No 5865 – FévrierSeptember 2007 2007 9.07 of communitywork? Sanctions intheform the run-in EURO 2008qualifiers: for theleagues Over retain theirU19titles andSpain € 43 million 10 08 07 03 Message Photos: UEFA-pjwoods.ch of the General Secretary Evolution, not revolution

In the first part of the year, UEFA experienced one of the busiest periods of change in its history. A new UEFA president was elected, the UEFA Statutes were revised and the post of UEFA General Secretary created. The UEFA General Secretary is responsible for the organisation, manage- ment and direction of the administration. It is a role including both leadership and management responsibilities. In this context, my experience of almost eight years at the Scottish Football Association has been very valuable, as the activities of UEFA are not so different from that of a national association – except in scale! We succeed in UEFA by running top European football competitions, im- proving standards at all levels of the game, and by properly representing the interests IN THIS ISSUE of European football with FIFA and the European Union. There is much to be proud Another German victory of in European football – pyramid league structures, solidarity schemes, grassroots in women’s football 03 activities – but we must never be satisfied with what we have achieved. There is keep their U19 title 05 always room to do better. Football will prosper more if we create greater unity in the European foot- Solidarity payments to the leagues 07 ball family, based on a recognition of the diverse interests which are represented in our game. My more immediate concern is to ensure that the UEFA administration EURO 2008 qualifiers: the run-in 08 performs at a high level in the service of European football. New leadership always brings change – but the success of UEFA means that change will be that of evolution, Sanctions in the form of community work? 10 not revolution. Best wishes for the coming season, News from member associations 15

COVER David Taylor UEFA General Secretary Stability was the keyword in the European U19 Championship final rounds: Germany and Spain, the respective title-holders in the women’s and men’s championships, maintained their supremacy. Spanish captain Cesar Azpilicueta holds the trophy aloft. Photo: Sportsfile

02 uefadirect 9.07 Women’s Under-19 Championship FavouritesFavourites livelive upup toto theirtheir billingbilling Sportsfile

BEING CLEAR FAVOURITES TO WIN A COMPETITION IS ONE THING, before the tournament that they BUT ACTUALLY MEETING THOSE EXPECTATIONS IS QUITE ANOTHER, AND MANY were a match for anyone. But in Ice- land, after a victory over Spain, the A TEAM OR ATHLETE KNOWS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE NOT TO BE ABLE French came unstuck against a fit TO HIT TOP GEAR WHEN IT COUNTS. English team, and despite beating Poland in their last match, they were The German women’s under-19 crowned champions last year among only able to make it to second place team did not, however, let themselves them – began their campaign quietly in the group, behind England, which be put off by the pressure of being but successfully, beating meant another duel between the the favourites. Apart from being by a single goal, before doubling only two teams which have taken part the reigning title-holders, following this margin against Norway and in every Women's Under-19 final their victory against France last the host nation. round since 2002. year, as well as four-times Under- After opening the score just 18/19 champions, they looked Familiar opposition before half-time, Germany doubled more and more like potential win- In the semi-finals, Germany their lead in the second half and ners after sailing through the two qualify- met an old adversary in the shape seemed sure of a smooth ride, but ing rounds of the competition by winning of their opponents from the 2006 France found the mettle to fight back all six of their matches and notching up final, France, who had also proved and equalise within ten minutes. a goal difference of 43 for and only two their considerable authority during the “One of our strengths is that we never against in the process! qualifying rounds, winning their six give up and we can always improve In Group A of the final round matches by scoring 31 goals and con- on our level of play.” German player played out in Iceland from 18 to 29 July, ceding only one, prompting their Susanne Hartel, a second-half sub- Maren Meinert’s girls – six of the team coach, Stéphane Paillard, to declare stitute, proved the truth of that state-

03 An all-Scan- The first goal Participation dinavian tussle of the final, in their first between scored by under-19 Norway’s the German final round Ingvild Landvik Nathalie Bock was a valuable Isaksen (left) (8). experience for and Denmark’s Iceland. Louise Egebjerg Christensen.

ment when she scored her team’s third had burnt up some of their energy experience for all of us and it shows what goal, in extra time, just six minutes away reserves in the tension of the extra time we can do. You have to have that extra bit from a penalty shoot-out. Her team- against France. Whatever the reason, of quality and Germany had that today.” mate Isabel Kerschowski sealed the vic- caution was very much the watchword Moreover, the presence of Mo Marley’s tory just a few seconds before the referee in the first half, and even in the second, team in the final confirms the progress of blew the final whistle. It will certainly neither defence had too much trouble women’s football in England, as already have been a hard defeat for France quashing any attacks. As a result, witnessed this year with the victory of to swallow, but they did not leave Ice- extra time was needed again, during Arsenal LFC in the UEFA Women’s Cup. land empty-handed, deservedly sharing which the Germans eventually con- Hosted by the Icelandic Football the fair play award with Norway. firmed their superiority through two Association ten years after its first Euro- goals scored by Nathalie Bock and pean final round, in the European Under- History in the making Monique Kerschowski. 18 Championship, this tournament In the other semi-final, England formed part of the association’s 60th qualified for their first Women’s Under- Overall satisfaction anniversary celebrations. In terms of a gift, 19 final without too much trouble, “It's been a good game,” said it offered the association a superb oppor- two goals from Ellen White and one Maren Meinert after another victory for tunity to expand its experience, while from Elizabeth Edwards helping them her team in the final. “For eleven of the showing its hosts – among them UEFA to victory against a Norwegian side players, today is the first time they’ve president Michel Platini – that it was lacking in any incisive force. won and for the others… the second already more than capable of satisfactorily Played in cool weather and one is no different to the first – they’re fulfilling the task it had been set. intermittent rain, the final at the Lau- all great. In extra time they were still in gardalsvöllur stadium in Reykjavik barely good shape and it was hard found any rhythm – perhaps because, to create the first goal. Iceland, 18-29 July 2007 even by admission of their coach, Next is the FIFA U-20 Group A Mo Marley, the young and inexperienced World Cup – we have Denmark – Germany 0-1 English team surprised 17 months to get Iceland – Norway 0-5 themselves by reaching ready.” Norway – Germany 0-2 Iceland – Denmark 1-2 the final, or maybe Norway – Denmark 2-1 because the Germans Germany – Iceland 4-2

Group B Spain – France 0-1 Her English coun- Poland – England 1-1 terpart, Mo Marley, was England – France 3-1 obviously disappointed, but Poland – Spain 0-2 England – Spain 1-0 remained positive: “We had Germany (Isabel France – Poland 4-0 Kerschowski, a game plan, it worked and No. 9) once again we were confident we could Semi-finals blocked France’s route into the get through to extra time Germany – France 4-2 (a.e.t) final (Chloé England – Norway 3-0 Mazaloubeaud). and then maybe penal- ties, and get something Final from it. It wasn’t to Germany – England 2-0 (a.e.t) be today but it’s a new

Four teams in Chile The four semi-finalists of this European champ- ionship – England, France, Germany and Norway – will represent Europe in the next FIFA Women’s U-20

Photos: Sportsfile World Cup, to be played in Chile in 2008.

04 uefadirect 9.07 Sotirios Ninis The Greek public of Greece enjoyed plenty of tries to fend exciting moments, off Spanish such as the decisive defender goal by Andreas Javier Cantero. Lampropoulos in the semi-final against Germany.

play to win. We played a great Greece side. …I liked their team a lot. But we European U19 had some good luck today and that’s what decided it.” His Greek counterpart Nikolaos Nioplias was disappointed at losing the final but had words of praise Championship for his players: “I want to give my thanks to the whole team. We played against a Spain team that is very well formed at this level… but we were great oppo- in nents for them tonight.”

Spanish dominance The road to the final continues Both semi-final matches could hardly have been more dramatic. First of all, Greece beat group B winners Ger- A HARD-FOUGHT 1-0 VICTORY AGAINST GREECE MEANT THAT many 3-2, despite having a player sent SPAIN BECAME THE FIRST TEAM TO SUCCESSFULLY DEFEND THE EUROPEAN off and playing with ten men for the last U19 CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE SINCE THE COMPETITION CHANGED FROM half hour. The decider only came in the last minute, Andreas Lampropoulos scor- ITS U18 FORMAT IN THE 2001/02 SEASON. ing from a corner. Despite their numeri- cal superiority and a brace of goals from The Spaniards thus won both an equaliser but, as had been the case in Anis Ben-Hatira, the HSV midfielder UEFA youth competitions in the same the goal-less group stage game six days of Tunisian origin, the Germans suffered year, a feat previously achieved only earlier, were unable to find a way through. an unexpected defeat. In the second by the , who were U16 semi-final, group A winners Spain faced and U18 winners in 1998. It was another What the coaches had to say France, the group B runners-up. In a triumph for legendary 70-year-old coach Winning coach Juan Santisteban, match with a dearth of clear-cut scoring Juan Santisteban, who had already led who has been in charge of the Spanish chances which went to penalties after the Spanish U17 team to the European youth teams since 1988, said after the ending goal-less, Spanish replacement championship title in Belgium in May and final: “The final, as I always say, is a match goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo, who had has now notched up eight European in which we never play well – you just come on in the second half for the injured championship trophies. The Spanish dom- inance is particularly impressive in the U19 category, where they have won four out of the last six tournaments.

Final decided by moment of inspiration In an intense, hard-fought final refereed by Swiss official Claudio Circhetta, it was a flash of opportunism by Daniel Parejo which ultimately made the differ- ence. In the 38th minute, the Real midfielder beat the Greek keeper at the near post with a free kick from the left, from which a direct strike had looked unlikely. The Greeks, who were playing in only their second European youth champ- ionship final, having been finalists in 1985, moved heaven and earth to score Photos: Sportsfile 05 Malaury Austria v Dr Mogens Martin : the Kreutzfeldt, (No. 8, France) Austrian specta- member of up against tors were out UEFA’s Medical Mikel Sanjose in force, even if Committee, Dominguez their favourites draws the play- of Spain in didn’t fully ers’ attention the semi-final. meet their to the dangers expectations. of doping.

Austria, 16-27 July 2007 Felipe Ramos, was the hero of the hour, good, it’s becoming very athletic. When Group A saving two spot-kicks, while his team- you look at the size of some of the Greece – Portugal 1-0 Austria – Spain 0-2 mates converted all four of theirs. French players and the back fours of Spain – Portugal 1-1 Serbia and Russia, they’re all athletes. Austria – Greece 1-1 Tournament facts and figures It would worry me if we were going too Portugal – Austria 2-0 Spain – Greece 0-0 A total of 42 goals were scored much for the athletes, and less for the in the 15 matches in the final round in technician. Those are the players that are Group B Austria, an average of 2.8 goals per going to win you games.” Germany – Russia 3-2 game. A remarkable fact was that almost France – Serbia 5-2 Russia – Serbia 2-6 half the goals (20) were scored in the Positive balance overall Germany – France 1-1 three matches involving the Serbian In the run-up to the final in , Serbia – Germany 2-3 team. The Serbs, who had four players UEFA president Michel Platini praised Russia – France 0-0 scoring two goals each, not only con- the Austrian FA (ÖFB) and the Upper Aus- Semi-finals tributed to a great spectacle but also won tria FA in glowing terms for their organi- Germany – Greece 2-3 the fair play trophy, ahead of Russia and sational efforts. “On behalf of UEFA I’d Spain – France 0-0, 4-2 Germany. Top scorers in the tournament, like to congratulate the ÖFB on the won- on penalties however, were Anis Ben-Hatira of derful work they’ve done for this Euro- Final Germany, Kostas Mitroglou of Greece pean U19 Championship,” he said. “It’s Spain – Greece 1-0 and Kévin Monnet-Paquet of France with been fantastic. A total of 70,000 specta- three goals apiece. tors is fantastic. I don’t know who’ll As usual, a UEFA technical study win the final, but you have won already Cup final round in Canada, when they group attended the matches, and the because you’ve done a fantastic job.” reached the semi-final. The team came experts were very impressed by what they This tournament, which was to grief in the group stage against Spain, saw. Technical observer Roy Millar said: staged in Linz, Pasching, Ried and Steyr, Greece and Portugal. Bearing in mind, “I’ve sometimes forgotten I was watching was an important dress rehearsal for the however, that most of the Austrian play- youth football and thought I was watch- host country with a view to the upcoming ers, unlike those of other teams, are still ing senior internationals. All teams have EURO 2008, which it is co-hosting with playing at lower league or amateur level, been really well organised, especially Switzerland. On the sporting side, the the tournament was at least an enriching in defence, and their technical skills were Austrians were unable to repeat their and valuable experience for them. excellent… Physically the players are very heroic exploits from the FIFA U-20 World Fight against doping and racism also in the spotlight At the U19 Championship UEFA continued its series of anti-doping presen- tations, which it has been making at all final rounds of youth tournaments and the European U21 Championship for the last two years. During these one-hour ses- sions, the players were told of the risks that doping can pose to their health and their career, as well as being informed about doping control procedures. The fight against racism was also a focus at Giannis Papadopoulos the tournament. Before the match be- of Greece tries to get past Cesar tween Austria and Spain, both captains Azpilicueta of turned to the crowd of nearly 12,000 and Spain in the final. read out an anti-racism message, while the ÖFB had been running a major cam- paign in conjunction with many local schools culminating in various projects

Photos: Sportsfile and initiatives.

06 uefadirect 9.07 Leagues not represented Norway 351 500 Austria 340 800 Poland 308 300 Switzerland 307 200

UEFA-pjwoods.ch UEFA-pjwoods.ch Sweden 282 900 Israel 243 000 Iceland 225 200 Republic of Ireland 224 700 Hungary 218 200 Czech Republic 198 500 Solidarity Cyprus 195 900 Albania 192 100 Croatia 189 800 Serbia 187 000 Slovenia 180 700 180 200 payments 174 800 to European leagues Malta 174 300 Slovakia 171 800 THE SYSTEM FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF REVENUE FROM THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Bosnia and Herzegovina 171 700 170 500 ALLOCATES A PROPORTION TO THE TOP LEAGUES OF UEFA’S MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS. Armenia 170 300 THIS PAYMENT IS AIMED AT SUPPORTING YOUTH DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES IN FYR Macedonia 170 000 PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL. IT COMPLEMENTS OTHER UEFA INITIATIVES SUCH AS CLUB Belarus 168 700 Azerbaijan 168 100 LICENSING AND THE INTRODUCTION OF RULES ON LOCALLY TRAINED PLAYERS. 167 200 Estonia 167 000 For the first time, the payments The distribution of these 167 000 for the season 2006-07 have been calcu- amounts does not concern the clubs Lithuania 167 000 lated in euros, and the share for the leagues that participated in the Champions Andorra 166 700 amounts to more than EUR 43.2 million. League since they received their Faroe Islands 166 700 The guaranteed minimum for each share of revenue directly (see Liechtenstein 166 700 league is EUR 166,700. The amount uefadirect No. 63). Luxembourg 166 700 then varies according to a number As regards the leagues Northern Ireland 166 700 of criteria. which were not represented in San Marino 166 700 The most important of these the UEFA Champions League last Wales 166 700 is whether or not an association was season, the differences between TOTAL EUR 7 201 300 represented in last season’s Champions the amounts paid are also explained League. In 2006/07, a total of 16 national by the value of the respective markets. associations had at least one club in the The payments are made ions League) are only eligible for a share competition and their leagues have received through the national associations, of the revenue if they provide a youth the following amounts, which vary accord- which pass on the full amounts to their training programme which meets the ing to the value of the respective markets in respective top leagues. If there is no requirements of the UEFA-approved the countries concerned: league recognised by UEFA within an national club licensing manual. Requests association, the association itself takes for payments must be made by the Leagues represented care of distribution according to the national associations no later than terms laid down by UEFA for the 31 December 2007, indicating the exact England 6 515 000 leagues. One of these terms states that allocation planned within the league Italy 6 465 000 clubs (non-participants in the Champ- and the criteria used in that process. Germany 4 056 000 Spain 3 861 000 France 3 409 000 2 670 000 Greece 1 441 000 1 318 000 All the prestige of the UEFA Scotland 1 160 000 Champions League high- Denmark 1 043 000 lighted as the two teams, AC Milan and Liverpool FC, Belgium 991 000 came onto the pitch to contest Portugal 848 000 the final last May. 642 000 Russia 584 000 Ukraine 542 000 455 000 Sabattini TOTAL EUR 36 000 000

07 Armenia pulled Steffen Iversen off a great scores for victory against Norway against Images Poland. Hungary. The Norwegians are still in the AFP/Getty

/AFP/Getty Images running for the top two spots. Minasyan/ Bendiksby

EUROGiants fighting 2008 back

ITALY, SPAIN AND ENGLAND ALL MADE DISAPPOINTING STARTS TO THE QUALIFYING CAMPAIGN FOR EURO 2008, WHICH IS TO BE HELD IN SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA. AS THEY APPROACH THE HOME STRAIGHT, THE BIG GUNS HAVE RALLIED AND ARE BACK IN THE RECKONING. NEVERTHELESS, SURPRISES ARE STILL LIKELY. A SUMMARY OF THE CURRENT SITUATION...

In the Group A, four of the to Portugal and Finland in September. eight teams still have a genuine chance Finalists at EURO 2004, which they of qualification, but whenever one of hosted, the Portuguese have the poten- them seems capable of breaking tial to top the group thanks to many, have continued their good form. clear, they are thwarted by an un- their technical ability and the Meanwhile, the team coached since expected result. The latest exam- presence of . January by Alex McLeish (who took over ple was Poland's surprising defeat Following the arrival of Javier from Walter Smith when he returned in Armenia. Leo Beenhakker's Clemente, the Serbs have re- to Rangers) and which has failed to men, who are aiming for their gained the defensive sturdiness reach a major finals since 1998, is doing first-ever appearance in the European that they briefly lost at the World Cup surprisingly well. Championship finals, face tough trips finals and are also a force to be reck- oned with. However, the Finnish team Group C: champions on course coached by Roy Hodgson, which Since collapsing to a 4-1 home started the campaign well, appear to defeat against Turkey, title-holders be on a downward curve. Greece, led by Otto Rehhagel, have recovered and appear to be breaking Group B: final sprint without clear at the top of the group. This is Totti and Nesta partly due to the Turks' decline in form, After a miserable start (one despite five goals from the "eternal" point from two matches), Italy have Hakan Sükür. After successfully sal- won five games on the trot. However, vaging a point against Norway, Fatih coach Roberto Donadoni will have to Terim's men lost 3-2 in Bosnia, conced- do without the services of Francesco ing an 89th-minute winner after leading Totti, who has officially announced his twice during the match. The fact that retirement from international football. they are now able to play matches at The AS Roma captain has not pulled on home again (the suspension having the blue jersey since the World Cup been served) is in their favour. However, final. Another significant loss is that of Bosnia-Herzegovina, who have been defender Alessandro Nesta who, a making steady progress since their inde- week after Totti, also announced that pendence, and a solid Norwegian team he would no longer be playing for his are still in with a shout. country. Group leaders France, mean- while, have coped well with the retire- Group D: Germany lead the way ment of Zinédine Zidane. Franck Ribéry After finishing third in the last has established himself and the young World Cup, Germany have almost quali- Samir Nasri has begun to show genuine fied for EURO 2008. Joachim Löw's men technical ability. Behind last year's have more points and goals to their Samir Nasri: World Cup finalists, Ukraine and Scot- name than any of the other 49 nations the new land are also in the running. Oleg face in the participating in the qualifying compe-

French team. Dufour/AFP/Getty Images Blokhin's men, quarter-finalists in Ger- tition. Their win in the Czech Republic

08 uefadirect 9.07 David Villa Russia and on his own against Croatia the Liechtenstein are among defence – but the four the Spaniard ended contenders up scoring twice. for quali- fication from Group E. Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images Coffrini/AFP/Getty Polan/AFP/Getty Images

Championship final round for the first with nine goals, surprisingly lie in wait. time. Guus Hiddink's Russia can boast However, they still have to travel to Swe- the best defence of the 50 partici- den and Spain. pating teams (only one goal conceded). Matches between these sides will no Group G: third coach for Bulgaria doubt determine the final outcome. Three nations have a legitimate Another piece of news from this group hope of qualification. Led by Adrian is the resignation of Estonian coach Mutu, Romania appear strong and still Jelle Goes, who was replaced by Viggo have a home match with the Nether- Jensen on 17 July. lands to come. Despite being a former

The power world-class striker and 1988 European of Germany’s Group F: a sad derby champion, Dutch coach Marco van Christoph Metzelder 1992 European champions Den- Basten is having trouble devising a pro- (No. 21) against mark saw their chances of participating in lific attacking formula. His team have the fiery tempo of Matej Krajcik the 2008 finals virtually reduced to zero only scored eight goals. Even though

in the Germany Images Treblin/AFP/Getty after the 3-0 defeat to Sweden imposed Holland's youngsters are showing prom- v. Slovakia match. by the UEFA Control and Disciplinary ise (having won the European Under-21 Body. Following the pitch invasion by a title twice in a row), the anticipated re- virtually guaranteed them a place in the drunk supporter who attacked the referee, turn of – voluntarily finals. Karel Brückner's men, mean- the Danes must also play two matches absent since the World Cup – should while, have no more room for error but behind closed doors. The Swedes, who in make the biggest difference. Bulgaria still retain grounds for optimism: Karel Johan Elmander seem to have found may fight all the way, despite two Poborsky (118 caps) has rejoined the a worthy successor to Henrik Larsson, recent changes of coach. In April, Hristo fold and the future seems bright follow- currently lead the way. Spain, meanwhile, Stoïchkov left his post to coach Celta ing the Czech team's run to the final have recovered from a worrying start to Vigo. On 30 July, Dimitar Penev (who led of the Under-20 World Cup. Their Slo- the campaign, largely thanks to seven Bulgaria to the World Cup semi-finals in vakian "cousins", despite reaching the goals from David Villa. Imperious at youth 1994) returned to replace temporary play-offs in the last World Cup qualify- level, will the Spaniards finally manage to coach Stanimir Stoilov. On the same day, ing competition and replacing coach convince in a major championship? Belarus appointed German coach Bernd Dusan Galis with Ian Kocian, are virtual- Northern Ireland, whose is Stange to replace Juri Puntus. ly out of the running, along with Wales, the top goalscorer in the competition Emanuele Saraceno who are now without Ryan Giggs. The brilliant Manchester United winger has retired from international football. The Republic of Ireland, coached by young Stephen Staunton (a former "green army" legend), have not given up hope, despite a shock defeat in Cyprus.

Group E: the return of "King David" Coach Steve McClaren recog- nised that David Beckham is still one of England's best players when he recalled him after several months out of his squad, during which the team failed to shine. However, his return does not automatically mean England will qualify. They are currently the worst placed of four potential qualifiers. Croatia have found a real goalscorer by naturalising Brazilian Eduardo da Silva, who is well supported by Mladen Petric (who also holds a Swiss passport). Israel are Romania looked solid, as shown by Ciprian Marica (left) holding off relying on their squad's togetherness Bojan Jokic of Slovenia. to help them qualify for a European Mihailescu/AFP/Getty Images

09 Fabien Barthez UEFA’s does community Control & service. Disciplinary Body. Flash Press UEFA-pjwoods.ch

ing after which we’ll send him out on the pitch. Then he’ll see what referees have to put up with. If he mends his Disciplinary ways, his punishment will be reduced and part of it will be suspended. But he has to serve at least half the original sentence.” The FFF has two million mem- bers. It cannot afford to make these measures penalties standard, otherwise it would Sanctions in the form of have to set up a “community service” committee to handle community service? them. The good thing for France MARK VAN BOMMEL, THE BAYERN MUNICH MIDFIELDER, HAS BEEN is that football is ORDERED TO TAKE PART IN ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE FAIR PLAY AS PART organised on a decentralised basis. OF THE DISCIPLINARY SANCTIONS IMPOSED ON HIM FOLLOWING THE “We were obliged OBSCENE GESTURE HE MADE DURING A UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCH. to organise the tasks Playing against Real Madrid, a referee. After the Moroccan associa- Van Bommel lost his self-control. Venting tion sent the file to the French Football his frustration with an obscene gesture Federation (FFF), the FFF disciplinary towards the fans, the Bayern midfielder committee suspended the goalkeeper failed as a role model, and this kind of for six months, from the end of March behaviour also runs the risk of provoking to the end of September 2005. It also violence in the stands. The UEFA Control obliged him to perform a total of & Disciplinary Body imposed a three- ten community service tasks during part sanction on the Dutchman: apart his suspension, which included from receiving a EUR 6,200 fine and a meeting referees, helping to suspended one-match ban, Van Bommel train youth goalkeep- will be required to promote fair play at ers, and interacting a UEFA youth tournament. In this way with futsal and the player will have to face up to his women’s teams. action and devote some of his free time His has been the to rectifying the bad example which he highest-profile case involving a disci- set for young players. plinary measure which has been in FIFA took a similar approach effect for more than five years, as towards Zinédine Zidane, following his Jean Lapeyre, FFF deputy CEO in infamous headbutt in response to being charge of legal affairs, explained. insulted by Marco Materazzi in the “This sanction forms an integral World Cup final. This was the French- part of our statutes but we keep man’s last match, in the aftermath it for serious cases, such as assault Punishment of which he completed three days of on a referee. If it’s a first offence, with a difference community service. if the person concerned seems for Mark van Bommel. Are such measures applicable to be decent but did something at national association level? It seems stupid and let his emotions get that only France has made use of this the better of him, we make the course of action, but the member asso- following proposal: you’re going ciations asked have expressed great to be suspended for five years. You interest in UEFA’s idea. have to serve your suspension but you can do community work as part Barthez: a precedent in France of it. We have to have his agreement.

During a friendly game played If he struck a referee, Photos Empics/PA by in Morocco he’ll follow a in March 2005, Fabien Barthez spat at course of train-

10 uefadirect 9.07 Footballers Media coverage have of top-level to promote football vastly fair play. increases its influence on the game at all other levels. Bongarts Photos UEFA/PA

for Barthez ourselves, as well as taking The Netherlands are opting thing commissioner Luca Pancalli said care of the media aspect, but our re- for traditional sanctions as well. Frank and the first thing that was emphasised gional leagues and districts got involved Huizinga, spokesman for the Dutch FA, by the new president succeeding him, as well.” The educational penalty makes also points the finger at the bench. Giancarlo Abete. A draft law is under an impact and is very effective. “The “Coaches and substitutes must also be- discussion in parliament. This envisages offender feels understood and wants have properly. Top players and coaches sentences or community service.” to redeem himself. Some have even are role models for young people and so The Austrian FA has never continued with refereeing afterwards. they should set an example. They must imposed educational work or fines for This sanction shows both impartiality also realise that certain gestures harm improper conduct; it simply imposes sus- and understanding. It doesn’t exclude their image. We penalise any inappro- pensions on offenders. Christian Kircher, the player concerned from football: priate behaviour, including monkey a spokesman for the Austrian Bundes- he is punished within the realm where noises. The weapons at our disposal are liga, greatly appreciates the UEFA initia- he committed the offence. This sends fines and suspensions. And community tive. “It’s a positive step. Not everything out an important signal to the victims service? The good thing about the UEFA can be settled with fines. The offenders too.” A sporting attitude is sometimes ruling is that it has opened the debate.” have to face up to what they did and lacking on the bench and among club bear the consequences. They have to bosses too. “We’ve doubled and even A positive step be encouraged to reflect – even if they tripled the sanctions. A national ethics Joël Wolff, general secretary of acted impulsively, as is often the case council also looks at statements in the Luxembourg FA, is a member of the on a football pitch – and understand the press, with recourse to sanctions UEFA disciplinary body which dealt with that they’re harming their team. Some if appropriate.” the Van Bommel case. “There’s no explicit of our clubs, such as Austria and provision covering it in our statutes. It’s FC Wacker Tyrol, confronted with the Food for thought a good idea, as long as it’s not misused. violence of their fans, have already The ad hoc committee of the Examples have to be made. We can’t taken innovative steps. They’ve offered German Football Association (DFB) is compare our players to Van Bommel; a choice of punishments to violent fans: currently examining its range of sanc- a fine hurts them much more. Anyway, a stadium ban, reparation for damages tions and might possibly include punish- where would we send them?” or service in the community, not just ments with an educational value. In Italy above all is suffering from at the club. The offenders had to make Switzerland, Robert Breiter, legal secre- violence committed by its fans. Diego An- themselves available to hospitals, schools, tary of the Swiss Football Association, tenozio, Italian FA press attaché, confirms etc. Anyway, sanctions of this kind exist is also looking at the statutes of the that parallel sentences for players do not outside football, don’t they? Naomi association. “Our range of sanctions exist. “Since the tragedy in Catania, the Campbell was sentenced to a spell of provides for suspensions and fines, in misdeeds of fans are our main problem. community work, wasn’t she?” particular, but not for community work. It’s the absolute priority. This was the last Pascale Pierard I’d certainly be in favour of it. It’s an interesting subject of discussion, espe- cially for very well-known players, because the press are interested and highlight the impact of the sanction. The whole point is to see whether this will really encourage the player to behave properly in future. We’re too close to the subject to be able to see clearly. Overall, I’m not sure that the EUR 6,200 fine really made a dent in Mark van Bommel’s wallet. A suspen- sion, on the other hand, is effective, especially as it handicaps the club, which may dock the player’s wages. Switzerland is witnessing violence at amateur and youth level – and also involving parents. This violence is taken out on referees, and we are looking for ways to counter it. Community work

might be an interesting solution.” Photos UEFA/PA

11 The Czech Republic The final only narrowly of the last missed out on the FIFA Women’s U20 world title. World Cup in 2003 saw Germany take on Sweden. Getty Images Getty Images

Czech Republic had secured victory by half-time, scoring the only two goals Competitions of the contest before the break.

Comeback by Argentina In the final against Argentina, and other activities whom they had already held to a Silver in Canada 0-0 draw in the group stage, the Czech Republic may have thought the trophy for the Czech Republic was theirs rather prematurely after open- ing the scoring in the second half. The goal probably caused them to lose con- IT HAD BEEN TEN YEARS centration and Argentina equalised virtu- SINCE EUROPE LAST PROVIDED TWO ally immediately before netting the OF THE FOUR SEMI-FINALISTS winner in the final minutes of the IN THE UNDER-20 WORLD CUP. match in order to lift their sixth world title in this category. Austria lost 1-0 to Chile in the match for third place. Of the other European repre- sentatives, reigning European champ- ions Spain looked set to go far after An aerial battle between dominating their group and eliminating Martin Fenin Brazil in the last 16. However, they were (No. 9) of the Czech Republic beaten by the Czech Republic in the and Austria’s Sebastian quarter-finals. Poland and Portugal fell Prödl in the in the last 16 to Argentina and Chile all-European In Canada in semi-final respectively, two South American teams July, the Czech Republic of the FIFA U-20 who went on to reach the semi-finals. World Cup. and Austria reached Finally, Scotland were eliminated after the semi-finals having the group matches. initially finished second but undefeated in their groups, behind the other Elite women in China two eventual semi-finalists, The Women's World Cup reigning champions Argentina will be held in China from 10 and Chile. to 30 September. Germany will be defending the title they won in the Czech penalty success USA in 2003 and will be joined in The Czechs had then China by four other European beaten Japan on penalty kicks, while teams: 2003 runners-up Sweden, the Austrians eliminated Gambia in England, Denmark and Norway. the last 16. In the quarter-finals, Austria The European representatives had defeated the USA after extra time have plenty of experience of these and the Czechs had knocked out Spain occasions, since Germany, Norway and on penalties. Sweden have participated in every final The two European teams round since 1991, when the Women's locked horns in the semi-finals and the World Cup was first held. Denmark will be involved for the fourth time, while Getty Images England have qualified for the second time, after 1995.

12 uefadirect 9.07 A long way to go to the UEFA Futsal Cup final. Sportsfile

Germany will contest the ■ The 2007/08 UEFA Women's News from opening match against Argentina in Cup also got under way when the Shanghai on 10 September before first qualifying round was played in the Brussels facing England and Japan in their first half of August, involving ten groups other group matches. Sweden will be of four teams. On 11 July, the European up against Nigeria, the USA and Korea The group winners and the best Commission officially published its DPR; Norway will play Canada, Aus- runner-up will play in the second qualify- White Paper on Sport. Based on tralia and Ghana; Denmark's group ing round from 11 to 16 October, where three main aspects (economic also includes China PR, New Zealand they will be joined by the five teams impact, societal role and organisa- and Brazil. that have qualified automatically: current tion of sport in Europe), this The group matches will be holders LFC Arsenal, last year's three 20-page document is the result of staged in Shanghai, Chengdu, Hang- other semi-finalists, Umea, Brøndby and an initiative piloted by the Euro- Kolbotn IL, and Eintracht , zhou, Tianjin and Wuhan. The quar- pean Commissioner responsible competition winners in 2002 and 2006. ter-finals will take place on 22 and for education, training and youth, ■ The 2007/08 UEFA Futsal 23 September, with the semi-finals on Jan Figel. UEFA's opinions on the Cup kicked off with preliminary round 26 and 27 September. The match for White Paper are mixed... matches played from 11 to 19 August in third place and the final will be held in Almost two years after launch- the form of mini-tournaments involving Shanghai on 30 September. ing its consultation campaign, the six groups of three or four teams. The European Commission has there- group winners will participate in the fore published its white paper. Club competitions main round from 8 to 16 September. resume This phase will consist of six groups of This document, which has four, with the top two in each group no binding legal force, aims to The UEFA Intertoto Cup, qualifying for the elite round, where they "give strategic orientation on the which kicked off the new season will join four teams that qualify auto- role of sport in Europe" by bring- of club competitions, has already matically: current holders MFK Dinamo ing together in a single document been completed. , along with MFK-Viz-Sinara a list of coordination activities Eleven teams reached the Ekaterinburg, El Pozo Murcia and Kairat (symbolically entitled the "Pierre second qualifying round of the UEFA Almaty, who have qualified thanks to de Coubertin Action Plan") to be Cup via the Intertoto Cup: UD Leiria, their position in the UEFA rankings. implemented by the commission in UC Sampdoria, Atletico de Madrid, The four group winners will the near future in order to create FC Otelul Galati, FC Tobol , contest the final phase of the competi- conditions for more constructive SV , RC Lens, SK Rapid Vienna, tion, with the semi-finals and final dialogue with the European sports Blackburn Rovers FC, Hammarby and to be staged in the same city, in principle federations. BK. from 24 to 26 April 2008. To this end, the European Commission has made its position known on a wide variety of themes relevant to the activities of UEFA's national associations in more than one respect. As well as a clear desire to pro- After beating mote the practice of physical activ- Chornomorets in ities in order to improve public the third round health and to contribute to the of the UEFA Intertoto fight against doping, the commis- Cup, Lens sion expresses determination to (Eric Carrière, facing the help combat violence and racism camera) are among the at sports events. 11 teams who With regard to aspects more have qualified for the UEFA closely linked to the organisation Cup via this competition. of sport, it considers that the gen- ➜ ??????????????? Flash Press tleman’s agreement on transfers

13 Prince Frederik of Denmark ➜ concluded in 2001 by FIFA, UEFA congratulates and the European Commission is an Scotland’s captain Paul Smith after example of "good practice". The his side’s victory over Poland. "usefulness" of UEFA's club licensing system is also acknowledged. Evenson/AFP/Getty Images The tricky questions of local training of young players and national teams were also addressed. Ten years of Open Fun For example – to UEFA's great Football Schools satisfaction – the white paper backs the new rules on local training of The Open Fun Football Schools (OFFS), which UEFA part- young players and the importance of ners, have celebrated their tenth an- the "essential" role played by na- niversary by organising 130 schools tional teams "not only in terms of for some 26,000 boys and girls from identity but also to secure solidarity 7 to 11 years old in Bosnia and with grassroots sport". Herzegovina, Croatia, FYR Macedo- The sale of television rights for nia, Montenegro, Serbia, Armenia, sports competitions is also discussed Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova. at length in the document. In this In addition, more than 200 vol-

connection, the Commission describes Getty Images untary coaches spent 60-80 hours the system of collective selling as taking part in coach and leader training "a tool for achieving greater solidar- courses run by the Danish Cross Cul- Scotland win Homeless ity within sports", although it does tures Project Association (CCPA), whose World Cup not disapprove of individual selling aim is to promote tolerance and peace- The fifth edition of the of rights, provided it is linked to a ful co-existence in the Balkans and the Homeless World Cup, played in "robust solidarity mechanism", . from 29 July to “This summer, we asked munici- which is currently proving illusive. 4 August, was won by Scotland, palities and clubs to let us know if they The main point of dissatisfac- who beat Poland 9-3 in the final. were interested, the idea being that tion concerns the Commission's at least two neighbouring municipalities Around 500 players from understanding of the "specificity" and three football clubs should get to- 48 countries took part in this tour- of sport. gether to organise a football school and, nament, which attracted large crowds in spite of the gloomy weather. Former Although the Commission ac- among other things, pay for the coach French international Eric Cantona knowledges "certain specific charac- and leader training,” reckons Anders Levinsen, project director. and Danish ex-international referee teristics" of sport, it adopts the prin- were among those “We only had a budget for ciple laid down by the European who lent their support to the com- 77 football schools but received more Court of Justice last year in its Meca- petition, which aims to give homeless than 250 applications! For example, we people a chance to make a new Medina ruling (see uefadirect No. 56). received a request from three munici- start in life. According to this principle, "purely palities in central Bosnia who wanted The next edition of the sporting rules", traditionally excluded to focus on women’s youth football. Homeless World Cup will be held in from the field of application of the But more than 800 girls wanted to take Melbourne next year. EC Treaty, no longer exist and the part. What could we do? We tried to conformity of each one with Com- resolve the “problem” with a double programme. During the day, the school munity law must be assessed on Anti-racist activities took place in the stadium, and in the a "case-by-case" basis where dis- in Poland evening we organised a street football putes arise. This approach promises party in front of the town hall.” Young people from Alge- to result in legal uncertainty, anxiety The organisers were also able ria, Kosovo, France, Germany, and disputes for UEFA and its na- to count on the support of national Moldova, Austria, England and Poland took part in anti- tional associations. football associations like the Croatian racist activities on the occasion To conclude, as UEFA, FIFA, the FA. which assisted with the training of the "Przystanek Woodstock" IOC and five other European sports of 84 coaches, including 24 women. “Consequently, by the end of the rock festival from 2 to 4 August. federations stated in a joint press Open Fun Football Schools, 84 Croatian These UEFA-backed activities release, "much work remains to be coaches will have fulfilled require- were run by the Never Again Asso- done". ments for the association’s C licence – ciation, a FARE network partner which The European Commission White endorsed by UEFA under the auspices organised a football tournament Paper is available in 24 languages at: of the Grassroots Charter,” added and a vast information campaign on http://ec.europa.eu/sport/index_en.html Anders Levinsen. the dangers of racism and xenophobia.

14 uefadirect 9.07 fromN memberEWS associations

– the euphoria surrounding the U20 team continued. ARMENIA When the tired heroes arrived back at Vienna Schwechat late in the morning Nurturing the grassroots two days after their last match, they were not only cheered by hundreds of excited Aware of the great importance of fans, but were also treated to an official grassroots football and with a view to pro- state-like reception by a high-ranking del- moting and developing it in all its forms, egation including Austrian Federal Chan- the Football Federation of Armenia con- cellor Alfred Gusenbauer and Austrian FA ducts many projects and tournaments FFA president Friedrich Stickler. throughout the year. Peter Klinglmüller Among recent activities in this area A resounding success for the Coca-Cola Cup. were two leader and coach seminars, held ball School and an individual feedback ses- from 30 June to 2 July and from 9 to 11 sion with an OFFS instructor. AZERBAIJAN July respectively, which form an integral This year, the OFFS summer schools part of the humanitarian and non-profit started on 16 July and continued until Open Fun Football Schools (OFFS) pro- 10 August. Fifteen schools from various New look for our official gramme, with which many football asso- regions of Armenia were enrolled. For the website ciations are familiar. second time, we also staged the Coca- The official website (www.affa.az) of In 2003, the OFFS commenced activi- Cola Cup tournament for 12-year-olds. the Association of Football Federations of ties on an experimental basis in two foot- The present tournament was first intro- Azerbaijan (AFFA) has a new look. All ma- ball schools in Armenia, and as early as duced and staged last year, when children jor events taking place in Azerbaijani foot- 2004, it started training its staff. Since from 16 schools in took part. This ball, the latest news, plus regular inter- 2003, we have organised 40 Open Fun year, however, we enrolled schools not views with AFFA officials and national Football Schools for more than 7,000 chil- only from Yerevan, but also from two team coaches, are covered here in three dren, trained ten certified instructors and other cities, Gyumri and Vanadzor. In languages (Azeri, English and Russian). approximately 700 leaders and coaches in total, 40 schools took part. To promote good public relations, regular local OFFS seminars. Keen to follow up on one of the found- forums are held and visitors to the site can The aim and essence of the OFFS ing principles of grassroots football, i.e. put interesting questions to the AFFA leader education programme is to train the involvement of girls/women in grass- administration. Information is available on leaders to run a local Open Fun Football roots activities, we made sure each par- Azerbaijan and its football history, and also School and how to involve relevant stake- ticipating team involved girls as well. holders and civil society in this process. Another significant feature was the fact on the AFFA structure, membership and The OFFS coach education package that the matches were held on the artificial committees. consists of a three-day training seminar, mini-pitches recently installed in Yerevan. The “national team” link leads to the five days of practice at an Open Fun Foot- Tigran Israelyan latest news about the Azerbaijani national teams, both at senior level and for the other age groups, including information After some inspiring performances in the on the squads. In addition to providing group phase, in which Austria were photos of the players, the “national AUSTRIA unbeaten against Congo (1-1), hosts A team” section lists players’ heights, Canada (1-0) and Chile (0-0), the team weights, dates of birth, numbers of caps Under-20 team triggers football captained by Sebastian Prödl, who was and clubs of origin. Otherwise, informa- included by the renowned sports news- tion is available on women’s football, fut- euphoria in Austria paper Gazzetta dello Sport in its team of sal and the senior national team’s position This year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup in the tournament, provoked a real storm of in the FIFA world rankings, which are pub- Canada will go down in the history books enthusiasm back home. Even though the lished every month and placed on the of Austrian sport. With successful youth matches were mostly broadcast in the website. coach Paul Gludovatz at the helm, the red middle of the night – most kicked off at All domestic premier and first division and whites, including Erwin Hoffer, Zlatko 2 a.m. CET – the TV viewing figures shot match results, plus regular updates giving Junuzovic, Veli Kavlak and Sebastian Prödl, up and, following victories over Gambia the names of referees, referee inspectors who all have senior international experi- (2-1) and the USA (2-1), the excitement and AFFA representatives officiating at ence under their belts, created a genuine level reached its first peak. The quarter- matches, are posted on the website, as wave of excitement across the country. final win over the USA, which took place are reports on all Azerbaijani national – exceptionally – during European prime- team matches in the EURO 2008 qualify- time viewing hours, attracted a record TV ing phase. There are separate links to chil- audience and provided for a real Mediter- dren’s football and to the code of ethics ranean atmosphere at the public viewing for officials, coaches, technical staff and event held in the main square in Linz, club footballers involved in the national which was also hosting the launch party championship. The AFFA site also gives for the European Under-19 Championship access to the websites of FIFA, UEFA and in Upper Austria. the top clubs in Azerbaijan. Photos from Even though the “Baby-Wunderteam”, AFFA events, domestic championship and as they were christened by Austria’s national team matches are displayed in an biggest daily newspaper, suffered a painful online gallery, and a photo of AFFA head- 2-0 semi-final defeat against the Czech quarters features on the homepage.

GEPA-Pictures Republic before losing the 3rd/4th place Finally, the national football anthem can A heroes’ welcome for the U20 team match 1-0 to Chile – an unfortunate de- also be heard on the website. on their return from Canada. feat in which Austria had a man sent off Elkhan Mammadov

15 Posing beside the Champions League trophy: the dream of any footballer. F.Krvavac Malta, and will then play away in Roma- BOSNIA AND nia. Up to the end of the year, they will ENGLAND HERZEGOVINA play three matches, all away, in France on 13 October, in Wales on 17 November, and in Malta on 20 November. Helping develop football Champions League trophy The juniors of NK Orasje won the on view at the Grbavica stadium Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup, beating in Malawi Over 300 young boys spent 15 days their peers from NK Siroki Brijeg 2-1, while The FA’s National Investment Man- training with professionals from European FK Borac from Banja Luka won the junior ager, Peter Kay, and Facilities Manager, champions AC Milan at the “World Milan championship, winning first place at the Eamonn Farrell, travelled to Malawi at the Junior Camp” at FK Zeljeznicar’s Grba- end of the competition in Doboj by beat- start of July to assess the football infra- vica stadium. The boys were divided into ing Skola nogometa Novi Grad from Sara- structure needs of the country and to eight age groups, each with its own coach jevo and FK Velez from Mostar. compile an action plan centred on how from Milan. After warm-up exercises, the FK Slavija achieved the results that were best to achieve several short and long- groups had individual and group exer- expected of them in their first appearance term development goals. cises, giving the coaches enough time to on the European football scene, in the Farrell and Kay delivered an adminis- pay attention to every single boy. “Our aim UEFA Intertoto Cup. First they beat Sant tration workshop to the Football Associ- was to assess the talent and capabilities Julia from Andorra, with the same result ation of Malawi (FAM) in November 2006, of the boys quickly and easily. All the in both legs (3-2), and then in the second which provided the impetus for them participants received certificates for com- round, against Otelul Galati FC from to return to follow up on some of their pleting the course, and the best four Romania, they drew 0-0 at the Kosevo original proposals. got the chance to start training with stadium, but lost the return leg 3-0 away AC Milan’s juniors, along with boys in Romania. selected from the camps held in other The Football Federation of Bosnia and countries,” said Marco Schembri, leader Herzegovina is preparing to host the of the camp. Group 11 qualifying tournament for the The organisers caused great surprise 2007/08 European Under-17 Champi- and excitement by bringing the UEFA onship from 1 to 6 October. In addition to Champions League trophy won by AC Mi- the host nation, the group consists of Fin- lan to the Grbavica stadium. The boys land, Russia and Azerbaijan. At the end clamoured to take photos of the valuable of September, Bosnia and Herzegovina trophy. will also host a preliminary-round mini- The FA Our national under-21 team has played tournament in the European Women’s Stephen Constantine, an Englishman in charge several warm-up games in preparation for Under-19 Championship, when the host of the national team of Malawi. their European Under-21 Championship nation in Group 6 will welcome Denmark, qualifiers. Nikola Nikiç’s squad will play Belgium and Latvia. Malawi is one of The FA’s partner coun- their first match on 9 September, against Fuad Krvavac tries through the UEFA-CAF Meridian Project and is in urgent need of a co- herent grassroots football development won 3-2 against Omonia FC in an enter- programme. Facilities are a key issue for taining game attended by 20,000 spec- FAM and it welcomed The FA’s expertise CYPRUS tators. in this area, with Farrell and Kay meeting As champions, Apoel FC are compet- potential investors and construction com- ing in the UEFA Champions League qual- panies to garner their interest and sup- Inauguration of the ifying matches, while Anorthosis and port. Cyprus House of Football Omonia FC are taking part in the UEFA Stephen Constantine, an Englishman The Cyprus Football Association (CFA) Cup. Ethnikos Achnas have represented who has been in charge of the Malawi has made its dream come true and ac- Cyprus in the UEFA Intertoto Cup for the national team for the past five months, quired new headquarters, the CFA House second year in a row. said: “It is always nice to see someone from of Football. The acquisition of the build- The teams of Athletic Union of Paphos, The FA when you are working abroad. ing was made possible as a result of Ayia Napa and Digenis Morphou were rel- “It gives you that feeling of support financial assistance from UEFA and FIFA. egated to the second division, from which and that people are interested in what you The CFA House of Football was inau- Apop Kiniras, Alki and Doxa were pro- are trying to achieve outside of England. gurated on 8 June by HE the President of moted to the first division. The main purpose of the visit was for the Republic of Cyprus in the presence of Kyriakos Giorgallis Peter and Eamonn to follow up on their the UEFA president Michel Platini, UEFA previous visit and to see how we can help vice-president Marios Lefkaritis, deputy move things along in Malawi. I spent UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino, a few days with them and was really Jerome Champagne, representing FIFA, impressed with how they went about and numerous friends of football. their work. In his address, the UEFA president said: “It is not easy coming from England “We are pleased that you are building and seeing some of the things that are football on sound foundations. It is UEFA’s going on here in terms of infrastructure goal that all associations, particularly the and facilities. The facilities and the subtle smaller ones, acquire their own offices.” pointers from both Peter and Eamonn

The Cyprus FA president thanked UEFA CFA have certainly given FAM a great spring- and FIFA for their support, and particularly board to change things here in Malawi Michel Platini presents the president of their financial assistance. Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos, with a pennant, and with the continued help of The FA we The 2006/07 season ended with the in the presence of the Cyprus FA No. 1, can make a huge difference.” Cup final, which Anorthosis Famagusta Costakis Koutsokoumnis. Nada Grkinic

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national department, have submitted an official bid to UEFA. ESTONIA The national stadium’s rivals to host the UEFA Cup final are (Romania), New coach in charge Poznan (Poland), Copenhagen (Denmark), Gelsenkirchen (Germany), Porto (Portu- of national team gal), Madrid (Spain), Tel Aviv (Israel), In July, the experienced Dane, Viggo (Republic of Ireland), Hamburg (Germany), Jensen, was recruited by the Estonian Lisbon (Portugal), (England) and Football Association (EJL) as head coach Barcelona (Spain). of the national team, following the The stadiums will be inspected by UEFA departure of Dutchman Jelle Goes at the in the autumn and the successful candi- end of June. dates to host the two finals will be named

Former Danish international Jensen said in March 2008. GFF that he did not hesitate when called Alexander Tsnobiladze The Boris Paichadze national stadium in . up by the EJL. “I have been in charge of several club teams, but never coached a senior national team. It is a great challenge ful attempt to strengthen dialogue and for me and I am very happy that I have share different points of view. It was there- this opportunity,” he said. GERMANY fore a good thing that disagreements in Jensen has an impressive list of achieve- specific areas were not ignored or trivi- alised. Of course, a congress like this is not ments, both as a player and a coach. Fans’ congress In the 1973/74 season, he won the Bun- an occasion for taking decisions. But the desliga and European Champion Clubs’ Cup 420 fans from 50 clubs from the Bun- DFB will do its utmost to fulfil the under- with Bayern Munich as a player; and in desliga, 2. and regional and takings that were made during the sec- 1992 he was the assistant coach when amateur leagues joined officials at the first ond half of the year.” Denmark miraculously won the European national congress entitled “Football is our The DFB accepts that there is a need to Championships. Jensen has also coached life – coming together”, organised by the change the way stadium bans are im- Danish Superliga sides OB , Viborg FF, German Football Association (DFB) and posed. Fan representatives agreed to take FC, Esbjerg fB and Silkeborg IF, as the German Football League (DFL). “There action against all forms of discrimination. well as Swedish Allsvenskan team Malmö FF. should be no gulfs within football, be- Alongside Theo Zwanziger and Horst tween its institutions, the association and R. Schmidt, the DFB was represented in the league, or between spectators in the Leipzig by its security chief Helmut Spahn stadiums. By organising this congress, the and fan officer Gerald von Gorrissen. DFB and the German Football League The DFB and representatives of have offered a chance for dialogue which the main fan organisations agreed to the fans have taken with open arms,” said continue their discussions in the near DFB president Theo Zwanziger. future within the “Fan Dialogue” work- DFB general secretary Horst R. Schmidt ing group. explained, “The congress was a success- Thomas Hackbarth

example of how supporters can really EJL enjoy matches without barriers,” declared Viggo Jensen (right) shakes hands with EJL HUNGARY István Kisteleki, president of the MLSZ, president Aivar Pohlak on the Dane’s recruitment after the board meeting. “Very soon, as head coach of the Estonian national team. I expect we will not see fences in any A new life – without fences stadiums.” Jensen’s contract runs until the end of The board of the Hungarian Football The decision fits into the MLSZ’s phi- the year. However, the EJL president, Aivar Federation (MLSZ) has acknowledged losophy regarding security regulations. Pohlak, hopes for longer cooperation. Budapest Honvéd’s request to let the It has also announced zero tolerance “We will discuss it after our EURO 2008 fences be demolished at the József Bozsik against verbal and non-verbal violence, campaign,” he said. stadium. The hurdles were used all around and referees are instructed to interrupt Mihkel Uiboleht the ground to physically separate the sup- matches immediately if there is any sign porters from the pitch. of such disrespectful behaviour. Budapest Honvéd – a team with huge Márton Dinnyés traditions in Hungary – are preparing for GEORGIA a promising new season. as the squad has been strengthened and the team is in- volved in the UEFA Cup as well. The club’s Bidding to host owner, George F. Hemingway, asked the the UEFA Cup final MLSZ president to support his initiative to The Boris Paichadze national stadium create a civilised environment in the sta- in Tbilisi is among the candidates to host dium named after one of the greatest the UEFA Cup final in 2010 or 2011. stars of the “Magical Magyars”. “We Ucha Ugulava, general secretary of the would like to bring football even closer to Georgian Football Federation, Irakli Medz- the fans, especially to families and chil- mariashvili, director-general of the Boris dren,” he said. Honved FC Paichadze national stadium, and Giorgi “We were more than happy to accept Removing fences to create a more convivial Sharashenidze, head of the city’s inter- the request and I hope this will be a good atmosphere in the stadiums.

17 The JFK Olimps youth players are gaining valuable experience playing in the top division. LFF

During the 2007 season, the LMT Virs- Building on the sound foundations of liga has proved to be a strong league with- his predecessors, the Malta FA president LATVIA out any outstanding clubs. Even the youth has literally changed the face of the game team JFK Olimps have proved to be a hard in his country. Infrastructure projects for nut for the top teams to crack. They drew football facilities in Malta in these last Higher league on its way once with last season’s champions, years, including the recently inaugurated to expansion FK Ventspils, while SK Liepajas Metalurgs, FIFA two-star artificial turf at the Cente- The Latvian first division championship, a convincing club this year and champi- nary Stadium, made possible by UEFA’s the LMT Virsliga, is on the way to ex- ons in 2005, beat Olimps only by narrow HatTrick programme, and the revision panding to ten clubs, as the board of the 2-1 and 1-0 margins this year. Apart from of football legislative matters, are proof Latvian Football Federation (LFF) is con- JFK Olimps, other youth teams in with a of this man’s dedication to the game. sidering promoting the best youth team chance of a place in an expanded LMT from the second division. Before the sea- Virsliga are Ventspils Vindava and Blazma son can be named when this move will from Rezekne. The Maltese take place, there is still a lot of analysis to minister In other news, the Latvian Football Fed- of education, be done. “The infrastructure of our clubs eration has met the FIFA requirement and Louis Galea, is still not strong enough. Even all our shortened the summer transfer period and Malta FA eight LMT Virsliga teams are vastly differ- from eight to four weeks. Now club trans- president ent. But we have to give our young play- fers can be approved until 7 August, and Joseph Mifsud ers a chance to gain experience at the not 31 August as in previous years. For- at the official inauguration highest possible level, in order to prepare mer Latvian national coach Jurijs Andrejevs of the them for the national teams,” explained has accepted the invitation of SK Liepajas artificial turf.

the LFF president, Guntis Indriksons. A de- Metalurgs to work as a sports director D.Aquilina cision as to whether the LMT Virsliga will there, dealing with transfer matters. Dur- be expanded in the 2008 season will be ing the summer period, the LFF is involved A lawyer by profession, Mifsud started taken in December 2007, once all the in organising different tournaments and his links with football in his late teens as clubs have been consulted and the analy- hosting a UEFA Futsal Cup qualifying tour- secretary of a small football club in an out- sis concluded. nament. lying village, Qrendi FC. He made his way Martins Hartmanis through practically all possible adminis- trative ranks in his country, while interna- The LFF is pleased that lot of Lithuan- tional duties, apart from UEFA responsi- ian schools were interested in the Ergo bilities, also saw him on FIFA’s Executive LITHUANIA Fun Football School. The schools obviously Committee for two years in the 1990s. think it is a good idea for their pupils to Forty years on, he is still as energetic and forward-looking as ever. With the A summer for the children have the opportunity to play football dur- ing the summer holidays and be offered constant support of the other Malta FA This summer, the Lithuanian Football an alternative to sitting in front of com- officials, he has realistic plans for opening Federation (LFF) is running quite a few puters and the television. new horizons in different sectors of the football projects dedicated to young am- Finally, in August, the LFF will organise game in Malta, besides keeping up the ateur footballers all over the country. a football festival for the residents of chil- good work he is doing in UEFA circles. One of the projects is the Ezio spirdalas, dren’s homes. The core of the MFA officials has been a new project, which involves mobile foot- Such projects are proving to be a retained in other elections, with the only ball fields being set up every weekend in resounding success, as the number of new face in the six-man list of the asso- different city centres. Each team is com- children taking part has risen massively in ciation’s hierarchy being that of Peter posed of four players under 16. The main the past three years, showing that the LFF Fenech, also a lawyer, who was elected as idea and challenge of this project is to give is meeting a real need. one of three vice-presidents. Indeed, the everyone the chance to play football, and Vaiva Zizaite saying in sports, ‘Never change a winning not just basketball, on the city street. team’, could not have been more apt in Another project is the Ergo Fun Foot- the case of the Malta FA. ball School, for which the LFF selected Alex Vella 20 secondary schools and invited them to MALTA take part in a football festival. The main sponsor of this project is the Ergo Lietuva MOLDOVA insurance company, for whose support the Malta FA president’s mandate LFF is very grateful. extended Joseph Mifsud, president of the Malta Moldova grassroots FA since 1992, had his mandate extend- development in full swing ed in elections for this top post during the On 9 July, Stig Ove Sandnes, a mem- association’s annual general meeting. ber of the UEFA Grassroots Panel and the Standing against him was Norman Dar- deputy general secretary of the Norwe- manin Demajo, former treasurer of the gian Football Association, paid a two-day association. visit to Moldova. Mifsud, also a long-standing member During the meeting at the premises of of UEFA’s Executive Committee, having of Moldova been elected to this body in 1994, with (FAM), our guest focused on grassroots another four-year term renewed earlier football development programmes this year, will now be guiding the MFA throughout Europe and drew up some LFF until at least 2010, amounting to a total recommendations for our country. As Mobile pitches for the Ezio spirdalas project. of 18 years. highlighted by the statement of Ghenadie

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Scurtul, the FAM grassroots manager, the palace”. Mr Koloskov came up with the grassroots football development pro- proposal of establishing a football de- gramme involves junior and youth foot- partment within the National Institute of ball, women’s football, beach soccer and Physical Training and Sports. Mr Voronin also amateur football. The programme gave assurances of presidential backing comprises some ten posts, each of which with regard to these two projects. This is clearly defined. Mr Sandnes will attend fruitful cooperation between the leader- a special session at UEFA in October to ship of Moldova and the FAM will provide report on the implementation of the pro- the basis for the successful implementa- gramme in Moldova. If our achievements tion of FAM plans within the prescribed in the field of grassroots football receive deadlines in the future. a positive assessment, then we will have Boris Harcenco / Vasile Vatamanu the opportunity to join the UEFA Grass- roots Charter, which has a current mem- IFA bership of 20 European countries. More and more girls are playing football Our UEFA guest also visited the town NORTHERN at school. of Suruceni, where a new stadium still IRELAND We now have over 2,000 girls partici- under construction was the setting for a pating in schools football and this tour- youth football festival. This took place in Girls’ football making nament allows the top schools to show- the context of the “Open Fun Football a mark in schools case their skills. Acquiring the Carnegie Schools” programme. The purpose of the In the past, it was not perceived as sponsorship has been a catalyst in allow- programme is to interest as many children acceptable for girls to play traditionally ing the IFA to increase the amount of of pre-school age as possible and involve male sports such as football in school. work in this area and we are extremely them in football in non-traditional ways. Recently, however, following a sustained grateful for their investment and support. The FAM has opened schools of this kind period of activity by the Irish Football There are now over 54% of schools in in many regions of the country and regu- Association in schools, there has been an Northern Ireland participating in girls’ foot- larly organises grassroots football festivals, upsurge in the number of girls playing ball, either through leagues, cup compe- sharing the best practices in training football in Northern Ireland. titions, indoor tournaments or through methodology. More than 200 children The pinnacle of the schools calendar is “Soccer Roles”, an initiative which uses took part in this festival. the Carnegie Schools Cup, which is or- female international players as role mod- After the football festival, Mr Sandnes ganised at under-13, under-15 and under- els to go into schools and speak about went to the city of Cricova, where he 18 levels. Both under-13 and under-15 are football, training, healthy lifestyles and attended a match between a group of structured as mini-soccer events and this education. Moldova football veterans and the in- year 84 schools (132 teams) participated Sara Booth mates of a prison. The prison administra- in seven regional heats, each vying for the tion stressed that “this is not for the first opportunity to represent their area in the time they engage in such activities, since national finals on Monday, 25 June. Cre- the people who are here to serve their ated this year, the under-18 competition, NORWAY sentences must not be deprived of basic involving nine teams, is played on an 11- human rights.” a-side knockout basis, also concluding on Parental guidelines the finals’ day. for children’s football In the under-13 section, seven schools earned a place in the finals, where they Every summer, the Norway Cup brings were joined by last year’s winners, Our together about 1,500 teams, amounting Lady and St Patrick’s College, who auto- to some 30,000 children and young peo- matically qualified for the finals. In a ple from more than 40 countries, in . thrilling encounter, Thornhill College and The Football Association of Norway (NFF) Our Lady and St Patrick’s College met in takes the opportunity to promote fair play. the final, with Our Lady and St Patrick’s This year, the focus is on parents’ behav- managing to defend their title with a iour on the sidelines.

FMF 1-0 victory. From time to time, we see examples of over-eager parents who let their feelings The president of the Moldova FA, Pavel In the under-15 section, the schools Cebanu, presenting important projects for the earning a place in the finals were also take over. The NFF wants to remind par- federation. seven and they were joined by last year’s ents that children’s football is all about winners, Coleraine High. Movilla High having fun and motivating children to con- ■ In the context of UEFA’s Top Execu- stunned last year’s champions, beating tinue to do what they like best – playing tive Programme, the FAM hosted a short them in the semi-final stage and secur- football. Therefore, the NFF is distributing working visit by a UEFA delegation head- ing a place in the final against Dunclug a green card containing ”Parental Guide- ed by Viacheslav Koloskov, a member of College. Despite early attempts on goal, lines” for children’s football. The guide- the UEFA Executive Committee. The ob- Dunclug College were unable to find the lines are: jective of our guests was to find out about back of the net and Movilla punished 1. Show up at practice and matches – the FAM activities which have taken place over them, scoring twice in the second half. children want you there. the last two years. In the under-18 final, Thornhill College 2. Encourage all players – not just your The UEFA delegation met the president took on a young Donaghadee High team. own child. of the Republic of Moldova, Vladimir Based in Derry, an area where the standard 2. Provide encouragement both when Voronin. During this official meeting, Pavel of girls’ football has dramatically improved things go well – and when they don’t. Cebanu tackled two essential issues, in the last couple of years, Thornhill Col- 4. Respect for the coach/team leader’s namely the construction of the Republi- lege proved to be too strong for Don- choices – serious suggestions can be can Stadium and the building of a “sports aghdee, beating them convincingly 3-0. made after the match. ➜

19 With the girls too, youth is no obstacle to commitment.

➜ 5. Learn to see the referee as an adviser ■ The FAI AGM took place in Co. Kerry – respect his or her decisions. on 7 July. The association held a week-

6. Motivate and encourage your child to PZPN long ‘Festival of Football’ in Kerry in the participate – don’t pressure him/her. build-up to the event. 7. Ask if the match was exciting and tember). Leo Beenhakker, honorary patron FAI officials, including senior team man- fun – not just what the score was. of the tournament, told the participants: ager Stephen Staunton, visited local clubs 8. Provide appropriate and sensible equip- “If you want to become someone in this and held football-related activities through- ment – but don’t exaggerate. sport, you have to work a lot. But it’s pos- out the county. Describing the week as 9. Show respect for the work of the sible only when you love it!” He added “magical”, chief executive John Delaney club – take part in parent meetings to that young players “have to believe in commented on the growth of football in clarify attitudes and ambitions. themselves, believe in a positive result, and the area. 10.Don’t forget that your child is the foot- remember that they always play for and “When I lived and played football here ball player – not you. within a team. Nobody is more important in Kerry in 1971 and founded Tralee 11.Show respect – don’t smoke on the than the team.” Dynamos, five clubs formed the Kerry sidelines. “From the backyard to the stadium” League – Dynamos, Killarney Athletic, 12.Remember that children will do as you has been organised by the Polish Football Listowel Celtic, Fossa and Brendan’s Park,” do – not as you say. Association since 2001 for boys and girls he said. “Now there are 2,500 children Roger Solheim under 10. This year, the honorary patrons playing football, 1,600 players, including of the competitions are FIFA, the Polish juniors, 40 clubs and 57 teams.” Ministry of Sport and the Ministry of Ed- Eoghan Rice ucation, and Leo Beenhakker, coach of the Polish national team. The main sponsor of the tournament is the Tymbark company. Dorota Liszka ROMANIA REPUBLIC Giving young referees OF IRELAND a chance

NFF On 25 July, the tenth edition of the An exciting season Norwegian FA president Sondre Kåfjord Romanian FA Supercup was played. holding the green cards to be distributed Record levels of investment and huge FC Rapid Bucuresti (FA Cup winners) won to the parents. infrastructural advances have marked this the trophy for the fourth time, beating season’s eircom League of Ireland cam- champions FC Dinamo Bucuresti 6-5 paign as one which has seen the game on penalty kicks, after the score had make important strides forward. remained level at 1-1 after extra time. POLAND However, while the 2007 season might This year’s Supercup match was, how- be remembered for improvements off the ever, important for another reason. It was pitch, events on the pitch have made this the first time in the history of Romanian Camp Nou for the best one of the most exciting seasons over re- young players football that such a young referee had cent years. With just over half the season taken charge of a Supercup match or FA More than 16,000 children are playing played, any one of five clubs could claim Cup final. The young referee in question for the Tymbark’s Cup by taking part in the league title in November. Drogheda is Istvan Kovacs, a 22-year-old student. the seventh edition of the “From the Back- United and St Patrick’s Athletic have been Until 25 July, he had only refereed third yard to the Stadium” football tournament. the forerunners all season, with the two division matches and only one match in It is the biggest children’s football tour- clubs rotating between first and second the second division. His new experience position since the season kicked off. nament in Poland. The winners will visit follows a decision by the referees’ com- Camp Nou, the famous football stadium While Bohemians may have fallen too mittee of the Romanian FA, supported by in Barcelona. far off the pace to maintain their title chal- the association, to place their trust in sev- Tomasz Zabielski, tournament coordi- lenge, City remain on course for a nator, says: “Our mission is to encourage late surge. City struggled at the start of eral promising young referees – selected children to play football and give them a the season but are now clicking into gear, on the basis of referee observers’ reports reason to try. No matter where they live, boosted hugely by the signings of Ireland and the referees’ skills – and to “throw in cities or villages, football is for every boy internationals and Gareth them in at the deep end” by appointing and every girl.” This year, there are more Farrelly. them for first division matches, despite fringe activities around the tournament However, the on-pitch story of the sea- their lack of experience at that level. As than before. The Jakub Blaszczykowski son has been the rise and rise of Sham- Gheorghe Constantin, chairman of the football school has just launched a web- rock Rovers. Relegated from the Premier referees committee, said, the aim is “to site at www.zpodworkanastadion.pl. Chil- Division for the first time in their history promote skilful young referees to allow dren visiting this site can easily learn foot- in 2005, the Hoops regrouped and rebuilt them to reach the top of European and ball skills by watching exercises performed and, having won the First Division at the world refereeing”. by one of Poland’s best players. In addi- first time of asking, they now have a real As a result, only two referees over tion, Mezo, one of the country’s best- chance of winning the Premier Division 40 now officiate in the first division, while known hip-hop artists, has composed an this time around. seven are still under 30. For the Supercup anthem for the tournament. Having undergone a total makeover match, besides the two FIFA assistant The summer football camps organised both on and off the pitch, Rovers are now referees (Cristian Nica and Aurel Onita), for the winners of the regional heats for in their strongest position in years and ap- the fourth official was Aurelian Boga- the tournament have ended and the best pear to be on the way back to re-estab- ciu, who is only 25 and who has not teams are now looking forward to taking lishing themselves as one of Ireland’s been appointed for many first division part in a grand finale from (21 to 23 Sep- biggest football clubs. matches yet.

20 uefadirect 9.07 EWS from member associationsN

The trust placed in the young match Slovenia is most visible from the increase viding commercial partners and supplying officials has been fully rewarded, because, in RIN participants from 800 in 1999 to the awards for the best teams. The move- except for normal and human mistakes, 5,600 in 2006, while participation in Zog- ments include clubs as well as schools, with Kovacs and his colleagues did a good job arija has risen from 240 in 2002 to 1,300 the participation of both boys and girls. in a hard-fought match between two very in 2006. Both RIN and Zogarija are run The FA of Slovenia is proud to report that old local rivals, a match which lasted 120 jointly by the Football Association of Slove- the current trend indicates increased par- minutes, plus the penalty kicks. The per- nia, the Ministry of Sport and Mediasport, ticipation in the years to come. formance of Istvan Kovacs has been unan- a partner agency handling promotion, pro- Matjaz Krajnik / Uros Stanic imously recognised by both teams, by the FA officials and by the media. Now it is up to him and his fellow referee talents to to help it promote and strengthen grass- confirm that the referees’ committee and roots football by building freely accessible the Romanian FA were right to adopt this SWITZERLAND mini-pitches. new policy. The installation of a total of 52 mini- The referees’ committee and the pitches in our country is designed to pro- Romanian FA will continue this policy 52 mini-pitches thanks vide some of the opportunities for grass- of promoting skilful young referees and to UEFA support roots football that have been lost over the of taking older referees who are unlikely It is less than two years since Ralph past 30 years and to enable not just the to make any further progress out of the Zloczower, president of the Swiss Football 130,000 SFV-affiliated young players, but spotlight. Association (SFV), opened Switzerland’s all school and leisure-time footballers to It could be said that Romanian refer- first so-called mini-pitch in Payerne. play football in their spare time. eeing is heading in a totally new direction Since then, the SFV has helped to fund By supporting the construction of the which it hopes will bear fruit. no fewer than 52 projects as part of the 52 new mini-pitches, the SFV has used up Paul Zaharia UEFA HatTrick programme. the funds allocated by UEFA and is hope- UEFA provided the SFV (and all its af- ful of being awarded further support from filiated regional associations) with a total 2009 in order to help more Swiss com- of CHF 1 million for the period until 2008, munities build their own mini-pitches. SLOVENIA Pierre Benoit

Grassroots football developments in Slovenia WALES During the last few years, Slovenian school and youth football development has seen immense progress. The Rad Principality Welsh Premier igram nogomet (translation: I love playing League hosts EPFL football) and Zogarija grassroots projects, The Principality Building Society Welsh co-run by the Slovenian FA, are competi- were honoured to host tions for children up to ten which have the general assembly of the European Pro- been such a great success with players and fessional Football Leagues (EPFL) at the parents that both competitions have St David’s Hotel, Bay on 26 July. evolved into a movement. Rad igram At the meeting, the Welsh Premier nogomet (RIN) is a winter competition League were admitted as full members FAW which takes place in different venues of the EPFL, along with the Professional EPFL chairman Sir Dave Richards (left) and the around Slovenia in which each team fields Football League of Ukraine, the Russian secretary of the Welsh league, John Deakin. five players plus a goalkeeper, while Zog- Premier League, the Bulgarian Professional change two seasons ago. It will be inter- arija is played on a small pitch with small Football League and Polish Professional esting to see how this situation develops goals and three players per team on the Football. The Association Professional over the coming months and the league’s pitch at the same time. The effect of the Football League of Russia were also board of directors, many of whom are rise in popularity of grassroots football in accepted as an associate member. newly elected, will have an early oppor- During the meeting, the European tunity to debate this contentious issue. Commission’s White Paper on Sport and In a busy week for Mr Deakin, who is the EPFL’s Global Strategy Plan for 2007/08 also the FAW Club Licensing Manager, the were discussed. There was also a lively national association hosted a joint meet- debate on possible changes to the UEFA ing of the club licensing decision-making Champions League. bodies in the FA of Wales’ offices the Following the meeting, Welsh Premier following day. The club licensing officer, League secretary John Deakin said: ”It’s Andrew Howard, presented a lengthy interesting to see what other leagues are discussion to members of the first instance doing and what we can learn from them. body and appeals body on version 2 of It will benefit us greatly.” the club licensing manual. Mr Howard The Welsh Premier League has only highlighted the problems and challenges been in existence for 15 years and Deakin that the Welsh Premier League clubs will is keen to take advantage of this oppor- face in trying to achieve the more strin- tunity to make more of an impact. Fol- gent criteria. The two decision-making lowing recent calls from club managers, bodies found the meeting extremely the debate to change to a summer play- beneficial and provided some excellent

NZS ing season has been re-ignited, after a feedback to the licensors. Grassroots football on the up and up. substantial majority of clubs rejected the Andrew Howard

21 On the pitch, the Belgians Faris Haroun were satisfied with their attempts team's excellent performance to dodge the tackle in the Under-21 Championship of Dutchman in Holland. Jan Verthongen Ryan Donk. in action against Portugal.

remains the supreme body. It consists of 25 members, 23 of whom, including Belgian Football the president and vice-presidents, have voting rights, while the chief executive and general treasurer have an advisory role. Association The Executive Committe meets A new organisational chart once a month and is responsible for taking strategic, political and financial decisions. AT THE STATUTORY GENERAL MEETING OF THE BELGIAN FA

(URBSFA) ON 30 JUNE, THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ELECTED OR A new body The second organ is the Ad- RE-ELECTED VARIOUS MEMBERS FOR A TWO-YEAR PERIOD. ministrative Board, a new body respon- sible for ensuring the Executive Com- The president of the Belgian executive until 31 August 2007, to be mittee's decisions are implemented and FA, François De Keersmaecker, was succeeded by Jean-Marie Philips from which also meets monthly, between re-elected for two years, while Philippe 1 September for an indeterminate peri- Executive Committee meetings. It has Collin was chosen to replace Roger od, while general treasurer Germain 11 members: the FA president (voting Vanden Stock as first vice-president. Landsheere was appointed as vice-pres- rights), chief executive (advisory role), Jean-Pierre Notelteirs, David Delferière ident, also for an unspecified period. general treasurer (advisory role), four and Louis De Decker were re-elected representatives of professional football as vice-presidents. Georges Ingelbrecht, Continuity and stability (Philippe Collin, Guy Craybex, Georges Herman Wijnants, Guy Craybex and The Belgian FA's general policy Ingelbrecht and Herman Wijnants) and Michel Dumoulin, all members of the is therefore one of continuity, although four representatives of amateur football Belgian FA Executive Committee, were this stability did not prevent the gene- (Jean-Pierre Notelteirs, Louis De Decker, appointed as directors and, finally, ral meeting from adopting a new feder- David Delferière and Michel Dumoulin), Antoine Vanhove was re-elected as al organisational chart based on three who all have voting rights. chairman of the Technical Committee. main organs. Finally, the Steering Committee, The Executive Committee also Under the revised URBSFA the third body in order of importance, appointed Jean-Paul Houben as chief structure, the Executive Committee which meets weekly, has been restruc- tured. Chaired by the chief executive, it now comprises the heads of the communication, sport, administration, finance and commercial departments, who each have voting rights. The chief executive is responsible for the day- to-day running of the association. The president and general treasurer are entitled to attend Steering Commit- tee meetings in an advisory capacity and may ask for a particular item to be included on the agenda. In summary, the Belgian FA is continuing to modernise while respect- ing the interests of all parties. This is demonstrated by the equal representa- tion of professional and amateur foot- ball within the Administrative Board, which is a first in Belgium for a federal body of this importance. The president of the Belgian Football Association, François De Keersmaecker, flanked by the old and new general secretaries, Jean-Paul Houben and Jean-Marie Philips (right). Photos: Photo News Pierre Cornez

22 uefadirect 9.07 Communications WE CAREABOUTFOOTBALL ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● UEFA to: alsowishesmanyhappyreturns his 50thbirthdayon13September. observer JonSkjervold(Norway)celebrates Stadium andSecurityCommittee.Referee Praag (Netherlands),vice-chairmanofthe tee, andon28SeptemberbyMichaelvan (Denmark), memberoftheMedicalCommit- on 25SeptemberbyDrMogensKreutzfeldt mark), memberoftheArtificialTurf Panel, on 14SeptemberbyPerAndersen(Den- group offormerUEFA committeemembers, Speczik (Poland),anothermemberofthe milestone on13SeptemberbyStanislaw ous day. Hewillbejoinedatthesame instructor, hashis60thbirthdayontheprevi- tember. Gérard Houllier(France),technical bers, celebrateshis80thbirthdayon4Sep- the group offormerUEFA committeemem- Rudolf (CzechRepublic),whoispartof Birthdays uoéne efootball de européennes associations des Union Official publicationofthe Communications andPublicAffairs Division Senes Erzik(Turkey, 18.9) Antero SilvaResende(Portugal,18.9) Antonis Petrou (Cyprus,16.9) Kelly Simmons(England,16.9) 16.9) Karl-Heinz Tritschler (Germany, 15.9) Dejan Savicevic(Montenegro, 13.9) (Belgium, Patrick Willemarck 13.9) Ingrid Jonsson(Sweden, Franz Beckenbauer(Germany, 11.9) Geir Thorsteinsson(Iceland,9.9) Yordan Letchkov(Bulgaria,8.9) (England,8.9) Adrian Titcombe Werner Helsen(Belgium,7.9) Antonio Laranjo(Portugal,7.9) Ali Huseynov(Azerbaijan,7.9) György Mezey(Hungary, 7.9) Stöber(Germany,Bernd 6.9) Eija Vähälä(Finland,6.9) Matthias Sammer(Germany, 5.9) Vassilios Chatziapostolou(Greece, 5.9) Barry Taylor (England,5.9) Grigoriy Surkis(Ukraine,4.9) Kindermann(Germany,Wilfried 4.9) MintoffVictor (Malta,4.9) Ulrich Grzella(Germany, 3.9) David R.Elleray(England,3.9) Marco Brunelli(Italy, 2.9) 1.9) Helle HandlerPetersen(Denmark, Vassilis Gagatsis(Greece, 1.9) Manuel DiazVega (Spain,1.9) José GuilhermeAguiar(Portugal,1.9) Gerhard Aigner(Germany, 1.9) Birthdays –Calendar Upcoming events ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Executive Committee Symposium forcoacheducationdirectors Anti-doping Panel European ClubForum Elite CoachesForum assistant referees Seminar forelitereferees and UEFA Cup:firstround (firstlegs) (matchday 1) UEFA ChampionsLeague:group matches FIFA Women’s World Cup Editorial deadline: Printed by Produced by Editor Roland Beck(Liechtenstein,28.9) Vassilios Nikakis(Greece, 28.9) Karel Bohunek(CzechRepublic,28.9) Michel Girard (France,28.9) Prof. W. StewartHillis(Scotland,28.9) Mariano Delogu(Italy, 28.9) Jens Kleinefeld(Germany, 27.9) Gerardo GonzalezMovilla(Spain,27.9) Adrian Porumboiu(Romania,27.9) Ales Zavrl(Slovenia,26.9) Stephen Lodge(England,26.9) Karl-Heinz Rummenigge(Germany, 25.9) Paul Krähenbühl(Switzerland,25.9) Hans Reitinger(Austria,25.9) Matteo Frameglia(Italy, 24.9) Ionel Piscanu(Romania,24.9) Eugen Strigel(Germany, 24.9) Giangiorgio Spiess(Switzerland,24.9) Goetz Eilers(Germany, 23.9) DeBruin(Netherlands,22.9) Cornelis Helena Herrero (Spain,21.9) Wolfgang Möbius(Germany, 20.9) Milos Markovic(Serbia,20.9) Gaioz Darsadze(Georgia,19.9) 26/27.9.2007, 24-26.9.2007, London 21.9.2007, Nyon 10/11.9.2007, Nyon 6/7.9.2007, Nyon 4-6.9.2007, Nyon Meetings 20.9.2007 18/19.9.2007 10-30.9.2007, ChinaPR Competitions André Vieli Cavin SA,CH-1422 Grandson Atema CommunicationSA,CH-1196 Gland 14 August2007 Association ofAzerbaijan. been generalsecretaryoftheFootball Football Associationsince1July. Stadium,Ta’Qali ATD4000 –Malta Millennium Stand,Floor2,National tion alsohasanewaddress: for afurtherfour-year term.Theassocia- re-elected JosephMifsudasitspresident Tel. +44208566728/Fax1814792 Perivale, Greenford,UB67EU,England 26 LauncestonRoad JV2i CONSULT LTD Justin ADDO [email protected] –http://ena4all.com/ Mobile +393498820895 T 20149 Milan,Italy Via GiovannidaProcida3 ENA4ALL Dimitris SCHETAKIS M Match agents ■ ■ ■ Notices Masnari, www.guidedufoot.com). which havetakenpart to 2006andalistofthe78countries champion playersfrom1930 about the708matches,288world the footballWorld Cups,withdetails All thefactsandfiguresonall monde deMontevideo(1930)àBerlin(2006) 1930-2006 L’intégrale des18Coupesdu New book Tel./Fax +35929287281–[email protected] PO Box12,1336Sofia,Bulgaria ET “ILIYAN BOZHINOV” Iliyan Bozhinov [email protected] Mobile +31655342277 Tel/Fax +31182522400 Netherlands Soderblomstraat 2,2806ZPGouda Hans DEBRUIJN [email protected] Tel. +34932723520/Fax4870397 08008 Barcelona,Spain 1a Mallorca 2642° DON’T LOOKDOWNINITIATIVES, S.L. Gregory NigelDAVIES [email protected] –www.jv2iconsult.com el. +390233608964/Fax34932671 Since 20July, ElkhanMammadovhas Ori ShilohasbeenCEOoftheIsrael At itsgeneralmeeting,theMaltaFA atch agentlicenceshavebeenawardedto: source isindicated. is authorised,provided the published in or extractsofany information The reproductionofarticles official viewsofUEFA. articles arenotnecessarilythe The viewsexpressedinsigned uefadirect (by Daniel

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