The New Executive Committee Professional Football Strategy

No 5958 – MarchFévrier 20072007 in Rome Referees train association 53rd UEFA member Forum Football Strategy Professional Committee The newExecutive Forum Football Strategy Professional Committee The newExecutive in Rome Referees train association 53rd UEFA member 3.07 11 07 06 03 11 07 06 03 Message Photos: UEFA-pjwoods.ch of the president The role of a coach Although my election as president of UEFA in some ways stirred up the same emotions as I experienced when I won major trophies as a player, my new role is more that of a coach, in the true sense of the word. My aim is to convince the leaders of European football to share my vision of football. It has been said that my vision of football is romantic or idealistic, but I believe that, in the long term, it is the right way to ensure the survival of our game and maintain its extraordinary popularity. We should not be seeking instant reward and selling our “products” to the highest bidder, but making sure that our competitions have as wide an appeal as possible and doing everything we can to ensure that they are attractive both in terms of the quality of play and results that are not a foregone conclusion. Of course, football needs money. It needs it to improve the education of coaches and, through them, the skill of players. It needs money to improve its facilities, to offer players the best possible conditions and spectators a safe and comfortable environment. It also needs money to develop grassroots football and to fulfil its social responsibilities by contributing to youth education. IN THIS ISSUE On the other hand, football has no use for profiteers, for people who, seeing how successful football is as a business, get involved for their own personal gain. The new Executive Committee 03 Football has to encourage ideas and knowledge to be shared. It must insist on respect – for opponents and for the referee first and foremost. If it cannot rid Tribute to society of its ills single-handed, it can at least set an example by promoting solidarity, Lennart Johansson 05 fair play and fun. First meeting of the Naturally, you have to be an idealist to believe that the common interest European Professional Football Strategy Forum 06 will prevail over personal gain, that the laws of sport will silence the rule of money, that players, clubs, leagues and associations will speak with the same voice. FA of Montenegro: UEFA’s 53rd member But being idealistic does not mean dreaming; it means wanting to improve things. association 07 By electing me as UEFA president, the majority of UEFA’s member associations indicated that they were ready for a change. Now it is up to me to be a good coach Referees train in Rome 11 and to convey my ideas to the rest of the team. News from member associations 16

Michel Platini COVER UEFA President San Marino and the Republic of Ireland resumed their EURO 2008 qualifiers a few weeks before the other teams. Irish midfielder Stephen Ireland tries to get past PS: Following my election, I have received numerous messages of congratulations, defender Nicola Albani. far more than I can reply to individually, so I would like to take this opportunity to thank Photo: Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images everyone concerned for their kind words.

02 uefadirect 3.07 NewExtraordinaryExtraordinary team congresscongressat work inin MayMay

THE UEFA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE FROM 2007 TO 2009: Seated, left to right: Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder, Senes Erzik, Michel Platini, Geoffrey Thompson, Angel Maria Villar Llona, Marios N. Lefkaritis. Standing: Gilberto Madaíl, Mircea Sandu, Grigoriy Surkis, Mathieu Sprengers, Per Ravn Omdal, Viacheslav Koloskov, Franco Carraro, Joseph Mifsud. UEFA-pjwoods.ch

“IT’S THE START OF A NEW ADVENTURE,” utive Committee to replace Michel SAID MICHEL PLATINI SHORTLY AFTER HIS ELECTION Platini who, as UEFA president, auto- AS UEFA PRESIDENT WAS ANNOUNCED AT THE CONGRESS CENTRE matically becomes a FIFA vice-presi- IN DÜSSELDORF ON 26 JANUARY. dent. The Executive Committee opted for Marios N. Lefkaritis, whose man- As is the tradition, the new members: Franco Carraro (Italy), Viache- date, in accordance with the UEFA Executive Committee met a few hours slav Koloskov (Russia), Gilberto Madaíl statutes, will last until the next UEFA after the congress, but in order not (Portugal), Joseph Mifsud (Malta), Per Congress, to be held in Kiev in early to rush things, the four vice-presidents Ravn Omdal (Norway), Mircea Sandu 2008. and the treasurer were elected at (Romania), Mathieu Sprengers (Nether- In the meantime, the four an extraordinary meeting in Nyon on lands) and Grigoriy Surkis (Ukraine). British associations have elected a re- 9 February. Friedrich Stickler (Austria) and placement for David Will as FIFA vice- For the next two years, the Giangiorgio Spiess (Switzerland) were president, a post to which they are committee will comprise the following appointed as co-opted members until the entitled under the FIFA statutes. They members: president: Michel Platini end of EURO 2008, enabling them to elected the president of the Scottish (France); first vice-president: Senes liaise between the Executive Committee Football Association, John McBeth, for Erzik (Turkey); second vice-president: and the two host associations of the a four-year term. The European repre- Geoffrey Thompson (England); third European Championship final round. sentatives on the FIFA Executive Com- vice-president: Angel Maria Villar mittee will therefore be: vice-presi- Llona (Spain), fourth vice-president: FIFA Executive Committee dents: Michel Platini, Angel Maria Villar Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder (Germany); The Executive Committee also Llona and John McBeth; members: treasurer: Marios N. Lefkaritis (Cyprus); elected a new member of the FIFA Exec- Franz Beckenbauer (Germany), Michel

03 The UEFA president, vice-presidents and treasurer with acting chief executive Gianni Infantino. ???????????????

nation. Having joined the UEFA admin- UEFA’s ninth treasurer istration in 2000 as director of the Marios N. Lefkaritis professional football and marketing division, Lars-Christer Olsson succeeded It was at the extraordinary congress held in Paris on 11 December Gerhard Aigner as chief executive on 1959 (the first extraordinary congress in UEFA’s history, held in particular 1 January 2004. to vote on whether to move the UEFA headquarters During his three years in from Paris to Berne) that the post of treasurer was charge of the UEFA administration in created. Austrian Alfred Frey, Executive Committee Nyon, he concentrated his efforts member since 1955, had previously dealt with finan- particularly on the marketing of UEFA cial issues, which is why he was chosen to become competitions, from which income has UEFA’s first treasurer. risen considerably. New structures were set up for the organisation of the Euro- Since he retired in 1962, the post has been pean Championship and UEFA recruited occupied by Lodewijk Brun (Netherlands, 1962-66), numerous experts in the marketing Herbert Powell (Wales, 1966-72), Jos. Coler (Netherlands, 1972-78), Lucien and new media fields. UEFA’s support Schmidlin (Switzerland, 1978-84), Jo van Marle (Netherlands, 1984-95), for the Independent European Sport Egidius Braun (Germany, 1995-2000) and Mathieu Sprengers (2000-07). Review was also a notable activity dur- Marios N. Lefkaritis is therefore UEFA’s ninth treasurer. He joined ing this period. the Executive Committee at the congress in London in 1996. Lars-Christer Olsson also ex- tolled among his staff the virtues of flexibility and team work, qualities from D’Hooghe (Belgium), Senes Erzik, Viach- nary congress will be devoted to a par- which it will no doubt benefit as it eslav Koloskov and Mario N. Lefkaritis. tial amendment of the UEFA statutes, embarks on a new era. At the same meeting, the Exec- pending their complete revision, as pre- Having joined UEFA in 2000 utive Committee also decided to hold viously agreed. The Executive Commit- and served as director of the legal an extraordinary congress (the tenth in tee will also hold an additional meeting services and club licensing division since UEFA’s history) in Zurich on 28 May, in Nyon on 26 March. 2004, Gianni Infantino has taken over since the national association delegates from Lars-Christer Olsson on a tempo- would be in the Swiss city for the official Chief Executive resigns rary basis until a permanent successor is inauguration of the new FIFA headquar- A few days after Michel Platini’s appointed in May. Talks are under way ters on 29 May and for the FIFA Con- election as president, chief executive with David Taylor, current chief execu- gress on 30 and 31 May. The extraordi- Lars-Christer Olsson tendered his resig- tive of the Scottish Football Association.

The extraordinary Executive

Committee meeting in Nyon Photos: UEFA-pjwoods.ch in February.

04 uefadirect 3.07 The UEFA Congress Handing in Malta in 1990 the reins to at which Lennart Michel Platini Johansson was at the recent elected president. UEFA Congress in Düsseldorf. D.AQUILINA KAISER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

the UEFA Champions League Lennart Johansson which, for the first time, brought together the clubs, TV broadcasters Seventeen years at the helm and sponsors within the same centralised marketing network. By proposing that Lennart Johansson be named honorary UEFA This centralised marketing strategy president, Michel Platini wanted not only to pay tribute to the enormous also made it possible to develop contribution made by the outgoing president to UEFA’s development, a financial solidarity programme but also to demonstrate that his election represented a transition rather than which continues to benefit Euro- a split and that he would continue to depend on the experience and advice pean football as a whole. of the man who served as UEFA president for nearly 17 years.

New openings On 19 April 1990, at the ing members, UEFA created its Lennart Johansson’s presi- 20th UEFA Congress, held in Malta, East European Assistance Bureau. dency was also a period of new Swede Lennart Johansson became The assistance programme later openings: dialogue with the other UEFA’s fifth president, succeeding expanded under the HatTrick ban- confederations, particularly the Frenchman Jacques Georges, ner to cover all the member asso- creation of the Meridian Project who was named honorary with the African football president on the same day. confederation; efforts to In those days, UEFA had increase dialogue within 36 member associations, the football family and including the Faroe Islands, to conclude agreements who had become a full with all its members; member at the same con- keeping abreast with gress. Lennart Johansson technical advances in beat Switzerland’s Freddy new media, particularly Rumo by 20 votes to 15 the creation of the (with one spoilt ballot uefa.com internet site; paper). He had previously contributing to the been a member of the growth of women’s foot- Executive Committee for ball and futsal, develop- two years after serving as ment of youth competi- EMPICS vice-chairman of the Euro- With Ronaldinho and Lars-Christer Olsson at the 2005/06 UEFA tions and numerous pean Football Champi- Champions League final. other examples, not least onship Committee, which he had the establishment of authentic joined in 1984. ciations. This rise in the number dialogue with the European Union of associations also had repercus- and its institutions, with the aim of New associations sions for the UEFA competitions, improving mutual understanding. Lennart Johansson’s long particularly the European Champi- The introduction of a club licensing presidency was marked by several onship, the final round of which system should also be mentioned. political and social phenomena was enlarged to include 16 teams which required UEFA to show in 1996. Lennart Johansson’s presi- tremendous adaptability. The The growth of television and dency also included some crucial break-up of the Soviet Union and marketing, which generated un- moments in the development of Yugoslavia, for example, resulted precedented levels of income for the UEFA administration, such in a rapid and significant increase football, also created problems, as as the move to Nyon, where the in the number of member associa- people began to look after their House of European Football was tions. In order to facilitate the inte- own interests rather than adopt a inaugurated in 1999, the creation gration of the new associations collective vision. Under its presi- of new structures and a rapid but and to enable them to haul them- dent’s leadership, UEFA managed controlled increase in the number selves up to the level of the exist- to find a new solution by creating of staff.

05 The European Professional Football Strategy Forum.

The leagues’ delegation. European Professional Football Strategy Forum A new instrument of dialogue

IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE DEMOCRATIC STRUCTURE OF FOOTBALL’S INSTITUTIONS, also emphasising that open dialogue was the only way for football to move THE CLUBS AND PROFESSIONAL LEAGUES HAVE LONG BEEN ABLE TO MAKE THEIR forward. VOICES HEARD WITHIN UEFA, IN PARTICULAR THROUGH THE CLUB COMPETITIONS While the new forum is cer- tainly a consultative body, the subjects COMMITTEE AND THE EUROPEAN CLUB FORUM, FOR THE FORMER, AND VIA THE it deals with will, in principle, already PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL COMMITTEE, FOR THE LATTER. have been raised within the European Club Forum and the relevant committees. Nevertheless, the first meeting for this first meeting), four representa- Therefore if a consensus is reached of the European Professional Football tives of the leagues (Sir David Richards, within the Strategy Forum, it will clearly Strategy Forum, held at UEFA headquar- Frédéric Thiriez, Emanuel Macedo de assume crucial importance for the ters in Nyon on 19 January, was a new Medeiros and José Luis Astiazaran Irion- Executive Committee when it has to milestone in relations between UEFA do) and four representatives of the take a decision. and the major stakeholders in profes- clubs (Peter Kenyon, Umberto Gandini, On the agenda of the January sional club football. “It’s a historic event Maarten Fontein and Joan Laporta). The meeting were topical subjects such as because for the first time the leagues and leagues and clubs appoint their own the Independent European Sport Review, professional clubs have direct access representatives and this explains why, the release of players for national team together to the Executive Committee,” unlike for the Executive Committee and matches and the role of players’ agents. emphasised UEFA first vice-president UEFA committees, several members With regard to the first subject, Senes Erzik, who chaired this first of this forum can belong to the same the meeting gave the opportunity to stress meeting. national association. the fact that football does not expect The new body, which was All in all, the participants hailed politicians to impose new regulations but first mooted in 2004, is composed of the formation of this new body as repre- to produce clarification so that sport can the four UEFA vice-presidents (Senes senting undeniable progress in strength- manage itself in the light of its own spe- Erzik, Per Ravn Omdal, Angel Maria ening the dialogue between UEFA, the cial nature recognised in a clearly defined Villar Llona and Geoffrey Thompson leagues and the clubs, Peter Kenyon legal framework, without fear of inter- ference from the civil courts. Issues concerning the release The participants in of players for international matches are the first meeting. the subject of a FIFA study. Nevertheless, Seated, the participants unanimously recognised left to right: that footballers are entitled to play for José Luis Astiazaran Iriondo, their national teams. The principle of Sir David Richards, insurance for such matches was no longer Senes Erzik, Per Ravn Omdal, disputed but opinions still differ as regards Geoffrey Thompson, any payment to the clubs for the release Angel Maria Villar Llona. of players. The problems relating to Standing: Lars-Christer Olsson, players’ agents are also currently being Emanuel Macedo looked at by FIFA, to whom UEFA has de Medeiros, Frédéric Thiriez, made recommendations proposed by the Peter Kenyon, working group which it set up on this Umberto Gandini, Giorgio Marchetti. subject. The Strategy Forum therefore restricted itself in this first meeting to Bad weather prevented the highlighting the need for a central regu- other two club latory body and regulations that are representatives

Photos: UEFA-pjwoods.ch from attending. truly enforceable in practice.

06 uefadirect 3.07 Dejan Savicevic, president of the FA of Montenegro, at Facts the UEFA Congress… and leaping over the opposition and figures in his days as a ■ The Football Association of Monte- Yugoslavian inter- national. negro has 63 affiliated clubs and 5,374 UEFA-pjwoods.ch EMPICS registered players in all categories, including around 4,000 aged between 10 and 18. ■ In futsal, 345 players are registered with the 25 clubs. Women's football Football is expanding rapidly, with around 100 registered players. ■ 87 coaches have obtained association diplomas, 61 hold a UEFA B licence, Association several have the A licence and two have the Pro licence. ■ There are around 300 referees, including four FIFA referees and of Montenegro two international futsal referees, UEFA’s 53rd member and 105 referee instructors. ■ The top two divisions in the national ADMITTED AS A PROVISIONAL MEMBER BY THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AT ITS championship each contain 12 teams; the third tier comprises three regional MEETING IN LJUBLJANA IN OCTOBER, THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF MONTENEGRO leagues run by the regional associa- (FAM) BECAME THE 53RD FULL MEMBER OF UEFA AT THE CONGRESS IN DÜSSELDORF. tions. The FAM also organises a league for Under-17s and the final rounds of youth competitions in other cate- Addressing the Congress Brnovic, not forgetting Dejan Savicevic gories. delegates, Dejan Savicevic, president himself, all played abroad, where they ■ The stadium in Podgorica, capital of the Montenegrin FA, said: “The earned an excellent reputation. of Montenegro, has been modernised Football Association of Montenegro “We have a rich football past and is able to host international has all the credentials to become and, we hope, a bright football future,” matches. The Montenegrin national the youngest association in Europe. concluded Dejan Savicevic. team is due to play its first match However, it has indirectly been a On 28 June 2006, a new there against Hungary on 24 March. member of the European and global page was turned in the history of Mon- football families for a long time.” tenegrin football. On that day, the The FAM was founded on association with the Serbian football and to meet all the conditions neces- 8 March 1931, but was initially part association was dissolved as a result sary to become affiliated to UEFA and of the Football Association of Yugo- of the Montenegrin people voting in FIFA. slavia and was then a member of favour of independence on 21 May. UEFA decided to admit the Football Association of Serbia and Since then, the Montenegrin FA, with the Montenegrin FA on 26 January, Montenegro until 28 June 2006. the help of the Serbian FA and UEFA, although its membership will not In this context, it made an active con- has expanded its administration in take effect until 1 July. Meanwhile, tribution to the success of the clubs order to carry out many new tasks, FIFA will decide at its next congress and national teams of the countries such as the club licensing system, whether to follow suit. concerned. More than 30 Montene- grin players represented the senior national teams of Yugoslavia and Ser- bia and Montenegro, a significant number for a population of around 650,000 inhabitants.

The number of Montene- Twelve grins to have played for the national teams play in the youth teams is even higher. Five Mon- Montenegrin tenegrin players were part of the top division. Yugoslavian team that won the 1987 World Youth Championship in Chile, for example. The Yugoslavian team that played in the 1998 World Cup included seven Montenegrins. Players such as Predrag Mijatovic, Zeljko Petrovic, Ljubomir Radanovic, Zoran

Filipovic or Branko and Dragoljub FSCG Montenegro

07 The Action 21 Charleroi fans know how to produce a good atmos- phere at their team’s matches. ??????????????? Build-up to the Futsal

CupAction 21final Charleroi: tournament a cloud with a silver lining

ALONG WITH BOOMERANG INTERVIÚ, MFK DINAMO MOSKVA AND EL POZO MURCIA FS, ACTION 21 CHARLEROI

HAVE QUALIFIED FOR THE LAST FOUR OF THE UEFA FUTSAL CUP, TO BE CONTESTED IN MURCIA, SPAIN, IN APRIL.

HARDLY A SURPRISE AT FIRST GLANCE FOR THE WINNERS OF THE 2005 FINAL…

However, the period between partners jumped ship, either reluctant Belgian FA, the gateway to European September 2005 and May 2006 was to have their image associated with that competition, with several league clubs Action 21’s “annus horribilus”. The futsal of Charleroi or involved in the city’s admin- following in their footsteps. club was caught up in the scandal involv- istration themselves. ing Charleroi’s city council, which was Last May, Action 21 therefore Professional structure accused of various abuses. Just like other went into voluntary liquidation before a Action 21 benefited from the sports organisations in the city, Action change of heart. “We found new part- support of the municipal authority, but 21, even though they were not involved ners and cut our costs. We wanted to spared no effort in becoming a profes- in the affair in any way, saw their munici- save the 350 youngsters who put their sional, progressive club. In the early days, pal subsidies drastically cut. trust in us,” explains Salvatore Di Marco, for example, the club president attended This funding represented a the club’s general secretary. Several paid matches in Spain and Brazil in order to quarter of the club’s budget. To make positions were abolished and seven of widen his knowledge of futsal. Walter matters worse, many of the club’s the 12 Brazilians players left the club, Chardon, the club manager, invites the opening the door for up-and-coming club’s partners to meet together and Belgians. The club’s Brazilian coach was forge new business contacts. He is one Rodrigo Angelo Marques Coimbra, otherwise known replaced by Zairian Christian Vavadio, of the few remaining paid employees of as Zico, one of Action 21 whose entire playing career was spent in the club, along with Salvatore Di Marco, Charleroi’s Brazilian players. Belgium and who joined Action 21 as a who manages the club and organises player before becoming assistant coach. away travel as well as acting as the club’s Action 21 made no new sign- official correspondent, Caroline ings in January. “To give you an idea of Vanuytrecht, secretary and communica- how we are trying to economise, I did tions officer, and Luiz Alberto Medina, not attend the draw for the last 16 of the who runs the youth academy. “The Belgian Cup,” says Salvatore Di Marco. Brazilians created a lot of work: paper- “Quite simply because if a club is not work, apartments, personal assistance. present, the match is always organised There are only five of them left.” by its opponents. A home match is The club was keen to give expensive.” youngsters a chance, although circum- Action 21, founded 12 years stances forced them to do so more ago, was Belgium’s first professional fut- quickly than originally planned. “We sal club. A promoted third division club learned that you shouldn’t rely on a single owed money to the federal authorities. source,” sighs Salvatore Di Marco, Sambreville, on the outskirts of Charleroi, “but maybe it’s no worse this way. All took it over. “The president, Paul Locicero, our players are professional, except the knew the coach, who persuaded him.” students, who have a different sort of After finishing joint top in their first contract. They are products of the club, league season, Action 21 were promoted Belgians or youngsters born abroad through the play-offs. They then com- but brought up here. Many of the youth Photos: peted in the championship run by the team players have already broken

08 uefadirect 3.07 Young blood has been brought into the squad.

through; we have been bringing them on in matches when we have had a comfort- able lead, for example. Their mentality is The Murcia sports centre extraordinary. Even if they only play for will host the five minutes, their commitment is total. final round of the UEFA One day, we hope that the current youth Futsal Cup. team will represent the club at the high- LNFS est level. Futsal comes from Brazil, which remains an enormous breeding ground, “The new producing players who set standards for Despite the dramatic reduction others to follow. Italy were European in the team’s average age, Action 21 format of the champions in 2003 with 12 or 13 natu- qualified for the UEFA Futsal Cup semi- UEFA Futsal Cup ralised Brazilians in their squad. Even finals by topping their four-team elite is brilliant” Dinamo Moscow, whom we have faced round group. “I thought we would twice in the final of the UEFA Futsal Cup, finish somewhere near the bottom. Belgian football clubs often have six Brazilians on their books, two We won seven matches by a narrow complain that they are handi- of them naturalised. In Europe, Spain are margin and enjoyed a touch a luck capped by the weakness of their leading the way. Their youngsters are along the way, but it was mainly our national championship when it carving out a place for themselves. We character that saw us through. The comes to European competitions. hope to follow their example.” players and coaches all stood up to be Action 21 are, however, waging Charleroi is one of Belgium’s counted. I told the Brazilians we had their sixth European campaign. most cosmopolitan cities. Action 21 helps kept – the least expensive ones – that it They have already reached three with the social integration of young was up to them to prove their worth. finals and won one. Salvatore people, whether Belgian or foreign. “Sport They all responded magnificently. Our Di Marco reveals their recipe for attracts a lot of youngsters. It gives them season is already a success thanks to success: “We had a Brazilian coach. a chance to develop and to meet other our qualification for the semi-finals. We have a professional team. young people. They learn how to follow Reaching the final would be the icing We played numerous friendlies in Italy, Spain and Portugal in order rules because we refuse to compromise on the cake. We have nothing to lose, to gain experience and get used where discipline is concerned. Sport is a unlike our opponents.” to the speed of international fantastic way of learning about life.” Pascale Pierard matches. However, even though our championship is not as good as those of the major nations, it is improving. At the end of the first round, a journalist commented that we had scored 100 goals fewer than the year before. Why? Because we used to win with scores such as 16-1 or 18-0. Now our opponents are stronger and matches are much closer.” This season, UEFA has changed the format of its Futsal Cup. The top four in the European rankings are given a bye in the preliminary and first rounds. Action 21 are one of those elite clubs. Their general secretary welcomes the change: “UEFA has done the right thing. It would be unfortunate if a major team were eliminated at an early stage because it had an off day. Our young sport needs all its trump cards. If we're going to attract big

CÉDRIC BOUILLON crowds, we need the well known Action 21 Charleroi won the UEFA Futsal Cup in 2005. clubs to be involved.” P.P.

09 The library at the school of translation FOOTBALL and interpretation (ETI) in Geneva. + LANGUAGE + UEFA = UEFAUEFA IN THE RUN-UP TO EURO 2008, UEFA IS COMPILING A THREE-LANGUAGE DICTIONARY THAT WILL CONTAIN AROUND FootballFootball DictionaryDictionary 3,000 FOOTBALL-RELATED ENTRIES.

The language of football is the École de traduction et d’interpré- a complex affair, since it covers a vari- tation (ETI) in Geneva. On the basis of ety of different subject areas. A coach, the original collection, which was made for example, uses a specific range of available to them, students of both in- vocabulary which a disciplinary inspec- stitutions are in the process of adding tor will rarely need. The latter, mean- entries in all three languages to a while, uses terms that are as much terminology database, which is being a part of football vocabulary as words checked and validated by internal that are heard in and around the experts and UEFA Language Services. stadium. Each entry comprises various pieces of Although English is increas- information, particularly the term in ingly becoming football’s lingua franca, all three languages, a short definition, A dictionary entry. it is unrealistic to expect every coach, an illustration where possible and an player, delegate and fan to be able to indication of the field in which it is speak it. In fact, Europe’s linguistic used. This will enable users not only diversity is a valuable asset. UEFA is a to discover the translation of a partic- multilingual organisation, publishing ular term, but also to learn something its official documents in its three offi- about it if it does not fall within their cial languages and providing inter- particular area of expertise. preters at official meetings so that the The fields covered by the majority of participants can speak in dictionary include the terminology their own mother tongue. of the Laws of the Game, the field of Most of these documents play, equipment, technical aspects, are translated by UEFA Language Ser- tactics, the different competitions, vices, whose work over the years has football administration, media and resulted in the development of a data- doping. The most important medical A definition. base containing over 1,000 terms in terms relevant to football will also fea- the official UEFA languages of Ger- ture. Terms such as steward, grand- man, English and French. This collec- stand seat, stoppage time, play-off, tion is currently accessible only to the licensee, accreditation, set piece and translators, which is a shame, since it solidarity payment will appear in all could also be a useful aid for media three official languages, as well as representatives, association delegates, expressions such as outsmart the coaches and the UEFA administration defence and level the score. in general. The dictionary is scheduled It was in this context that the to be ready by April 2008 at the latest. idea of the UEFA football dictionary It is not yet clear in what form it will was born. Over the past year or more, be published (CD-ROM, via intranet the existing database has been sup- and/or extranet). Whatever its form, plemented and expanded in close co- however, communication within the operation with the Sprachen- und football family should become easier An illustrated entry. Dolmetschinstitut (SDI) in Munich and as a result.

10 uefadirect 3.0711.06 Pierluigi Robert Volker Roth, Collina gives Malek and chairman of his former Grzegorz the Referees colleagues the Gilewski, Committee. benefit of two partici- his experience. pants in the elite referees’ course.

tect the players from unfair play,” said committee member Vlado Sajn. His colleague Pierluigi Collina Preparation then told Europe’s top referees that their preparations should no longer be limited to physical and technical aspects. “Refer- ees must be capable of reading the in Rome game, to know in advance how a match will be played,” said the former Italian Referees must be firmer referee. Knowing a team’s playing style and tactics, as well as the characteristics AT THE ANNUAL WINTER COURSE FOR REFEREES, HELD IN ROME of their players, allows match officials AT THE BEGINNING OF FEBRUARY, THE UEFA REFEREES COMMITTEE URGED to anticipate the way a game might MATCH OFFICIALS TO TAKE A FIRMER STAND AGAINST PLAYERS evolve and to take preventive measures WHO ARE GUILTY OF A LACK OF RESPECT OR UNSPORTING CONDUCT. accordingly. However, mental prepara- tion is becoming an increasingly impor- Thirty-seven new international referee doesn’t gain the respect of the tant factor for referees. Mental training, referees from 25 UEFA member associa- players, he will fail,” said committee according to sports psychologist Mattia tions gathered in the first half of the week chairman Volker Roth. Excessive protest- Piffaretti, can help referees to maintain at the 16th UEFA Introductory Course for ing, unnecessary provocation and simula- concentration during a match and to International Referees. The participants tion must be punished more heavily. “We keep a cool head in critical situations. first had to undergo the traditional fitness must stop this kind of behaviour,” said After these courses, the referees test, which for the first time did not con- committee member Hugh Dallas. Verbal are ready for the decisive phase of the sist of a 12-minute run (Cooper test), but and sometimes physical confrontation is UEFA club competitions. They will con- an interval test in accordance with the becoming an increasingly serious problem, tinue to use the radio communication new FIFA guidelines. As well as running according to the Scot. He said that any system in these matches, since the com- six 40m sprints under 6.2 seconds, partici- attempt to deceive the referee should be mittee has extended the trial period pants had to complete twenty 150m punished with a yellow card. The referees until the end of the season following the tempo runs, each in less than 30 seconds, were also urged to watch out for the positive feedback received so far. The with 35-second recovery periods. The increasing use of arms and elbows in chal- committee its expected to take a final referees each ran a total of 4,000m on lenges involving excessive force, particu- decision on whether to officially intro- the track at Rome’s Olympic stadium. larly when directed at an opponent’s head. duce this technological aid for referees As well as being familiarised “It is the referee’s responsibility to pro- and their assistants in June. with their new administrative duties, the new international referees were instructed on how to apply the Laws of the Game with uniformity and consistency. The dif- ferent punishments for challenges deemed careless (free kick), reckless (free kick and yellow card) or using excessive force (free kick and red card) were discussed. Attention was also drawn to the impor- tance of cooperation between referees and their assistants and of their duty to share responsibilities and communicate effectively. The Referees Committee had similar messages for the participants in the 15th UEFA Advanced Course for Elite and Premier Referees, which was held Fitness tests for the new

in the second half of the week. “If the international referees. PHOTOS: SPORTSFILE

11 The draw The 2006/07 European for the Under-21 Championship European will finish in the Under-21 Netherlands this spring. Champion- One of the qualifiers, ship in England (Kieran Stockholm. Richardson, in white) faced Spain en route. EMPICS BILDBYRÅN

to determine which seven teams will – along with Sweden, who qualify auto- Meetings and matically – compete for the European title in spring 2009. Group 1: Italy, Croatia, Greece, Albania, Azerbaijan, Faroe Islands; Group 2: Czech Republic, Ukraine, other activities Turkey, Armenia, Liechtenstein; First competition Group 3: Portugal, England, Bulgaria, Republic of Ireland, Montenegro; for Montenegro Group 4: Spain, Russia, Poland, Georgia, Kazakhstan; THE 17TH EDITION OF THE EUROPEAN UNDER-21 CHAMPIONSHIP Group 5: Netherlands, Switzerland, (THE FIRST FIVE WERE KNOWN AS THE “UNDER-21 COMPETITION”) Norway, FYR Macedonia, Estonia; Group 6: Denmark, Slovenia, BEGAN ON 13 FEBRUARY, WHEN THE DRAW WAS HELD IN Lithuania, Finland, Scotland; STOCKHOLM, THE CAPITAL OF THE COUNTRY THAT WILL HOST Group 7: Belgium, Slovakia, Iceland, Austria, Cyprus; THE FINAL ROUND IN 2009. Group 8: Serbia, Hungary, Belarus, Latvia, San Marino; All UEFA’s member asso- The teams were split into nine Group 9: Germany, Israel, Moldova, ciations except Andorra have entered groups of five and one of six, with Northern Ireland, Luxembourg; this competition, which will see the matches to be played between 2 June Group 10: France, Romania, Bosnia- latest new member, Montenegro, 2007 and 10 September 2008. The 10 Herzegovina, Wales, Malta. make its debut on the European group winners and the best four runners- scene. up will then contest play-off matches LOOKING AHEAD TO EURO2008

EURO tickets If the number of applications exceeds Tickets for EURO 2008 will be on the number of tickets available for one or sale via www.euro2008.com from 1 to more of the 31 matches, a lottery will be Championship in Austria and Switzerland 31 March 2007. Tickets can be ordered held for each over-subscribed match. was revealed by Euro 2008 SA COO Mar- throughout the month on the official A total of around 75% of the tin Kallen: Erlebe Emotionen, Expect tickets will go directly to the fans, includ- Emotions, L’émotion au rendez-vous, ing those allocated to the participating Emozioni da vivere. associations (the teams involved will each “A slogan,” said Kallen, “that receive 20% of the tickets for each match). describes in a nutshell what the 2008 European Championship has to offer: all A slogan for everyone kinds of emotions – joy, disappointment, On 24 January, the official slogan relief and high tension – right up to the of the final round of the 2008 European final whistle. Moments that will linger in the memory long into the future.” Friedrich Stickler, chairman of the Euro 2008 SA board and president of the

Euro 2008 SA/Photopress Euro Austrian football association, explained, The EURO 2008 host cities signed the “It was important that the slogan should Host City Charter in January. Zurich, Basle, apply to everyone: players, coaches and Berne and Geneva for Switzerland… all the fans as well.” Ralph M. Zloczower, website. It is important to note that member of the Euro 2008 SA board and applications received at the beginning of president of the Swiss football association, March will be treated no differently from said, “Having the opportunity to experi-

those received literally at the last second. 2008 SA/Photopress Euro ence a European Championship final No more than four tickets may … and Vienna, Innsbruck, Salzburg round live is an unforgettable experience be ordered per person (and match day). and Klagenfurt for Austria. for every sports fan; it’s pure emotion.”

12 uefadirect 3.07 Unite, not divide: the motto chosen by FK Partizan Belgrade. FK PARTIZAN

A match to celebrate UEFA, thanks to its partner, News from the jubilee of the Treaty adidas, will be donating 350 grassroots programme footballs, 50 futsal balls, Brussels of Rome 40 ball nets, 150 T-shirts and 100 caps On Tuesday 13 March, Old to be used at events organised by each On 24 January, the European Trafford in Manchester will stage a national association. Parliament took a close look at match between Manchester United As in previous years, each the report on the future of pro- and an all-star European team. association will be able to nominate fessional football in Europe. The The match, the proceeds of the best events organised in its country Committee on Culture and Educa- which will go to charity, is being held to in the areas of grassroots football, dis- tion, which is responsible celebrate the 50th anniversary of the abled football, veterans’ football and, for coordinating the Treaty of Rome, which laid the founda- for the first time this year, futsal. report, discussed the A photographic competition is substantial contribution also part of the programme. of Belgian MEP Ivo Belet, Marcello Lippi as well as the opinion of will be in charge Fight against racism of the European the four other commit- Ivo Belet team in Manchester. The fight against racism tees involved in the preparation remains one of the most serious of the final draft. concerns for European football The report has been well and it receives support from many quarters, including the likes of received by UEFA, as it reflects FK Partizan Belgrade. the fundamental principles con- RENTZ/BONGARTS/GETTY IMAGES RENTZ/BONGARTS/GETTY Playing on the fact that their tained in UEFA’s Vision Europe tions of the European Union, as well traditional colours are black and white, and in the Independent European as 50 years of Manchester United’s the Serbian club has adopted the Sport Review. involvement in European competitions. slogan “We do not separate black and For example, the report states white, we bring them together” in It is being organised by the Manches- that: ter United Foundation and UEFA, order to underline its determination with support from the European to fight against all forms of discrimi- [The European Parliament]: Union. nation. The club particularly demon- 1. Stresses its attachment to strated its commitment to combat The European squad will be the European Football Model, managed by Marcello Lippi, coach of racism at a domestic league match with its symbiotic relationship the 2006 World Cup winners Italy, against FC Borac and its home UEFA between amateur and profes- who will be assisted by UEFA Techni- Cup tie versus Livorno. sional football; cal Director Andy Roxburgh. Roundtable in Nyon 5. Expresses its desire to avoid the future of professional foot- Summer of Grassroots Many professional sports- ball in Europe being determined Football men choose a career in sports Following the resounding management when they end their by court decisions and to create success of UEFA’s Summer of Grass- playing days. greater legal certainty; roots Football campaign over the Since 1978, the Centre de 19. Believes that the Charleroi past three years, the fourth edition droit et d’économie du sport, based in case currently before the Euro- ➜ will soon be upon us. Limoges, has been offering retired pean Court of Justice could seri- ously undermine the ability of small and medium-sized national football associations to take part in international competitions and threaten the vital investment

Last year in grassroots football made by the Summer national associations; in this of Grassroots Football photo respect, believes that clubs should competition release their players for national was won by ➜ FA SAN MARINO FA San Marino. team duty without entitlement

13 Souvenir photo ➜ to compensation; encourages of the CDES seminar. the UEFA and FIFA together with the European clubs to reach an agreement on a system of collec- tive insurance being put into place; 20. Supports the UEFA club licensing system, which aims at ensuring a level playing field between clubs and contributing to their financial stability, and UEFA-pjwoods.ch calls on UEFA to further develop ➜ this licensing system in order to sportsmen high-quality training in law, former top division players from all the economics and sports management. UEFA member associations. guarantee financial transparency Courses, symposiums and seminars After a match played in Eind- and proper management; are the components of these training hoven the day before the UEFA Cup 32. Clearly expresses its sup- programmes and UEFA hosted a semi- final last May, the EFPA’s next major event port for the UEFA measures to nar on sports event organisation at its will be a congress to be held in Barcelona encourage the education of young Nyon headquarters on 5 and 6 Febru- from 23 to 25 March. The main theme players by requiring a minimum ary. Other topics covered by the semi- will be the past, present and future of of home-grown players in a pro- nar included development projects, former players, their role in the football fessional club’s squad and by implementation and ticketing, while family and the ways in which they can on the Wednesday, UEFA officials pre- help to spread the values of football placing a limit on the size of the sented different aspects of the Euro- among young people. squads; believes these incentive pean club competitions. The aims of the congress are to measures are proportionate and The event concluded with analyse the situation of former players calls on professional clubs to a roundtable discussion on the rea- in Europe, to promote – through playing strictly implement this rule; sons behind the success of the UEFA football – fair play, social values and the 54. Maintains that joint sell- Champions League. The speakers fight against discrimination, and to pro- ing in all competitions is funda- included two former French interna- mote football and its values among mental to protecting the finan- tionals, Laurent Blanc and Alain Roche, young people. while Emmanuel Petit and Alain The congress will be divided cial solidarity model of European Boghossian, who also played for the into three main sections: football; welcomes a public de- French national side, participated in ■ players’ adjustment to their bate on and further investigation the seminar. new life at the end of a career as a pro- by the Commission into whether fessional footballer; this model should be adopted Congress of the ■ football as an instrument of across Europe for both pan-Euro- social integration and growth of the pean and domestic competitions, European Former community; as suggested by the Independent Players’ Association ■ healthy, sporting habits for Sport Review 2006; in this respect, A professional footballer’s young people. calls on the Commission to pro- life does not end when he finally The EFPA also aims to pay par- vide a detailed evaluation of the hangs up his boots. ticular attention to young people, espe- economic and sporting impact of This undeniable fact forms cially those who have to become inte- grated in a new community. Activities those media rights decisions and the basis of the philosophy of the European Former Players’ Association involving around 1,000 children are ex- the extent to which they have or (EFPA), which aims to bring together pected to bring the congress to a close. have not worked; The 20-page report will be voted on by the 785 MEPs at a Obituaries plenary meeting in Brussels on 29 ■ Vice-president of the ■ A member of the circle March. If adopted, it would then German football association and presi- of former UEFA committee members, become a resolution expressing dent of the German football league, Eliane Cremona died at the begin- Werner Hackmann died on 28 Janu- ning of February, aged 75. General the official view of the European ary at the age of 59. He had served secretary of the Luxembourg football Parliament, which embodies the as a member of the UEFA Professional association for 30 years, she was one will of the European people. Football Committee since 2006, of the first women, if not the first, The report is therefore of great having been a member of the Admin- to hold such an important post within importance to the European istrative Experts Panel from 2004 to a European national football associa- Union, UEFA, national football 2006. He had attended the UEFA tion. She was also part of UEFA’s associations and in fact the sports Congress in Düsseldorf two days group of experts on transfers from community in general. before his death. 1990 until 2004.

14 uefadirect 3.07 Joseph S.Blatter, Jean-Pierre Jean-Pierre Escalettes, Escalettes, president Jean-François Lamour of the FFF, and Lennart Johansson outside the new cut the ribbon. headquarters.

Jacques Lambert, former CEO of the 1998 World Cup Organising Committee alongside Michel Platini and the late French Fernand Sastre. “With new headquarters and a new logo, your federation is moving forward,” said FIFA president Joseph S. Blatter in his speech, in which he con- Football veyed to the FFF the “congratulations of world football for the creation of this new tool. This magnificent headquarters is the future, an excellent example.” His admiration was shared by Lennart Federation Johansson, who was pleased “to wish New headquarters in Paris the FFF good luck for the future”, and by the minister of youth, sport and THE FRENCH FOOTBALL FEDERATION HAS MOVED INTO NEW community Life, Jean-François Lamour: HEADQUARTERS – THE FOURTH IN ITS HISTORY – WHICH REPRESENT THE START “These new headquarters and this new OF A NEW, MODERN ERA FOR THE FFF. THE BUILDING WAS OFFICIALLY environment also belong to the millions of players (editor’s note: France has 2.2 INAUGURATED IN PARIS ON 11 JANUARY. million registered players) and football A new chapter in the history tool that we hope will be highly effi- fans, as well as the hundreds of thou- of French football began on Thursday 11 cient, so that our federation is better sands of volunteers without whom foot- January. After 40 years near the Champs able to fulfil its responsibilities and act ball would not exist. I hope that this Elysées and Arc de Triomphe, the French with greater strength, credibility and place will help to speed up the develop- football federation (FFF) left its opulent professionalism.” ment of a discipline whose excellence home on Avenue d’Iéna, where it had The official inauguration of is an inspiration for all French sport.” been based since December 1966, and these new premises on the evening of The new home of French moved into the “heart of the city”, as 11 January will have given the numer- football, which fits into the framework FFF president Jean-Pierre Escalettes likes ous guests (43 European nations were of a genuine “collective, motivating, to emphasise. Crossing the Seine and represented, 37 of them by their FA action-based project,” as Jacques Lam- moving from the 16th arrondissement presidents) the chance to assess this bert described it, has therefore enjoyed of the French capital to the 15th, the transformation, which is coinciding with a most auspicious opening. A page “Maison Bleue” has a completely new a far-reaching reorganisation of the has been turned, but another is already setting on Boulevard de Grenelle, where internal functioning and federal image being written. life follows the rhythm of the elevated of the FFF, led by general secretary Philippe Mayen metro trains and the traditional Wednes- day morning market. But while this contrast is striking enough, the real change lies elsewhere: with a total surface area of 8,778 m2, half of which is devoted to the adminis- tration, three floors of offices (140 staff), a 185-seat auditorium, 12 meeting rooms and welcome and reception areas, not forgetting the underground car park, the new FFF headquarters (double the size of the old premises, which had become much too cramped and fragmented on three sites) symbolise the firm desire of France’s top football administrators to enter a new era, characterised by modernism and efficiency. “With these

new headquarters,” says Mr Escalettes, Photos: FFF “we have designed an indispensable

15 covering more than 2,000 m2, the Balance Resort will be available exclusively to the AUSTRIA Austrian squad. “This venue meets all our requirements; the team needs to feel totally comfortable in order to perform at Austria has already

ÖFB their absolute best,” said the president of chosen its team headquarters the Austrian FA, Friedrich Stickler. for EURO 2008 The facilities selected by Austria as the base for its national team during EURO 2008. Another important factor is the adja- The die is cast! The Austrian national cent training facility of SV Stegersbach, team’s base before and during EURO 2008 have visited Burgenland several times and which offers an ideal base for the team’s will be in Burgenland – the Balance Resort we have found the ideal location. I am training sessions. Hans Niessl, head of the in Stegersbach to be precise. Team coach sure that we will have the best head- Burgenland government, concluded, “We Josef Hickersberger is absolutely delighted: quarters of all the finalists,” he said. With will provide the national team with an “General Secretary Alfred Ludwig and I 318 beds and a health and fitness centre excellent environment in Stegersbach.” The Balance Resort will be tested out by the Austrian team for the first time in March 2007, as they prepare for the In other news, FF BHZ president Milan internationals against Ghana (Graz, 24 BOSNIA AND Jelic, together with vice-presidents Iljo March) and France (Paris, 28 March). HERZEGOVINA Dominkovic and Sulejman Colakovic, Peter Klinglmüller welcomed a UEFA delegation headed by New head coaches elected Executive Commitee member Mathieu Sprengers. The subject of the meeting In response to the proposal of the tech- was the implementation of the HatTrick nical coaching committee and the direc- scheme in Bosnia and Herzegovina, DENMARK tor of team selections, the presidency of including assistance with regular activi- the Football Federation of Bosnia and ties, the investment programme and the Herzegovina (FF BHZ) appointed coaching mini-pitch project. Significant emphasis staff for 14 teams. A learning revolution in Danish was put on development of the FF BHZ youth football After Fuad Muzurovic was elected head administration and all other aspects coach of the senior national team, Borce In 2006, the Danish Football Associa- of UEFA’s assistance. Both delegations Sredojevic and Ivo Istuk were chosen as tion (DBU) initiated a radical renewal of visited the first mini-pitch in the Sirokaca his assistants. The national “B” team will football for children and youth players. be headed by Husnija Arapovic, assisted area of Sarajevo, which was constructed This restructuring process is continuing in by coaches Slobodan Ostojic and Ivan two years ago. 2007 with strong political support. Soldo. The following head coaches were In the European Under-17 Champ- The comprehensive change of strategy also appointed: Under-21s (Nikola Nikic), ionship, Bosnia and Herzegovina are set represents a long-term investment in im- Under-19s (Ivo Knezevic), Under-17s to host Group 3 in the elite round. The proving Danish football and keeping (Velimir Stojnic), Under-15s (Zeljko Sper- hosts will be joined by England, Serbia and youngsters in the sport. The new recom- ac), senior women (Ismet Bajric), Under- Azerbaijan. The tournament will take mendations will contribute to securing the 19 women (Dragan Joksimovic), futsal place in the Kosevo and Grbavica stadi- future of the Danish national teams while (Marin Corluka), Olympic (Sener Bajra- ums in Sarajevo from 23 to 28 March. also focusing on the broad spectrum of movic), Mediterranean (Miran Dalic), am- For the first time in the history of grassroots football and young players as ateurs (Slobodan Karalic), doctors (Edib Bosnia and Herzegovina, two women – individuals. Jerlagic) and veterans (Rade Vasiljevic). Ivana Vlaic and Samira Hurem – are now These fresh initiatives ensure that youth Under his new contract, signed in the on the list of FIFA referees. Ivana Vlaic is football is played on the children’s own presence of general secretary Munib still an active player, while former inter- terms. This implies smaller pitches, more Usanovic, Fuad Muzurovic will be the head national Samira Hurem is now a coach. playing positions, focusing on individual coach of the Bosnia and Herzegovina The second phase of the national pre- development instead of results, and national team for the next three years, mier league is scheduled to begin on 3 of course ensuring that the children are until the end of the qualifiers for the 2010 March and end on 23 May. having fun. The aim is to increase the World Cup. Fuad Krvavac involvement of children and heighten their desire to learn and play. Danish Under-21 coach Keld Bording- gaard says: “Look at children when they play their own games of football sponta- The visiting neously. They are involved, they play in a UEFA lot of different positions and they have to delegation, headed solve problems themselves. They are com- by Mathieu pletely absorbed by the game and learn a Sprengers lot – without fear of making mistakes and (centre). without the interference of adults. That is a wonderful environment for devel- opment.” The DBU initiative contains specific rec- ommendations about the size of pitches, the number of players on the field and new training methods, which are all based on the children themselves. The extensive

F. KRVAVAC restructuring also means that competitive

16 uefadirect 3.07 fromN memberEWS associations

just staged its first national championship tournament, and Denmark and Norway FINLAND intend to join the European futsal family in the near future. Willing as it is to help other Nordic countries develop their fut- First Nordic futsal conference sal activities, Finland presented many dif- Finland had the honour of organising the ferent viewpoints on futsal at the confer- first Nordic futsal conference in Helsinki ence. SPL futsal expert Kalle Marttinen from 30 to 31 January. It was attended by presented a history of Finnish futsal participants from Denmark, Iceland, Nor- and how it is organised and being devel- way and Sweden, and FIFA and UEFA also oped in Finland, including at national team sent representatives to the gathering. level. Timo Korsumäki from the Ilves club Futsal started in Finland ten years ago. presented futsal at the club level, while a The first championship tournament was broader geographical perspective was pre- played in Jyväskylä in November 1997 and sented by Turku district manager Jouni the first national futsal team matches were Koivuniemi. In addition, key points from DBU played in October 1998. Nowadays, Fin- futsal refereeing were highlighted by Making football fun. land has over 20,000 futsal players in over Jyrki Filppu, an SPL refereeing expert. 1,500 clubs. Other Nordic countries have Overall, the first Nordic futsal confer- tournaments are replaced by weekend just taken their first steps in futsal and ence was a big success, with all the Nordic meetings for the youngest players. This there is enormous potential for growth. countries set to join the futsal family in will result in a reduced focus on results Sweden already had a representative in the near future. because the accumulation of points on a the 2006/07 UEFA Futsal Cup, Iceland has Kalle Marttinen yearly or half-yearly basis will no longer take place. Instead of only paying attention to the results, learning and development are tutor training, technical development and development of coaches, referees and ad- much more important for young players. youth development, together with re- ministrators in Asia, and most certainly to “Children need freedom to dribble, to do search and information gathering and kit the personal and professional develop- tricks and develop creativity. For children, donations. ment of our own tutors in England.” progress is more important than results,” All of the proposed FA activities have To kick-start the 2007 programme of says Danish head coach Morten Olsen. been identified to complement the AFC’s events, The FA’s Jamie Houchen and Les Young players need a safe and supportive own technical development plans and FIFA Howie travelled to Kuala Lumpur to de- environment in which to develop and to Strategic Development Plans. liver an FA learning workshop aimed at discover their creativity. “We are looking forward to starting developing the AFC’s elite instructors. The learning revolution ensures coher- this new phase of cooperation with the “Seminars like this are important for ence throughout the whole spectrum of Asian Football Confederation in 2007,” developing the skills of our coaches, in- Danish football – from the amateurs to said FA chairman Geoffrey Thompson. structors and assessors. Development is a the elite. To develop talent, it is necessary “It will build on a productive five-year continuous process,” said AFC president to have a broad basis and possess creative period during which we established firm Mohamed Bin Hamman. and individual players. This is the thinking foundations in terms of education in foot- Nada Grkinic behind the new recommendations in ball within the framework of Vision Asia. youth football in Denmark. “We value the personal interest and The next couple of years will be input from the president, Mohamed Bin devoted to communicating the new Hammam, in ensuring that the FA-AFC approach to all parties in Danish football, cooperation agreement has been mutu- GERMANY including the clubs, parents and coaches. ally beneficial. Pernille Buus Mørkeberg “The sharing of expertise and experi- Bid to host 2011 Women’s ences has undoubtedly contributed to the World Cup The German Football Association (DFB) has decided to bid to host the 2011 FIFA ENGLAND Women’s World Cup. The idea is sup- ported by the DFB’s president, Theo Zwanziger. “After the fantastic men’s Memorandum with World Cup last summer, we want to the Asian Confederation organise an equally attractive World Cup The Football Association (FA) signed a for the women, to kindle enthusiasm new Memorandum of Understanding amongst our guests and friends from all (MoU) with the Asian Football Confeder- over the world and to enjoy wonderful ation (AFC) in January. football festivals in the cities and stadi- The new accord will continue the work ums,” he explained. The official launch of of The FA’s international development pro- the DFB’s bid campaign will take place in gramme in Asia, which has benefited from Berlin on 1 March. The FA’s technical expertise since 2000 af- The DFB’s initiative is already being wel-

ter the first cooperation agreement was THE FA comed in various quarters, with the DFB signed. receiving the full backing of the German Mohamed Bin Hamman, president of the This latest MoU will run for an initial AFC, and Geoffrey Thompson, chairman of government. Federal Chancellor Angela period of four years, 2007-2010, and will The Football Association, shake hands Merkel is the bid’s most prominent sup- focus primarily on education and training, on concluding their partnership agreement. porter. She suggested the idea at the DFB’s

17 Encouraged by UEFA’s successful Hat- of January. The first pitches (about 100) Trick mini-pitch project, the Hungarian FA will be completed by the end of the year. laid the foundations of a nationwide pitch There are three different sizes of pitch. project last November. As the state is un- The smallest is designed for children and able to finance such a huge undertaking, is ideal for schools, since its surface area

BONGARTS/GETTY IMAGES BONGARTS/GETTY the MLSZ leaders had to find alternative can be changed according to the size of A photo shoot to boost the bid. solutions. Together with the ministries for the school playground. The medium-size local government and regional develop- pitch is a standard futsal pitch, which is ment, the FA established a project agency the one chosen by most councils. The extraordinary general meeting in Leipzig under the direction of board member Sán- largest is a full-size pitch, which is ideal in 2005. And long before the official FIFA dor Scheer and monitored by the inven- for clubs. All pitches include floodlights. list of bid requirements dropped through tor of the project, MLSZ president István Optional extras such as dressing rooms the letterbox at the DFB headquarters in Kisteleki. or benches are also available but are Otto-Fleck-Schneise, numerous cities and not needed in cases where an old pitch is stadium operators were putting their restored. names forward as venues for the tour- Márton Dinnyés nament. The anticipation, which is already start- ing to build, is bound to increase steadily in the coming months. Various measures mls.hu JANOS FEDOR are planned, with support coming from While not actually giving funding to ap- MALTA many different sources. A photo shoot has plicants, the agency can help councils, already been held, for example, with schools or companies construct high- members of the men’s and women’s na- quality (third-generation) artificial turf Growing involvement tional teams posing for a World Cup bid pitches as quickly and as cheaply as pos- on European stage advertising campaign. “The widespread sible. The agency also established an For a country with a population of support that we are already receiving is agreement under which banks would pro- approximately 400,000, the role played serving to confirm our ambitions. If our vide loans for those who best met the by Malta in the competitive and adminis- bid is successful, we will leave no stone project criteria. All parties involved in pitch trative sectors of European football belies unturned in our efforts to organise manufacture and installation were able to the small size of the football family on the another fantastic, unforgettable football sign framework contracts via the agency. island as compared to those of many festival,” said Theo Zwanziger. Although a city council or school has to other UEFA member associations. The 2011 Women’s World Cup would fund its own pitch, in this way it pays Since joining FIFA in 1959, and UEFA a build on the success of the 2006 World much less than it would do if working year later, Malta’s name in global compe- Cup as well as of the 2001 European with external contractors or banks. titions has been cropping up time and Women’s Championship, when atten- As a first step, the OLLÉ (Országos Lab- again in almost all national team cate- dance figures at German stadiums were darugopálya Létesitési Program) agency gories, men’s and women’s, and at club excellent, setting a new tournament held seminars and presentations through- level in Europe. record. One thing in Germany’s favour is out the country to underline the benefits The country’s most recent involvement the popularity of women’s football in the of building communal pitches. Initial data in international competition was in the country. This is reflected not only in the showed that over 250 applications for 5th European Futsal Championship, where success enjoyed by the German national pitch construction had arrived by the end Malta was making its debut and also women’s team, but also in the growth in the number of youth players, a result of the DFB’s girls’ football programme. Niels Barnhofer The pressure which holds up the 18- metre dome is regulated by computer, LATVIA which also heats up the dome to the desired temperature and reacts to the out- First covered pitch in the Baltics side conditions – wind, snow, rain, etc. In- HUNGARY side, the dome measures 100 x 70 metres. The first football field under a dome A steel and cable frame support the dome has been opened in Riga, at the and minimise the risk of damage to it. MLSZ launches pitch project Keizarmezs sports centre, where youth Martins Hartmanis As the Hungarian FA (MLSZ) has recog- and senior teams will train. It allows train- nised, one of the main reasons why the ing to take place in optimum conditions, standard of football and the number of regardless of the weather. registered players is lower than it should The Riga city council has bought the be – and certainly lower than in the past dome for more than half a million lats – is the reduced number and poor quality (EUR 800,000) and rented it to JFC of football grounds in the country. Skonto for one year, with the possibility Although the standard of pitches was of prolonging the arrangement. quite low under the communist regime, The pitch covered by the dome is a so- the situation became even worse after the called four-star artificial pitch. It is also one political changes as many city councils of the best in the Baltics. It was a gift from made a profit selling youth and amateur the president of the Latvian Football Fed- club grounds. A survey showed that since eration, Guntis Indriksons, to youth foot- 1990 almost 100 full-size football pitches ball, so that young players now can train were sold or otherwise disposed of by near the lake in the fresh air during the LFF councils or companies in Budapest alone. summer. Somewhere to play whatever the weather.

18 uefadirect 3.07 EWS from member associationsN

considerable number of youths have Bangor and runs on Saturdays from joined futsal clubs in their neighbour- 9.30am to 1.30pm and on Mondays from hood, and players and staff from one 6.30pm to 7.30pm. As part of the IFA’s team at the Augustinus College in Ams- grassroots programme, the CIS mini soc- terdam decided to join the futsal club cer centres play a key role in encouraging AORC/Pallestra. boys and girls of all abilities to participate

D.AQUILINA In other cities, the cooperation be- in football. Malta has joined the European futsal community. tween schools and futsal clubs has been The centres provide fun and informal well received and very successful. Children football coaching based around small- hosting the preliminary round Group C involved in the schools competition are sided games for girls and boys aged be- matches, which had Kazakhstan, Cyprus obliged to do a futsal referees’ course in tween six and 12. and Georgia also participating. Amsterdam. Some schools have decided ■ BBC Radio One DJ and TV presenter This was endorsed by Pedro Angel to make futsal a part of their physical Colin Murray, a keen Northern Ireland Galan Nieto, the UEFA delegate, who education programme. football fan, has agreed to become stressed the significance of Malta joining During the short winter break, many Northern Ireland’s first ever Football For the growing futsal family. football clubs organised futsal events for All Ambassador, helping to highlight sup- The logistical organisation of the tour- their most junior members, once again porter-led initiatives at both Irish League nament, being under the responsibility of indicating that this is far more than an level and on the international scene to the Malta FA Futsal Committee, invariably occasional but entertaining pastime. tackle sectarianism, racism, promoting dis- came under the scrutiny of UEFA. As in Belgium, futsal plays an even ability football, women’s football and com- Committee chairman John Farrugia, more prominent role than regular outdoor munity-led programmes which use the who is also MFA vice-president, said that football in the integration of minorities. sport of football to promote positive com- the staging of the event on the island has Youngsters can apply all their skills and try munity relations. served as an experience to fine-tune the all their moves when playing in a limited Colin’s first act as ambassador is to host organisational skills of the Maltese and space where they are not hampered by an the first ever Football For All Awards night enhance the name of the country as an uneven pitch, wind or rain. And the Dutch at the Wellington Park Hotel in Belfast on ideal venue for similar competitions. squad does not contain many typical 24 February: Malta’s growing mention in European Dutch names but quite a few that have “The Football For All Awards night is football, this time in terms of administra- more of a Moroccan sound to them. designed to reward the unsung heroes tion, was also very much apparent when Rob de Leede and volunteers who are the lifeblood of late in January Joseph Mifsud, the Malta football in Northern Ireland. It recognises FA president, was re-elected to the UEFA the fans who have made a positive stand Executive Committee for another four against sectarianism, promoting the game years, a post he will have held for a full NORTHERN in the right light, and it rewards volunteers 17 years when this latest term expires in at grassroots level who promote disabil- 2011. This is an impressively long period, IRELAND ity football and women’s football, as well which continues to put Malta’s name in Top award for Castle Park as those behind the scenes who usually continental football on a sounder footing. Juniors Mini Soccer Centre don’t get the praise they deserve.” Alex Vella Northern Ireland international David Northern Ireland legend Gerry Arm- Healy signalled his approval of Colin’s new strong recently paid a visit to the Castle role: Park Juniors FC Co-operative Insurance “Colin has been a very vocal friend to NETHERLANDS (CIS) Mini Soccer Centre. Northern Ireland football and his support As well as being on hand to pass on is appreciated by the players and fans. His some skills tips to the children, he also pre- continued support for Football For All both A boost for futsal sented them with a CIS Mini Soccer Cen- at international level, domestically and at tre Award for the month of January. grassroots level can only be a good thing The qualifying tournament for the Each month awards are presented to for the game in Northern Ireland.” 2007 European Futsal Championship in the two centres and, as well as receiving the Caroline Menary/Michael Boyd city of Geleen was another recent boost honour of being named a monthly award for futsal in the Netherlands. Playing the winner, each centre receives ten footballs likes of Serbia, Finland and Azerbaijan in and a set of CIS bibs and CIS branded the former mining area of the Netherlands discs. was quite something in itself, but recent The Castle Park Juniors FC CIS Mini REPUBLIC developments initiated by the Dutch FA Soccer Centre is based at Ward Park in (KNVB) have also provided incentives for OF IRELAND schools, clubs and referees to further pro- mote and professionalise futsal. It was al- FAI’s standards among ways the idea of long-serving coach and highest in Europe former international Vic Hermans to make On the occasion of the UEFA Congress futsal a fully fledged member of the Dutch in Düsseldorf recently, the Football Asso- football family. ciation of Ireland (FAI) was among the Last year, a number of schools in Am- eight associations admitted to the UEFA sterdam started a schools competition on Grassroots Charter. Friday afternoons with the full support of The UEFA Grassroots Charter is a the KNVB. Other cities followed this ex- benchmark of quality and the FAI’s tech- ample soon after. Utrecht and Veldhoven nical department had to satisfy stringent now have a similar schools league criteria in the areas of structure and phi- and Maastricht is expected to follow IFA losophy, player programmes, and league suit. The initiative is now paying off. A Children at the Castle Park centre. and coach programmes, as well as un- ➜

19 ule is highly intensive and covers practical as well as theoretical exercises. Much emphasis is placed of course on SCOTLAND team preparation and development, foot- ball tactics and squad training drills. Sponsorship for the Representatives of the business world delivered papers on management styles SYFA Scottish Cup and techniques, and attention was also The Scottish Youth Football Associa- paid to the business management of tion (SYFA) has launched its partnership clubs, with emphasis on developing an with Co-operative Insurance (CIS). The effective club structure. agreement will see CIS sponsor the SYFA The second stage of the UEFA PRO 14s Scottish Cup, building upon its ex- licence will take place in June. isting grassroots football programme.

FAI Fran Whearty The CIS Insurance 14s Cup is a na- David Blood, president of the FAI, tional tournament in which over 4,000 presents a souvenir to former international players take part. All 306 youth teams referee Anders Frisk. who participated in this season’s tour- ➜ nament will benefit from the agreement. dergoing a formal inspection from UEFA’s ROMANIA To mark the occasion, Archie Knox football development division. (SFA youth teams national coach) FAI president David Blood and chief ex- EU entry leads to rule changes launched the sponsorship with David ecutive John Delaney received the grass- Little (SYFA national secretary), Toni Fran- roots charter from UEFA president Lennart As a result of becoming a member of chittii (Co-operative Insurance) and chil- Johansson and chief executive Lars-Chris- the European Union on 1 January, Roma- dren from Holyrood secondary school at ter Olsson at a special ceremony in Düs- nia is faced with the need to adapt vari- Hampden Park. seldorf. ous laws and regulations, including those Archie Knox commented: “The chil- The FAI technical department has gone relating to sport. dren who play in the CIS Insurance 14s from two employees to over 70 in the past At its first meeting of 2007, the exec- Cup are the future of our national game. eight years and has an annual budget of utive committee of the Romanian FA took Youth football needs as much support EUR 10 million, which is spent on imple- the first decisions in this respect aimed at as it can get, so to see CIS Insurance menting 19 separate development pro- regulating the issue of EU and non-EU involved at grassroots, as well as senior grammes covering all levels of the game. players. level, is terrific.” It has already published a technical devel- During this meeting it was decided opment plan, a women’s development that, as of 1 February, all Romanian teams plan, an emerging talent programme and regardless of their category will be able to a referee development plan, and is currently sign an unlimited number of EU players. working on a school development plan. With respect to non-EU players, some Among the technical department’s restrictions will apply, as follows: most recent innovations have been the appointment a national intercultural – first division men’s teams, and also coordinator and a national volunteers women’s clubs, will be allowed to enter coordinator. a maximum of five non-EU players on ■ Former FIFA referee Anders Frisk was the match sheet, only three of whom

in Dublin recently to help the FAI launch will be able to play; SYFA its referee development plan. The plan for – second division and also futsal teams Archie Knox (left), David Little, Toni Franchittii 2006-2011 is the vehicle through which will be able to have up to three non-EU and the SYFA Cup trophy. an agreed, effective and integrated ref- players on the match sheet, only two of eree recruitment, training and develop- whom can actually play; David Newman, Director of Market- ment framework will be achieved. The ing for Co-operative Insurance (CIS), association aims to double its current – third and fourth division teams and added: “Football plays an important role number of registered referees of 1,000 those from the lower leagues, as well as in communities throughout Scotland and over the next five years. youth teams, will be allowed to have sponsorship activity like the CIS Insurance It is also hoped that the charter will two non-EU players on the match sheet 14s Cup reinforces our involvement in enable affiliated referees to progress at and only one of them on the pitch. community football. Our grassroots foot- senior level and even officiate at UEFA ball programme also includes the CIS In- Champions League group stage level. However, because some first division surance Cup Kit for Kids initiative that ■ The FAI has assembled a highly qual- teams had several non-EU players regis- provides schools and youth clubs with ified team of experts to conduct a special tered before January 2007, the next football kit, the CIS Insurance Cup Road- professional coaching course for the top executive committee meeting, on 16 Feb- show, which provides access to the managers/coaches working at club and in- ruary, may decide to allow four non-EU trophy and match tickets for families ternational level in Ireland. The course is players to be fielded in the first division and junior teams, and CIS Insurance Cup the first of its kind to be held in Ireland until the end of the 2006/07 season. masterclasses that see coaches from and is geared for coaches/managers who Romanian FA president Mircea Sandu senior teams visit schools to provide them have already qualified for the UEFA “A” said: “It is imperative that we adapt our with training and equipment. We look coaching diploma. regulations. But we are right at the forward to working with the SYFA Under UEFA club licensing regulations, beginning in this issue and only practical and all its clubs during this season’s the head coach is required to hold the top experience will tell us what we need to do CIS Insurance 14s Cup.” level coaching qualification in the coun- in the coming months and years with The CIS Insurance 14s Cup is a mas- try and the managers therefore needed to regard to the issue of non-EU players.” sive step forward for grassroots everyday attend this course. The programme sched- Paul Zaharia football in Scotland. This generous spon-

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sorship allows the SYFA to continue its occasion. All meetings have been held fully in sport and follow in their foot- valuable work with the most important in the biggest media centre in Belgrade. steps. The message is very clear and the people within Scotland, our nation’s The first guests were the chief editors of schools are happy to hear it. youth. Participation in grassroots foot- the major domestic newspapers, fol- Aleksandar Boskovic ball has a number of huge benefits to lowed by a group of leading Serbian young players, such as health, but not coaches. The third meeting involved top forgetting fun and enjoyment. officials from Super League clubs, The CIS Insurance 14s Cup final will including Dragan Stojkovic from FK be held at the Excelsior stadium, Airdrie Crvena Zvezda and Nenad Popovic from on 6 May. FK Partizan. SWITZERLAND David Little Zvezdan Terzic said: “We want to be realistic, to identify the problem and do everything we can to solve it quickly. We The importance of players are considering all the possible reasons of foreign descent why the stands are empty and taking an Elsener, Grobéty, Schneiter, Tacchella, SERBIA honest look at where the supporters are. Fuhrer, Bäni, Dürr, Odermatt, Künzli, It may be connected with the difficult Hosp, Schindelholz. These 11 players, all economic and financial situation in the dyed-in-the-wool Swiss nationals, faced Boosting match attendance country, poor infrastructure, low quality Germany in Sheffield in the summer of Among a number of problems shared of players and matches, concerns about 1966 in their opening World Cup match. by various Balkan and South-East Euro- security – especially from parents with They lost 5-0. Their other results were pean countries, a major issue in football regard to their children – and the wide is the very poor attendance at domestic choice of international matches shown league matches. This is a reflection of live on domestic TV. I’m convinced that other major social issues at the start of we will identify the reasons and find an- the 21st century. swers for the future which will bring the With a view to making some im- supporters back. That is both our desire provement to the situation, the football and our duty. Domestic competitions association of Serbia has come up with form the base for the future and we can- a new strategy. Over the last two months not expect success at the national team it has held three Rotary Club sessions un- level without that.” der the slogan “Bring supporters back to In other news, the Serbian FA has the stadiums”. organised various visits to primary The host of the sessions has been Ser- schools. National team players have come bian FA president Zvezdan Terzic, who into the schools to talk to the children, has invited six different guests on each take photos and invite them to take part ASF/SFV Johan Djourou is one of the best examples of the integration of players of foreign descent into the Swiss national teams.

not much better. It mattered little SLOVENIA whether they fielded Kuhn, Stierli, Quentin, Brodmann, Eichmann, Leim- gruber, Gottardi, Armbruster or the play- 15 years of international football ers who had lost the opening game – In 1992, a year after its independence, two more defeats followed and the Swiss Slovenia became a full member of the in- were eliminated after the group stage. ternational football community, and on 3 Twenty-eight years later, at the 1994 June the Slovenian national team played World Cup finals in the USA, with Ital- its first official international game. This NZS ian-born Pascolo and Sforza and Argen- was a friendly against Estonia – another The commemorative match between tinian Subiat in the team, the red and Slovenia and Estonia was decided from newly independent country – and the the penalty spot. whites performed more honourably, match in Tallinn finished in a 1-1 draw. reaching the last 16. Senderos, Siqueira- The first national head coach, Bojan Pras- Barras, Milosavac, Maksimovic, Barnet- nikar, recalls: “It was hard to form a na- ing the smallest ever country to partici- ta, Dugic and Antic were part of the tional team but even harder to find an op- pate in such an event so far, no mean 2001 Swiss Under-17 team which sen- ponent. In the end the only option was achievement for a country of two million sationally lifted the European Champi- another new country such as Estonia. I can that this year celebrates only 15 years of onship title. Djourou, Senderos, Barnet- remember that we were accommodated international football. The football asso- ta, Hakan Yakin, Cabanas, Dzemaili, in a youth hostel, there were a lot of stu- ciations of Slovenia and Estonia decided Benaglio and Behrami successfully wore dents and even the food was geared to to celebrate this joint anniversary with an- the red and white colours at the 2006 students.” This was only the beginning of other friendly, which was staged this World Cup in Germany. And Kiassum- a 15-year series of successes. Slovenia month in Domzale. The Slovenian FA pro- bua, Pribanovic, Borkovic, Knezevic, started their first qualifying campaign in vided the home fans with free tickets, a Nimeley, Cicek, Karac, Bankovic, Ben 1994 with a draw against then world vice- gesture that was greatly appreciated. The Khalifa, Dakouri, Drmic, Santabarbara, champions Italy and after only two cam- game was played in a wonderful atmos- Savic, Seferovic, Ukoh, Mihajlovic, Baljic, paigns managed to achieve their first big phere and was decided by a first-half Basha, Berisha, Duzhmani, Nguyen, objective – EURO 2000. This was followed penalty. Micic and Rebronja, who currently rep- by the 2002 World Cup, with Slovenia be- Uros Stanic resent the Swiss Under-15, Under-16 and

21 EWS from member associationsN

Under-17 national teams, could all fea- Batuhan ture in the 23-man squad at the 2014 celebrates the goal that World Cup. The chances of Switzerland secured the qualifying for the World Cup in seven Aegean Cup years’ time, rather than being spectators for Turkey. as they often have in recent times, are excellent. For since the Swiss (SFV) reor- ganised its youth set-up 12 years ago and decided to help youngsters from Africa, South America, Croatia, Serbia, FYR Macedonia, Kosovo, Italy, Spain and Por- tugal as well as those from Emmental, the Zurich Oberland and Lake Geneva in their efforts to become world-class TFF players, Switzerland has once again be- come a force to be reckoned with on the gium. With the group winners playing the petitive Spanish side and with it overall international football stage. final and the group runners-up contest- victory in the tournament. One of the SFV’s key objectives is to ing the third-place match, Turkey faced Belgium and Ukraine played for third contribute to the general well-being and Group B winners Spain in the final. place in a match that ended in a goalless social integration of young people by Batuhan’s goal in the second minute gave draw. Belgium went on to beat the helping them to use their leisure time the Under-16 side trained by Senol Ukrainians 3-2 in the penalty shoot-out. constructively. Around 40% of the Ustaomer a 1-0 win against a very com- Ilker Ugur 240,000 registered footballers in Switzer- land are of foreign descent. For them, football is a chance to become inte- grated in Switzerland through their the national team, with seven players re- on-pitch ability and camaraderie without UKRAINE ceiving their call-up following a training suffering discrimination. It offers a path camp for footballers recommended by to respect, recognition and the prospects the centres of excellence for developing of a successful future. For in contrast to New trends in player children’s football. politics and society itself, different cul- development “The standard of the training camp tures coexist successfully in football, was high,” said Anatoliy Buznik. “We In a recent training camp, Ukraine’s where the word “foreigner” has positive played matches against good sides, the Under-16 national side has continued connotations. quality of our performance visibly im- gearing up for the qualifying round of The fact that the Swiss national team proving with every game. Over the the European Under-17 Championship, is now back among the world’s best entire period we identified about ten taking account of innovations made by teams, occupying 14th place in the FIFA footballers who possess agility, quick the Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU) world rankings, which include more than thinking and other key qualities. The and general new trends in football. In 200 member associations, is primarily the prime objective for our national side is to January, Anatoliy Buznik’s team contested result of the SFV’s youth development identify footballers who have the capac- the Aegean Cup in Turkey, finishing programme and the seamless integration ity to reach the top level of excellence fourth in the competition, which has of foreign youngsters. Dzemaili and in four or five years’ time.” become an annual fixture for Ukraine. Gygax understand each other on and off Valery Nikonenko “What plays a critical role in today’s the football pitch just as well as Behrami football is psychology. As a result of and Zuberbühler, or even Müller and securing the services of sports psycho- Vogel, who both grew up near Meyrin logy expert Professor Valentina Voronova on the outskirts of Geneva. for this training camp, we have been able Pierre Benoit to establish psychological profiles which help to discover and fine-tune the future potential of players,” said head coach Anatoliy Buznik. The coaching think-tank is carrying TURKEY out a mission to identify and select prospective candidates for the national squad. In order to keep an eye on bud- Aegean Cup goes to Turkey ding prospects, the FFU has set up cen- The traditional Aegean Cup which is tres of excellence for the development of organised every year by the Turkish foot- children’s football. Coaches are actively ball association ended with a Turkish vic- engaged in scouting for young talent tory at the beginning of February. Bel- throughout the country, the aim being gium, Greece, Norway, Romania, Slova- to supervise and foster the professional kia, Spain, Ukraine and Turkey as hosts development of young players. participated in the Under-16 tournament, “We are always placing major chal- which took place in the Aegean region of lenges in front of our team. Specific Turkey. targets include sharpening players in The hosts started the tournament with matches against tough opposition, look- a 1-0 win against Romania. In the second ing closely at their technical skills, and match Turkey beat Slovakia 8-1 and in the exploring various tactical scenarios.” Two FFU last group match they drew 0-0 with Bel- players have received their first caps for Coach Anatoliy Buznik issues his orders.

22 uefadirect 3.07 UEFA

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On 1 February, Lazar Mitrovski re- signed from his post as general secretary Communications of the Football Federation of FYR of Birthdays – Calendar Macedonia. Ilija Atanasovski has repla- ced him on a temporary basis. Match agents

The Licensed UEFA Match Agents Panel ● Birthdays Daniel Claudiu Prodan (Romania, 23.3) has granted new licences to: ● Maurizio Laudi (Italy, 24.3) ● Dennj Salvatore LUSSU Match delegate Konstantin Vikhrov Wilfried Straub (Germany, 26.3) ● Fliegenweg 7, 9244 Niederuzwil, (Ukraine) celebrates his 70th birthday on John McClelland (Scotland, 27.3) ● Switzerland 27 March. Two referee observers will be 60 José Antonio Casajus (Spain, 27.3) ● Tel.: +41 713515189, Mob: +41 78 8957645 this month: Esa Antero Palsi (Finland) on 4th Armen Minasyan (Armenia, 27.3) ● Email: [email protected] and Christakis Skapoullis (Cyprus) on 18th. Mario van der Ende (Netherlands, 28.3) ● Robert Segal – R&R Ltd Thomas Partl (Austria), chairman of the Pavel Cebanu (Moldova, 28.3) ● 1 the Stablings Barnet Lane, Elstree, Control & Disciplinary Body, will follow suit Edgar Obertüfer (Switzerland, 29.3) ● Herts, WD6 3HJ, Great Britain on 13 March. Kenneth Scott (Scotland), Ian Beasley (England, 29.3) ● Tel.: +44 2089051133, Fax; +44 2089051020 security officer, reaches his half-century on Stefan Ormandjiev (Bulgaria, 29.3) ● Email: [email protected] 7 March, as does Juraj Oblozinsky (Slovakia) Alan Snoddy (Northern Ireland, 29.3) ● Jonathan Hassall the following day. Bernadette Constantin (France, 29.3) ● Premier Promotion Sports Ltd UEFA also wishes many happy returns to: Juan V. Dura (Spain, 29.3) ● Miriam Malone (Republic of Ireland, 29.3) 6 Hallcourt Crescent, Walsall Road, Cannock, ● Benny Jacobsen (Denmark, 1.3) ● William Hugh Wilson (Scotland, 30.3) Staffordshire, WS11 0AB, Great Britain ● Sergey Tatulyan (Ukraine, 1.3) Tel.: +44 1543 466242, Fax: +44 1543 466243 ● Damir Vrbanovic (Croatia, 2.3) ● Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder (Germany, 3.3) Upcoming events New publications ● Boris Durlen (Croatia, 6.3) ● Liana Melania Stoicescu (Romania, 6.3) Meetings Rocznik 2006-2007 ● Pedro M. Aurteneche Viñegra (Spain, 7.3) 1.3.2007, Barcelona The latest in a series on football from ● Dusan Maravic (Serbia, 7.3) Draw for 2007/08 European the Polish encyklopedia pilkarska, this ● Tomás Gea (Andorra, 7.3) Under-19 and Under-17 Championship publication by Andrzej ● Josep Lluís Vilaseca Guasch (Spain, 8.3) qualifying rounds Gowarzewski is an official ● Alexis Ponnet (Belgium, 9.3) 8.3.2007, Athens almanac of Polish football, ● Vladimir Aleshin (Russia, 9.3) Club Competitions Committee with photos, league tables ● Hendrik Kesler (Netherlands, 9.3) 9.3.2007, Athens and lists of players from ● Joseph S. Blatter (Switzerland, 10.3) Draw for UEFA Champions League all premier division clubs. ● Mateo Beusan (Croatia, 10.3) quarter-finals and semi-finals It also devotes a large section to international ● Lucien Kayser (Luxembourg, 11.3) 16.3.2007, Nyon football and to competi- ● Olga Zhukovska (Ukraine, 11.3) Stadium and Security Committee tions in other countries in Europe and ● Jean-François Crucke (Belgium, 12.3) 16.3.2007, Glasgow America. ● Draw for UEFA Cup quarter-finals Vlastibor Minarovjech (Slovakia, 13.3) (wydawnictwo GiA – P.O. Box 2772 – ● and semi-finals David Taylor (Scotland, 14.3) 40 357 Katowice 14 – Poland; email: ● Michel Verschueren (Belgium, 17.3) 19-20.3.2007, Nyon [email protected]) ● Liutauras Varanavicius (Lithuania, 17.3) European Club Forum ● Andreas Georgiou (Cyprus, 18.3) 23.3.2007, Nyon Annuario del calcio mondiale 2006-07 ● Marcello Nicchi (Italy, 18.3) Anti-Doping Panel The 19th edition of this ● Marina Tashchyan (Armenia, 18.3) 26.3.2007, Nyon perennial publication by ● Steve Williams (England, 19.3) Executive Committee Salvatore Lo Presti contains ● Lambros Adamou (Cyprus, 20.3) Competitions over 1,000 pages of essen- ● Luigi Agnolin (Italy, 21.3) tial reference material for ● Antal Dunai (Hungary, 21.3) 6-7.3.2007 all lovers of statistics and for ● Jim Boyce (Northern Ireland, 21.3) UEFA Champions League: anyone who needs easy ac- ● Chris Georgiades (Cyprus, 22.3) first knockout round (return legs) cess to all key information ● Michail Kassabov (Bulgaria, 22.3) 8.3.2007 on international football. ● Franz Krösslhuber (Austria, 23.3) UEFA Cup: round of 16 (first legs) (Cantelli Editore, Via Saliceto 22/E, ● Andrea Lastrucci (Italy, 23.3) 14-15.3.2007 40013 Castelmaggiore (BO), Italy. ● Outi Saarinen (Finland, 23.3) UEFA Cup: round of 16 (return legs) Fax: +39 – 051 63 288 15)

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