No 5861 – FévrierMay 2007 2007 EURO 2008 on tickets for Huge run match in Celebration qualifiers EURO 2008 Club Forum European EURO 2008 on tickets for Huge run Manchester match in Celebration qualifiers EURO 2008 Club Forum European 5.07 03 15 12 06 03 15 12 06 Message Photos: UEFA-pjwoods.ch of the president Zero tolerance of violence Violence may not be inherent in football, but it does, unfortunately, tend to stick to it like a parasite that it cannot get rid of. At both European and national level, numerous steps have been taken to eradicate this scourge from the stadiums, especially since the Heysel tragedy. However, when the measures taken leave the troublemakers with nowhere to vent their aggression inside the stadium confines, the violence spills out into the neigh- bouring streets. The lower divisions, and even youth football, are not immune either. To counter these acts of violence, in whatever form they take, football’s leaders absolutely need the help of the public authorities, which is why we are doing everything we can to ensure effective cooperation with and between police forces throughout . Even if it cannot overcome violence single-handed, football does have full responsibility for its own area of activity. In this respect, as far as the behaviour IN THIS ISSUE of players, coaches and club officials goes, there is no excuse whatsoever for seeing European Club Forum players fighting on the field, club officials tolerating racism in their stadiums, or meets in Nyon 03 coaches creating a climate of hatred by making inflammatory statements. Football Review of the EURO 2008 is not war, nor is it a battle. It is not a matter of life or death. There are no qualifiers 06 “groups of death” in the competitions, and stadiums should not be “hellholes”. UEFA Champions League Any act of violence, cheating and contempt must be punished with the utmost replicas 08 severity. There is no room for tolerance of such behaviour. Celebration match in Manchester 12 Respecting the principles of the opponent, accepting that losing is part Amendments to the statutes of the game, and creating a festive atmosphere in the stadiums will certainly not be on the agenda of the 10th enough to dissuade the hardcore troublemakers who use football as a pretext extraordinary UEFA Congress 13 for their antisocial behaviour. Huge run on tickets But for everyone involved in our game, impeccable behaviour is more than for EURO 2008 15 a need: it is a duty. News from the member associations 16 COVER (, in white) took an important step UEFA President towards a place at EURO 2008 by beating one of their toughest opponents, the Czech Republic (Milan Baros) in March. Photo: Klamar/AFP/Getty Images

02 uefadirect 5.07 European Club Forum TheThe clubclub competitionscompetitions underunder thethe spotlightspotlight UEFA-pjwoods.ch

THE FIRST MEETING THIS YEAR OF THE EUROPEAN CLUB FORUM, WHICH entitled to four representatives, making HAD BEEN POSTPONED FROM THE BEGINNING OF FEBRUARY, TOOK PLACE ON up a body of 16 members, chaired by the first vice-president of UEFA. Social 19 AND 20 MARCH AT UEFA HEADQUARTERS IN NYON. THE MEETING, dialogue, problems surrounding the CHAIRED BY KARL-HEINZ RUMMENIGGE, BROUGHT TOGETHER REPRESENTATIVES football calendar and any other subject FROM FOUR-FIFTHS OF THE 102 MEMBERS OF THE ADVISORY BODY, linked to professional football in Europe WHICH IS MADE UP OF THE CLUBS INVOLVED IN THE UEFA COMPETITIONS. would pass before this body in an at- tempt to reach a consensus before the “The football family has for tives of the national associations will matter was submitted to the Executive too long been torn apart by internal be invited to incorporate into the UEFA Committee, which would obviously squabbles, and these rifts have allowed statutes at the confederation’s tenth consider the recommendations and outsiders to ‘move the goalposts’. This extraordinary congress in Zurich in May. proposals of the council closely during has simply got to stop,” stressed the This body is intended to be an expanded its decision-making process. president of UEFA, Michel Platini, in his version of the European Professional welcome address. He therefore called Football Strategy Forum, which met in Club competitions 2009-2012 for unity, which builds strength and is January, bolstered by the addition of The structure of the UEFA club achieved by respect: “If we respect each players’ representatives and representa- competitions for the period 2009-2012 other, then football will be respected,” tives of the players’ union, FIFPro; the was one of the major topics on the he assured the delegates, before going original forum comprised the UEFA vice- agenda of the meeting. The participants on to present the Professional Football presidents and club and league repre- heard the thoughts of a working group Strategy Council, which the representa- sentatives. Each delegation would be composed of representatives of national

03 Karl-Heinz The Rummenigge participants (centre), showed chairman of the their interest European by their Club Forum, active in conversation involvement. with club representatives.

was some disagreement on the pro- and an increase in the number of posed format of the qualifying system national champions taking part in this for this competition. competition were issues that divided The proposal to include the the forum, depending on whether third qualifying round of the Champi- they were in a high coefficient group ons League in the central marketing or not. The same was true of issues system met with general disapproval. linked to the distribution of revenue, associations, leagues and clubs, and However, the idea of reserving four where some participants were firmly assisted by specialist agencies commis- dates instead of two for the first knock- in support of the current regulations sioned to research and study the three out round was better received, even while others wanted to see solidarity areas of the working group: the compe- though this plan could be bad news payments scaled up in proportion to tition formats, marketing and revenue for the UEFA Cup. the rate at which the overall revenue distribution. The group considered several The proposal to centralise is increasing. variants and options before formulating the television rights from the group The timeline for the proce- a set of recommendations which were stage of the latter competition was dure which will lead to the adoption discussed by the European Club Forum generally well received. Full centralisa- of the format for 2009-2012 having in four groups set up according to UEFA’s tion would not occur until the direct been extended, the consultation national association coefficients. knockout rounds. period will now last until August, with The proposal to keep the UEFA the Executive Committee not taking Champions’ League in its current format Access reserved for cup winners a decision until September, by which met with unanimous approval, but there alone time the European Club Forum will were some differences of opinion on the On the subject of access to have met again. issue of whether the current qualifying the competitions, the participants system should be kept or replaced by largely supported the principle that just New format for draws a different format. There was also wide- the winner of the national cup should Turning to the immediate spread support from the club delegates be entitled to take part in the UEFA future, some proposed amendments for a UEFA Cup that included a group Cup, and under no circumstances the to the regulations for the 2007/08 phase consisting of 48 teams divided into losing finalist. The number of clubs per competitions – which still have to be 12 groups of four. But once again, there association in the Champions League approved by the Executive Committee

The views of the working groups

did not always concur. Photos: UEFA-pjwoods.ch

04 uefadirect 5.07 Animated roundtable discussion Before chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge could begin to draw conclusions from the forum’s two half-day sessions, the results of a round- table really set the meeting alight, provoking numerous contributions from club delegates.

“Cost control and salary caps” was the topic, presented first by Egon Franck, a professor from the University of Zurich, who then took on the role of chair of the roundtable and, when necessary, ‘devil’s advocate’. A general overview was presented of the situation – were presented to the club represen- in other sports, most notably in the United tatives. Among them, a new format for States, and some clarifications were neces- sary, such as to explain that it was not the quarter-final draw of the Champions the capping of individual players’ salaries League, under which teams would be which was involved, but of the total salary seeded according to the results of budget of the clubs, before the debate matches in the same campaign – from Prof. Egon Franck opened with a somewhat provocative the group phase and the first knockout question: Why, when so many clubs are in financial difficulty, does football round. A victory in any of these matches continue as the exception and not introduce such measures? would be worth two points and a draw Those who debated the issue concluded that the most obvious reason one point, with the four highest-scoring was the diversity of Europe itself – the large number of member states and teams according to this principle becom- the differences between them that mean that a euro is not quite worth the ing the four seeds. The format for the same in every country because taxes and charges vary from one place to the semi-finals would also be arranged to next. Between the more liberal supporters of a system in which the clubs make it impossible for the best two regulate themselves and those who could happily countenance a ceiling pro- teams of the to meet each other portional to sporting revenue, it is also necessary to remember those clubs before the final. In this way, each game with annual budgets of less than a quarter of a million euros a year, who would assume added importance. would be forced to cease operations if they had to limit their salary budget The forum also supported the to a fixed percentage of their revenue. recommendations of a working group Seen in this light, many see the club licensing system as an appropriate that has been looking into the sale and adequate instrument for achieving the financial stability necessary for of new media rights. Technological competitions to work properly, even if it does not go as far as to constitute developments and digital convergence perfect equality in means and therefore chances. The discussion also brought have rendered obsolete the division to light the problems caused by tycoon owners with whole books of blank cheques, who can be at the same time a source of discouragement for good of sales by types of transmission (TV, managers and an incitement to massive investment, leading to debt. Such internet, mobile telephony, and so on), agonies are not just reserved for the most ambitious clubs, but can also affect and the working group therefore those seeking to avoid relegation at all costs. favoured a time-based approach. Should the revenue distribution system be reviewed? How can the Various other topics rounded downward investment-debt spiral be avoided? Should the regulations be off the meeting. There was an update tightened? Or should separate competitions even be organised for clubs on the installation of the Football Ad- that are less well off? So many questions to which the roundtable did not ministration and Management Environ- try to offer answers, but which will be debated again in the future. ment (FAME) IT platform, which will soon replace the extranet network of the club forum. The meeting was also informed of the range of possibilities offered by a computer tracking system that records such statistical data as the speed of the ball, distance, and even tactical information, and constitutes both an addition to the packages offered by television service providers and a useful aid to a better understand- ing of the game. Finally, information was provided about initiatives launched by the European Parliament, the Euro- pean Commission and the Council of Europe in parallel with the Independent

European Sport Review. Photos: UEFA-pjwoods.ch Peter Lawwell (Celtic FC), David Dein (Arsenal FC), Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (FC Bayern ), Ferran Soriano (FC ), Ernesto Paolillo (FC Internazionale) and Prof. Egon Franck participated in the roundtable. 05 Portugal struck After reaching the hard against 2006 World Cup but quarter-finals, can still improve Ukraine (Oleg their consistency. Gusiev, No. 9) now have their sights set on a place at EURO 2008. Leong/AFP/Getty Images Supinsky/AFP

several experienced players still available (Vieira, Thuram, Henry, etc.), made their EURO 2008 task more complicated by losing in Scot- land. Team coach is under no illusions. “It is going to be a fight between four teams right to the qualifying groups end, just like in the World Cup quali- Big boys in trouble fiers,” he said. Two years ago, , Switzerland, the Republic of Ireland and Israel could not be split until the very last THE QUALIFYING CAMPAIGN FOR EURO 2008 IS VIRTUALLY AT THE HALFWAY round of matches. This time, Ukraine, STAGE. ALMOST ALL THE GROUPS ARE VERY TIGHT AND THERE IS EVERY CHANCE World Cup quarter-finalists who have so far only lost to in the EURO 2008 THAT WE WILL WITNESS SOME MAJOR SURPRISES. SO FAR, NONE OF THE FOUR qualifiers, complete the quartet SEMI-FINALISTS FROM LAST YEAR’S WORLD CUP HAVE BEEN PARTICULARLY of hopefuls. CONVINCING, WHILE OTHER “BIG NATIONS” SUCH AS AND HAVE Group C: exile at an end ALSO MADE DISAPPOINTING STARTS. THERE COULD BE AN INTERESTING LINE-UP This is the only group that IN SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA IN 15 MONTHS’ TIME… already appears done and dusted. , who finished third in the 2002 In Group A, the only group with as the main talisman. His partnership World Cup, and , reigning eight teams, four or maybe even five with Quaresma, supported by Tiago, can European champions, have opened teams are still in with a shout. Portugal, produce wonders, as they showed against who finished fourth in the 2006 World Belgium (4-0). But the Portuguese are Cup and reached the EURO 2004 final, inconsistent: they have drawn twice and are the group favourites. Figo and Pauleta, lost in . The Poles, now coached now retired from the international scene, by globetrotter , are on have been replaced by an upward curve. Five consecutive wins have made up for early disappointments against Finland and Serbia, although both these teams are still in contention.

Finland coach would love Messinis/AFP/Getty Images to return to Switzerland, where he has Turkey (Mehmet Aurelio, No. 7) bagged a clear win fond memories (having qualified for the in Greece, but the reigning European champions are still in with a good chance to defend their title in 2008. 1994 World Cup and EURO ‘96 with the Swiss national team). However, like the up a considerable gap at the top. Fatih Finns (who were beaten in Azerbaijan), Terim’s men are calling the shots thanks the Serbs, who are coached by Spaniard to their convincing 4-1 victory in Greece, Javier Clemente and slipped up against but nearly put their foot in it a few days , have no more room for error. later. Trailing 2-0 to Norway, they only avoided defeat because of two incredi- Group B: worried finalists ble errors by their opponents. Another The two finalists of the last World reason for the Turks to be optimistic is Cup in the same group! Yet neither France the fact that they will be able to play in nor Italy have set the world alight. With front of their home crowd again against new coach at the helm, Hungary on 12 September. Their match Kazakhstan (Maxim the world champions only picked up one against Norway, played in Frankfurt, Zhalmagam- point from their first two matches (a home was the third and final time they will betov, No. 4, in an aerial draw against Lithuania and defeat in have to play behind closed doors challenge France). The Italians failed to qualify for following the suspension imposed by with Serbia’s Nikola Zigic) the that followed FIFA because of the serious incidents scored their their previous World Cup victory (1982). that occurred after the match against first goals at home and However, their recent progress might Switzerland in November 2005. won their first As for Greece, in spite of their lapse European mean that lightning does not strike twice.

Oseledko/AFP Championship France, now without Zidane but with against Turkey, they have shown that qualifying match. 06 uefadirect 5.07 Croatia’s , Luka Modric a key force breaks free from in a solid his opponents Romanian side. against FYR Macedonia. Polan/AFP/Getty Images Mihailescu/AFP/Getty Images

they have not lost the realism and goalkeeper (21) has only defensive strength that enabled them to conceded a solitary goal in the whole Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images lift the trophy in Portugal. Rehhagel’s qualifying campaign. Nobody has a : on fire in the German attack. men have won three of their four better record. victories by the smallest of margins (1-0). Group F: flying Healy defeat in Holland and is still unbeaten. Group D: Germany maintain form Spain and Sweden were the , coached by former Golden Ball Germany are continuing where favourites in this group, with winner , have also yet they left off in “ their” World Cup, in a serious outsider. Then Northern Ireland to lose. However, the draw at home which they finished third. Continuity is came along. Thanks to David Healy (27), against Otto Baric’s Albania may well the watchword where the German the British side has defeated the count against the 1994 World Cup coaching set-up is concerned, with Jür- Spaniards as well as Lagerbäck’s men. semi-finalists when it comes to the final gen Klinsmann having been replaced by With nine goals, the Leeds striker, whose reckoning. his assistant, Joachim Löw. Apart club is battling to avoid relegation Emanuele Saraceno from a slip-up in Cyprus (1-1), the to the third division in England, is ”Mannschaft” has performed the top scorer in the qualifying convincingly and boasts the best competition! After a horrendous attack and fourth best defence start, Spain recorded two wins in (behind , England and the March, although they were hardly ) of the 50 teams involved in convincing. Despite losing in Spain, the qualifying competition! Rarely used Denmark – who had to play with ten men by Bayern until Hitzfeld arrived, Podolski for 70 minutes after a player was sent off continues to shine for the national team – are also still in with a chance. A 1-0 (7 goals, making him the group’s top friendly win in Germany on 27 March scorer). Moreover, Kevin Kuranyi, who proved that Morten Olsen’s outfit was not selected for the World Cup, are full of confidence. Another made an astonishing return, scoring noteworthy result was Liecht- both German goals in the summit mee- enstein’s second ever win in ting in the Czech Republic (2-1). Despite European Championship quali- this defeat and even though Nedved and fiers, achieved with former Swiss Poborsky have retired from international national coach Hans-Peter Zaugg at the football, the Czechs, EURO 2004 semi- helm. After losing in Vaduz, – who finalists, remain favourites to take second reached the final round of EURO 2004 – place. However, their Slovak neighbours will have a new coach in June after Jurijs and the Republic of Ireland are not out Andrejevs’ resignation. of the running yet. David Healy outpaces Group G: three teams unbeaten Liechtenstein’s Christof Ritter. The Northern Irish striker Group E: England in difficulty The absence of Van Nistelrooy, is currently the competition’s Croatia have come to terms with frozen out by coach leading scorer. their World Cup disappointment. New since the World Cup, has not prevented coach Slaven Bilic (who was still a player the Netherlands from starting their not so long ago) has brought in some campaign well. With a few older youngsters and attacking duo Eduardo players around them (Van der Sar, and Petric are performing wonders. After Van Bronckhorst, etc.), the youngsters beating Israel and England and drawing (Babel, Emanuelson, Sneijder) are in Russia, the Balkan team are the new making progress. Nevertheless, they group favourites. England are having real do not always put on a problems and will find it especially diffi- good show and cult to qualify now that Russia appear to qualification is not have found a certain degree of stability yet a formality. with the arrival of . As his Indeed, a solid past World Cup record shows (with the Romanian side, Photos Wires/PA PA Netherlands in 1998, South Korea in inspired by an 2002 and Australia in 2006), the Dutch- in-form Adrian man rarely fails. Highly promising Mutu, avoided

07 and have their own champions leagues. PHOTO NEWS

UEFA AFP/WALSCHAERTS is concerned: each sponsor is therefore guaranteed a presence at 150 matches. Every participating team has to sign a contract with a television channel which Champions will broadcast its matches. This was difficult at the beginning but it is begin- ning to bear fruit.” In fact, the number of men’s teams has grown from 16 to 24, while the women’s league, which had League eight teams at the outset, currently comprises 16 teams and will have A source of inspiration 20 next season. THE SUCCESS OF THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE HAS INSPIRED The CEV Champions League starts with a phase involving four groups MANY OTHER SPORTS AND FOOTBALL CONFEDERATIONS TO GO DOWN of six, in which each team faces its oppo- THE SAME ROAD, WITH SIMILAR RESULTS. nents twice. The top three in each group progress to a knockout round. The four ”Like many UEFA initiatives, the participants in the different cups is best teams then dispute the title via the Champions League is symbolic for us,” determined, as in the UEFA competitions, famous final four. says Olivier Mottier, executive director of by rankings based on the results of The CEV has acquired greater the European Volleyball Confederation the clubs from each federation. Olivier stability thanks to the Champions League. (CEV), ”although we are not quite at the Mottier explains: ”We have also been It is also hoping that the media coverage same level”. Volleyball launched its own inspired by the UEFA club licensing of volleyball will attract more young Champions League in 2000 and created system. Any team wishing to participate players and enable it to broaden its a similar event for women the following in our competitions is sent a 180-page membership base over the next five years. year. The Champions League is reserved document setting out its rights and Volleyball has a long tradition of Euro- for league champions and cup winners, obligations. Like UEFA, we have created pean cup competitions. The first such with other competitions organised for a standard format for the Champions event was held in the 1959/60 season. lower-placed clubs. The number of League, including where broadcasting However, the sport has not developed UEFA/PA PHOTOS UEFA/PA

The UEFA Champions League: an innovative concept uniting football, the broadcasters and the sponsors. 08 uefadirect 5.07 The Champions League In Asia continues to evolve. and Africa The Asian Football Confed- eration (AFC) has been organising club competitions since 1967, setting up the Champions Clubs’ Cup, Cup Winners’ Cup and Asian Super Cup. It brought all these competitions together under the umbrella of a new Champions League in 2002/03. Unlike the UEFA Champions League, it is not open to all its member asso- ciations, but only the top 15: Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia,

AFP/KISBENEDEK Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Australia, China, Indone- at an equal rate across Europe. Russian to all participants. The Champions sia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and clubs have enjoyed the lion’s share of League is generating significant Vietnam. Twenty-eight teams are success over the years. Russia, Poland interest amongst the main European split into seven groups of four. The and Italy are the main hotbeds where TV stations. These matches must be group winners and the reigning volleyball is concerned. ”These nations held at large venues.” champions contest subsequent have therefore attracted most attention, rounds by direct elimination. leaving other ambitious countries in the …and table tennis shadows. Now, if a club does well and In table tennis, La Villette qualifies for the Champions League, Charleroi are preparing to contest their it becomes a more attractive proposition. seventh successive Champions League The top players are no longer obliged to final. The sport used to have a Champi- move to Italy either.” on Clubs’ Cup, which was based on a direct knockout system. However, it Turning to handball… drew inspiration from UEFA in 1998/99, Handball’s Champions League launching a Champions League with was born in 1993/94, not long after two groups of four clubs. In 2005/06, UEFA’s version. It has since undergone the competition doubled in size, with AFP/WILS several reforms. Originally played in two four groups of four. The rest of the A spectacular scene in the CAF Champions groups of four, then in four groups of tournament is played in a two-legged League match between Mangasport (Gabon) four, it has now doubled in size again knockout format. Didier Leroy, technical and JSK Dabo (Algeria). and comprises eight groups of four clubs. director of the Belgian Table Tennis The AFC organises the The best teams qualify for the last 16, Federation, assesses the impact of this President’s Cup for emerging foot- when they begin two-legged knockout Champions League: ”The clubs have ball federations. It is also develop- rounds. ”Next season, we are introducing structured themselves and become pro- ing a plan, Vision Asia, to support a second group stage. We will be fessional. They have to meet various re- the growth of football in Asia and centralising the marketing from the quirements and pay fines if they fail to second phase, whereas at the moment do so. Eurosport broadcasts the matches prevent it splitting into different we only do that from the first knockout from the semi-final stage onwards. spheres of interest. round, apart from the television rights, Before that, the clubs can count on the The African Football Con- which we manage from the start of the local TV stations. We are seeing genuine federation (CAF) has also drawn in- competition,” explains Sian Rowland, progress in our sport. There is more spiration from the UEFA Champions communications manager of the media coverage and standards are League. After several preliminary European Handball Federation (EHF). becoming more even across Europe. At rounds, the remaining eight teams The EHF Champions League is currently the start, it was just German clubs and are split into two groups of four. in a pivotal season. Its development, La Villette. The number of clubs that The top two in each group contest overseen by the company EHF Marketing qualify from each country depends on the semi-finals. The final is played GmbH, a subsidiary of the EHF, is acceler- their position in the table of national on a home and away basis, since ating. ”It is making a tremendous effort rankings, as in UEFA competitions. a match at a neutral venue would to improve the character of the event. Germany and France, for example, can not attract enough spectators. We have also recently introduced certain enter several clubs, not just their cham- The Arab Champions League obligations, such as the need for identical pions. However, other countries, such as was introduced in 2003/04, stem- surfaces at all venues. Our competition Spain, are emerging. Granada reached ming from the competitions organ- is clearly benefiting from its name and the semi-finals and La Villette will be ised for domestic league champions from the identity that we have created playing an Austrian club in the final.” and cup winners of the Arab by adhering to a strict regime, applicable Pascale Pierard countries. P. P.

09 Michel Platini and José Manuel Barroso exchange views. Thys/AFP/Getty Images Report

from Brussels to be found between, on the one Meeting hand, the social and educational of the presidents values of sport and, on the other, the application of the major principles of EU law to its economic aspects. ON 12 MARCH, BRUSSELS WAS THE SETTING FOR AN EXCEPTIONAL MEETING In his view, the growing commerciali- BETWEEN UEFA PRESIDENT MICHEL PLATINI AND THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION sation of football and the transforma- PRESIDENT, JOSÉ MANUEL BARROSO. IT WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM tion of some clubs into business enti- TO DISCUSS THE GOVERNANCE OF AND RAISE A NUMBER OF ties meant that professional football could not escape EU rules. ISSUES WHICH UEFA AND ITS MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS ARE CURRENTLY FACING. As regards the Charleroi case, the European Commission president said that FIFA and UEFA had very The two presidents expressed due to be published this summer, the strong legal and political arguments their respective viewpoints during a EU president gave assurances that this formal meeting and a working lunch did not presage the adoption of any and he felt that the balance was before holding a joint press confer- Community legislation on sport – more in their favour. ence. which in any case would be impossible. Both described relations be- The white paper would simply be a Training of young players tween UEFA and the EU as “excellent” means for the Commission to indicate Michel Platini, for his part, nowadays, and agreed on the need to its position on the subject and, in par- expressed his concern regarding the promote the European model of sport. ticular, the way in which Community urgent need to place greater empha- law should be applied to it – namely, sis on the training of young players White paper by taking its specificity into account. in Europe, saying: ”Young players With regard to the Commis- According to Mr Barroso, this should be trained to play, not to be sion white paper on sport, which is meant in practice that a balance had bought and sold.”

A commemorative shirt for the president of the European Commission, pictured with Michel Platini and two famous names Thys/AFP/Getty Images in European football, Sir and . 10 uefadirect 5.07 Youth player training The mini-pitch in Saint-Josse. is crucial to the development and future of football. UEFA Mini-pitch supported by the European Commission Since 2004, the year of its golden jubilee, UEFA has been funding the construction of mini-pitches in the territory each of its member associa- tions through the HatTrick programme.

Rangers FC/PA Photos By building mini-pitches in the heart of urban areas, UEFA hopes to help revive the tradition of street football, which used to be so popular, José Manuel Barroso agreed that the and is providing local communities with excellent facilities in which had had some ”unfore- to play football. seen” consequences. In this context, the Belgian (URBSFA) and UEFA Finally, the UEFA president inaugurated a new mini-pitch on 16 March in the Saint-Josse district of voiced the idea of possible collabora- Brussels. This initiative was unusual insofar as it was actively supported tion with the EU in order to step up by the European Commission, which has recently moved part of its head- the fight against scourges such as quarters into this locality. hooliganism and money laundering In Belgium, most of the 40 or so mini-pitches that have been built – which considerably tarnish the image to date are located in regions and districts where young people form a large and values of football. proportion of the population. The municipality of Saint-Josse is a good Opening with a short film example, since almost half of its 24,000 inhabitants are under 25. Thanks tracing the major stages in the building to this newly built mini-pitch, they will all be able to enjoy a sports facility of Europe and the history of European near where they live and play football to their heart’s content, since the football, the press conference was the pitch will not be part of the sporting infrastructure of any particular club. occasion for the two presidents to in- troduce the match scheduled for the following day at between Manchester United and a Europe XI. The gala match was staged to cele- brate a double golden jubilee: the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of , which laid the foundations of the Euro- pean Union, and the 50th anniversary of Manchester United’s first European campaign. Marcello Lippi, who won the 2006 World Cup with Italy, then un- veiled the list of players selected for the Europe XI, including England team skipper , French inter- national goalkeeper Grégory Coupet, and Internazionale Milan’s prolific Swedish striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Following this announcement, UEFA Michel Platini presented a commemo- Left to right: Jean Demannez, mayor of the Saint-Josse district of Brussels; Odile Quentin, rative European team shirt with the European Commission director-general for Education and Culture; Michel Sablon, technical director of the Belgian FA; and François de Keersmaecker, president of the Belgian FA. number 27 to José Manuel Barroso, drawing a round of applause from the The official opening of the mini-pitch in Saint-Josse was attended gathered media representatives. by representatives of the four institutions which funded the project: the Attending as a representative municipality of Saint-Josse, the URBSFA, the Directorate General for of Manchester United, Sir Bobby Education and Culture of the European Commission and UEFA. They were Charlton, who in 1966 was part of all delighted to have been able to contribute to such an initiative and noted the England team that won the World that the mini-pitch in Saint-Josse would have a particularly exotic dimension: Cup as well as being European Foot- the population of the municipality is composed of nationals of more than baller of the Year, closed the event 180 different countries, who all live together peacefully. with an inspiring message: ”Let’s be More than anyone else, these people have a wonderful opportunity proud of Europe!” to demonstrate football’s potential to promote intercultural dialogue…

11 The players Marcello Lippi and mascots and Sir Alex come onto Ferguson: the pitch. relaxed for this special match. PA Wire/PA Photos Wire/PA PA Ellis/AFP/Getty Images Ellis/AFP/Getty Images

50thanniversary of (right): a farewell ovation. on to the Old Trafford turf, starting with Sir ’s son Sandy and continu- the Treaty of Rome ing with Bill Foulkes and to A Great Night at relive the magical moments of the 1968 win against SL Benfica; from the Theatre the team that won the 1991 Winners’ Cup; Brian McClair, scorer TUESDAY, 13 MARCH 2007 WAS A DATE TO REMEMBER AT OLD TRAFFORD, of the goal that won the UEFA Super A NIGHT WHEN MANCHESTER UNITED FC ENTERTAINED A EUROPE XI COACHED Cup a few months later; and Ole Gunnar Solskjær, whose last-gasp winner BY WORLD CHAMPION MARCELLO LIPPI AND UEFA’S TECHNICAL DIRECTOR clinched the dramatic UEFA Champions IN A CHARITY MATCH AT THE THEATRE OF DREAMS. League victory in 1999. During the half- time interval, the story was continued by ”“ Wilf McGuinness and Sir The success of the event can be heartening figure is that the audience Bobby Charlton, while , gauged from two figures. The match was contained some 20,000 children. Each distraught by the knee injury which ruled watched by a crowd of 74,343 – a record of the adults received, free of charge, a him out of the game, went onto the attendance at Old Trafford for a non-com- 116-page souvenir match programme pitch to say goodbye to the fans who petition match – and the game generated produced by UEFA. had made his years at Old Trafford ”the £1.2m (some EUR 1.8 million), ensuring For once, United did not have to best of my career”. that the celebration match would be able worry about whether they won or lost. Before the game, Michel Platini to leave a significant legacy in a variety of Their role was to host a very special occa- and José Manuel Barroso, the presidents charity projects coordinated by the Man- sion and they performed the role to per- of UEFA and the European Commission chester United Foundation. In recognition fection. The European Commission trav- respectively, received commemorative fig- of the support received from Munich and elled to Old Trafford to celebrate the urines from Sir Bobby Charlton and from after the 1958 tragedy, revenue 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome – United’s chief executive, David Gill, along from the match was also earmarked for and went home very happy about the with editions of the club’s Opus books special projects in both cities. Another way they had done it. UEFA supported which measure a square metre and weigh the event by helping to organise something approaching 40 kilos. The it and by selecting the Europe XI, players also received a commemorative greatly appreciating the level of gift box and UEFA was presented with support by the clubs and players a cheque for £25,000 for Terre des who helped to make the event a Hommes, an organisation dedicated to great success watched by mil- the welfare of children. lions of viewers all over Europe. The celebration match itself was It is legitimate to talk all about exuberant football: moments of about an ‘event’ rather than a stunning individual brilliance, great cama- match. Prior to kick-off, United raderie during a game played with such told their European story in pic- fairness that German referee Markus tures, projecting on giant screens Merk was able to keep his cards in his installed in the stands specially pocket, and seven goals. Henrik Larsson for the occasion, images which earned himself a standing ovation as he progressed from black-and-white said goodbye to the United fans wearing into colour as history unfolded. the Europe XI captain’s armband – just To bring the images to life, one of many emotional moments on a names from United’s past walked special night at the Theatre of Dreams.

Manchester United – Europe XI 4-3 (4-1) Dong Fangzhuo (left), (2), , Cristiano Ronaldo playing for the Manchester United, against England’s for Manchester Utd; , El-Hadji Diouf (2) Steven Gerrard, playing for for Europe.

Ellis/AFP/Getty Images the European XI.

12 uefadirect 5.07 An extraordinary meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee. UEFA-pjwoods.ch

A new article is also being pro- posed which testifies to UEFA’s desire Meetings and to intensify dialogue within the whole European football family by incorporat- ing the Professional Football Strategy Forum into the statutes. This body met other activities for the first time in January and, under the revised statutes, would be known Preparation of the tenth as the Professional Football Strategy Council and expanded to include the extraordinary congress ”representatives elected by any such players’ union recognised by UEFA WHY REVISE THE UEFA STATUTES THIS SPRING, WHEN A FULLY as representing the interests of the REVISED VERSION IS DUE TO BE PRESENTED TO THE CONGRESS IN KIEV professional players in Europe” (see AT THE BEGINNING OF NEXT YEAR? page 3). The committee also approved The answer to this question lies the general secretary (who replaces the the agenda for the tenth extraordinary in the change of UEFA president. In his chief executive) and the committees. UEFA Congress, which will be devoted electoral campaign, Michel Platini clear- essentially to this partial revision of the ly stated that he wished to be an ”exec- More committees statutes. utive president” while, at the same On the subject of the committees, The meeting was also informed time, strengthening the authority of the two of the proposed amendments signal that David Taylor, outgoing chief execu- elected representatives of the national a return to the situation that existed be- tive of the Scottish FA, would officially associations. Since the majority of those fore the FORCE project and the subse- take up his appointment in charge of same representatives placed their confi- quent amendment of the statutes at the the UEFA administration on 1 June. dence in him in Düsseldorf, the UEFA congress in 2000, in that the committees Last but not least, the commit- statutes now have to take account of would again be directly associated with tee approved the procedure for desig- the wishes of the new UEFA president. the Executive Committee and, in principle, nating the hosts of EURO 2012 at its This was the main business on chaired by its members. The number of meeting on 17 and 18 April. It also not- the agenda of the extraordinary Execu- committees would also increase (from 11 ed that its summer meeting will now tive Committee meeting convened on to 19), to allow a better balance and syn- take place in Groningen (Netherlands) 26 March at UEFA’s headquarters in ergy with the FIFA committees. The num- on 22 and 23 June, to coincide with Nyon. Although the amendments are ber of members in each committee would, the final of the European Under-21 being kept to a strict minimum, no moreover, not be defined in the statutes. Championship. fewer than 30 articles are still affected. During its meeting, the Executive Com- mittee therefore examined the amend- ments proposed by a working group ■ chaired by vice-president Geoffrey The UEFA honorary Thompson, in order to decide on the president, Lennart text that would be presented to the Johansson, attended this national associations’ delegates at an meeting of the Executive extraordinary UEFA Congress in Zurich Committee, and took on 28 May. advantage of the The articles in question con- opportunity to address cern, in particular, the UEFA organs (the the UEFA staff in the president replaces the chief executive as auditorium of the House an organ), the composition of the Exec- of European Football. utive Committee (with the abolition of He was also presented co-opted members but an increase in the number of members from 13 to 15, with a gift by his successor an amendment which would, however, to recognise the great not come into effect until 2009), the contribution he made duties of the Executive Committee, the during his 17 years powers of the president, the duties of as UEFA president. Photos: UEFA-pjwoods.ch

13 Jim Boyce was Like in Paris assisted by last year, Marc Wilmots a large part of in the draw for the the Champions European Under-17 Festival in Championship Athens will be final round. reserved for young people. ??????????????? UEFA

which aims to promote sharing of UEFA Champions League sponsors, information and international partner- while a Champions Gallery will trace ships between ministries responsible the history of the competition. for security and police authorities. In this way, efforts will be made to harmonise existing preventative meas- Under-17 draw ures and to develop a common legal in Brussels framework for the prevention and Only three of the teams ??????????????? Doppagne/AFP/Getty Images punishment of violence in European that took part in last year’s Euro- football. pean Under-17 Championship final United against round are among this year’s final- Festival of football ists: Belgium, who qualify automat- violence ically as final round hosts, Germany In his efforts to respond in Athens and Spain. to the latest unfortunate incidents The club competitions The elite team was there- in and outside European stadiums, are approaching their climax, fore the stumbling block the UEFA president, Michel Platini, which, in the case of the UEFA for several leading lights invited police experts and govern- Cup, will take place at Hampden at Under-17 level, notably ment representatives from differ- Park in , on 16 May, the reigning European ent European countries to tackle with the UEFA Champions League champions, Russia, who this problem together on final taking place at the Olympic 21 March. stadium in Athens a week later, were knocked out in their group’s He had already discussed the on 23 May. mini-tournament in Portugal. On the issue at a meeting with the president The UEFA Champions League last day of the mini-tournament, Russia of the European Commission, José final in Athens will be preceded by ended up ceding their claim on a place Manuel Barroso, whom he had asked a UEFA Champions Festival, which will in the final round to Iceland after an for the support of the EU member start the weekend before the match unbelievable match in which Russia states in the fight against football and offer a whole host of activities started the second half 6-0 down but violence. to promote football, the UEFA Cham- managed to pull back five goals before The meeting participants pions League and its sponsors. The the final whistle, with a final score of agreed that common goals could planned activities include a grassroots 6-5 to Iceland! Last year’s other finalists, only be achieved through improved tournament for girls and boys aged the Czech Republic, were also elimi- cooperation between all the parties 10 to 16, skill drills, training sessions nated, beaten to a place in the final involved. UEFA will therefore work with well-known experts, a non-stop round by Ukraine. more closely in future with the EU’s 24-hour football match and other The draw for the final round Police Cooperation Working Party, types of games organised by the was conducted in Brussels on 4 April by former Belgian international Marc Wilmots and the chairman of the Youth & Amateur Football Committee, Jim Boyce, and produced the following two groups. A: France, Spain, Germany, Ukraine; B: Netherlands, Belgium, Iceland, England. The final round takes place from 2 to 13 May and the best five teams qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in South Korea in August and September. ■ The draw for the final round

UEFA-pjwoods.ch of the European Women’s Under-19 Championship will be made in Reyk- javik on 23 May. The tournament is Participants united for the same scheduled from 18 to 29 July. cause: safety and security.

1014 uefadirect 11.065.07 The Basque Country won the UEFA Regions Cup in 2005. UEFA

■ In the fifth UEFA Re- gions Cup, six teams have already secured their place in the final round: Aveiro (Portugal), Tuzla Canton (Bosnia & Herzegovina), Ivan Odessa (Ukraine), South-East Region (Bulgaria), Dolnoslazski (Poland) and Award for UEFA Basse-Normandie (France). The remaining At a ceremony in , ”Ultimate Stage”, the UEFA two finalists will be known by the end Champions League brand concept for the 2006-09 cycle, won the of April. The final round takes place prestigious Sport Industry Award 2007 in the category of Best in Bulgaria in June. Promotion of a Sport by a Governing Body.

U-20 World Cup Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland Group C: Portugal, in Canada and Portugal, as the best teams from last New Zealand, Gambia, Mexico; year’s European Under-19 Championship On 9 March, Toronto was Group D: Poland, Brazil, final round in Poland. the venue for the draw to form South Korea, USA; the groups for the FIFA U-20 World The groups for the world cup Group E: Argentina, Czech Cup, which will be hosted by Canada in Canada are: Republic, North Korea, Panama; from 30 June to 22 July. Group A: Canada, Chile, Group F: Japan, , Europe’s reigning Under-19 Congo, Austria; Nigeria, Costa Rica. champions, Spain, will be representing Group B: Spain, Uruguay, The title is currently held their continent, along with Scotland, Jordan, Zambia; by Argentina.

LOOKING AHEAD TO EURO2008

Huge run on tickets for EURO 2008 – 10.3 million ordered already ●●● Interest in tickets for final (651,141 tickets ordered), followed EURO 2008 could hardly have been by the two semi-finals (561,565 for Basle greater: 600,000 football fans from and 502,081 for Vienna). The most orders 142 countries have ordered a total came from Switzerland (29%), followed of 10.3 million match tickets. by Germany (27%) and Austria (21%). Thus the total number of All those who have ordered tickets requested for the final round is tickets will be informed by the end of 18 times greater than for the previous April whether they have been successful tournament in Portugal in 2004 and or not. A total of 1,050,000 tickets almost matches the figure for the 2006 are available for EURO 2008, of which World Cup, which stood at 10.8 million. 33% could be applied for between All 31 games are over-booked across all 1 and 31 March during the internet sales price categories. “Simply unbelievable,” period on www.euro2008.com. said a very happy Martin Kallen, chief The national associations taking operating officer of Euro 2008 SA. “We part in the final round will provide a did not suspect such a rush. We were further opportunity to get tickets. They estimating orders for four to five million will receive 20% of the total number tickets.” of tickets for each group game in which The list of the most sought-af- their team is involved. ter games is predictably topped by the Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images Coffrini/AFP/Getty Trix and Flix cannot hide their delight at how successful the ticket sales have been.

15 work I have done has been recognised AUSTRIA at European level and am delighted to BOSNIA AND receive this order of merit.” HERZEGOVINA This top award was also acknowledged Top award for ÖFB honorary slightly less formally in Düsseldorf by a mixed delegation from Germany and A new look to the national team president Hans Reitinger Austria which included, among others, the The national team of Bosnia and Herze- By reaching the semi-finals of the likes of , Wolfgang govina made a good start to this spring’s European Under-19 Championship in Niersbach, , Friedrich round of qualifying matches for EURO Poland in July last year, Austria qualified Stickler and Alfred Ludwig, who congra- 2008, under the leadership of new head for their first FIFA U-20 World Cup in tulated the ÖFB honorary president by coach Fuad Muzurovic. The Bosnians 24 years. The draw for this tournament – raising their glasses of champagne in managed to surprise Norway, winning the one of the biggest events in Canadian honour of this rare achievement. match at the Ulleval Stadium in Oslo by sporting history – took place in Toronto at Peter Klinglmüller two goals to one. the beginning of March. Austrian Under- After a weak start, with two home 20 manager Paul Gludovatz’s players will defeats at the Bilino Polje stadium in be in the group with teams from host against Hungary and Greece, there nation Canada, Congo and Chile when is now renewed hope that Bosnia and the tournament begins on 30 June. “In spite Herzegovina will be in the fight for one of of the tough opponents we are going to the top two places in Group C. face, the objective remains qualification for What makes this win even sweeter is the last 16,” confirmed Gludovatz. that the crowd in Oslo welcomed a totally ■ As far back as the end of January, new Bosnian team. Out of the 23 players Hans Reitinger, formerly both the presi- in the squad for the game, nine of them dent of the Austrian and vice- were debutants (Vedad Ibisevic, Mario president of the Austrian Football Associ- Pandza, Ivan Radeljic, Ivan Bozic, Darko ation (ÖFB), was presented the UEFA Maletic, Edin Dzeko, Ajdin Maksumic, Order of Merit in ruby at the 31st UEFA Adnan Custovic and Edin Pehlic) and four Congress in Düsseldorf by the outgoing of these even started the game. Five UEFA president, Lennart Johansson, in of the squad (Ibisevic, Pandza, Dzeko, recognition of his services to European Maksumic and Pehlic) played last autumn football. Also present on this special day for the Under-21 were FIFA president Joseph S. Blatter and team that reached the play-offs for the several stars of the 1954 World Cup. Under-21 European Championship in the Moved by the award, Reitinger described Netherlands this year, but failed to get it as “a complete surprise and an honour past the Czech Republic. And only five of that I no longer expected at this point in Lennart Johansson the squad who faced Norway played

and Hans Reitinger. UEFA my life. I see this as confirmation that the in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s last match against Greece (Zvjezdan Misimovic, Branimir Bajic, Mladen Bartolovic, Mirko Hrgovic and Dario Damjanovic). Head in these areas we have made considerable coach Muzurovic also recalled some play- BELARUS improvements.” ers after absence from the national team “By working together, we have built (Adnan Guso, Safet Nadarevic, Zajko Zeba, three full-size football grounds and Admir Vladavic, Branislav Krunic and Election Conference 40 mini-pitches with artificial turf. There Romeo Mitrovic). are now seven standard synthetic pitches The match against Norway was the The regular election conference of the in the country.” 101st to be played by the Bosnian national Belarus football association (BLS) took The new headquarters of the Belarus team, and reunited head coach Muzurovic place on 4 March and the results saw FA have been completed and include a and Vedin Music, both of whom also took current president Gennady Nevyglas modern training facility that will contribute part in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s first re-elected for a new four-year term. to the most effective development possi- official match in Tirana, Albania on Victor Novikov was elected vice-president, ble. Furthermore, we have taken essential 30 November 1995. with Michael Vergeenko, Sergey Kunica measures to continue the process of and Peter Juzhik becoming his assistants. club licensing: since this began in 2005, The new staff of the BLS executive com- all teams in the first division have been mittee was also confirmed and at its licensed. first working session appointed Leonid The last major changes to the machi- Dmitranica to the post of general director. nery of the association have been com- UEFA treasurer Marios Lefkaritis was pleted and its schedule modified. The last present at the election conference and few years have shown that the associa- in his speech noted the high rates of tion is a deserved member of UEFA and Belarusian football development, wishing FIFA; our opinions have considerable good luck to the leadership. weight and we are respected in the inter- The re-elected president of the BLS national football family. The discussion of confirmed that “the main association the problems associated with football in priorities – the development of children’s our mass media shows that we have and youth football and the stabilisation of succeeded in making football attractive to F.Krvavac the material and technical infrastructure the community. England v Bosnia & Herzegovina in the elite – are well-known to everyone. I think that Siarhei Novysh round of the European Under-17 Championship.

16 uefadirect 5.07 fromN memberEWS associations

The national team has a new captain outlined during the last congress. These Macela, and , who is chairman in Zvjezdan Misimovic, the 25-year-old are: of the referees’ committees of both who plays for German side VfL Bochum ■ The financial independence of the the DFB and UEFA, with positive results. and is currently Bosnia’s top scorer of the association from the government A programme of regular consultations has campaign. ■ The implementation of FIFA and been established between the referees’ Our Under-21 national team played UEFA rules and requirements in all areas committee of the CMFS and a former in- their first friendly match against Switzer- of football in Bulgaria ternational referee and participant in the land in their warm-up for the qualifiers in ■ Providing support for the Bulgarian UEFA Talents and Mentors Programme, the 2007-09 European Under-21 Cham- national team as it seeks to qualify for the Aron Schmidhuber. His monthly sessions, pionship, winning 1-0. This was the first EURO 2008 final round and ensuring the in which he draws on his wealth of knowl- match the team had played under new continued good performance of national edge and years of experience, and gives coach Nikola Nikic. teams from all age groups. updates on the latest UEFA trends, are Bosnia and Herzegovina are in the A delegation from UEFA led by first proving very helpful to Czech referees. It same qualifying group as France, Malta, vice-president Senes Erzik visited Bulgaria is already possible to see an improvement and Wales for the European at the end of last month and had a very in their current physical condition and championship. productive discussion with its hosts. Mr technical skills from the results achieved of Bosnia and Erzik said that BFU projects under the and the tests carried out. Herzegovina (FF BHZ) hosted Group 3 in UEFA HatTrick programme were making Vit Pavlusek the elite round of the European Under- good progress and he was sure that great 17 championship in March, in partnership results would be evident very soon. with the city of . As well as the Borislav Konstantinov ENGLAND hosts, this group consisted of Azerbaijan, England and Serbia. The matches were held in the biggest stadiums in the coun- CZECH Coaching course on try – the Asim Ferhatovic Hase Olympic the Solomon Islands stadium and the Grbavica stadium. After REPUBLIC some interesting contests, the team that The Football Association’s Alan Gillett will travel to Belgium was decided in the Education programme received a hero’s welcome when he last round. The winners of the competi- for referees delivered a coaching course to football tion were England, who finished just The referees´ and delegates´ commit- instructors on the Solomon Islands in ahead of Serbia. The home team led by tee of the football association of the March. coach Velimir Stojnic did not disappoint, Czech Republic (CMFS) has prepared Gillett coached the Solomon Islands despite finishing in last place in the group. a new education programme for its pro- in 2004 and secured a 2-2 draw with Fuad Krvavac fessional referees, designed to make it Australia, a result that is still regarded by easier for them to referee matches. many as the national team’s greatest achievement. He was awarded a silver medal for his contribution to sport on the BULGARIA islands and was delighted to have the opportunity to return to the small nation after The FA signed a new cooperation Four former stars at the head agreement with the Oceania Football of the Confederation (OFC). Four members of the Bulgarian squad “I have always been looking for an that finished fourth in the 1994 World opportunity to return and after I learnt Cup in the USA were appointed to lead- that The FA had committed to assisting ing positions in the Bulgarian Football the development of football in the OFC

Union (BFU) in elections which took place CMFS at the association’s congress in Sofia last autumn. Borislav Michaylov, the former The referees are ready for the closing part of the season. goalkeeper who made a national record 102 appearances for Bulgaria, 60 of them The project aims to improve not only as captain, was elected president; Jordan physical condition, but also the technical Lechkov, the former who scored skills of the referees of the first and five goals in 45 caps for his country, was second divisions. The existing programme made first vice-president; Emil Kostadinov of half-yearly seminars is now to be (former right winger, 60 matches and supplemented by monthly physical train- 26 goals) and Nasko Sirakov (former for- ing sessions in and Brno under the ward, 82 caps and 23 goals), who were leadership of Zdenek Sivek, a member of The FA also in the squad that played in the USA, the UEFA Technical Instructors Panel. These The coaches pay close attention to what were elected as members of the associa- are to be prepared on the basis of the Alan Gillett is saying. tion’s executive committee. training results of the individual referees, region, and specifically in Fiji and the Jordan Lechkov is also currently the which will be sent weekly from heart rate Solomon Islands, I knew I would be back,” mayor of Sliven – a city in south-eastern monitors. said Gillett. Bulgaria with a population of more than The CMFS referees´ committee asked Gillett worked alongside another FA 100,000. He is the first former interna- the German Football Association (DFB) for coach, Jamie Houchen, to deliver a week- tional footballer in Bulgarian history who its cooperation as it looks to improve long course focusing on various elements has been elected to such a post. referees’ technical skills and positioning of coach education and The FA Learning The top management of the BFU are during matches. Talks subsequently took programme. working hard to achieve the main objec- place between the chairman of the By the end of the workshop, hundreds tives for Bulgarian football as they were referees’ committee of the CMFS, Ludek of children turned up to take part in the ➜

17 ➜ coaching sessions conducted by local

instructors, who will be left to continue SPL the good work started by The FA’s Gillett The women’s cup got under way in January. and Houchen. Shlamov/AFP/ Getty Images “We want Solomon Islands coaches process. During the past few years, the The UEFA president in a familiar role. to go to FIFA,” added Gillett. “We want number of girls playing football has grown Solomon Islands referees to become by 10% a year, thus giving the clubs a lot instructors in Oceania.” of challenges and opportunities. “They have got the raw materials, However, the biggest challenge for players and coaches. And they have got domestic football, men’s and women’s, is people who work at the grassroots level to increase the number of spectators Visit of UEFA president in the country but they have got to keep attending football matches. There are After his election, the new UEFA pres- it going.” Nada Grkinic more than 112,000 licensed players in ident, Michel Platini, made his first offi- Finland, more than 20,000 of whom are cial trip by visiting Georgia on 7 and female – and some 500,000 Finns claim 8 March. He spent two days familiarising to have football as their hobby, practising himself with the football infrastructure in FINLAND it at least once a week. Getting these Georgia. people into the football stands is one of With a delegation from the Georgian the main goals of the Finnish clubs, along Football Federation (GFF) and its president, Enthusiasm for women’s football with encouraging and nourishing fan , Michel Platini visited The women’s national team reaching culture. Stronger club identities, fans the training base in Saguramo which is the semi-finals of the European Champi- clearly supporting and wearing their club under construction and the Basa tech- onship in England in 2005 created a lot of colours, is what the Finnish football nical centre. He also visited the Boris enthusiasm for women’s football in Fin- family is aiming for. Paichadze national stadium. land, and the team received tremendous According to a survey conducted in The GFF arranged for him to meet media attention. The key players of the January 2007, all the women’s league some Georgian politicians, namely the national team became household names, clubs have sporting goals, but only a cou- prime minister, Zurab Nogaideli, as well as many of them playing abroad and having ple have clear goals when it comes to Giorgi Gabashvili, Minister of Culture, achieved international success with their communication, marketing and spectator Monument Protection and Sport, and club teams as well. The Finnish Women’s recruitment. The FA is playing a stronger David Namgalauri, head of the Depart- Under-19 team was the first women’s and stronger role in leading and coordi- ment of Sport and Youth Affairs. team in the history of Finnish football to nating the efforts of the clubs, creating During his visit, Michel Platini opened qualify for a FIFA tournament, the FIFA event manuals, drawing up marketing and a women’s tournament organised by the Women’s Under-20 World Championships communication plans as well as produc- GFF and the Georgian national team fun in Russia in 2006. ing branded material in order to create a club at the Irao stadium in . A club licensing system for the ten positive image and a strengthening brand On the second day of his visit, the UEFA women’s league clubs, aimed at continu- identity for the Finnish women’s football president gave a press conference for ously improving the quality of club activ- league. The vision for the development Georgian and foreign journalists accred- ities, was implemented for the first time work is a strong domestic league, a pop- ited in Georgia. for the 2007 season. Financial, sporting, ular women’s national team and a suc- Michel Platini assessed the achieve- infrastructure, legal as well as personnel cessful EURO 2009 tournament, making ments of the GFF positively and expressed and administration criteria have been cre- women’s football the number one his hope that the federation would con- ated together with the clubs, and every- female sports topic in Finland. tinue its good work. one is very committed to the development Outi Saarinen Alexander Tsnobiladze

played against the Serbian national team national team, Arno Pijpers. “I am also and claimed their first victory under the grateful to the Football Federation of KAZAKHSTAN aegis of UEFA. Goals from Kairat Ashir- Kazakhstan and its president, Rakhat Aliev. bekov and Nurbol Zhumaskaliyev helped In order to build a team, time is essential Kazakhstan to a 2-1 win. and time has been given to us. Last year, A first victory under “I would like to express my gratitude we carried out hard work, we the players, the aegis of UEFA to the football players. Today’s victory is the coaches and the administration, and During the period from 7 to 11 March, first of all their accomplishment,” said now we are reaping its fruits.” Shymkent city hosted the first ever the Dutch head coach of the Kazakhstan Alexander Keplin national team Alma TV International Cup tournament. The participants in the tour- nament were the national teams of Kaza- khstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbek- istan. The Kazakhstani team won the tournament, beating Kyrgyzstan 2-0 and Azerbaijan 1-0 along the way, and draw- ing 1-1 against the national team of Uzbekistan. All the proceeds from the tournament went to the AIDS foundation of the South Kazakhstan region. The next match of the Kazakhstan national team was on 24 March within the framework of the EURO 2008 quali- FSK fying matches. In Almaty, Kazakhstanis A tournament to contribute to the fight against AIDS.

18 uefadirect 5.07 EWS from member associationsN

The UEFA representatives were the LATVIA guests of the Latvian Football Federation FYR (LFF), stadium architect Aigars Blazevics MACEDONIA and new project manager Guntars Indrik- UEFA helps with sons. All of them were meeting to con- Full support for Haralampie new stadium project in sider the best possible solutions for a Hadzi-Risteski new national base for football, athletics, In mid-March, a UEFA delegation saw hockey, and other sports on the Daugava Out of the 56 delegates who attended early spring time in Riga. After touring the site, plans which will eventually be the ordinary general meeting of the Foot- two largest Latvian stadiums, Daugava ball Federation of FYR of Macedonia held presented to the Latvian government. in Struga on 17 March, 55 voted in sup- and Skonto, a sketch of a proposed new For more than a year, the LFF has been stadium was examined and revised. port of the current president, Haralampie trying to convince the government and Hadzi-Risteski. the Latvian Ministry of Education and The delegates accepted the financial Science that the country needs a new, report for the year 2006, as well as the modern, reliable national sports base budget for 2007. which meets all the requirements of all the “We have information about the huge sports federations that currently use the pressure put on delegates not to attend stadium. What is more, the LFF, together the meeting,” said Mr Hadzi-Risteski, who with investors, is ready to build the new also sent a written protest to the prime stadium and maintain it without any minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic investment from the Latvian government. of Macedonia, Nikola Gruevski, request- However, current stadium managers have ing an end to the great pressure being a different view. They think that the put on the delegates, which was also government should maintain the current described by the country’s media as polit- stadium by making enormous investments on its own and deny the LFF the oppor- tunity of renovating it, claiming that the LFF’s interests are purely commercial. Cur- rently, the Daugava stadium is in a critical condition and national team football matches are played at the Skonto club sta-

LFF dium. A model of the new Daugava stadium. Martins Hartmanis FSM Full support for the president of the football two-year terms. Georges Lüchinger, head association. of marketing, received the backing of all ical influence on the game. At the same LIECHTENSTEIN the delegates and was unanimously time, Mr Hadzi-Risteski said that the re-elected. answer given by the government agency The meeting also heard that the LFV is for youth and sport, which tried to ques- A good year all round planning to build a technical centre with tion the legitimacy of the meeting held in The general assembly of the Liechten- training pitches. At present, discussions Struga, amounted to direct influence by stein football association (LFV) took place with the public authorities are still in the politics on football. on 20 March. Numerous guests both from early stages. Beni Bruggmann, a rela- As a result of all these actions, the home and abroad were present, alongside tively new face at the LFV, will be respon- attempts of the so-called “initiative board” two representatives from each of the sible for youth football, and plans to work for changes in the Football Federation of seven member clubs. The meeting was closely with the clubs in this area. FYR of Macedonia failed, due to the sup- chaired competently by the president of The former coach of the Liechtenstein port given by the delegates to the current the association, Reinhard Walser. national team, Martin Andermatt, was management of the federation. In the He presented the annual report, men- honoured for his work. Likewise, the meantime, football’s world and European tioning in particular the new offices in former president of FC Balzers, Stefan governing bodies, FIFA and UEFA, have is- Schaan, the enlargement of the stadiums Wolfinger, was thanked for his many years sued a joint letter stating that they recog- at Vaduz and Eschen, the potential for of service in the post. nise all the decisions taken at the gener- improvement in youth football and Judith Frommelt al meeting and giving their full support to the stable financial situation of the asso- the federation’s president, Hadzi-Risteski, ciation. The representatives passed the and his management team, expressing budget unanimously. their great satisfaction at the way the fed- It was only a year ago that the club eration is running all its activities, making presidents decided on new regulations for it a rare example in Europe. Among the the cup competition. One clause of the activities mentioned were the very good document is now being changed again, organisation of qualifying tournaments so that in future the LFV board will be able in the UEFA competitions, the licensing to seed teams up to the quarter-finals, system and the operations of the coach instead of until the last 16 of the compe- education centre, as well as the first UEFA tition, which is the case this year. media rights workshop to be held in the The vice-president of the LFV, Fredi Hilti, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,

and the head of grassroots football, Heinz LFV which was attended by representatives Biedermann, were both re-elected by Reinhard Walser, president of the from six associations. a majority of the delegates for further Liechtenstein FA, chaired the general meeting. Zoran Nikolovski

19 will be linked to a top amateur club in order to guarantee the flow of talent. A maximum of six players of the profes- sional club can play for the partner amateur club in any league game. The professional clubs are free to cooperate with an amateur club of their choice in their region.” Rob de Leede D.Aquilina

AC Milan training in Malta.

champions Birkirkara and the national NORTHERN team respectively. IRELAND MALTA During the last months, club sides from Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Nor- Sponsor for the Training facilities in Malta way, as well as Finland’s Under-21 and the County Centres of Excellence Swiss national women’s squads, have been a popular destination on the list of visitors to Malta, where mild programme In recent years, facilities at the Malta weather makes for a welcome winter or The future of talented young foot- Football Association (MFA) national com- pre-season break away from the severe ballers in Northern Ireland was given a plex in Ta’ Qali have proved the ideal climatic conditions in some European significant boost when the Football venue for both foreign clubs and national countries. Association of Northern Ireland (IFA) squads to go on training camps. These trips to Malta are mutually announced airline Flybe as sponsors of the The facilities are enhanced by well- beneficial: foreign teams take the oppor- County Centres of Excellence programme. equipped accommodation, situated con- tunity to combine their training camps The IFA’s youth strategy identified the veniently adjacent to the training grounds. with matches against local sides and the importance of developing the best young A specially-appointed MFA board takes island’s national teams in different cate- talent in Northern Ireland in order to great care to ensure that the complex gories, giving Maltese sides valuable increase the supply of elite players through meets the required standards. contact with top-class professionals. to the youth and senior international Both the top Italian team AC Milan More bookings from overseas squads teams. It is vital for the success of our and the Austrian national squad have are on the itinerary, making the surround- international teams that more Northern recently had productive one-week train- ings at the national complex a veritable Ireland players play at the highest level in ing sessions at the complex, culminating hive of activity throughout the year. England, and in order to improve the like- in friendly matches against the Maltese Alex Vella lihood of this happening, the youth strat- egy proposed the establishment of an excellence programme. The IFA Flybe/ Centres of mitting themselves to this ambitious Excellence successfully began their NETHERLANDS project for at least three years. sessions at the beginning of February, This new step marks a historic moment managed by the six highly qualified for women’s football: the long-desired IFA county coaches. Each centre aims to Women’s premiership – elite platform for top sports has finally a historical step been created, and top players can now make further steps in their development. ADO Den Haag, AZ, , “Internationally, we have never managed FC Twente, FC Utrecht and Willem II will to qualify for the final round of the Euro- make up the new women’s premiership pean Championship, let alone the World as of August. The six professional clubs Cup,” says Vera Pauw, the national team signed an agreement last month, com- manager. “Thanks to this initiative, I am sure that we will now qualify for the final round of the European Championship in 2009.” The agreement signed by the clubs states clearly what is required. A founda- tion has been set up to exploit the com-

mercial interests of the women’s premier- IFA ship. Neither promotion nor relegation Andrea Hayes and Nigel Best deliver kit applies, so the competition will effectively to one of the centres of excellence. be a closed one, although it may well be opened up in the future. The new league have 25 boys in each of the four age is not a professional league – the players groups and up to 30 girls across the four will all be amateurs, but will have their age groups in the first year. expenses paid. Flybe has recently launched a new kit “The main issue is the facilities,” as for all young footballers who take part in Vera Pauw stresses. “We can benefit from the six county centres of excellence. Each the knowledge and expertise that the centre will have a different colour of kit professional clubs have assembled over (light blue, yellow, sky blue, red, navy and

KNVB/Jan de Koning the years. The current first division will white) which players will wear when Six clubs for a new women’s league. remain as it is. Each professional club county v. county competitions are played.

20 uefadirect 5.07 EWS from member associationsN

The kits were launched by Andrea Hayes of Flybe and the IFA’s high performance manager, Nigel Best, at the George Best City Airport. IFA chief executive Howard Wells recently visited an assessment session at County Down’s centre of excellence at Queens’ PE centre. The session consisted of 20 minutes covering coaching skills and tactics, followed by a number of small- sided matches. Former Northern Ireland international and QPR defender Alan McDonald is due to visit some of the centres in the next few weeks. Caroline Menary

NORWAY

Locally trained player rule to be implemented in Norway The executive committee of the Norwegian football association (NFF) has decided to introduce a locally trained player rule in Norwegian football. From 2008 onwards, clubs in the Norwegian top division, the Tippeligaen, will have to have eight locally trained players out of a squad of 25. At the same time, the NFF has distributed a paper to all member clubs, which discusses how regulations governing locally trained players can be further developed in Norway. A locally trained player is defined by UEFA as either a club-trained player or an association-trained player; in Norway,

at least four of the eight must be club- FAI trained. “By introducing the locally trained Croke Park in . player rule to Norwegian football we Steve Staunton’s side winning both games are preparing the ground for a better REPUBLIC 1-0 to leave the Republic of Ireland in a competitive balance between the clubs, as well as giving young, talented players OF IRELAND promising position ahead of the qualify- a real opportunity to step up into profes- ing fixtures in the autumn. sional football,” said the president of the The FAI is deeply appreciative of the GAA’s decision to allow football to be NFF, Sondre Kåfjord. stadium played at Croke Park in 2008 during the “One of our most important tasks is to The FAI recently welcomed the decision development of the Lansdowne Road ensure that young players with talent and stadium. ambition get an opportunity to develop of An Bord Pleanála, the Irish planning appeals body, to uphold the decision of The announcement of an additional their potential within our sport. Football EUR 1 million in funding to be allocated clubs have an important social and edu- Dublin City Council to grant permission to build Dublin’s new 50,000-capacity by the Irish government to the association cational role both in their local communi- towards the technical development ties and beyond. In this context, the stadium on the site of the Lansdowne Road facility. The ambitious building plan provides the association with nurturing of local talent is not only bene- the resources to further drive forward the programme at Lansdowne Road envi- ficial for football as a sport, but also for plan, which is the foundation for the society as a whole,” said Mr Kåfjord. sages having the stadium completed development of the game from grassroots Of the 220 Norwegian players in by the end of 2009. Work on the site is to elite level. Tippeligaen 2006, 150 originated from planned to commence within the coming The extra funding will be utilised across Norwegian grassroots clubs. “These fig- weeks. the range of 19 programmes within the ures show that local clubs are the most March was a historic month in Ireland FAI’s technical plan, which focuses on important arenas for recruiting young as the Republic of Ireland hosted Wales including everyone who wants to get players. If we increase the chances for and Slovakia in the EURO 2008 Group D involved in football. As the biggest sport young players to succeed, it will stimulate qualifiers at Croke Park, the home of in the country, the extra resources will be the clubs in local communities to work the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in of great benefit to many of the 450,000 even harder,” added Mr Kåfjord. Ireland. The two games were played be- who currently take part in football. Roger Solheim fore a capacity crowd of over 70,000, with Fran Whearty

21 EWS from member associationsN

Pfister to this position, the SFV is taking tion of referees. In doing so, senior into account the recent rapid increase of association figures are following a direc- SCOTLAND violence in Swiss football. This measure tive of the referees committee, with the is also in accordance with the guidelines aim of promoting a higher level of refer- Double departure of the Swiss Olympic association, which eeing and consistency in the application in view insists on a full-time safety and security of the rules. This measure also means officer. that the SFV is now fully eligible to sign The Scottish The SFV has also decided to create a the UEFA referee convention. Football Associa- full-time position to oversee the educa- Pierre Benoit tion (SFA) has ad- vertised for a new chief executive, after it was con- with your success. For me, the most firmed that David UKRAINE important thing to come out of the Taylor was to deciding game against the Italian team leave the associa- is not your qualification for the final round of the 2006/07 championship, but David tion to become Joy at Under-17 victory your faith in yourselves and the mentors UEFA Taylor general secretary “Let me be the first to get your auto- of UEFA. you have had since childhood,” said graphs and when you’re stars I’ll be Mr Taylor, who joined the SFA in Grigoriy Surkis. proud of them,” said the president of the August 1999, left at the end of March Yuriy Kalitvincev told all those present football federation of Ukraine (FFU) at a to take up his new role in Switzerland the story of what, to his mind, has been ceremony to congratulate and honour with European football’s governing body. the deciding factor in this achievement. He said: “The Scottish FA is a very the Ukrainian Under-17 team that quali- “More than one and a half years ago, different organisation now from that fied for the final round of the European when we formed the team, we set our which I joined in 1999. It has been a Under-17 Championship. Less than one guys the task of winning the U-17 World great pleasure to work with the board of day after the triumphant win over Italy Cup. As you know, it is possible to qual- directors and the staff in the change in the elite round of this competition, ify for this through the European Under- process. There is much still to do but I am the Ukraine team was congratulated 17 Championship. Gradually, we are pleased I can leave the SFA in a strong by the management of the FFU. Yuriy reaching this goal, and that’s why we’ll financial position and with long-term Kalitvincev’s players went to the federa- try to continue to improve.” plans in place to strengthen the base of tion’s headquarters straight from Boryspil Every player and all the coaching staff our national game in the years ahead.” airport. of the Under-17 national team, some of The president of the SFA, John Highlights of the three matches that whom are already well known, received McBeth, will assume the duties of the the team won in Udine (Italy) were played gifts from the FFU. chief executive on an interim basis until on a large TV screen. “We are delighted Valery Nykonenko a successor is in place. Mr McBeth will also be leaving the SFA in June, after four years as president, to become a vice- president of FIFA. Andy Mitchell

SWITZERLAND

Swiss football association always looking to improve To deal with the ever-growing list of demands in top-flight football today, the Swiss football association (SFV) and the Swiss Football League (SFL) have created two new positions: in future, two new employees will take full responsibility for important areas of work at the heart of the association. The SFV and SFL have already named Ulrich Pfister as safety and security officer. The 39-year-old has previously occupied various senior positions in such areas. He takes up his new post on 1 July

2007 and will be responsible for all mat- FFU ters relating to safety and security in all Grigoriy Surkis, president of the Ukrainian FA, welcomes back the Under-17s departments of the SFV. In appointing from their successful tournament in Italy.

22 uefadirect 5.07 UEFA

Notices

■ On 17 March, Avi Luzon was elected president of the Israel FA Communications for a three-year term. Birthdays – Calendars ■ On 30 March, Aivar Pohlak was elected president of the Estonian FA. ■ Lars-Åke Lagrell has been re- Birthdays ● Mathieu Sprengers (Netherlands, 24.5) elected president of the Swedish FA ● (Republic of Ireland, 24.5) for a further year. ● Ainar Leppänen (Estonia, 24.5) Lars Appelqvist (Sweden), a member of the ■ Guntis Indriksons has been ● Semen Andreev (Russia, 25.5) group of former UEFA committee members, elected president of the Latvian FA ● Suheil Daood (Israel, 25.5) celebrates his 80th birthday on 18 May, for a four-year term. ● Hans Cooman (Belgium, 25.5) while two referee observers have their ● Robert Jeurissen (Belgium, 27.5) ■ 50th birthdays this month: Ladislav Gadosi On 2 April, the Italian FA ● Zdenek Sivek (Czech Republic, 28.5) (Slovakia) on 3 May and Karl-Erik Nilsson elected Giancarlo Abete as its new ● Patrick A. Daly (Republic of Ireland, 28.5) (Sweden) on 6 May. Match delegate president. ● Jim Stjerne Hansen (Denmark, 28.5) Gaetano Degabriele (Malta) joins them at ● Jean-Pierre Escalettes (France, 29.5) ■ Following the departure of the same milestone on 19 May. ● Jacques Antenen (Switzerland, 29.5) Petr Fousek, Rudolf has become UEFA also wishes many happy returns to: ● István Huszár (Hungary, 31.5) acting general secretary of the ● Mircea-Lucian Salomir (Romania, 1.5) Czech FA. ● R. Campbell Ogilvie (Scotland, 1.5) Upcoming events ● Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark, 1.5) New publication ● Johann Hantschk (Austria, 3.5) Meetings ● Anghel Iordanescu (Romania, 4.5) ● Selami Özdemir (Turkey, 4.5) 8-10.5.2007, Nyon Ballkaniada 1946 ● Eleonora Gambillara (Switzerland, 4.5) 7th seminar for referee mentors and talents This book by Albanian author Besnik ● Peter Gilliéron (Switzerland, 5.5) 12.5.2007, Porto Dizdari is dedicated to the Balkan ● Costakis Koutsokoumnis (Cyprus, 5.5) Draw for the European Games of 1946 held in ● Kenneth Ridden (England, 6.5) Championship final round Tirana, when the Albanian ● Gudmundur Petursson (Iceland, 6.5) 13.5.2007, Nivelles (Belgium) national team won the ● Murat Jaha (Bosnia & Herzegovina, 7.5) Youth & Amateur Football Committee Balkan Football Cham- ● Pekka Luhtanen (Finland, 8.5) 15.5.2007, Glasgow pionship for the first time. ● Michel Pralong (Switzerland, 8.5) Jira Panel Apart from football, the ● Marc Dobbeleir (Belgium, 8.5) 16.5.2007, Glasgow games – the first to be ● Patrick Comninos (Greece, 8.5) Technical Development Committee played in Europe after the war – also ● Haim Zimmer (Israel, 9.5) consisted of athletics. Besnik Dizdari’s ● 23.5.2007, Athens Robert B. Valentine (Scotland, 10.5) Club Competitions Committee book provides a historical and ● Armen Melikbekyan (Armenia, 10.5) statistical account of these games. ● Arie Frost (Israel, 11.5) 23.5.2007, Reykjavik “Rozafat”, Tirana 2007. Draw for the European Women’s Under-19 ● Ernst-Peter Radziwill (Germany, 11.5) Email: [email protected] ● Timo Huttunen (Finland, 11.5) Championship final round ● Jean-Marie Gantenbein (Luxembourg, 12.5) 28.5.2007, Zurich ● Henrik Ravnild (Denmark, 13.5) Extraordinary UEFA Congress Obituary ● Carlos Manuel Ferreira Matos (Portugal, 14.5) 30-31.5.2007, Zurich ● Hans-Jörg Eissmann (Germany, 15.5) FIFA Congress René Hüssy (Switzerland), a member ● Piotr Maranda (Poland, 15.5) of the circle of former UEFA committee ● Hakan Nyberg (Sweden, 15.5) Competitions members, passed away on 11 March ● aged 78. A former coach of the Swiss Nikolay Levnikov (Russia, 15.5) 1/2.5.2007 ● national team and a founder member Evzen Amler (Czech Republic, 15.5) UEFA Champions League: semi-finals ● Angel Bungurov (FYR Macedonia, 16.5) (return legs) of the Swiss football coaches’ asso- ● Svein Johannessen (Norway, 17.5) ciation (USFT), René Hüssy also made ● 2-13.5.2007, Belgium his knowledge available to UEFA as Andreas Morisbak (Norway, 19.5) European Under-17 Championship final round ● Jozef Marko (Slovakia, 19.5) a member of the Committee for Tech- ● Helmut Krug (Germany, 19.5) 3.5.2007 nical Development from 1982 to 1996, ● Rune Pedersen (Norway, 19.5) UEFA Cup: semi-finals (return legs) a body which he served as vice-chair- ● Michal Listkiewicz (Poland, 20.5) 16.5.2007, Glasgow man from 1992 until his retirement in ● (Switzerland, 20.5) UEFA Cup: final 1996. From 1992 to 1995, he also chaired ● Zvezdan Terzic (Serbia, 21.5) 23.5.2007, Athens the study group for the introduction ● Theo van Seggelen (Netherlands, 22.5) UEFA Champions League: final of a European coaching licence.

WE CARE ABOUT FOOTBALL Editor André Vieli The views expressed in signed articles are not necessarily the Produced by Atema Communication SA, CH-1196 Gland official views of UEFA. Official publication of the The reproduction of articles Union des associations or extracts of any information européennes de football Printed by Cavin SA, CH-1422 Grandson published in uefadirect is authorised, provided the Communications and Public Affairs Division Editorial deadline: 5 April 2007 source is indicated. UEFA Route de Genève 46 Union des associations CH-1260 Nyon européennes de football Switzerland Phone +41 848 00 27 27 Fax +41 848 01 27 27 .com