IP/97/62

Brussels, 28 janvier 1997

Football Against Racism - European Commission and UEFA cooperate

For the first time ever, a European All-Star team will play an All-Star African team. This historic match is being played in the framework of the European Year Against Racism 1997, on the basis of cooperation between the European Commission and UEFA. It will be the first big sport event dedicated to the spirit of the Year. This match will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, on Wednesday 29 January at 21h15. It will be broadcast by a number of television stations in Europe (RTP in Portugal, TVE in Spain, RTL in Germany, RTI in Italy, Mega Channel in Greece and Star TV in ). It will also be shown by national broadcasters in the majority of African countries, including SABC in South Africa, and by the international network of American broadcaster, ESPN. The key message of the event is that racism has no place in sport and football.

The Commission very much welcomes UEFA’s active involvement in the European Year. In Europe, there is no sport which attracts more attention and involvement than football, and there is no other sport which is enjoyed by so many people from different backgrounds and origins.

The All-Star African team has many players who play for European teams such as Ajax , Anderlecht and FC Köln (see Annex). The revenue from the match will be used for football projects in Africa. There will be a discussion on racism and football during half-time. Padraig Flynn, European Commissioner with responsibility for Employment and Social Affairs, will contribute to this debate by video, as he has to be in The Hague on 30 January for the Opening Conference of the European Year against Racism.

Commenting on this initiative, Commissioner Flynn said, “This initiative demonstrates the commitment of the world of football to stamp out the racism and racist incidents that have regrettably become a feature of some sporting occasions. Several measures, both at national and local level, have been taken to deal with this problem, including the “Kick Racism out of Football” campaign in the United Kingdom. Signals from the highest levels that racism is unacceptable are important for the public, sport organisations and players. Sport is a social event in which everyone should be able to participate without being judged on anything but their sporting performance.” Annex

The players involved in the match are:

African All-Stars European All-Stars

- Baruwa Abiodun, Shooting Stars , - , Tirol Innsbruck,

- Frank Amankwa, Gütersloh, - , AC Milan,

- , Besiktas, - Pierluigi Casiraghi, Lazio Roma,

- Alves Paulo Antonio, Benfica, - , Fiorentina,

- Tijani Babangida, Ajax , - , Ajax Amsterdam,

- Célestine Babayaro, RSC Anderlecht, - , Ajax Amsterdam,

- Mark Fish, Lazio Roma, - Stéphane Henchoz, Hamburger SV,

- Mustapha Hadji, Sporting Lisboa, - Vincent Guérin, Paris-Saint-Germain,

- Ahmed Quattara, Sporting Lisboa, - , Bayern München,

- Abedi Pelé, 1860 München, - Jürgen Klinsmann, Bayern München,

- Hajry Redouane, Farense, - Jürgen Kohler, Borussia ,

- , FC Köln, - , Sampdoria,

- Yasser Radwan, Hansa Rostok, - Andreas Möller, ,

- Moussa Saib, AJ Auxerre, - Pavel Nedved, Lazio Roma,

- Suleiman Sane, Sports, - Joao Pinto, SL Benfica,

- , AJ Auxerre, - , Borussia Dortmund,

- Eric Tinkler, Cagliari, - , FC Porto,

- André Arense, South Africa, - Christian Ziege, Bayern München,

- Edwin v.d.Sar, Ajax Amsterdam.

2 1997

1997 Filename: I97_62.ENR Directory: E:\RAPID\ATTENTE Template: C:\WAP\WORD6\TEMPLATE\IP_EN.DOT Title: IP/ Subject: Author: SPP Keywords: Comments: Creation Date: 28/1/97 12:13 Revision Number: 2 Last Saved On: 28/1/97 12:13 Last Saved By: SPP Total Editing Time: 0 Minutes Last Printed On: 28/1/97 12:14 As of Last Complete Printing Number of Pages: 3 Number of Words: 547 (approx.) Number of Characters: 3.123 (approx.)