EUROPEAN UNION

Press release Committee of the Regions

COR/04/76 Brussels, 5 October 2004

ARSENAL BOSS WENGER KICKS OFF SOCCER DEBATE AT COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

Arsène Wenger, manager of English Premiership champions Arsenal, will take part in a debate at the Committee of the Regions in Brussels at 17:45 tomorrow (6 October) on the theme of ‘European integration and football as a source of regional and national identity’. The debate, organised by l’Association pour la Promotion de l’Alsace in the context of the European Year of Education through Sport, will be moderated by MEP Daniel Cohn-Bendit and also features Marc Keller, Director General of Racing Club de Strasbourg. Among the topics to be covered during the debate will be: • The role of football clubs as partners in the economic and social development of Europe’s regions • Football as a tool for enhancing European integration and bringing nations together • The importance attached to sport in the new EU Constitution • The question of whether there be a ‘sporting exception’ in the application of EU Treaty rules • National quotas and the principle of free movement of players • The evolution of soccer in Europe following the Bosman ruling • The role of sport in social integration • TV rights, competition and solidarity Arsène Wenger played as a defender/sweeper for Mutzig, Mulhouse and Vauban before joining his hometown club of RC Strasbourg in 1978. The team won the French Championship the following season. He went on to coach Cannes and Nancy before taking charge of AS Monaco, who won the French Championship (1988) and French Cup (1991) under Wenger. After a brief spell in charge of Grampus Eight (winning the Japanese Super Cup), Wenger was appointed manager of Arsenal in September 1996. The North London club won ‘the Double’ (Premier League champions and FA Cup winners) in 1997/1998 and repeated the feat in 2001/2002. The club lifted the FA Cup again in 2003 and are the reigning Premiership champions. His side includes some of the world’s best-known players including Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Sol Campbell, Dennis Bergkamp, Ashley Cole, Robert Pires, Freddie Ljunberg and Jose Antonio Reyes. Last month, Wenger rejected reported overtures from Real Madrid President Florentino Perez to take over at the Bernabeu, saying he still had a “big job” to do at Highbury. Daniel Cohn-Bendit is joint leader of the Greens/European Free Alliance group in the European Parliament. Born in Montauban, Cohn-Bendit rose to prominence as a ‘soixante-huitard’ in the Paris student riots and became a leading member of the Revolutionary Struggle movement in Frankfurt alongside future German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer in the 1970s. He was elected as an MEP for the German Greens in 1994, was re-elected on the French list in 1999 and returned for his third Parliamentary term with the German Greens in June 2004. A passionate fan of ‘Les Bleus’, Cohn-Bendit has commentated on matches for French radio and this summer wrote about Euro 2004 in Le Monde. Marc Keller, who played as a defender with RC Strasbourg during the 1980s, was appointed Sports Manager of the club in July 2001 and became Director General in April 2003. L’Association pour la Promotion de l’Alsace is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Its chairman François Brunagel commented: “Arsène Wenger and Marc Keller are ambassadors for our region. They symbolise perfectly the Alsatian temperament.” The debate is being organised with the support of the Committee of the Regions, European Commission and KEA European Affairs, a leading public affairs consultancy which specialises in sport. Practical information: Venue: Committee of the Regions, rue Belliard 101, Room BE 52, 5th floor. Time: 17:45 Media wishing to attend this event should confirm their attendance in advance, as space will be limited: Dennis ABBOTT Communication, Press, Information and Events Committee of the Regions Rue Belliard 101 B-1040 Brussels Tel. +32 (0)2 282 20 99 Fax. +32 (0)2 282 20 85 E-mail: [email protected]

CZECHS WIN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS OPEN DAYS CUP A football side representing the Czech Regions beat Franco-Italian team TransMarAlpes on penalties to lift the Committee of the Regions OPEN DAYS Cup after a hard-fought final finished 2-2 at the British School in Brussels on Saturday, 2 October. The penalty shootout went to the wire with goalkeeper Michal Miedzinski, on loan from the Polish regions, finally scoring the winner. Czech skipper Tomas Nejdl, regional policy attache at the Czech Permanent Representation, was presented with the OPEN DAYS trophy by Laurent Thieule, head of the Communication and Press unit at the Committee of the Regions, which organised the eight-team knockout tournament. Thieule awarded a Fair Play trophy to the Irish Regions. The information in this message and/or attachments is intended solely for the attention and use of the intended recipient and may be confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you are hereby notified that you have received it in error and that any use of it is prohibited. In such a case, please delete this message and kindly notify the sender accordingly.

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