to women’s football, with a match between competition for the most innovative develop the clubs’ economies and to physical education and football coaching Lask Lazarevac and Masinac Nis. enhance the possibilities of bidding for Zoran Lakovic methods (both pupils and teachers) the major European football events. have gathered for such an event. Thomas Saleteg

TURKEY

New national team coaches After Turkey’s crucial World Cup quali- fying matches, the Turkish FA decided to replace national team coach Ersun Yanal with Fatih Terim. Former national team and Galatasaray coach Terim was FFU FS SCG appointed on 26 June. He is the only Women's teams at a mini-pitch inauguration. Turkish coach to win a major UEFA Footballs for everyone! tournament and was also the first to lead the Turkish national team to a This year’s forum, forming the SWEDEN European Championship finals in 1996. highlight of the “Summer of Grassroots Under-21 coach Raflit Cetiner’s Football”, was held under the UEFA principle “Football for All”. It included Focus on venue development contract has also been terminated by mutual agreement. TFA President a friendly tournament known as the The planning process for a major reno- Levent Bicakci and Cetiner decided to “Ukrainian FA Cup”, as well as other foot- vation of the Råsunda national stadium bring the coach’s contract to an end ball competitions, games, excursions in Solna will begin this summer. It is after the Under-21 team’s loss to Kaza- and, of course, football coaching. Spe- hoped that, with an increase in capacity khstan on 7 June. Cetiner had been cialists from the Ministry for Education from 36,000 to 50,000, the venue of in charge since 1998. However, a and Science and the Ukrainian FA will be the 1958 World Cup final will again be new Under-21 coach has not yet been researching the experiences of the coun- able to host major world football events. appointed. try’s top physical education teachers. The timetable for the project has During the forum, the Ukrainian not yet been decided, but the new arena FA introduced the participants to the will hopefully be ready by 2009. The ren- notion of artificial pitches, on which foot- ovation of Råsunda is an integral part of ball, basketball and volleyball can be the restructuring of the city of Solna. played in all weathers. Since the redevelopment work This is the fourth year in which carried out in the run-up to Euro 92, Ukrainian schools have organised physi- stadium renovation in Sweden has hit a cal education lessons with a footballing standstill. Modernisation is now needed slant. The aim of the project is not only throughout the country. IF Elfsborg’s sporting success, but also to help our state-of-the-art Borås Arena was finished children become responsible, patriotic in time for this season’s kick-off and TFA and considerate citizens. other new arenas or redevelopments are Fatih Terim and Levent Bicakci. Valeriy Nykonenko

22 uefadirect 8.05 Communications we care aboutfootball uoéne efootball de européennes associations des Union Official publicationofthe Communications andPublicAffairsDivision ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● happy returns andalsoahappy birthday to: markthefollowing day.half-century of theReferee Observers Panel,reaches the Nicolae Grigorescu (Romania), member UEFA Vice-President, is60on23August and 3 August. Geoffrey Thompson(England), of theReferee Observers Panel,turns70on while Peter Gans(Netherlands),member celebrates his75thbirthday on24August, the circle offormer UEFA committee members, Enrique GonzalezRuano(Spain),memberof Birthdays Thomas Slosarich(Denmark,24.8) John Economides(Greece, 23.8) Wilhelm Hennes(Germany, 23.8) Kazimierz Oleszek(Poland, 22.8) Frans Masson(Belgium, 22.8) Hasan Ceylan (Turkey, 22.8) Carmelo Bartolo (Malta,21.8) Per Ravn Omdal(Norway, 20.8) Frantisek Laurinec(Slovakia, 19.8) Hans Reijgwart (Netherlands,19.8) (England, 19.8)Patricia Gregory Vitalijs Liholajs (Latvia,19.8) Dane Jost(Slovenia, 18.8) Alan Hutchings(England,16.8) Jacques Lagnier(France, 16.8) Hermann Selbherr(Germany, 16.8) Cornel CristianBivolaru (Romania, 13.8) Joseph Mifsud(Malta,13.8) Roger Vanden Stock (Belgium,13.8) Jean-Marc Puissesseau(France, 13.8) Dr UrsVogel (Switzerland,11.8) Maurice Burlaz(France, 11.8) Ettore Mazzilli(Italy, 10.8) Keith Burge(Wales, 10.8) Heinz Fahnler (Austria, 10.8) (England,9.8) Odd Flattum(Norway, 9.8) Pierre Schiepers(Belgium,9.8) Plarent Kotherja (Albania,8.8) Peter Donald(Scotland,8.8) Pierino Lardi (Switzerland,7.8) Piet Hubers(Netherlands,6.8) Yehuda Wilk(Israel,5.8) Lamberto Perugia (Italy, 5.8) Michael Skibbe(Germany, 4.8) Zdravko Jokic(SerbiaandMontenegro, 4.8) Andreas Schluchter (Switzerland, 3.8) Philippe Diallo(France, 2.8) Süheyl Önen(Turkey, 2.8) Sheila Begbie(Scotland,1.8) Theodore Theodoridis(Greece, 1.8) UEFA would like to wishthemallmany Birthdays –Calendar

??????????????? Editorial deadline: Printed by Produced by Editor COMPETITIONS MEETINGS Upcoming events ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● UEFA SuperCup (return legs) UEFA Cup:secondqualifying round round (return legs) UEFA ChampionsLeague:third qualifying UEFA Intertoto Cup:finals(return legs) (first legs) UEFA Cup:secondqualifying round round (firstlegs) UEFA ChampionsLeague:third qualifying UEFA Intertoto Cup:finals(firstlegs) (return legs) UEFA Intertoto Cup:semi-finals qualifying round (return legs) UEFA ChampionsLeague:second Seminar for assistantreferees Seminar for elite referees Draw for theUEFA Cupfirstround group matches Draw for theUEFA ChampionsLeague Club CompetitionsCommittee Pedro Dias(Portugal, 31.8) Christer Fällström(Sweden,31.8) Paulo Sousa(Portugal, 30.8) Pedro ManuelCorreia Magro (Portugal, 30.8) Joseph McGlue(Republic ofIreland, 28.8) Karl Hopfner(Germany, 28.8) Regina Belksma-Konink (Netherlands,26.8) Giancarlo Abete (Italy, 26.8) Dulberto Gloria(Portugal, 25.8) Josef Poucek (CzechRepublic, 25.8) 26.8.2005, Monaco 25.8.2005 23-24.8.2005 23.8.2005 11.8.2005 9-10.8.2005 9.8.2005 3.8.2005 2-3.8.2005 31.8-1.9.2005, Nyon 31.8.2005, Nyon 26.8.2005, Monaco 25.8.2005, Monaco 24.8.2005, Monaco André Vieli Cavin SA, CH-1422 Grandson Atema CommunicationSA, CH-1196 Gland 06 July2005 Match agents ■ ■ ■ Communications Email: [email protected] Business tel. +44 7731 546861 Tel. +44161 4482158 GB-Manchester M202PU Didsbury 132 BarlowmoorRoad Flat 7 Alex COWDY Email: [email protected] Fax. +31 235294520 +31 235379933 Tel. NL-2025 BSHaarlem Drususstraat 34 Jeroen GULIKER Email: [email protected] Mob. +33608225881 Tel. +33475853930 FR-07800 LaVoulte-sur-Rhône 2, RuedesBruyères Lucien RIVAT The new matchagentsare: Panel hasgranted three new licences. The UEFA LicensedMatchAgents took uptheposton15 June. Askar Akhmetovnew GeneralSecretary: Russian Football Association. sible for allinternational matters atthe of International Affairs,isnowrespon- Fedyshina, director oftheDepartment VladimirRadionov,Secretary Ekaterina as thenew FA President. Association elected NodarAkhalkatsi Assembly oftheGeorgianFootball The Kazakhstan FA hasappointed a Following theresignation ofGeneral On 11 General June,theExtraordinary source is indicated. is authorised,provided the published in or extracts ofany information The reproduction ofarticles official views ofUEFA. articles are notnecessarilythe The views expressed insigned uefadirect

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