Club Competitions in Monaco 03 Champions League Calendar 07

No 6658 – OctoberFévrier 2007 2007 Including 10.07 in Monaco Club Forum European the SuperCup AC Milanwin League calendar Champions events inMonaco Club competition Club Forum European the SuperCup AC Milanwin League calendar Champions Club competition s 12 09 07 03 12 09 07 03 Message Photos: UEFA-pjwoods.ch of the president A carefully thought out proposal

The current elite of European football is not the same as it was in the early years of the Champion Clubs’ Cup, nor does it necessarily have to remain unchanged. The European model of sport, with its system of promotion and relegation, aims specifi- cally to prevent the elite from becoming a clique and denying new contenders the possibility of access. Nothing is set in stone: worth has to be constantly proven on the pitch. This is one of the concerns which underlie the proposal that I put forward in Monaco to the Professional Football Strategy Council with regard to the future of the UEFA club competitions from 2009 onwards. The other key elements forming the basis of my proposal are those I argued for in my presidential campaign – namely, to allow the largest possible number of national associations to be represented in European football’s flagship club competition and to increase the number of domestic champions among the participants. This is because, as its name indicates, the competition is primarily intended for teams which have won titles, and with this in mind I also wish to give domestic cup winners the possibility of taking part. This has the added merit of giving IN THIS ISSUE a fresh boost to national cup competitions, which, in many countries, have a long tradition and enjoy enormous popularity. First meeting My proposal does not call into question the whole format of the UEFA of the Professional Champions League which, it is generally agreed, is an undeniable success. Nor does it Football Strategy Council 03 seek to take anything away from the big associations, the strongest of which retain UEFA Champions the possibility of having four teams involved and the (new) assurance of having at least League calendar 07 three. What it does aim to do is improve certain aspects – for example, to avoid a situation where the runners-up in a domestic championship may be competing in the A fifth UEFA Super Cup Champions League even though the winners of the same championship are not involved. for AC Milan 09 My proposal is also concerned with strengthening the UEFA Cup with a more clearly FC Marsaxlokk – defined group phase and a bigger number of clubs moving from one competition to the a dream becomes reality 10 other. Overall, the national associations will not lose any representatives, and some will even have more. The quality of the competitions will not suffer either, and all the European Club Forum 12 constraints of the match calendar have been taken into account. Elite club coaches in Nyon 15 Therefore, having closely examined all the elements in this proposal, I am convinced that it is in the general interests of European football and, unless someone News from member associations 16 presents a more beneficial plan based on the same philosophy, this is the proposal which I will make a strong case for at the Executive Committee meeting in November.

COVER

Massimo Ambrosini holds aloft the Super Cup Michel Platini trophy that AC Milan UEFA President won at the expense of Sevilla FC. Photo: UEFA-Bozzani

02 uefadirect 10.07 Club summit in Monaco ?????????????????????????Tenth anniversary and a first UEFA-Bozzani

AT THE END OF AUGUST, AND FOR THE TENTH YEAR as a continuation of the European IN A ROW, EUROPEAN FOOTBALL EMBARKED ON ITS NEW SEASON Professional Football Strategy Forum that met earlier in the year, the extra- IN THE PRINCIPALITY OF MONACO. ordinary Congress in Zurich in May had anchored the Professional Foot- The tenth anniversary of UEFA’s The packed programme ball Strategy Council within UEFA’s summer reunion in Monaco turned out in Monaco included the draws for the Statutes. The Strategy Council brings to be a poignant occasion following the Champions League and UEFA Cup, together representatives of the na- death of FC Sevilla defender Antonio the Super Cup, a gala evening, a tional associations, leagues, clubs and Puerta, sadly cut down on the brink meeting of the Club Competitions players (see separate column on p.4). of a promising international career. Committee, the UEFA president's Speaking of the meeting, The bereavement had consequences for lunch with the media and also several held on Thursday 30 August, Michel the draw for the group stage of the meetings with the clubs, sponsors Platini told the assembled media UEFA Champions League, as the third and broadcasters in preparation for at a lunch: “It was a historic meeting. qualifying round return match between the season. The bases for collaboration between AEK Athens and FC Sevilla had been the stakeholders had to be estab- postponed for a few days. Measures First meeting of lished. The objective is to introduce had to be introduced to ensure that the Strategy Council a charter for European football and the main draw criteria were respected A significant new feature of a collective agreement.” One of the (clubs from the same country drawn in the programme in Monaco this year keenly awaited points of the meeting different groups, selection of group was the first meeting of the Profes- was the UEFA president’s presentation seeds) despite the uncertain identity of sional Football Strategy Council. Pro- of his vision for the European club the 32nd qualifier. posed by UEFA president Michel Platini competitions for 2009-12.

03 Members of the Strategy Council The Professional Football Strategy Council (PFSC) comprises the following members: ■ four UEFA vice-presidents, representing the interests of UEFA and its member associations: Senes Erzik (Turkey), chairman of the Strategy Council, Geoffrey Thompson (England), Angel Maria Villar Llona (Spain), Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder (Germany); ■ four European league representatives: José Luis Astiazaran (Spain), Lex Gold (Scotland), Sir David Richards (England), Frédéric Thiriez (France); The death of Sevilla defender Antonio Puerta ■ four club representatives: cast a shadow over the gathering in Monaco. Tributes were also paid to him Maarten Fontein (Netherlands), at the draw for the Champions League. Umberto Gandini (Italy), Peter Kenyon (England), Joan Laporta (Spain); ■ four professional players’ representatives: Gerardo Gonzalez Movilla (Spain), Leonardo Grosso Changes to the access List ten places, the plan is to form two (Italy), Philippe Piat (France), Theo “It is not a matter of chang- different qualifying groups: the first van Seggelen (Netherlands). ing the format of the Champions would comprise the champions of the League,” emphasised the president in associations ranked from 13 to 52 his introduction, paying homage to (Liechtenstein does not organise a the creators of a competition that has national championship and does not had global success. The participation participate in the competition). Three of 32 teams in the group stage knockout rounds would provide six is not in question, nor is the formula teams for the Champions League by which the group stage is followed group stage, bringing the number of by knockout rounds for the last associations represented to 18 (or 19) 16 teams. The president's proposal (there were 15 in the 2007/08 com- concerns the competition’s access list; petition). The second qualifying group his preference has always been to would bring together the winners favour champions and competition of the national cup competitions of the winners while increasing the number top 16 associations in the UEFA rank- of associations represented. The UEFA ings. Two qualifying rounds would president's plan is to allocate the supply the final four participants 32 places available as follows: in the Champions League. If a winner ■ one place reserved for of a national cup competition has the holders; already qualified through its finishing The meeting of ■ three places guaranteed position in the national champion- 30 August in Monaco. for clubs from the top three associa- ship, the place would not go to the tions in the UEFA rankings, that is defeated finalist but would instead be to say nine places; allocated to the next-best team in UEFA-Bozzani ■ two places guaranteed the national championship. for clubs from the associations ranked The proposed formula not The representatives of the 4-6, in other words six places; only increases the number of associa- leagues, clubs and players are elected ■ one place guaranteed for tions represented but also the number for two years by the groups recog- clubs from the associations ranked 7-12, of champions. For example, the sys- nised by UEFA as representing their i.e. six clubs. tem would have led to 18 champions interests, namely the European Pro- This would allocate 22 places taking part in this year's group stage fessional Football Leagues (EPFL), the to clubs representing 12 associations, compared with the 13 champion European Club Forum (ECF) and the or 13 if the holder qualifies through clubs under the present method. International Federation of Pro- its national championship, thus giving Furthermore, opening the Champions fessional Footballers’ Associations, a place to the champions of the asso- League to cup winners would revi- European Division (FIFPro). ciation ranked 13th. For the remaining talise national cup competitions and

04 uefadirect 10.07 The meeting of the Club Competitions Committee. UEFA-Bozzani

Only the holders from the of the Statutes that now means previous year, if they did not qualify for committees report directly to the the Champions League, would enter Executive Committee. Giangiorgio the group stage directly. All other clubs Spiess came to Monaco to indicate would have to come through one or that he is stepping down from both qualifying rounds and/or the first this committee, on which he was round except for the clubs from the the Executive Committee’s represen- Champions League. The UEFA Intertoto tative for many years. The committee Cup would cease to exist and the chairman is unchanged – Friedrich season would start slightly later than Stickler of Austria still presides, at present (first game in July instead now assisted by another Executive of the end of June). Committee member, Mathieu The president acknowledges Sprengers (Netherlands). that his proposal has led to a lively Before considering the presi- discussion within the Strategy Coun- dent's plan for the competitions, cil. Those involved have requested the committee noted that the UEFA UEFA-Bozzani additional time to reflect on the pro- Champions League continued to posals and a final decision will not be ride on a wave of success, as shown increase the number of participating taken at the Executive Committee by attendance figures, while the trend teams that had won a title in the pre- meeting in Istanbul at the end for the UEFA Cup was also positive. vious season. of September, but has been put back The meeting decided to retain The UEFA Champions League to November instead. a single draw for the quarter- and would remain linked to the UEFA Cup semi-finals of the Champions League by the passage of a certain number First committee meeting and UEFA Cup in order to allow of teams from the Champions League of a new era semi-finalists sufficient time to pre- to the UEFA Cup – more than at pres- First presented to the Execu- pare their travel arrangements. ent in fact (in particular the 12 win- tive Committee at its meeting in The meeting also discussed the proce- ners of cup competitions not qualify- Heerenveen in June, the president's dure for selecting stadiums for final ing for the Champions League). The proposals also featured on the agenda matches, ticketing for finals, the distri- UEFA Cup would have a more “com- of the Club Competitions Committee bution of surplus income from the prehensible” group stage than at which held a three-and-a-half hour Champions League and the kick-off present, with 12 groups of four teams meeting on 31 August after the UEFA time of the 2008 Champions League each. The first two teams in each Cup draw. final in Moscow (22.45 local time). group, plus the eight teams finishing “This is the first committee third in the Champions League meeting of a new era,” emphasised groups, would progress to the knock- Michel Platini at the start of the Income from out stages in the round of 32. meeting, referring to the amendment the club compe-

If the winner of a tition finals national cup competition has already quali- The Club Competitions Committee fied then the league was informed in Monaco of the table will determine the next club to qualify income received from final matches. for the Champions League. This system The Champions League final would have come into in Athens generated EUR 2,001,865 play in England last season, where both for each of the finalists from ticket FA Cup winners Chelsea sales, in addition to the fixed and losing finalists Manchester United had prize money (EUR 7 million for already qualified for Milan and 4 million for Liverpool). the Champions League. In the UEFA Cup, FC Sevilla and RCD Espanyol received EUR 957,448 each from ticket sales from the final in Glasgow in addition to their prize money

Dennis/AFP/Getty Images of 2.5 million and 1.5 million respectively.

05 Prince Albert of The winners Monaco pre- of the awards sents the award lent a hand for the UEFA with the draw: Club Footballer Clarence Seedorf of the Year to alongside UEFA Kaka, watched general secretary by UEFA David Taylor. president Michel Platini. Hache/AFP/Getty Images UEFA-Bozzani

for the club competitionsDraws

AFTER THREE QUALIFYING ROUNDS, 16 TEAMS HAVE MADE

IT THROUGH TO JOIN THE 16 AUTOMATIC ENTRANTS FOR THE GROUP

PHASE OF THE 2007/08 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE.

On 30 August the draw was the attention of the managers of the Rinat Dissayev, went to Petr Cech made at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo 16 teams in the knockout phase, and of Chelsea. All four other awards went to separate the 32 participants into eight it was they who awarded the prizes, each to the current European champions, groups of four, albeit with a ques- obviously refraining from choosing AC Milan: tion mark remaining over the last a player from his own team. ■ Paolo Maldini, captain team to qualify, resolved the fol- As winners of the competition, with five European champion club titles lowing Monday when Sevilla FC AC Milan’s strong presence on the to his name, received the award for beat AEK Athens, a match that had podium was no surprise. They best defender, and the trophy was pre- been postponed after the tragic received four of the five awards, sented to him by Dutchman Ronald death of the Sevilla defender Antonio an achievement which illustrates further Koeman; Puerta, to whom those gathered paid – as if it were necessary – that in team ■ homage by respecting a minute's silence. sports, it is the value of the whole that Clarence Seedorf received the award for best midfielder from The draw for this, the 16th year strengthens the individual. Frenchman Didier Deschamps; of the UEFA Champions League was also the time to honour the best players from The awards ceremony ■ Ricardo Kaka was nomi- last season. This year, UEFA’s Technical The award for the best goal- nated the season’s best forward and it Study Group drew up a list of players for keeper, presented by former USSR keeper was a former AC Milan player, Dejan Savicevic, the current president of the Football Association of Montenegro, who presented him his trophy; ■ Kaka also received the highest award – the UEFA Club Foot- baller of the Year – from Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Twenty-three former winners Fifteen national associations are to be represented this season in the Champions League: Spain (4 clubs), Italy (4), England (4), Germany (3), Portugal (3), Scotland (2), Turkey (2), Ukraine (2), France (2), Greece (1), Three Milan Netherlands (1), Russia (1), Norway (1), players on Romania (1) and the Czech Republic (1). the podium: (from left There are no newcomers among the to right) Kaka, associations, meaning that the total Paolo Maldini and Clarence number represented since 1992/93 Seedorf, along- remains at 29. However, newcomers side Chelsea’s Petr Cech. Slavia Prague and Sevilla FC, the latter winners of the UEFA Cup this spring, are respectively the 100th and 101st clubs to have taken part in theChamp-

Getty Images ions League – a significant milestone.

06 uefadirect 10.07 Dejan Savicevic and Paolo Maldini, two former team- mates reunited in Monte Carlo for the awards ceremony. UEFA-Bozzani

Olympique de Marseille (1), Celtic (1), PSV Eindhoven (1) and Steaua Bucharest (1). Manchester United and FC Porto, both present in the competition once again, continue to share the record for the highest number of appearances in the Champions League, with 13 each: the English club also holds the record for the number of conse- cutive appearances with 12. Barcelona,

UEFA-Bozzani AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven and Real Madrid remain hot on the heels of the leaders with As usual, several previous winners 12 appearances each. The most conspicuous of UEFA trophies are taking part in the absentees this season are Bayern Munich, Sportsfile competition – 23 in total, of which who have taken part in the competition 12 have previously won the Champions 11 times previously, whereas Norwegian lion, then 400,000 per game played, League, with 35 victories in total between side Rosenborg celebrate their return to 600,000 per victory and 300,000 for a them. Among these clubs, the three teams the competition after a year’s absence and draw in the group phase. The bonus for to have won the competition the most often join Bayern Munich on 11 appearances. qualification for the knockout phase is are Real Madrid (9 times), AC Milan (7) and 2.2 million, for the quarter finals 2.5 mil- Liverpool (5). The other former champions ■ The fixed sums in the Champions lion, for the semi-finals 3 million, and 4 are Barcelona (2), Benfica (2), Internazio- League are to remain the same as last year, million for the losing finalist. The prize for nale (2), Manchester United (2), Porto (2), with a participation premium of EUR 3 mil- the winners is a cheque for EUR 7 million. UEFA Champions League calendar 2007/08

Group A Group B Group C Group D 18.09 Ol. Marseille – Besiktas Chelsea FC – Rosenborg BK Real Madrid – Werder Bremen AC Milan – SL Benfica FC Porto – Liverpool FC FC Schalke 04 – Valencia CF Olympiacos – S.S. Lazio Shakhtar Donetsk – Celtic FC 03.10 Liverpool – Ol. Marseille Valencia CF – Chelsea FC S.S. Lazio – Real Madrid CF Celtic FC – AC Milan Besiktas JK – FC Porto Rosenborg BK – FC Schalke 04 Werder Bremen – Olympiacos SL Benfica – Shakhtar Donetsk 24.10 Besiktas – Liverpool Rosenborg BK – Valencia CF Werder Bremen – S.S. Lazio SL Benfica – Celtic FC Ol. Marseille – FC Porto Chelsea FC – FC Schalke 04 Real Madrid CF – Olympiacos AC Milan – Shakhtar Donetsk 06.11 Liverpool – Besiktas Valencia CF – Rosenborg BK S.S. Lazio – Werder Bremen Celtic FC – SL Benfica FC Porto – Ol. Marseille FC Schalke 04 – Chelsea FC Olympiacos – Real Madrid CF Shakhtar Donetsk – AC Milan 28.11 Besiktas – Ol. Marseille Rosenborg BK – Chelsea FC Werder Bremen – Real Madrid SL Benfica – AC Milan Liverpool FC – FC Porto Valencia CF – FC Schalke 04 S.S. Lazio – Olympiacos Celtic FC – Shakhtar Donetsk 11.12. Ol. Marseille – Liverpool Chelsea FC – Valencia CF Real Madrid CF – S.S. Lazio AC Milan – Celtic FC* FC Porto – Besiktas JK FC Schalke 04 – Rosenborg BK Olympiacos – Werder Bremen Shakhtar Donetsk – SL Benfica* (*4.12) Group E Group F Group G Group H 19.09 Rangers – VfB Stuttgart AS Roma – Dynamo Kyiv PSV Eindhoven – CSKA Moskva Arsenal FC – Sevilla FC Barcelona – Ol. Lyonnais SC Portugal – Manchester Utd Fenerbahçe – Internazionale Slavia Praha – Steaua Bucuresti 02.10 Ol. Lyonnais – Rangers Manchester Utd – AS Roma Internazionale – PSV Eindhoven Steaua Bucuresti – Arsenal FC VfB Stuttgart – Barcelona Dynamo Kyiv – SC Portugal CSKA Moskva – Fenerbahçe Sevilla FC – SK Slavia Praha 23.10 VfB Stuttgart – Ol. Lyonnais Dynamo Kyiv – Manchester Utd CSKA Moskva – Internazionale Sevilla FC – Steaua Bucuresti Rangers FC – Barcelona AS Roma – SC Portugal PSV Eindhoven – Fenerbahçe Arsenal FC – SK Slavia Praha 07.11 Ol. Lyonnais – Stuttgart SC Portugal – AS Roma Internazionale – CSKA Moskva Steaua Bucuresti – Sevilla FC Barcelona – Rangers Manchester Utd – Dynamo Kyiv Fenerbahçe – PSV Eindhoven SK Slavia Praha – Arsenal FC 27.11 VfB Stuttgart – Rangers Dynamo Kyiv – AS Roma CSKA Moskva – PSV Eindhoven Sevilla FC – Arsenal FC Ol. Lyonnais – Barcelona Manchester Utd – SC Portugal Internazionale – Fenerbahçe Steaua Bucuresti – Slavia Praha 12.12 Rangers – Ol. Lyonnais AS Roma – Manchester Utd PSV Eindhoven – Internazionale Arsenal FC – Steaua Bucuresti Barcelona – VfB Stuttgart SC Portugal – Dynamo Kyiv Fenerbahçe – CSKA Moskva SK Slavia Praha – Sevilla FC

07 An imposing setting for the UEFA Cup draw, made by Gérard Houllier and David Taylor.

A sign of solidarity The club competitions meeting UEFA Cup in Monaco is also the time for The road to Manchester European football to show solidarity with the less fortunate members of our society. FOLLOWING ITS TWO QUALIFYING ROUNDS, THE 37TH UEFA CUP WILL BRING TOGETHER REPRESENTATIVES OF 31 MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS. Since 1998 and the first GÉRARD HOULLIER, THE FORMER HEAD COACH OF LIVERPOOL European club meeting AND OF OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS, MADE THE TRIP DOWN TO MONACO in Monaco, this solidarity has been expressed TO ASSIST UEFA’S GENERAL SECRETARY, DAVID TAYLOR, in the form of a cheque IN MAKING THE DRAW FOR THE FIRST ROUND. for CHF 1 million paid to a sports- related charity or to an organisa- Eighty teams will attempt to qualify for the group phase of the competition that contributes to promoting tion, among them, the 16 teams who were knocked out in the third qualifying sport among disabled people. round of the UEFA Champions League, nine of the 11 teams who made it This year, UEFA president Michel into the UEFA Cup via the UEFA Intertoto Cup and one survivor Platini presented the cheque to the of the three teams that qualified via UEFA’s fair play competition, Cerebral Palsy International Sports the Swedes BK Häcken. and Recreation Association (CPISRA) Fourteen of the participants have won at least one UEFA at the draw for the group stage of trophy, the most decorated being AFC Ajax, who have won ten the Champions League. European titles, including one UEFA Cup. Bayern Munich, who The CPISRA was founded in 1978 have won four European champion club cups and one UEFA Cup, to encourage those suffering from are also prestigious participants in this year’s competition. Tottenham Hotspur have won the competition twice already, and Bayer Leverkusen, physical disabilities, from severe Anderlecht and Galatasaray all appear once on the roll of previous winners. brain injuries or cerebrovascular The top three sides in each of the eight groups will go through to the damage or from other related con- knockout phase of the competition, to be joined by the eight teams who finish ditions, to play sport. Members have third in the group phase of the Champions League. The final of the UEFA Cup been playing seven-a-side football will be played on 14 May 2008 at the City of Manchester Stadium. with specially adapted rules for a number of years, with competitions at regional, national and international levels, culminating in the Michel Platini presents Paralympic Games, organised every the cheque to the four years. The cheque from UEFA president of the CPISRA, Alan Dickson, will allow the CPISRA to develop and under the watchful eyes extend its seven-a-side football activ- of Kaka and Seedorf. ities and to publicise them better.

■ The new Fair Play and Social Responsibility Committee had its first meeting on 4 September in Nyon, presided over by Senes Erzik, vice-president of UEFA. The committee has prepared a social responsibility strategy that it will submit to the Executive Committee at the same time as other more concrete and specific measures.

■ The 8th FARE Action Week against racism and discrimination in European football will take place

Photos: UEFA-Bozzani from 17 to 30 October.

08 uefadirect 10.07 The name Renato opens Inzaghi is Puerta was the scoring clearly on every shirt for Sevilla FC. overjoyed in tribute to to have the Sevilla scored the defender equaliser. who had died three days earlier.

the same team that beat Liverpool FC in Athens. What was certainly clear at the beginning of the new season was that UEFA Super they were still just as comfortable moving the ball around using the entire width of the pitch and were still able to time lightning runs to make best use of the direct approach. Cup It was also clear that Gennaro A fifth success for AC Milan Gattuso was as opinionated as ever, and that “Pippo” Inzaghi as opportunistic, FOR THE FOURTH TIME IN FIVE YEARS, THE STADE the latter providing the equaliser. Andrea Pirlo’s ability to create magical openings LOUIS II IN MONACO HOSTED AN ALL-LATIN SUPER CUP MATCH, was once again there for all to see – he THIS TIME PITTING UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WINNERS created the second Milan goal, which AC MILAN AGAINST SEVILLA FC, THIS YEAR’S HOLDERS OF THE UEFA CUP Marek Jankulovski volleyed home well first time. Finally, AC Milan still have AND LAST YEAR’S WINNERS IN MONACO. the unstoppable Kaka, and it was his speed that produced a penalty, which he Although there was a warm As is often the case at the begin- converted for the third goal, albeit at atmosphere, it was not exactly party time ning of the season, there was no shortage the second attempt. inside the packed arena in Monaco because of sloppy or imprecise play from either side, thoughts of the young Sevilla defender and it was Renato who took advantage of As it should be Antonio Puerta, who had died tragically slack marking by AC Milan to open the scor- This was a deserved victory, three days earlier, were still at the forefront ing, just as he had done the previous year and AC Milan were even elegant enough of everyone’s minds, including those of in the Super Cup match against Barcelona. to make sure their three goal-scorers the Milan supporters who, in a generous found the net in alphabetical order: I for gesture at half-time, presented the Sevilla Athens all over again indomitable, despite going a goal down; fans with a banner in homage to the What followed proved to be a far J for jealous – who would not be jealous young player. less joyful occasion than last year for the of the insatiable appetite that helped Milan For the players, the best way to men from Seville who, having taken a gilt- to their 17th UEFA trophy and their fifth honour the Spanish defender was surely to edged chance well, began to succumb to Super Cup in seven attempts; and K for give their all in respecting the rules of fair the domination of a Milan side that seemed the knockout blow dealt to the opponents. play. This proved the case, with the excep- never to doubt their own strength. Perhaps Carlo Ancelotti’s men will look tion of a few incidents of diving, which, this was because, with the exception of to apply this theory again when they rep- although rare, were also unwelcome and their captain Paolo Maldini, who had not resent Europe at the FIFA Club World tended to irritate the spectators. recovered sufficiently from his operation Cup, to be played from 9 to 16 Decem- to play at this level, Milan put out exactly ber in Japan. 31 August 2007 Monaco – Stade Louis II – 17,822 spectators AC Milan – Sevilla FC 3-1 (0-1) Goals: 14’ Renato (0-1), 55’ Inzaghi (1-1), 62’ Jankulovski (2-1), 87’ Kaka (3-1). Referee: Konrad Plautz (Austria) Photos: UEFA-Bozzani 09 FC Marsaxlokk salute their fans after winning the national title.

MarsaxlokkA dream storyFC

WHEN ON 18 JULY, MALTESE BOV PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS MARSAXLOKK FC

TOOK TO THE FIELD AT THE TA’ QALI NATIONAL STADIUM IN MALTA FOR THE FIRST LEG

IN THE FIRST QUALIFYING ROUND OF THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, HISTORY WAS

IN THE MAKING FOR THIS MODEST YET AMBITIOUS MALTESE CLUB HAILING FROM Victor Scriha, then president of the club, and coach A PICTURESQUE FISHING VILLAGE IN THE SOUTH OF THE TINY MEDITERRANEAN ISLAND. Brian Talbot present the trophy to the champions.

Marsaxlokk FC had scaled the to the first division in the 1999/2000 rable runners-up spot in the FA Trophy rungs of Maltese football in a very season. Clearly struggling in a tougher (national cup), earning the right impressive manner. The football club, ini- division, after just one season, in to a place in the first qualifying round tially known on the island as Beland City 2001/02, the club managed to gain of the 2004/05 UEFA Cup. In their and Marsaxlokk White Stars FC, was promotion to Malta’s top football league first European club venture, the side formed on 11 November 1949. In 1954, – the Premier League. went out of the competition to the club adopted its current name of Slovenian side NK Primorje, losing at Marsaxlokk FC. The club managed to win Solid managerial structure home 1-0 and 2-0 in Slovenia. a place in the third division in 1955. Ably managed by its president, The 2006/07 season was The nineties were spent lingering in Victor Scriha, the club continued to to be the year of the Marsaxlokk club. the second division, usually in a struggle flourish both on and off the field of play. Honorary club director Victor Scriha to avoid relegation. During the 2003/04 season, the club brought in none other than former Progress was clearly seen on managed to finish in fourth place in the Ipswich Town FC and England interna- the horizon as the club won promotion Premier League and achieve a memo- tional Brian Talbot to guide the side from the bench and put his final touches to his already consolidated side. Marsaxlokk finally wrote history The best catch ever and lifted their first ever Maltese Pre- in this fishing village: mier League trophy amid the euphoria the Marsaxlokk players and officials hop of their ever loyal supporters chanting on board a trawler “Tal-Lampuki” – a typical fish caught to take the trophy back to the island. in the Mediterranean Sea by the village trawlers. Marsaxlokk rounded up their commitments with a total of 47 points, a record since the introduction of the Championship Pool. “This day is the fruit of five years of hard work which has seen Marsaxlokk scale the rungs from the lower divisions to the Premier and to the title,” said honorary club director Victor Scriha just after Marsaxlokk were declared champions. It was also a special day for a special man – Joseph Grech, now 84 years old, who, despite his age and special needs, was also present on the pitch. Visibly moved, Grech was the official founder of the Marsaxlokk club

Photos: D.Aquilina way back in 1949.

10 uefadirect 10.07 An emotional Joseph Grech holds up The model of the trophy. the Maltese FA

The former Maltese national team captain, David Carabott, a Marsaxlokk FC youth product who also played for Hibernians FC, Big changes Valletta FC, Ghajnsielem FC in Gozo, This season the club has expe- Msida St. Joseph FC and Sliema rienced important changes both in the Wanderers FC, depicted Malta’s cur- administration of the club and on the rent football structure in his own field of play. Club supremo Victor Scriha words: “I think Maltese clubs are lag- has stepped down and has now been elected as the new president of another ging far behind as regards proper Premier League club, Valletta FC. Robert But no luck for the Marsaxlokk captain football structures – training facilities Jamie Pace (18) against Sarajevo in Micallef has taken over as president of the Champions League qualifying match. in particular. Seeing most of the Marsaxlokk. Premier League clubs train on arti- Brian Talbot, confirmed by the on the island. Revenues from gate ficial and mostly undersized pitches champions for the coming season, has receipts are very much at a low, even does not go down well with me. seen four of his key players – all Malta though the Malta Football Association internationals – ending their commit- strives hard to assist the clubs in the ment with the club: Andre Schembri, best possible manner. last season’s Premier League’s top Marsaxlokk coach Brian Talbot goalscorer Daniel Bogdanovic, Luke was quite straightforward about Dimech, voted as the club’s best player the situation in Malta: “If Malta for last season, and goalkeeper Justin as a football nation wants to improve, Haber. Replacements arrived in time for it should have a much better struc- the new season: Brazilian Andre Rocha ture. There is not the appropriate Da Silva, back on loan from Hibernians, number of pitches on which to train. fellow Brazilian Wendell Gomes, who In my view, even some of the artificial returns to the south seasiders from pitches are not good. There is not Floriana together with another Bra- enough grass on the island. It is diffi- zilian, Renato Garcia Conceicao, cult here because of the climate. David Carabott, the Malta national team’s most-capped player ever. from St George’s, and the latest sign- “I think that clubs should put ing, Birkirkara FC strongman William their own structure in place before Camenzuli. they spend so much money on “When I was with Sliema Wanderers, players. Clubs have got to get their we used to train on a five-a-side Disappointing UEFA facilities correct in terms of grass artificial pitch. How can a coach plan Champions League debut or artificial pitch, get full-time coaches his tactics with his players training The south seasiders are still feel- and try to get their players together on undersized pitches? It is time ing the disastrous aggregate 9-1 loss to every day. Without these concepts Bosnia-Herzegovina champions FK Sarajevo in mind it is very difficult to improve.” that Maltese Premier League clubs in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Club vice-president Peter and even lower division clubs in- Champions league this season – losing Hartshorne also spoke about the club vested more of their financial 6-0 on home soil and 3-1 in Sarajevo. structure system on the island: resources in training facilities from “We knew it would be difficult “At Marsaxlokk, the facilities are very which the club can benefit more. against FK Sarajevo. But the biggest poor – we have one of the best areas “On the other hand I would like problem we faced came from the fact on the island – but yet we do not have to give a very big hand of applause that we did not have a really well-pre- the training and football facilities. to Joseph Mifsud, the Malta Football pared squad, not physically but because We are lacking from the roots – we do of the players we lost at the end of not have enough staff in the youth Association president, for his stern the season, who we did not replace sector, but as everyone knows, in Malta leadership and work for the Malta in time,” said Marsaxlokk vice-president we have a very difficult situation, national football team and Maltese Peter Hartshorne. where most clubs depend on volun- football facilities in general. I played teers some of the time. Hopefully, with a record number of 123 international Local club management structure the new generation coming through, appearances for Malta – a record Just like all other Premier Divi- maybe in a couple of years’ time, we which I still hold to date – and can sion clubs – ten in all – Marsaxlokk will find the right people to take over operates a very basic yet very difficult to on the administration side and find the honestly say that the facilities as run management structure. right solution for succeeding at grass- far as the national team is concerned Finances are the main concern roots football.” are the best on the island.” for each and every Premier League club Domenic Aquilina D. A.

11 Forum chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, UEFA general secretary David Taylor and the other members concentrate on the documents in hand.

ciation choose between the cup winner and the third or fourth placed team European in the national league. Another proposal was to increase the number of participants in the group stage to 36. The most important thing, as chairman Club Forum Rummenigge noted in his closing Competitions at the core address, “is to avoid conflict and to find the fairest and best solution.” of the debates The club delegates were asked for their opinions on the new format THE SECOND MEETING THIS YEAR OF THE EUROPEAN CLUB for the UEFA Cup, which would have FORUM TOOK PLACE ON 10 AND 11 SEPTEMBER IN NYON AND WAS 12 groups of four followed by the CHAIRED BY KARL-HEINZ RUMMENIGGE. knockout rounds: this proved very popular. Aspects of marketing were also discussed, and as regards the Champions The structure of the UEFA club association coefficients, where they dis- League, the idea of centralising media competitions for the period 2009-12 was cussed the details of the “Platini for- rights for the third qualifying round was the most eagerly anticipated point on the mat”. The plenary session produced a welcomed. The delegates’ agreement agenda for this meeting, which brought majority in favour of the proposal – depends on the distribution of the together representatives from 24 clubs. even total support for it from the two supplementary income accrued, esti- After due consultation of all those con- groups with the lowest coefficients – mated at EUR 55 million. There was also cerned, it seems clear that the format for although the proposal to limit the do- widespread support for centralising the UEFA Champions League – a 32-club mestic cup winners to the 16 top UEFA the media marketing only from the group phase followed by the knockout associations (see pages 4-5) raised group phase of the UEFA Cup onwards, stages – is unanimously supported and certain questions. The reservations and then completely centralised will therefore be retained. And so the about the proposed format came marketing for the knockout rounds. discussion moved on to the objectives of mostly from the first group, which con- the proposal tabled by UEFA president tained representatives of the “big” Strategy Council welcomed Michel Platini, which include an increased associations, and were on precisely Furthermore, the representatives proportion of actual champions in the the subject of the access of domestic welcomed the creation of the Profes- competition which bears their name and, cup winners to the Champions League. sional Football Strategy Council as a new furthermore, the representation of a The national cup competition was instrument for dialogue and for taking greater number of national associations. judged tantamount to a lottery in com- part in the decision-making process. parison to the league by opponents They also believed that a European Foot- A majority in favour of the scheme, who were in favour ball Charter would be a useful tool in The forum’s clubs were divided of preserving the current system, even reaching agreements between all parties into four groups, based on UEFA’s national with the option of letting each asso- involved in football. They underlined that this was a long-term project and some reminded those present of their priorities, including the question of compensation for making their players available for international matches. They were united in their warm welcome for the proposal by the president to provide an office for the forum at UEFA's headquarters. Finally, the forum was able to gauge the advantages of the first four working years of the club licensing system in a review of this period, as much in matters to do with the training of technical staff as with the improve- ments to club facilities or the increase in

Photos: pjwoods.ch the number of youth teams.

12 uefadirect 10.07 Practice… UEFA-pjwoods.ch News from Leading Brussels

UEFA and the European Commis- referees prepare sion have teamed up to produce for the European a new 30-second film that encourages people of all ages to play more season ahead sport. The film will appear on our television screens during the half-time AT THE BEGINNING OF SEPTEMBER, THE 5TH SUMMER GATHERING interval throughout the new UEFA FOR UEFA ELITE REFEREES AND THE 7TH SEMINAR FOR ASSISTANT REFEREES TOOK Champions League season. PLACE AT THE HOUSE OF EUROPEAN FOOTBALL IN NYON. An increasingly sedentary lifestyle is one of the most serious The three-day gathering – held ees on various refereeing tasks, such as challenges facing Europe’s health, traditionally every year on the eve of concentration, anticipation, protection of and is an important factor in the a new European club football season – the players and management issues. rising levels of obesity. People are included a varied agenda and aimed to In an effort to underline the necessary prepare leading referees and assistant action and various subtleties that should less active: two thirds of all adults referees in the best possible way for the be taken into account before any decision and half of all children get less exer- 2007/08 campaign both theoretically is taken, their presentations were illus- cise than they should. The new film and in practice. trated with a variety of video examples. encourages people of all ages and With over 75 officials present abilities to go out and play sport. in Nyon, UEFA reiterated its objective to Injured players This new initiative is one part of continue to improve the work with The increasing tendency to use UEFA’s contribution to the debate Europe’s top referees and assistant refer- the arms illegally to hold, push and jostle on public health. As a sports govern- ees, with particular emphasis on certain for position in the penalty area repre- ing body, UEFA believes it has a aspects which are harming the image sented an area of particular concern. responsibility to address such issues. of the modern game. In his opening Referees were called on to carefully con- Together with the European Com- address, the chairman of UEFA’s Referees trol such situations and take the appropri- Committee, Angel María Villar Llona, out- ate action in case of infringements. mission, UEFA believed the film lined the main objectives of this gather- Another important item on the would offer an efficient way to coming: “First, to prepare the referees and agenda was the management of injured municate a simple message to the their assistants for the UEFA competitions players. Having observed different prac- widest possible audience. in the 2007/08 season. And second, to tices in different member associations, Some 13 million European prepare the referees for EURO 2008 next and in order to prevent any potential adults are obese, and 400 million summer in Austria and Switzerland.” confusion in UEFA competitions, UEFA are overweight. These levels are has recommended through a media three times higher than two decades Zero tolerance release that in case of an injury, the other ago. Some three million European Addressing all the participants, players should leave it to the referee to children are obese, and one in UEFA president Michel Platini conveyed decide whether a player’s injury is serious a message of solidarity and firmness enough to stop the play in order to allow five children is overweight. These regarding the decisions of referees and him/her to receive treatment. figures are increasing at a rate assistant referees, stressing UEFA’s policy of 400,000 every year. of zero tolerance towards any form of vio- The immediate damage to our lence and racism inside or outside stadi- health is clear. Obesity causes about ums. “Football is a school of life. Regard- one third of all cases of heart attack less of the sporting result, the spirit of the and stroke, and two thirds of the game should be respected. The role of the incidences of high blood pressure. referees is to impose this respect and the Abdominal obesity doubles the risk respect of the Laws of the Game”, he said. of heart attack. Obesity-related The course comprised both theo- conditions, until recently seen only retical and practical elements, such as expert presentations, discussion groups in adults, are now appearing and specific training exercises. UEFA Ref- in younger people (type 2 diabetes, erees Committee members Volker Roth, atherosclerotic changes).

Vladimir Sajn and Hugh Dallas raised vari- UEFA-pjwoods.ch As a sports governing body, ous topics and offered advice to the refer- … follows theory. UEFA is well placed to take part in ➜

13 Alberto Mordago of Spain (3) and Nigerian Macauley Chrisantus ➜ the public debate on Europe’s health. in the final of the U17 World Cup. We promote football at all levels, including the amateur and grassroots sport. And we also recognise that the problems created by a sedentary

lifestyle demand urgent attention. Jae-Hwan/AFP The new film adds to our broader efforts to encourage physical activity: • since 2004, UEFA has helped to Discussions also included Like France against Spain, Eng- fund more than 2,000 new mini-pitches mental preparation, with expert advice land fell to another European nation, across the whole of Europe, as part of given by Swiss sports psychologist Germany, in the quarter-finals. The fifth Mattia Piffaretti, and a situation report European representative, Belgium, were the HatTrick programme; on the progress of the referee com- knocked out in the group phase. • we continue to support the World munication system presented by the Heart Federation, to promote healthy referees’ working group. lifestyles and in particular to encourage International congress physical activity among young people; in Spain • we will soon publish a book of Silver for Spain in Korea The Spanish Football Asso- healthy recipes, to which some of For the third time, after ciation, with FIFA's support, will 1991 and 2003, Spain reached the Europe’s top football clubs and players host an international congress on final of the Under-17 World Cup but, have contributed. the FIFA Regulations for the Status once again, they had to make do and Transfer of Players in Madrid Last but not least, the film repre- with the silver medal after losing 3-0 on 26 and 27 October. sents another example of our coopera- on penalties to Nigeria, who won The aim of the congress will tion with the European Union. their third Under-17 title, following be to study the fundamental provisions victories in 1985 and 1993. The European Commission paid the of the regulations and to enable na- production costs of the film, while In the final round played in tional associations, clubs and agents to UEFA offered its 30-second half-time Korea from 18 August to 9 September, hear expert analysis of these issues. slot for free. Together, we worked Spain began by winning their group The themes to be discussed include the with two wins and a draw, before elimi- with one of the world’s leading adver- solidarity mechanism, administrative nating the hosts in the last 16, France tising agencies, Abbot Mead Vickers procedures for the transfer of players (on penalties) in the quarter-finals between national associations, disputes BBDO, who offered their work at and Ghana (after extra time) in the and ways of resolving them and train- below normal costs. semi-finals. Germany also performed ing compensation. You can watch the film on uefa.com. well, winning the bronze medal with a 2-1 defeat of Ghana. LOOKING AHEAD TO EURO2008 Volunteer recruitment phase under way ●●● Would-be volunteers for EURO 2008 can now file The application phases run from 27 July to mid-Novem- their applications online at www.euro2008.com. Altogether, ber and from 5 December until the end of February. The second 5,000 volunteers have to be recruited. Describing their role, the phase is designed, among other things, to recruit volunteers UEFA president, Michel Platini, said, “The volunteers are with specific language skills, according to the countries that extremely important ambassadors for ultimately qualify for the tournament. Poten- EURO 2008. Their competence, enthusi- tial volunteers must be 18 by 1 June 2008 asm, helpfulness and friendliness will and speak English and German (as well as contribute enormously to the impression French in the case of Geneva). Their person- that visitors from home and abroad take ality is also important, with motivation, relia- away with them.” bility, team-mindedness and a strong sense In each of the two main host of identity with the event counting as much cities of Vienna and Basle, 1,000 volun- as professional qualifications. teers are needed, while 500 will be All applications will be evaluated recruited for each of the other six host by the volunteer team and the candidates cities. During the event, the volunteers that are shortlisted will be invited for will support the 320 or so full-time staff of Euro 2008 SA in 14 areas. “The volun- an interview sometime between September teers are the first people our visitors and March. come into contact with. They are the By April at the latest, candidates face of EURO 2008. And I’m sure it will will know whether their application has be a friendly and happy one,” said been successful. Those selected to help with Friedrich Stickler, chairman of the board the final draw in Lucerne will already hear of Euro 2008 SA and president of the in November. Euro 2008 SA Euro Austrian Football Association. Trix and Flix are looking for 5,000 volunteers to give them a hand.

14 uefadirect 10.07 For the Roberto Andy Roxburgh coaches, Mancini, Zico, welcomes two the forum Michel Platini of the new is above and Gheorge arrivals, Albert all a chance Hagi: honour- Emon (left) and to make ing creative Alain Perrin. themselves football heard. at the Elite Club Coaches Forum.

of theNinth elite club forum coaches

SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 1999, UEFA’S ELITE CLUB COACHES FORUM HAS DEVELOPED

INTO AN ANNUAL ROUTINE WHICH HAS BEEN GREATLY APPRECIATED BY THE CONTINENT’S TOP TECHNICIANS.

But ‘routine’ is maybe not the Unequivocal guidelines structured, standardised guidelines most appropriate word to use, as the They also listened to Hugh for fourth officials – which he readily event seems to take on new dimensions Dallas, who entered the forum fresh took on board. as the years go by. And the ninth en- from the referees’ seminar whose final The forum, led by UEFA Tech- counter was exceptional in terms of the whistle had just sounded. When he nical Director Andy Roxburgh, also unprecedented geographical coverage outlined the Referees Committee’s focused on technical aspects related to provided by an all-star squad which unequivocal guidelines about getting goalscoring patterns, the importance included, for example, Zico of Turkish to grips with holding and obstructing of counter-attacking and, as derived champions Fenerbahçe SK, Jesualdo in the penalty box at set pieces, the products, the index of risk-taking and Ferreira of FC Porto, Walter Smith of coaches reacted supportively – and training-ground work aimed at min- Rangers FC and ‘Takis’ Lemonis of Olym- with calls for consistency and persever- imising lapses in concentration which, piacos CFP. In a way, they represented the ance in the application of measures the coaches agreed, tend to prove four cardinal points of European football. which, as past experience has indicated, exceedingly costly in the high-intensity run the risk of becoming diluted as world of the UEFA Champions League. Diversity and fresh slant the season wears on. The technicians They also acknowledged the substan- There was not only geographical also reiterated their growing mistrust tial differences between the group diversity. A fresh slant was provided of the practice of expecting opponents and knockout phases, with success by a trio of French forum debutants – to kick the ball into touch when a depending on the ability to adapt from Albert Emon, Alain Perrin and Claude player is on the ground. Their misgiv- one to the other. However, as had Puel – along with ‘Gica’ Hagi, who was ings were supported by video replays been the case at the eight previous set to lead his former club, FC Steaua of an incident where the so-called fair editions, the most important results of Bucuresti, back into UEFA Champions play gesture actually became a source the forum were the proposals which, League action. And they were more than of conflict and disciplinary sanctions. in coming months, will turn up on happy to exchange views with some of The coaches voted for the decision to other debating tables within UEFA, FIFA the forum’s ‘older hands’ such as Valery stop play to be left in the hands of and the International Board – which is Gazzaev, Arsène Wenger, Roberto the referee. And before Hugh Dallas why the Elite Club Coaches Forum has Mancini, Gérard Houllier, Ottmar Hitzfeld, was allowed to leave the ‘field of play’, taken its place among the most fruitful Thomas Schaaf, José Mourinho and he also received polite requests for dates on the UEFA calendar. two-time UEFA Cup winner Juande Ramos. At the same time, there were notable absentees, such as Sir Alex Ferguson (who, sadly, was attending a funeral) and European champion Carlo Ancelotti, who was on the AC Milan bench at a match in Kiev to commemorate the 50th anniversary of FC Dynamo. The coaches heard, directly from UEFA president Michel Platini, his proposals to re-shape the structures of the two main club com-

petitions as from 2009. Photos: pjwoods.ch

15 In addition, in partnership with Hyundai, the ÖFB has been able to supply each of its FFA AUSTRIA nine regional training centres with a Hyundai Annual review of the work on club licensing. Starex minibus. The vehicles have been in use since June and were officially handed Infrastructure and technology drive over symbolically to Austria’s most-capped By 2008, all 2,300 Austrian football clubs player and current national-team coaching ARMENIA will be equipped with laptops by the Austrian assistant, Andreas Herzog. Football Association (ÖFB) to allow the clubs With the support of UEFA’s HatTrick pro- to process all their match-related administra- gramme, the ÖFB and its nine regional Review of the club tive tasks and data. Referees can enter their associations have also been able to install 42 licensing system password and confirm results and decisions. “fun courts” throughout the country. Six are already open, in Vienna, Marz, Schachen- The Armenian FA’s (FFA) club licensing sys- In this way, all match-related administrative dorf, Tobaj, Gurk and Michelhausen, and are tem annual review meeting took place on tasks will be processed electronically nation- in active use. Another 36 courts are in the 10 August in the FFA conference hall. The wide, as already tested in pilot projects, and pipeline or already under construction. meeting was chaired by the FFA chief exec- the ÖFB will be one of the frontrunners among Europe’s football associations as far utive and club licensing project leader, Peter Klinglmüller Armen Minasyan. During the meeting, as the electronic processing of data and licensing manager Arno Sargsyan presented administrative tasks is concerned. the annual report dedicated to the results of The project has been made possible the 2007/08 licensing season. Numerous thanks to support from the federal sports topics, achievements, problems and their so- development fund and UEFA. The ÖFB, the lutions were highlighted in the report, in par- Bundesliga and the regional associations are ticular feedback from the clubs and chair- also making substantial contributions of their men of the decision-making bodies; results own. As was the case for the Challenge of internal audits and risk assessment; pre- Project database and the European Under- vious and current versions of the FFA club 19 Championship final round, Siemens licensing system manual; matters relating to has come on board as our technological the code of conduct, independence and con- partner. fidentiality; objectives set at the beginning Other focal points are the women’s leagues, of the season and their current status; staff for which the ÖFB is making EUR 100,000 certification and training; infrastructure site available to support the recruitment of quali- GEPA Pictures GEPA visits; benchmarking in relation to previous fied coaching staff. The women’s clubs are, of seasons (2004-2007), etc. course, also benefiting from the infrastructure Andreas Herzog takes possession FFA chief accountant Gagik Rechelyan drive and are each receiving a laptop. of the vehicles in a symbolic gesture. presented the financial report for the first half of 2007 and referred to benchmarking in relation to previous years. One important aspect is that the financial results for the BOSNIA AND FFA club licensing system in general and the AZERBAIJAN licensing department in particular are im- HERZEGOVINA proving year by year, with results for the first six months of 2007 better than for 2004 Coaches offered “A” level courses The fight against nationalism and 2005. Benchmarking in relation to previous sea- In Azerbaijan, events are being organ- Zeljeznicar's Grbavica stadium in Sarajevo sons and preliminary objectives for next sea- ised to raise the level of knowledge and pro- was the venue for an U15 tournament bear- son were described by the licensing manager. fessionalism of coaches and to train special- ing the slogan 'The fight against nationalism’, As previously stated, the most important ists who meet the requirements of modern a venture supported both by the Balkan Alpe goal is the successful passing of the new football. In this respect, courses have been Adria Project (BAAP) and Football Against licensing procedures by the clubs, which will organised in Baku since 2006 for the pur- Racism in Europe (FARE) in conjunction with allow them to take part in Armenia’s premier pose of training coaches to internationally UEFA. Six clubs from Croatia, Serbia, and league championship in 2008 and the UEFA recognised standards. Bosnia and Herzegovina took part in the com- club competitions in the 2008/09 season. From 7 to 20 January 2006, 25 partici- petition in two groups. Group A contained pants attended a “B” level coach education A question and answer session plus a dis- FK Zeljeznicar, Croatian side HNK Rijeka and course. Then from 10 to 12 April, the coaches’ cussion of the report took place after the FK Smederevo from Serbia, while in Group B, theoretical and practical knowledge was put presentation, giving the participants the FK Borac Banjaluka from Bosnia and Herze- to the test in exams held at the Shafa stadi- opportunity to find answers to their specific govina met FK Rad from Belgrade, Serbia and um under the direction of UEFA representa- questions. At the end, the annual report was a side from the Novi Grad football school. The tive Zdenek Sivek. After passing the exams, winners of the tournament were the young- approved unanimously. FFA chief executive the coaches received their “B” licences. sters of FK Rad, who beat HNK Rijeka in the A. Minasyan will represent the results of the This year, the first part of an “A” level annual review meeting to the FFA executive coach education course took place in Azer- final. “This was an extraordinary tournament, committee at its next meeting. baijan from 21 to 29 May. The second part and we are happy that we won the first place, In other news, the month of August had of the course was organised at the Shafa without any goals against us. The organisa- a fabulous climax for local supporters. On stadium from 20 to 29 August. The AFFA tion was of the highest quality, and were wel- 22 August, the Armenian senior national general secretary, Elkhan Mammadov, comed as true friends,” said Goran Kovace- team, brilliantly coached by Ian Porterfield, attended the course opening ceremony. vic, head coach of the team of FK Rad. produced a breathtaking performance to The course were run by Zdenek Sivek and The players of SFK 2000 Sarajevo, women’s secure a draw against a star-studded Por- the members of the methodological group. champions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, finished tuguese team in its EURO 2008 qualifying The third part of the course, as well as the third in their group in the first qualifying round match, thus remaining undefeated in three exams, were scheduled from 3 to 5 September. of the UEFA Women’s Cup, which took place successive games. in Skopje, FYR Macedonia. French champions Tigran Israelyan Elkhan Mammadov Olympique Lyonnais, who beat Sarajevo

16 uefadirect 10.07 fromN memberEWS associations

of the national side from 1990 to 1996, being appointed as a member of UEFA’s when the Bulgarian “Dream Team” was one Club Licensing Committee. of the leaders in world football, finishing The inaugural world football competi- fourth at the 1994 World Cup in the USA. tion involving clubs founded by Croats At the same meeting, the executive com- outside Croatia was staged in Zagreb and mittee decided that referees from the foot- surrounding towns, with excellent organi- ball associations of other countries may only sation. All the objectives were fulfilled and

F.Krvavac officiate at top-flight matches in Bulgaria it was decided that the competition will be A tournament to fight against nationalism. when both participating teams have made organised every four years. The winning club and agreed to such requests. was FC Croatia Toronto (Canada), the runners-up were Canberra FC (Australia) and 7-0 in the match that decided top spot, Borislav Konstantinov third place went to the team from the Croa- reached the second round. tian minority in Gradisca (Austria). Bosnian futsal champions MNK Kaskada Finally, the implementation of the grass- Gracanica missed out on the main round of roots programme during the summer the UEFA Futsal Cup, finishing in second place months has been the source of great satis- in the preliminary round Group E, played in CROATIA faction. the Swedish city of Skövde, and losing the last Ante Pavlovic match against the hosts Skövde AIK 2-1. In the first match, Kaskada beat Jeepers from Meeting our objectives Malta 18-3. The friendly against western neighbours After the achievement of our national ENGLAND Croatia in Sarajevo attracted much attention: team in reaching the top of EURO 2008 the match at the Olympic stadium was an qualifying group E, we look forward to further success and the qualification of our interesting one and produced plenty of goals. Tackling skills in England The guests eventually won 5-3, but Bosnian team for EURO 2008. We also expect simi- international Zlatan Muslimovic scored a hat lar results from our U21 national team. The summer has been a busy period for trick for the home side. This was the first time Players of all youth national teams gath- The Football Association with around 3,000 that the Croatian national team had played in ered again for the summer football camp children across England benefiting from Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, close to which the Croatian FA traditionally organ- skills coaching as part of The FA Tesco Skills Sarajevo in Kresevo, the U21 teams from the ises for the most talented players and Programme. Launched in June by England two countries played out a 3-3 draw. coaches. and Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, the Before the start of the match in Sarajevo After a period of rather poor perform- scheme has seen 66 specialist coaches pro- six players – Bakir Besirevic, Edin Mujcin, ances, the beginning of this season saw a vide sessions for schools and local clubs up Mirsad Dedic, Sejad Halilovic, Senad Begic and larger measure of success for our clubs par- and down the country. Mirza Varesanovic – were presented with gifts ticipating in the qualifying rounds of the by Bosnian head coach Fuad Muzurovic and European club competitions. This is a result Zorislav Srebric, general secretary of Croatian of the improved quality of the first division, Football Federation, to mark their retirement which is also borne out by greater numbers from the Bosnian national team. of spectators at first division matches. Also, the first year of the second division being Fuad Krvavac organised as one group has been evaluated as a great success. The youth competitions (U19 and U17) are also going to be played on the basis of single groups, but the number of participating clubs has been in- BULGARIA creased from 12 to 16. The executive committee discussed reports from the FA’s club licensing depart- Third head coach for national team ment and licensing body, and verified the The FA During its regularly scheduled meeting new national club licensing regulations for Whether for boys or girls, the important at the end of July, the executive committee first, second and third division clubs thing is to develop techniques. of the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) ac- approved by UEFA. The executive commit- cepted the choice of BFU president Borislav tee praised the work of the licensing body Focused on developing individual tech- Michaylov to appoint Dimitar Penev, a and the licensing division and congratu- nique among 5-11 year-olds, the emphasis 62-year-old football specialist who has the lated licensing manager Ivancica Sudac on is on the children having fun, spending time nickname “Stratega” (strategist), as the new with the ball at their feet and expressing head coach of the Bulgarian national team. themselves without the pressure of game His contract is due to run until the end of situations. The ultimate aim is to bring one the current EURO 2008 qualification stage, million children through the programme by covering the five remaining matches. summer 2010. This is the second change of coach for FA Director of Football Development Sir Bulgaria during the qualification stage, Trevor Brooking explained the philosophy Hristo Stoichkov having led the team for the behind the scheme: “The 5-11 age group is the first five EURO 2008 matches and Stanimir key developmental stage for ingraining indi- Stoilov having been in charge for the two vidual skill. The immediate objective is to pro- matches against Belarus only. viding specialist, quality coaching to give young The newly appointed Dimitar Penev has players an enjoyable, positive and stimulating already played a part, however, as a head HNS environment to maximise their ability. coach in Bulgarian football history. The 51st FC Croatia Toronto, the first winners “Further down the line, we hope that the head coach since the creation of the Bul- of the competition involving clubs founded programme will help address the skill gap be- garian team (in May 1924), he was in charge by Croatian migrants. tween English youngsters and their European ➜

17 A new and important step forward for beach football in France. FFF ➜ counterparts, which has an obvious impact on decision has been greeted with enthusiasm took place from 21 to 26 August, the “Blues”, our future success as a football nation.” by FFF president Jean-Pierre Escalettes: “It’s an with Eric Cantona in charge, finished runners- Frank Lampard added: “I remember prac- honour for the whole of the French Football up to Portugal after a week which confirmed tising my skills over and over as a youngster Federation and for everyone who has had the huge popular success of beach soccer. and that has helped me reach the top. faith in this discipline and its continued For the 2008 World Cup, the capacity of Whatever your ability, the skills programme growth. We will do our utmost to give the the venue in Marseille’s famous Prado district will help make you a better player.” world a tremendous tournament.” will be increased from 4,500 to 8,500 seats, The coaching programme is backed up Having won the world title in 2005 and and the event is already mobilising a large num- by an interactive website (www.thefa. third place in 2006, France is one of the lead- ber of partners to provide back-up for the FFF. com/skills) which provides skills drills, tips ing beach soccer nations and the city of Mar- “This is a great step forward for French beach and videos. seille has become a mandatory venue on the soccer, said Eric Cantona. It signifies great Andrin Cooper continental circuit. Every summer for the last recognition for this extraordinary sport which six years, its beaches have hosted the European really gets people going.” league’s Superfinal. In this year’s event, which Philippe Mayen FINLAND shape for defending their title at the World Centennial match against Cup in China from 10 to 30 September. Spain in October GERMANY “Twenty-five years of internationals for the women is an absolute success story. The Football Association of Finland (FAF) Wonderful games such as the one we has been celebrating its centennial through- Jubilee ceremony for German saw today have brought them status and out the year. Although various festivities have women’s team acclaim,“ said DFB president Theo Zwanziger, taken place since January, the centennial It is 25 years since the German women’s a self-proclaimed fan of women’s football, match has still to be played. Finland’s jubilee in his welcome speech at the ensuing matches have previously been played against team played its first international match – ceremony, which brought together numer- opponents such as Brazil (1987), England on 10 November 1982 in Koblenz, to be ous guests of honour from politics, sport and (1975) and the Soviet Union (1967). precise, resulting in a 5-1 victory over This time it is Spain’s turn to celebrate with Switzerland. On 22 August, to mark the sil- society. the Finnish football family, as Luis Aragones ver jubilee, the current women’s national Past and future names from women’s foot- brings his side to the Helsinki Olympic Stadium team returned to the scene of that inaugu- ball rubbed shoulders at the event in Koblenz. on 17 October, only four days after their EURO ral game. With tradition and symbolism in The DFB had invited numerous former play- 2008 qualifying match in Denmark. Both Fin- mind, it was at the Oberwerth stadium in ers from victorious national teams spanning land and Spain have an exciting autumn in Koblenz that the anniversary international three decades, and a large number of them their respective EURO 2008 qualifying groups, match was staged. Once again the oppo- had accepted the invitation. Marion Isbert, as both countries seek to secure places in the nents were Switzerland, this time in the con- Sissy Raith, Martina Voss, Heidi Mohr, Doris final tournament in Austria and Switzerland text of qualifying for the European champ- Fitschen, Steffi Jones and incumbent DFB next summer. ionship and preparing for the World Cup. The coaches Maren Meinert and Bettina Wieg- “We are glad that we can offer our fans a 7-0 victory against the Swiss women showed mann were all present, mingling with mem- centennial match against a football power- that the German women, well drilled by DFB bers of the current team such as captain Bir- house such as Spain. Our goal is to have a true coach Silvia Neid, are in the best possible git Prinz and playmaker Renate Lingor. football fiesta, as we are inviting different Michael Herz members of the football family to celebrate our hundred years of history,” said FAF presi- almost 50,000 spectators in the stadium dent Pekka Hämäläinen. cheered the home side and the world champ- The two countries have previously met five HUNGARY ions, as well as applauding the children who times, with Spain emerging as the stronger are growing up in Hungary as members of var- side on four occasions. The first encounter ious minorities. between the two countries in 1969 ended in The night turned out even better than the a 2-0 victory for Finland, with Tommi Lindholm Anti-racist events before the match of the year Hungarian FA expected, as Hungary played and Arto Tolsa finding the net. some great football and beat Italy 3-1. Sami Terävä Almost every year, Hungary hosts a football gala involving one of the leading teams Márton Dinnyés in the world on the 20 August national holi- day. This year, World Champions Italy played a friendly match at the Ferenc Puskás stadium FRANCE on 22 August. Summer visitors to the Hun- garian capital in previous years have included Germany, Argentina and Spain. World beach soccer comes In the lead-up to the big game, the Hun- to France garian FA organised two special events. A In July 2008, Marseille will become the competition was held in which bids were international beach soccer capital. The south- made by the participants and the prize for the ern French city will be hosting the fourth edi- winner was to officially kick off the match, tion of the Beach Soccer World Cup, FIFA hav- with all the income going to a charity which ing entrusted the French Football Federation supports sports camps for sick children. The (FFF) with the organisation of the competition. winning bid was on behalf of a five-year-old For the first time in its history, therefore, the child who is a passionate football fan and is world beach soccer competition will be leav- currently being treated for leukaemia.

ing Brazil, which has been its traditional set- The second event was an anti-racist initia- MLSZ Mathias Imre ting since 1995 (it has only borne the name tive. The players of both teams were led onto Hungarian internationals and young people of FIFA since 2005), to make a stopover in the pitch by a varied group of children repre- from ethnic minorities just before the kick-off Europe before going on to Dubai in 2009. This senting minority groups in Hungary. The of the match against Italy.

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Jaunais Dinamietis, the Kurzeme region by Latvijas krievu kopiena and Jurmala by VBFK. KAZAKHSTAN Group B was composed of FREE from Jurmala, TUC/FTA from Riga, Tosmares kugu buvetava from Kurzeme and the Latvian national bor- A new president der guard team from Latgale. The official On 28 August, an elective conference of organisers of the tournament were the Lat- the Football Federation of Kazakhstan took vian Football Federation (LFF) and the Latvian place. The decision to convene this confer- Beach Football Association, created by the LFF. ence was made on 3 A week later the Baltic Beach Football cup August at an FFK ex- was played between the two strongest teams LFV traordinary conference, from each of the Baltic countries of Latvia, Experts are going to provide young people the delegates to which Lithuania and Estonia. with football to suit their needs. decided to replace the September has brought not only the start association’s president, of a new school year but also the 2007 Lat- Rakhat Aliyev, with ef- vian School Cup final tournament, involving approach. The team has one major goal: to fect from 28 August, 36 teams from different schools and more support and advise coaches in their involve- on the grounds that he than 450 participants born after 1992. Girls’ ment on the football field, and in so doing, was no longer able to Adilbek teams were also widely represented here and to provide a training programme suitable for fulfil his duties. Dzhaksybekov FFK over a three-day period they competed for the children as well as a light-hearted game. A new FFK president and executive com- title of the best school in Latvian football. The offer, free of charge to both clubs mittee were elected in Almaty on 28 August. A dedicated website has been constructed and coaches, includes half a day's theoreti- Adilbek Dzhaksybekov, 53, was unanimously for the tournament and for youth football in cal and practical tuition twice a year. In voted in as the new FFK president. Since general: www.bernufutbols.lv. addition, coaches will receive visits to their club training sessions, where they will work 2000, he has been in charge of the football Martins Hartmanis association of Astana city, and since De- together with coaching tutors to analyse the cember 2004, he has also held the govern- training: perhaps one or two things might ment office of head of the presidential need to be improved, but the coaches will administration. also be reassured that they are on the right “I would like to express gratitude to the track. Coaches from football schools and the former leadership and executive committee 6-8 age group are currently involved in the of the FFK for their work,” the new FFK pres- programme, and they will be followed by ident said after his election. “Now the most the 9-10 age group. important thing for us is to unite for the The philosophy to be embedded in the good of our football. It should be open to clubs through the project is based on the anyone who wishes to be involved, and also enjoyment that children get from playing: we need to invite children, youth and the game is at the heart of the training. Lots women to take part. Our country possesses of games in small teams are important, a great economic potential and is able to bringing so-called ‘street football’ into the take a well-deserved place in the global foot- clubs. The games are supplemented by sim- ball family. We have to do our best to this ple exercises with the ball, so that the children learn techniques correctly. end concerning the construction of pitches LFF and the development of youth football and The first education session took place on A tournament to find the best Saturday, 1 September. The theory part dealt football clubs.” women’s school team. Immediately after the conference, the first with the children’s game and was followed meeting of the new FFK executive commit- by a training demonstration with the 6-8 age tee was held, at which a new first vice-pres- group, with a discussion of details of the ident, Sayan Khamitzhanov, and second vice- project rounding off the session. president, Seilda Baishakov, were elected. LIECHTENSTEIN The resignation of the general secretary, Judith Frommelt Askar Akhmetov, was accepted. Maxim Lebedev has been appointed as the new Child-friendly football general secretary. Children want to play football – this is the Alexandr Keplin motto with which the Liechtenstein Football LITHUANIA Association (LFV) presented its new project at a recent press conference. Every year, more and more boys and girls are joining Insurance for amateur players LATVIA football clubs, who then face the challeng- This year saw the start of a collaboration ing task of making more and more coaches between the Lithuanian Football Federation available. The goal is to strengthen and sup- (LFF) and one of biggest insurance compa- Beach football championship port the clubs and to enable children to play nies in Lithuania, ERGO Lietuva: a contract established football in a way that suits them. between the two was signed in August For the first time in Latvia, a national The LFV and the Football Association of which includes an agreement that all ama- beach football championship was established St. Gallen have become joint patrons of the teur footballers who participate in football and at the beginning of September the final children's football project (aimed at the 6- tournaments supported by the grassroots tournament was played. Latvia’s Baltic coast- 10 age group). The project leader is Beni programme are insured against injury for up line consists of more than 450 kilometres of Bruggmann, who has played a considerable to 77 million Litai (c. CHF 37 million). flat white sand, which is highly suitable for role in the development of children’s foot- The LFF is very pleased to see both the football. The eight winners of the regional ball with the Swiss Football Association. Five involvement of ERGO Lietuva in Lithuanian championships met in a final tournament in coaching tutors from the region are assist- football, and especially the association with Jurmala, ing him with great energy, creating a well- participants of the grassroots programme. This In Group A , the Latgale region was rep- organised team with both experience in insurance company is the first in Lithuania to resented by the Dinamo LAT team, Riga by dealing with children and a methodical contribute to football at an amateur level. ➜

19 ➜ “Our collaboration with the Lithuanian team rankings. “This decision was taken in Football Federation started with the insur- order to promote younger players in pro- ance of amateur football players. We hope fessional football. We have taken into to support any other projects in the future, account the experience of Denmark, Norway not only for young people, but for adults and Scotland,” said Oleg Molceanov, the also,” said Kestutis Bagdonavicius, president head of the FMF youth department. of ERGO Lietuva in the Baltic states. Paying more attention to Moldovan youth According to LFF president Liutauras football has begun to produce some good Varanavicius, most companies come to sup- results. In 2002 the Moldovan U17 team port the national teams and the higher or trained by Petru Efros played in the final round even lower leagues, but very often the am- of the European U17 Championship, which is ateurs who participate in social projects or a significant achievement, while both the U17 youth football are overlooked: “Through the and U19 national teams recently qualified grassroots programme we can help children for the elite rounds of their respective UEFA and young people who play football as am- competitions. ateurs to socialise in their free time.” Victor Daghi According to the statistics, young people D.Aquilina frequently get injuries in their free time. The main goal of the Lithuanian Football Feder- Referees from Malta are anxious to be ation, together with ERGO Lietuva, is to involved with refereeing at the highest level. remind parents that they must aim to NETHERLANDS ensure the safety of young people every day The massive participation of referees, and everywhere. assistant referees and match inspectors was Vaiva Zizaite an encouraging sign of the interest Maltese More and more members match officials are showing to keep abreast Membership of the Dutch FA (KNVB) with developing situations and maintain increased by 35,000 last season. With worldwide uniformity in the way matches 1,125,093 members the KNVB is by far the are controlled. largest sports association in the Netherlands. Alex Vella The federations representing other popular sports such as hockey, tennis and golf have a total number of members that is not even half the membership of the KNVB. Thus, MOLDOVA football has not only retained its position as the most popular sport in the country but its own popularity is at the highest point Focus on youth football ever in the national association’s 117-year On 1 September, more than 5,000 chil- history. dren in 200 teams started the new season The increase can be attributed to two sec- LFF of Moldova’s national youth championship, tors where growth has been most conspic- Liutauras Varanavicius (left), president of organised by the Football Association of uous. The youngest category (boys and girls the LFF, and Kestutis Bagdonavicius, president Moldova (FMF) in six age categories: U12, aged 5 to 8) saw a total gain of nearly of the insurance group ERGO Lietuva, 15,000 members. The rise in the number of with the contract for amateur footballers. U14, U15, U16, U17 and U18. The youngest player in the championship is Oleg Sarioglo women and girls playing football is remark- from Dinamo Bender, aged eight. able as well. In the space of a few years, the The competing teams receive plenty of total number of women and girls playing attention from the FMF, which has provided football has climbed to nearly 100,000. Last MALTA sports equipment, including footballs, to all year over 8,000 girls and women joined foot- teams in recent years. ball clubs all over the country. The FMF executive committee took the In all areas of youth football the mem- Annual referees’ seminar important decision before the start of the bership grew by a small margin, improving The annual Malta FA’s pre-season refer- new championship that from now on, the the position of football among teenagers ees seminar was recently held at the con- tournaments should be played with the par- between 12 and 18. In this age group there ference hall of the Ta’ Qali Centenary Stadi- ticipation of U12, U14, U15 and U16 teams had been a small decrease in numbers in um. The seminar, organised by the MFA’s without counting points as well as with no recent years. referees board, was held under the auspices Ruud Bruijnis, the CEO for non-professional of UEFA and conducted by David Elleray, a football at the KNVB, claimed that the wide member of UEFA’s Referees Committee who range of football activities that the associa- had a distinguished career as a referee in tion has on offer is partly due to the positive England and internationally. An opening balance over last season. “The KNVB makes address by MFA president Joseph Mifsud and sure that players of both sexes and all social an introduction by Tom A. Restall, who is in and religious backgrounds and ages have the charge of the MFA’s referees department, possibility to play football at their own level were followed by three days of lectures, not far from where they live,” he told the workshops and group reports in plenary ses- media when the figures were released. “The sions, with a discussion for all participants ever increasing number of artificial pitches bringing the three-day activity to an end. plays an important role as well. Members can The themes ranged from the referee’s practise on these pitches in larger numbers personality to consistency in sanctioning and more frequently. The major international unsporting behaviour, as well as communi- football events that the Dutch FA organised cation between officials. Judging offside in recent years drew large audiences and have decisions, the management of free kicks and FMF contributed to the rise in the popularity of football in the Netherlands.” positioning in different situations were also No points and no league table to reduce pressure tackled during the seminar. in youth football. Rob de Leede

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obtain a qualification that is recognised and ■ Encourage more locally based players NORTHERN meaningful in third level education. to become integrated into international struc- The catalyst for much of the ongoing tures IRELAND activity is the UEFA Convention on Referee ■ Provide additional logistical support for Education and Organisation, and the asso- senior and U21 international teams Developments in refereeing ciation has three projects in place which are ■ Bring the organisational structure into In December 2005 the Irish Football being cooordinated by Alan Snoddy. line with new resource requirements. Association (IFA) appointed its first Referee A new regional referee development struc- The international performance director will Development Officer with the country’s most ture has been implemented with four groups be responsible for the development of elite experienced referee, of young talent formed and a mentor system players at under-age level and the role will Alan Snoddy, taking up in place. By the end of 2007 work will have also oversee the national academy at Abbots- the post. been completed to ensure each new active town. He will work closely with FAI technical Work began imme- recruit to refereeing has a mentor when he director Packie Bonner and his team, who diately to increase the leaves the beginners’ class and starts offici- will be responsible for the development of number of referees ating. Finally, work has started to ensure ref- players until they graduate from the emerg- with more recruitment eree observers in Northern Ireland have a ing talent programme. The national academy at Abbotstown, campaigns launched meaningful education and development pro- Dublin, is designed to take the best players throughout the coun- gramme in place. IFA who wish to remain in Ireland to pursue their try. This proved suc- A new referee database has also been Alan Snoddy football education after they graduate from cessful with over 200 introduced recently to assist the ongoing the emerging talent programme. The first people trained as referees during 2006/07. administration of refereeing, and soon a DVD phase, the construction of new headquarters Steps are also being taken to ensure these will be launched promoting all areas of ref- for the association, will be completed by the new recruits are retained in refereeing and ereeing in Northern Ireland. end of October. also more work is ongoing to try and increase “Refereeing in Northern Ireland has pro- Fran Whearty the number of newly trained referees be- gressed in many ways in the last year and I coming active; currently approximately one must pay tribute to the many volunteers who third take up active refereeing. continue to give up valuable time instructing Promoting refereeing is also on the and assessing. Without this work we would SERBIA increase with regular positive news stories not be able to grow and this dedication is so circulated to the media and displayed on the valuable,” says Alan Snoddy. “I also know association’s website. when we are accepted into the referee con- Saying no to racism One major initiative is the completion of a vention, we can increase our progress with The Football Association of Serbia has “Referee Skills Programme” aimed at 16-18 the resources that will be available and launched a vigorous initiative against racism year olds in education. This is a 20-hour fully reward the volunteers for their work.” and related phenomena such as nationalism, accredited course supported by the Open Col- hooliganism, chauvinism and xenophobia, lege Network, allowing successful students to Caroline Menary which tarnish the image of sport. After more

tems, the domestic football structure, the REPUBLIC senior international team and the FA’s organisational structures. OF IRELAND Among the key recommendations set out by Genesis are: Football Association of Ireland ■ Change the focus for 6-12 year olds unveils “high performance strategy” from competitive to developmental Having laid the basic foundations for the ■ Create a national academy and up to future development of Irish football with the 12 regional academies publication of the technical development ■ Appoint an international performance FAS director plan in 2004, the Football Association of Ire- Zoran Mirkovic gives out leaflets to supporters ■ land (FAI) has developed a number of spe- Establish an international performance that encourage sporting behaviour. cific strategic plans over the past two years system and an international performance group following extensive consultation with all stakeholders. These plans cover the areas of than 40 disciplinary sanctions in the last 15 emerging talent, the eircom League of years, including for the misconduct of a small group of Serbian supporters at the U21 Ireland, the women’s game, referees and European Championship match against interculturalism. The FAI has also overseen a England this year, the Serbian FA decided major revamp of coach education to cater for to adopt a strong stance to say “no” and 17,000 qualified coaches. “enough is enough” to “supporters” of In addition, the FAI is currently developing this kind. strategies for the amateur game, for schools First at all, on the basis of a EUR 100,000 and for the colleges and universities sector. budget, the anti-racism initiative opened The FAI commissioned strategic management with a public letter to the whole Serbian consultants Genesis to review the area of high nation from FA president Zvezdan Terzic performance in July 2006. The Genesis review entitled “Appeal for football”, in which he presented a clear strategy for the way for- urged everyone to focus exclusively on the ward which has been adopted by the board FAI positive quality of sporting values. of the association. From left to right: David Blood, president of the Since then, the Serbian FA has continued The five strategic themes which drive the FAI; John Delaney, chief executive of the FAI and its action with various events, including at “high performance strategy” are talent Alistair Gray, managing director of Genesis, unveil the EURO 2008 qualifying match against development, performance structure and sys- the high performance strategy to the media. Belgium played in Brussels on 22 August. ➜

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Grassroots football brings joy to children.

➜ A public announcement was made 15 minutes before the match, national team players warmed up in T-shirts carrying the slogan “Stop TURKEY racism”, and journalists and officials delivered flyers highlighting 11 key principles for football fans to the Serbian supporters. Through Hot grassroots summer their involvement, the journalists wished to The 2007 summer grassroots activities TFF show their solidarity with this course of action. began in Turkey in May, even before the sum- In the forefront of the FA’s action, senior na- mer. The Mevlana Konya grassroots festival body; the children played football, chess, had tional team sports director Zoran Mirkovic said: was the first event, followed by the Trabzon rhythm classes altogether, and spent some time “I deeply believe that football and sport in grassroots festival, each attracting about young on the beach.The grassroots spirit was every- general should show no tolerance for racism participants. The Ankara football festival was where and the main purpose of friendship and and related phenomena. We need a positive held at the end of June, involving 164 teams fair play was definitely fulfilled. spirit, fair play, competitiveness and also respect and more than 1,500 eight and nine-year-olds. The biggest disability football event of the for all involved in football. We are strong Also in June, a girls’ football tournament was summer took place in Istanbul in September, enough and we will come out on top.” held in Istanbul for 16 school teams. with the participation of approximately 20 dis- The Serbian FA initiative, which will be con- The TFA has a new and strong sponsor for abled players. At the end of the festival, the tinued at the match against Finland in Belgrade its grassroots activities. Ülker, one of the participants went to see the Turkey v Hungary on 8 September, has the full backing and biggest firms in the food industry, has been international. cooperation of the Ministry of Sport. very supportive,especially for the 2007 Van With the final games of the Turkish beach Aleksandar Boskovic football village event, which was this summer’s soccer league in Antalya and the futsal tour- pioneer grassroots project of the TFA. nament in Northern Cyprus in September, the The first Istanbul Riva international under- 2007 grassroots summer activities that were 12 grassroots festival took place in July. Partic- run in 15 different regions throughout Turkey ipants came from Northern Cyprus, Germany, will come to an end, and more than 200,000 SWITZERLAND FYR Macedonia, Russia and Ukraine, and there people of all ages will remember this summer was also a TFA team, a football village team as full of football, fun and fair play. and a team comprising Turkish boys and girls Pierre-André Schürmann living in Germany. It was a great week for every- Zeynepgül Ene becomes new U21 coach The new coach of the Swiss U21 team, Pierre-André Schürmann, got off to a winning start in his new post with a 2-1 victory in coach, that emerged winners of the compe- Belgium. The executive committee of the Swiss tition, repeating the success the following year. Football Association elected Schürmann UKRAINE In 2005 the Polish national team took the first to succeed Bernard prize. Two years ago it was decided to involve Challandes. U21s, since when we have witnessed the Schürmann has been Lobanovskiy Forever! double triumph of Israel. contracted as a youth The Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU) This year’s tournament, as before bearing coach with the Swiss FA has successfully held the fifth international the motto “Lobanovskiy Forever”, received since July 2001. During memorial tournament to the greatest ever special attention from the FFU, as many of this time he formed part Ukrainian coach, Valeriy Lobanovskiy. The tour- today’s Ukrainian U21 players are expected to of the training staff nament in Kiev was won by Israel’s U21 team shine at EURO 2012, which will be staged in of the European U17 for the second year in a row after they Poland and Ukraine. So we can figuratively Championship-winning Pierre-André defeated Serbia 2-0 in the final. The hosts had say that Valeriy Lobanovskiy still cares about team in 2002 and Schürmann ASF/SFV to be content with third place, beating Mol- the future of Ukrainian football. helped the U19s to dova 3-1. Before this, in the semi-finals, Israel Lobanovskiy is considered the pioneer of reach the semi-finals of the equivalent com- had beaten Ukraine on penalties, and Serbia the scientific approach to football in Ukraine, petition on home soil in 2004, meaning that overcame Moldova in the same way. which enabled him to gain eight USSR and this team qualified for the final round of the “Five years have passed since we suffered five Ukraine titles, six Soviet and three Ukraine U20 World Cup in the Netherlands in 2005. the loss of Valeriy Lobanovskiy, a coaching Cups, two UEFA Cup Winners’ Cups and a Between 1978 and 1997, Schürmann’s genius and great man, but our hearts still UEFA Super Cup with Dynamo Kyiv. Each of playing career took him to Sion, Monthey, hurt,” said the president of the FFU, Grygoriy Lobanovskiy’s Dynamo generations had great Chiasso, Vevey, Lausanne, Basle and Wil; he Surkis. “I doubt there is anyone who didn’t international success, the last being in the made a total of 425 appearances in the Swiss respect this maestro, and our main task is Champions League 1998/99 when Kyiv got national league and scored 105 goals. He be- to hold him in remem- to the semi-finals. Three gan his coaching career as player-coach with brance. Moreover, as he of his pupils were Wil in 1994 and then became coach between wholeheartedly worked named European play- 1995 and 1997, reaching the quarter finals of for the best in Ukrainian ers of the year, namely the Swiss Cup once and the last 16 twice with football, we have to Oleg Blokhin, Igor the second division side. After a one-year spell carry on his course. The Belanov and Andriy as technical director of Lausanne, he was coach Lobanovskiy memorial Shevchenko. The great between October 1998 and late 2000. Schür- tournament is one more coach also successfully mann won the Swiss Cup with Vaudois club step in the progress of worked with the na- in 1999, reached the final again the following football in our country.” tional teams of the year and helped the club to finish the cham- The first Valeriy USSR and Ukraine. He pionship once in third place and once as Lobanovskiy memorial died on 13 May 2002 runners-up. Under Schürmann’s leadership, tournament in 2003 wel- as a result of an acute Lausanne reached the fourth round of the comed four famous stroke suffered during UEFA Cup in 2000/01, beating Cork City, clubs, and it was the match against Met- Torpedo Moscow und Ajax Amsterdam before Dynamo Kyiv, where Olexandr Zadiraka alurh in Zaporizhya five finally losing out to Nantes. Lobanovskiy spent 22 Ukraine vs Moldova in the Lobanovskiy days before. Pierre Benoit years as a player and a Memorial tournament. Bogdan Buga

22 uefadirect 10.07 UEFA

Notices

■ Jean-Marie Philips has been chief executive of the Belgian Football Association since Communications 1 September. ■ The Kazakhstan Football Association Birthdays – Calendar elected Adilbek Dzhaksybekov as its new president on 28 August. Maxim Lebedev is the new general secretary. ■ The Georgian Football Association has a new fax number: + 995 32 915 995. Birthdays ● Jean-Marie Philips (Belgium, 17.10) ■ The Football Association of Montenegro ● Frans Hoek (Netherlands, 17.10) has moved into its new headquarters at ● the following address: Ulica 19. decembra bb Doping Control Officer Frits Kessel Aivar Pohlak (Estonia, 19.10) 81000 Podgorica – Montenegro (Netherlands), celebrates his 70th birth- ● Imre Bozóky (Hungary, 20.10) Tel.: +382 81 445 600 and 445 601 Fax: +382 81 445 660 day on 12 October. He will be followed ● Joseph Bertram Worrall (England, 21.10) the day after by Willy Goovaerts (Bel- ● Paul Philipp (Luxemburg, 21.10) ● Match agents gium), a referee observer, and on 15 Oc- Philip Pritchard (Wales, 22.10) ● Mircea Sandu (Romania, 22.10) tober by Tom van der Hulst (Nether- Match agent licences have been awarded to: ● lands), a member of the group of for- Jan C. Huijbregts (Netherlands, 23.10) Elzbieta BARTOSZCZE ● mer UEFA committee members. Match Michel Vautrot (France, 23.10) Bystrzyca Stara 93, 23107 Strzyzewice, Poland ● Tel./Fax: +48 81 566 6283, [email protected] delegate Arie Wolf (Israel) celebrates Dragutin Karlo Poljak (Croatia, 23.10) ● Christian Teinturier (France, 24.10) Richard METTES his 60th birthday on 22 October. TOTAL FOOTBALL AGENCY ● Antonin Herzog (Czech Republic, 24.10) Hugh Dallas (Scotland), a member Leidsevaart 452, 2014 HP Haarlem, Netherlands ● Pekka Hämäläinen (Finland, 25.10) Tel./Fax: +31 23 524 7236 of the Referees Committee, turns 50 [email protected] ● Perry Gautier (Belgium, 26.10) on 26 October. www.totalfootballagency.com ● Ramiz Mirzayev (Azerbaijan, 27.10) UEFA also wishes many happy returns to: Philip SMITH ● Javier Lozano Cid (Spain, 28.10) FIRST ARTIST CORPORATION PLC ● Trevor Brooking (England, 2.10) ● First Artist House, 7 Wembley Hill Road Rui Cacador (Portugal, 29.10) Wembley Middlesex HA9 8BU, England ● Levent Bicakci (Turkey, 2.10) ● Gijsbert van Oostveen Tel.: +44 20 8900 1818 / Fax: +44 20 8903 2964 ● Andrzej Wach (Poland, 2.10) (Netherlands, 30.10) [email protected] / www.firstartist.com ● David Richards (England, 3.10) ● José Luis Astiazaran Iriondo Andrés ROLDÁN ● FOOTBALL IMPACT S.L., C/Pedro Villandrado n° 2, Julius Kvedaras (Lithuania, 3.10) (Spain, 31.10) Oficina 4, 29600 Marbella, Spain ● Léon Schelings (Belgium, 3.10) Tel.: +34 952 86 08 02 / Fax: +34 952 92 57 36 ● Wilfried Heitmann (Germany, 4.10) [email protected] www.footballimpact.com ● Khennet Tallinger (Sweden, 4.10) Upcoming events João ALMEIDA ● Silvo Borosak (Slovenia, 4.10) Rua Albano Coelho Lima, 4° Bloco 5° Dto, ● Frank Coulston (Scotland, 5.10) 4810 Pevidem, Guimaraes, Portugal ● Meetings Tél.: +351 96 514 60 11 / Fax: +351 253 535 878 Albertus Hendrikus Korthals [email protected] (Netherlands, 5.10) 9.10.2007, Nyon Guy Dejaeghere (Belgium) has had his licence ● Kaare Inge Lindboe (Norway, 6.10) Draw for the UEFA Cup group matches renewed for eight years, until 16 July 2015. ● However, Kenneth Rowley (England) has had his Angelo Carlos Brou (Portugal, 7.10) UEFA licence revoked. ● 23-25.10.2007, Nyon Armand Duka (Albania, 7.10) Course for international women referees ● Jari Maisonlahti (Finland, 7.10) New book ● Pierre Delaunay (France, 9.10) ● Sergey Zuev (Russia, 9.10) Competitions Football Fans Guide ● Ellert B. Schram (Iceland, 10.10) 2-3.10.2007 Football clubs take plenty of supporters with ● Milovan Nikolic (Slovenia, 10.10) UEFA Champions League: group matches them when they travel to away matches. ● This guide is designed to make Leonard Nokes (Wales, 10.10) (matchday 2) life easier for English supporters ● David Petriashvili (Georgia, 10.10) by supplying them with a ● 4.10.2007 wealth of practical information, Joan Gaspart (Spain, 11.10) UEFA Cup: first round (second legs) ● including how to get to the Bo Karlsson (Sweden, 12.10) game and food and drink both ● Jean-Pierre Morlans (France, 13.10) 23-24.10.2007 at the stadium and in the sur- ● George Brian Smith (Scotland, 14.10) UEFA Champions League: group matches rounding area. It covers all the ● Michel Piraux (Belgium, 15.10) (matchday 3) clubs in the Premiership and the Football League, as well as the new ● David Blood (Rep. Ireland, 16.10) 25.10.2007 Wembley (by Mark Bisson of Pitch Publishing, ● John Delaney (Rep. Ireland, 16.10) UEFA Cup: group matches (matchday 1) [email protected]).

WE CARE ABOUT FOOTBALL Editor André Vieli The views expressed in signed articles are not necessarily the Produced by Atema Communication SA, CH-1196 Gland official views of UEFA. Official publication of the The reproduction of articles Union des associations or extracts of any information européennes de football Printed by Cavin SA, CH-1422 Grandson published in uefadirect is authorised, provided the Communications and Public Affairs Division Editorial deadline: 14 September 2007 source is indicated. UEFA Route de Genève 46 Union des associations CH-1260 Nyon européennes de football Switzerland Phone +41 848 00 27 27 Fax +41 848 01 27 27 uefa.com