WE CARE ABOUT FOOTBALL No. 136 | March 2014 IN THIS ISSUE Official publication of the EURO 2016 QualifYING Draw 4 Union of European Football Associations The groups for the qualifying competition were drawn in Nice on 23 February and the race for the 23 final-round berths at stake begins in September. Chief editor: Emmanuel Deconche Sportsfile Produced by: Atema Communication SA, CH-1196 Gland ItalY WIN THE EuroPEAN FUTSAL Printing: CHAMPIONSHIP 6 Artgraphic Cavin SA, CH-1422 Grandson Italy beat Russia to win the European Futsal Championship for the second time. At the same time, they ended Spain’s domina- Editorial deadline: tion of the title, which had been in their possession since 2005. 5 March 2014 Sportsfile The views expressed in signed articles are not necessarily th the official views of UEFA. 6 UEFA MEDICAL SYMPOSIUM The reproduction of articles IN MADRID 12 published in UEFA·direct is authorised, provided the UEFA brought together the medical officers of its member source is indicated. associations and top clubs for a three-day football medicine symposium in Madrid. Sportsfile ACCESSIBLE StaDIUMS for DISABLED SPectatorS 14 As part of its social responsibility programme, UEFA, Cover: in partnership with CAFE, is trying to make it easier for Images On 23 February, in Nice, disabled fans to attend matches. the qualifying draw Getty marked the first step on the long road to UEFA EURO 2016 NEWS froM MEMBER ASSociatioNS Photo: Sportsfile 16 WITH THIS ISSUE The first issue of Le Rendez-Vous, the official UEFA EURO 2016 newsletter, features information about the host cities, stadiums, competition format and competitors, as well as the fixture list for the qualifying competition. 2 | UEFA •direct | 03.14 Editorial UEFA SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE Thanks to UEFA’s member associations, the new format, and we will also see more European national team football now has the national team football viewed by fans beyond platform on which to build for the long term, Europe’s borders, creating a truly global appeal to reinforce its identity in the hearts and minds in the process. of fans across the continent. With a daily ten-match schedule, and a The most recent step came with the UEFA new timetable which will allow plenty of EURO 2016 qualifying draw in Nice, which has matches to be played on Saturdays and Sun- provided a match schedule that, while pre- days, the Week of Football is sure to strengthen senting a logistical challenge, also opens the European national team football’s allure. door to an extensive overhaul in the way that Crucially, our member associations have football fans will enjoy national team football been at the forefront in the decision-making for the next three seasons. process leading to the Week of Football and The Week of Football, across two series of centralisation. It is heartening to see that the European Qualifiers, for UEFA EURO 2016 and constructive dialogue with all our member the 2018 FIFA World Cup, represents a fresh associations remains ongoing, with further approach with six consecutive days of action. deliberations on the future of the national With seven such weeks dotted across the team game to come. National teams create a international match calendar for both compe- sense of identity, a feeling of unity and, in titions, fans can anticipate a true “appoint- times of success, a glow of pride among a ment to view” – including multiple kick-off country’s football fans. UEFA and its associa- times at weekends. tions are striving to ensure that national team It was essential that UEFA’s member associ- football remains a key focal point of the Euro- ations collectively supported such a radical pean football landscape. change. It is an innovation which provides something for everyone. The priority was to address what was on offer for member asso- ciations, the teams and their fans. The Week of Football will do this by putting national team football in a prime position and giving it greater visibility, while at the same time giving the fans more matches to follow and more Gianni Infantino excitement. There have been other benefits, UEFA General Secretary too. A lot of work has gone into the centralisa- tion of the European Qualifiers, and UEFA was convinced that it would make a compelling proposition across the board. Our broadcast partners and sponsors have eagerly supported UEFA •direct | 03.14 | 3 European Championship FIRST EURO 2016 RENDEZ-VOUS The qualifying draw for UEFA EURO 2016 unified the European football family in a celebration of French culture in Nice. The UEFA General Secretary, Gianni Infantino, with former winners Bixente Lizarazu and Ruud Gullit and former goalkeepers José Ángel Iribar Sportsfile and Rinat Dasaev For the first time, the draw – held at the Nice played out alongside the world-famous Nice Acropolis – involved 54 member associations, carnival. whose presidents and general secretaries had Speciality food and drink from the ten host the opportunity to convene on the eve of the cities was served at the venue after the draw draw, among over 600 guests invited to an event while the football family waited for the con- firmed qualifying round fixtures, entertained by piano music that had been a continuous thread of the weekend, also at the official dinner and Group A Group B Group C during the draw ceremony itself. Netherlands Bosnia and Herzegovina Spain Guardians of the French culture were joined Czech Republic Belgium Ukraine on stage for the draw by famous “gardiens” of Turkey Israel Slovakia European football as 13 goalkeeping legends Latvia Wales Belarus assisted UEFA’s General Secretary, Gianni Infan- Iceland Cyprus FYR Macedonia tino, with the draw. Kazakhstan Andorra Luxembourg “I think it would be great to recreate the cam- paign of 1984 and, of course, we still remember 1998,” said Fabien Barthez, one of the past Group D Group E Group F EURO winners involved. “Football and sport give Germany England Greece you that little something, that extra sparkle; Republic of Ireland Switzerland Hungary sport makes you feel alive. This will be a celebra- Poland Slovenia Romania tion of football. For a good celebration, you Scotland Estonia Finland need full stadiums and for people to bring their Georgia Lithuania Northern Ireland kids. 2016 is still two years away but it will soon Gibraltar San Marino Faroe Islands be here.” Barthez lifted the trophy in 2000 in a team Group G Group H Group I including Bixente Lizarazu, who also joined for- Russia Italy Portugal mer Netherlands captain Ruud Gullit in present- Sweden Croatia Denmark ing the hour-long show. Austria Norway Serbia “It is a great honour to be asked to present Montenegro Bulgaria Armenia it,” said Gullit, a winner in 1988. “It’s funny as Moldova Azerbaidjan Albania well, if you look back on the fact that you were Liechtenstein Malta playing in a tournament like that and then all of a sudden you are doing this and you never 4 | UEFA •direct | 03.14 thought it would happen. Back when we won it, you only needed four matches and then you were in the final. Nowadays with more teams, NICE ProveS Social Draw I think UEFA has made it much better and much The official hashtag of the qualifying draw, #EURO2016, was a more exciting.” worldwide, top-trending topic on 23 February as fans from around the globe took to social media platforms to discuss events as they Great expectations unfolded in Nice. “I expect a lot from EURO 2016 in France,” UEFA.com also proved popular, the official website of the competi- concurred Lizarazu. “I have the impression that tion recording 60 % more visits than for the qualifying draw of the the Bundesliga used the 2006 World Cup to 2012 competition – while in excess of 160,000 users watched the become the strongest, most exciting and most live stream of the draw, with commentary available in English and, impressive league in the world along with the for the first time, French. Premier League in England. I would like this There were other firsts, too, as UEFA launched its maiden Instagram EURO to allow France to revive both its national account (Instagram.com/uefacom) ahead of the draw and also team and club football, with new stadiums and conducted Facebook Q&As – a novel way of allowing fans to infrastructure, with people getting more enjoy- engage with their heroes. One of the goalkeeping greats taking ment out of coming to watch games. French part in the ceremony, Peter Schmeichel, was the first in the hot football needs some vitality and a boost.” seat, followed by Turkey coach Fatih Terim. For the first time, 24 teams will compete at The Instagram account benefited from the first use in a football the final tournament, giving broadcasters plenty setting of Instatop – a mounted, mirrored tablet which takes to talk about in the post-draw flash positions at photo-booth style pictures of willing volunteers. the Acropolis and other media in the mixed zone. The qualifying round also sees the launch of the Week of Football concept, outlined by the UEFA President, Michel Platini, at a press confer- ence on the eve of the draw. Under the new match schedule, which starts in September, national team matches will be played over six days at standardised kick-off times for the first time. “This is an innovative project created for foot- ball fans, which has the unanimous support of UEFA’s member associations,” he said. “It was a strategic decision. We took it to try to promote national team football. Clubs play on almost every Sportsfile day of the week and, as a result, national team football has been pushed out of the limelight.