No 6758 – NovemberFévrier 2007 2007 Including 11. 0 7 World Cup the Women’s win meet inLondon directors Coach education of clublicensing Four years groups UEFA Cup The eight World Cup the Women’s Germany win meet inLondon directors Coach education of clublicensing Four years groups UEFA Cup The eight 14 11 06 03 14 11 06 03 Message Photos: UEFA-pjwoods.ch of the president Sporting competition and economic competition Under the pretext of moving with the times, is it necessary to draw a line under the past and its traditions and values? I don't think so; in fact, I am convinced that, in sport, we need to preserve the European model, with all the characteristics that distinguish it from sport as a business. More than ever before, sport is an important social factor, an incomparable tool for integration and an unrivalled conveyor of examples of fair play, team spirit, effort and solidarity. However, sport had to wait for the Nice Declaration before any mention was made of its specificity. And, since huge amounts of money are generated at the top of its pyramid structure, it is subject to laws designed for the economy and, when disputes arise, to the courts, just like any other economic activity. This situation may suit the most affluent, inasmuch as it enables them, through their financial resources, to protect a privileged position that should be based on sporting results alone. But sporting competition is not the same as economic competition. For a football club, the priority is not to increase its market share, but to win titles and IN THIS ISSUE trophies. Purely economic rules cannot therefore be applied, which is something we have been saying for years now. We have also repeatedly stated that sport does not Presenting the eight want and is not asking to live above the law, but simply that its specificity should be UEFA Cup groups 03 taken into account and that it should be given a clear and stable legal environment Four years of club licensing 06 in which it can manage its affairs with respect for the principles of democracy, transparency and the general interest. All stakeholders should be given a voice, Clubs and new media 08 as reflected in the Memorandum of Understanding that we recently signed with the European Futsal European division of FIFPro. Otherwise, how, for example, can we preserve the Championship in Porto 10 national and regional identity of clubs if all the measures proposed, such as the Coach education “6+5” rule, are considered solely from the point of view of freedom of movement? directors’ symposium 11 This is why in September I wrote to the European Union heads of government, since who is better placed than the elected representatives of the people to ensure Germany retain that the general interest prevails? The Ancient Greeks had the wisdom to give sport a women’s world title 14 special status by introducing the Olympic truce in the wars that were waged between News from member their cities. It is now up to our present-day governments to assign a special status to associations 17 sport within the economic competition that characterises our modern world.

COVER Forty teams are involved in the Michel Platini group stage of the UEFA Cup, among them, Everton (James UEFA President McFadden, in blue) who qualified by beating Metalist Kharkov (Valentin Sliusar) from Ukraine. Photo: Pesnya/Epsilon/Getty Images

02 uefadirect 11.07 UEFA Cup: 40 ambitious teams StartStart ofof thethe groupgroup phasephase

After losing the first leg of their first round tie, Galatasaray got their own back over FC Sion in the return leg in . Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images Coffrini/AFP/Getty

FROM 25 OCTOBER UNTIL 20 DECEMBER, 40 TEAMS WILL BE in the Bundesliga. But more than the BATTLING IT OUT IN THE GROUP PHASE FOR A PLACE IN THE LAST 32 Germans, it is perhaps Zenit St. Peters- OF THE UEFA CUP. THE TOP THREE IN EACH GROUP WILL JOIN burg who will have the final word in THE EIGHT TEAMS FINISHING THIRD IN THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Group A. The Russians are performing GROUPS IN THE ROUND OF 32 IN FEBRUARY. brilliantly in their national championship and brushed past Standard Liège in the With 24 of the 40 teams pro- Group A: AZ Alkmaar first round. As for the Greeks of Larissa, gressing to the round of 32, some fasci- with work to do who eliminated Blackburn Rovers, they nating encounters are in prospect. Although AZ Alkmaar, coached by a will be hoping at the very least to cause there are clear favourites in most of the certain Louis van Gaal, have reached this an upset or two. groups, none of them face an easy ride, stage of the competition for the fourth as previous editions have demonstrated, time running. The only Dutch side left in Group B: Atlético de Madrid confirming a fall in the number of what the competition will be trying to forget without Torres used to (but should no longer) be called their poor start in the national champ- Atletico Madrid, despite “small clubs”. Thanks to the glorious ionship by casting their minds back to losing Fernando Torres to Liverpool, will uncertainty of sport, we can look forward last season, when they reached the nonetheless be among the favourites to some fascinating and thrilling encoun- quarter-finals before being knocked out in Group B, along with Locomotive ters, along with a few surprises that are by Werder Bremen. However, Everton . Slightly behind the leaders in bound to spice up the competition along will be a tough nut to crack, even though their domestic league, the team cap- the way. During the group phase, each ‘ team will be without their tained by Diniyar Bilyaletdinov is still a team will play four matches, two at home international striker Andrew Johnson force to be reckoned with. But Panathi- and two away. Their ultimate goal is to for a while after his recent operation. naikos, with four Greek internationals in reach the final, to be played on 14 May FC Nuremberg will also harbour ambi- their squad, have no intention of play- 2008 at the City of Manchester Stadium. tions, if only to make up for a poor start ing second fiddle, just like Aberdeen,

03 Bulgaria’s Mlada Boleslav caused a surprise by beating Italy’s Palermo in the first round. Empics Sport/PA Photos Empics Sport/PA

in Group C. Their closest rivals could well be Villarreal, who have also started the season well in Spain. Following the return of Juan Roman Riquelme, who

Klamar/AFP/Getty Images had been loaned to Boca Juniors for five Greek side Larissa qualified at the expense months, the Spanish club has a world- of Blackburn Rovers. class playmaker back in its fold. His talent will not, on its own, be enough to thwart who knocked out the Ukrainians of the ambitions of AEK , who have Dnipro in the last round. Jimmy Calder- made a superb start to their domestic wood‘s men might already have devel- league season and will be relying heavily oped a taste for more. The same is true on their Brazilian contingent. The of Copenhagen, who are full of confi- Czechs of Mlada Boleslav will be trying French championship and who owe dence, as demonstrated by their domi- to create a shock or two, as will the their place in the group phase to a 95th nation of the Danish championship and plucky Swedish team from Elfsborg. minute goal against CSKA Sofia, will their first round win over Lens. A victory have nothing to lose. Similarly, FC Zurich not to be sniffed at! Group D: a very open battle will try to maintain their good form Having brought back several in the Swiss league and prove that their Group C: two-horse race between players who had been “exiled” in Ger- Fiorentina and Villarreal? many, such as Streller, Huggel and David Group A Group B Among the pacesetters in Italy, Degen, Basel have clearly set out their AZ Alkmaar Club Atlético de Madrid Fiorentina – who will have to do with- stall. But will their Bundesliga experi- Larissa FC Aberdeen FC out the services of Argentinean winger ence be enough to worry SV Hamburg? 1. FC Nürnberg FC København Mario Alberto Santana for several weeks Nothing is less certain, although the Everton FC Panathinaikos FC – are expected to play a prominent role Germans, who are faring much better FC Zenit St. Petersburg FC Lokomotiv Moskva than last season, cannot be sure of an easy passage in this very well-balanced Group C Group D group. Stade Rennais, at the top end of Zander Diamond AEK Athens FC Hamburger SV the French championship with Sylvain (Aberdeen) ACF Fiorentina Stade Rennais FC outjumps his Wiltord up front, will also be hopeful of opponent FK Mladá Boleslav NK Dinamo Zagreb Andriy Rusol qualifying. The Croatians of Dinamo (Dnipropetrovsk, Villarreal CF FC Basel 1893 Ukraine) in a Zagreb, who are running away with their tie that saw the domestic title, are also in contention. IF Elfsborg SK Brann Scottish side And Brann Bergen, undisputed leader through to the Group E Group F next round. of the Norwegian championship, could also have a surprise or two up their FC Zürich SC Braga sleeves. Toulouse FC FC Bayern München FC Spartak Moskva Aris Thessaloniki FC Group E: as clear as mud Bayer 04 Leverkusen FK Crvena Zvezda In Group E, the situation looks AC Sparta Praha Bolton Wanderers FC as clear as mud. Bayer Leverkusen are highly rated, but the team coached by Group G Group H Michael Skibbe could see their inten- Getafe CF Panionios GSS tions thwarted by four top-class oppo- Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC Galatasaray SK nents. Spartak Moscow have certainly Aalborg BK FK Wien shown their quality with outstanding RSC Anderlecht FC Girondins de Bordeaux performances in the Russian champi- Tottenham Hotspur FC Helsingborgs IF onship and a thrashing of Swedish side BK Häcken in the previous round. How- PA Wire/PA Photos Wire/PA PA Matchday 1: 25 October ever, Sparta Prague, with many years’ Matchday 2: 8 November experience of international competi- Matchday 3: 29 November tions, will certainly have a role to play. Matchday 4: 5/6 December Matchday 5: 19/20 December Toulouse, currently mid-table in the

04 uefadirect 11.07 Another Christian European Wilhelmsson adventure for (Bolton Wanderers) Anderlecht, plunges into who beat other the Rabotnicki Toulouse seasoned defence in knocked out European the return CSKA Sofia campaigners, leg of the first in the dying Rapid Vienna, round tie. in the first round. seconds of the Krakowski/Thys/AFP/Getty Images return leg.

they once were. Aalborg are one of the leading teams in Denmark and it would be dangerous to write them off. For their part, Hapoel Tel-Aviv will be trying to make up for a dreadful start in the Israeli championship.

Group H: Galatasaray ideally placed After sweeping aside FC Sion, Galatasaray may be pleased to have

Flash Press avoided any real big guns in the group stage draw. Bordeaux should be the Getty Images convincing win over Empoli in the last closest rivals for the Istanbul side and round was no fluke. are expected to join the Turks in the top even though they are off the pace in their three. However, Austria Vienna will also domestic championship. As for Panionios, Group F: Bayern hot have their eyes on a place in the next they should not be taken lightly, although favourites round, even though they have to travel qualification for the next round would be Being the favourites does not to Istanbul. The amazing Swedes of a major achievement for the Greek side. mean being unopposed. A major absen- Helsingborg, led by Henrik Larsson, are tee from the Champions League after capable of causing one or two upsets, André Winckler ten successive seasons of participation, Bayern Munich have recruited well, as demonstrated by their position at the top of the Bundesliga. However, the Bavarians have not been drawn in an easy group. Despite some disappointing results in their domestic league, but with Nicolas Anelka in attack, Bolton appear capable of posing a threat. Meanwhile, Red Star Belgrade – who will host Bayern Munich in their first match – will be trying to restore a repu- tation tarnished at national level by the rise of Partizan. Although they are hardly setting the world alight in the Por- tuguese championship, Braga will need to be taken seriously, as will Aris Salonika, who live in the shadow of the big Athens clubs in their national league.

Group G: Tottenham and Getafe Dinamo Zagreb (Luka Modric highly fancied in the foreground) In Group G, Tottenham seem already made their presence felt to hold most of the aces. However, Spurs in the first round, will have to improve on their domestic by knocking out Ajax (Hedwiges form if they want to beat a team such Maduro). as Getafe, a revelation in the Spanish league last season, but who do not seem to have fully recovered from the loss of their mentor, Bernd Schuster, to Real Madrid. Anderlecht should not be under- estimated, even though the Belgians

are not as dominant domestically as Images Lovrovic/AFP/Getty

05 No licence, no place in the UEFA competitions. Empics Sport/PA Photos Empics Sport/PA Getty Images Photos Rangers FC/PA

Two sets of regulations All criteria (sporting, infrastruc- ture, personnel and administrative, legal Club and financial) for the granting of licences are listed in a document entitled the UEFA Club Licensing Manual. This man- ual, the new version of which will enter licensing into force for the 2008/09 season, serves as the basis for the development Four years of experience of national regulations, which include all the mandatory minimum criteria defined THE INITIAL STEPS TO CREATE THE CLUB LICENSING SYSTEM WERE in the manual and in which the licensor TAKEN IN SEPTEMBER 1999 AT THE INITIATIVE OF THE PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL may set out additional criteria. There are COMMITTEE. THE IDEA WAS TO LAY DOWN MINIMUM STANDARDS therefore 53 different sets of national APPLICABLE TO ALL CLUBS AFFILIATED TO UEFA’S MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS, licensing regulations, all based on the minimum standards laid down by UEFA. REGARDLESS OF THEIR SIZE AND LEVEL OF PROFESSIONALISM. While the clubs must comply with the minimum criteria defined in The member associations finally tions closer to their clubs, as well as the manual, the licensors (national asso- introduced the system in 2003 in order encouraging investments and demons- ciations) also have to meet minimum that their clubs could participate in the trating that football is capable of requirements when assessing the clubs‘ UEFA competitions in the 2004/05 sea- governing itself. applications. These requirements are son. The role of the national associations set out in a document entitled the UEFA is crucial in this process because, unless The seven objectives Club Licensing Quality Standard (which they delegate the responsibility to an of the system: has also been improved and version 2.0 affiliated league, they are the licensors • further promotion and continuous entered into force for assessments valid and, as such, they alone are responsible improvement of the standard of all for the current season). for the correct implementation of the aspects of football in Europe, and In order to guarantee consis- system in their country. continuing priority given to the tent application of the licensing system The licensing system has the training and care of young players throughout Europe, the licensors are advantage of bringing national associa- in each club; monitored by an independent certifi- • ensuring that clubs have an ade- cation body. The aim is to promote con- The two club licensing manuals – one for the quate level of management and tinuous improvement and to increase clubs and the other for organisation; efficiency. the licensors. • adaptation of clubs’ sporting infra- structure to provide spectators and The role of UEFA media with well-appointed, well- Provided that the club licensing equipped and safe stadiums; system is under the responsibility of • improvement of the economic each national association, UEFA‘s main and financial capability of the clubs, roles in this area are those of: increasing their transparency and a) project leader: to lead the development credibility, and placing the necessary of the system in cooperation with importance on the protection of the stakeholders and ensure regular creditors; dialogue with political and regulatory • safeguarding the continuity of institutions; international competitions during b) advisor and sponsor: to provide the the season; licensors with technical and advisory • monitoring financial fair play in the support and financial assistance; competitions; c) guardian: to ensure the consistent UEFA-pjwoods.ch • allowing the development of bench- and correct application of the system marking for clubs. across all member associations.

06 uefadirect 11.07 The licence has already contributed to an increase in the number of youth teams and to improved stadium installations. Empics Sport/PA Photos Empics Sport/PA PA Photos Archives/PA

On 31 May (or another dead- tions. Some associations apply the same The club line announced by UEFA) each year, the criteria for national competitions as for national associations submit to UEFA the those of UEFA, while others have two licensing system results of their assessments. On the basis separate sets of regulations. in figures of these lists, UEFA then decides whether or UEFA has also cooperated with not to admit the clubs to its competitions. FIFA in the development of FIFA‘s own 70 million Swiss francs paid It should be emphasised that this process is club licensing system, which will need to to the national associations (as entirely within UEFA’s jurisdiction. A licence be implemented by all the confederations part of the HatTrick programme) in itself is not enough to allow a club to in the next three years. between 2004 and 2008. enter a UEFA competition, since the licence is only one of numerous admission criteria. Practical results 6,572 audits carried out Others include the following obligations: The club licensing system was on licensors by the external audit the club must have qualified on sporting introduced in order to improve European body each year. merit; it must comply with the rules aimed football as a whole. After four years of at ensuring the integrity of the competi- implementation, there is certainly much 850 people involved in tion; it must not have been involved in any still to be done, but some practical licensing matters – 160 full-time activity aimed at arranging or influencing results can already be identified. Com- employees. the outcome of a match; it must confirm pliance with the sporting criteria, for 655 clubs applied for a in writing that the club itself, as well as its example, has led to an increase in the UEFA licence in 2007/08, 101 of players and officials, agree to respect the number of youth teams being run by Statutes, regulations and decisions of UEFA; the clubs; the personnel criteria have which were refused (15% of it must recognise the jurisdiction of the given an additional boost to the UEFA applicant clubs). Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Convention on the Mutual Recognition 53 licensors. Lausanne; and it must fill in and submit the of Coaching Qualifications: the number official entry form. of UEFA-approved diplomas awarded 50 licensors apply licensing increased by 12% between 2004 and to at least all their top-division System extended to national 2007. The infrastructure criteria have clubs. competitions helped to improve facilities: the number UEFA‘s original idea was to lay of stadiums approved for UEFA compe- 40 requirements must be down minimum standards for its club com- titions rose by 36% over the period fulfilled by the licensors. petitions. However, many national asso- concerned. Finally, with regard to finan- 35 clubs were not allowed ciations have extended the club licensing cial criteria, there has been a significant to participate in UEFA club compe- system to their own national competi- drop in the number of disputes between clubs and players/coaches, a trend con- titions between 2005 and 2008 due to licence refusals from 18 Club licensing decisions – firmed by FIFA. top-division clubs licensors. Future challenges 33 mandatory minimum Enhancing and keeping the criteria must be met by a club in system credible is crucial. This is why UEFA is organising several “exchange order to be granted a licence to platforms“ designed to provide the enter UEFA club competitions. associations with the necessary infra- 19 countries have extended structure and tools to discuss the issues licensing beyond their top division. they are facing and how they have tried to resolve them. 90% of top-division clubs Furthermore, the creation of have applied for a licence to enter the Club Licensing Committee, chaired UEFA club competitions. by Mathieu Sprengers, UEFA Executive Committee member, will bring addi- 59% of the 101 clubs that tional impetus to the future development were refused a licence failed on of the club licensing system. the basis of financial criteria.

07 Rick Parry, The internet Chief Executive and club of Liverpool FC, television presents the represent club’s TV channel new financial at a press resources conference in for clubs. September. Getty Images Photo News Simon/Bongarts/Getty Images Clubs and

An excitingnew challenge media

WHILE TELEVISION AND BROADCASTING RIGHTS HAVE PROVIDED A WELCOME SOURCE OF REVENUE FOR FOOTBALL CLUBS FOR MANY YEARS, NEW MEDIA HAVE BEGUN TO EMERGE: THE INTERNET, MOBILE PHONES, WHICH HAVE BECOME WIDESPREAD, AND, MORE RECENTLY, DIGITAL TELEVISION. Clubs and leagues have not those at the wrong end of the table. With able on subscription for GBP 29.99 per missed the boat where technology is the European Commission keen to clamp year or GBP 3.99 per month. Live reports concerned, although they are benefiting down on monopolies, Sky’s dominance are posted on all matches. By way of to different degrees... came to an end in August 2006 with the comparison, Manchester United charge a arrival of Setanta Sports, which acquired monthly subscription of GBP 4 and an England still lead the way two of the six packages. The BBC retains annual fee of GBP 40. In the birthplace of football, the its famous Match of the Day, while BT game received a real shot in the arm in has the digital rights to provide delayed France: Canal+ 1992, with the launch of pay TV by BSkyB. coverage of 242 matches. Half a billion (!) The French system is original English clubs receive significantly more people from 195 countries follow the in terms of its variety. Canal+ built its TV income than those in other countries. excitement of the . Net service on films and football. The pay-TV Half of it is shared equally among all the Result is the name given to the campaign channel acquired all the TV rights to Premier League clubs, a quarter is based to combat the wave of unauthorised Ligue 1, including match broadcasts and on the clubs’ positions in the table and coverage on the internet. a magazine programme analysing the the remainder is linked to the number of All the clubs have their own TV day’s league games with footage of the matches broadcast. The leading lights channels. Chelsea TV Online shows match action. The contract, which expires in therefore earn considerably more than highlights, interviews and analysis, avail- June 2008, is worth EUR 600 million a year. The channel has five million sub- scribers. It shows two live matches, which are played after all the others. A third match, also with a delayed kick-off, is available on digital television on Canal+ Sport. The other seven matches a week are available via satellite and ADSL to Canal Satellite subscribers through the “Foot+“ service. “Foot+” costs EUR 7.50 a month. Match or day subscriptions are Subscribing to the club’s TV channel lets also available. Subscribers can choose Manchester United one match, kicking off at 8 p.m. on Sat- fans follow the exploits urday, without missing the goals from of their heroes. the other games. Whenever a goal is scored, the score flashes up on the screen. Viewers can watch the goal simply by clicking on “OK”. The “zapfoot” service even enables them to watch all seven matches in multiplex. The clubs manage their own internet sites, although of course they are not allowed to show the matches live. These sites form a popular link with

Getty Images the supporters, but the traditional big

08 uefadirect 11.07 The whole of Italian fans the German have a host Bundesliga can of possibilities be watched on for watching the internet! Serie A matches. Cacace/AFP/Getty Images

Genk: extremely popular In Belgium, Racing Genk has always been an innovative club. Stéphane Poelmans, commercial direc- Simon/Bongarts/Getty Images tor, explains, “New technologies are clubs, such as Lyon, Marseille, St-Etienne, German Sportschau: an exciting challenge!” The club has Lens, PSG, Rennes, Sochaux and Nice 5 million viewers 19,000 season ticket holders, an im- have a subscription-based TV channel Pay-TV channel Premiere pressive figure by Belgian standards. and/or web TV service. For example, Ol- bought the German TV rights, although Although it still produces a traditional web Premium, run by Olympique Lyon- ARD continues to broadcast its famous magazine for its sponsors, it mainly nais, offers unlimited access to daily news Sportschau on Saturdays. It attracts an uses its website and e-flash, sent free bulletins, interviews, TV archives and average audience of five million. Only of charge to 20,000 recipients. “The matches for EUR 5 a month. From mid- Premiere is allowed to show league advertising allows us to balance our night, OL offers ten minutes of match matches live. Subscribers pay for a gen- books. We get 5,000 visitors to the highlights plus interviews. eral package rather than the matches site every day. In order to increase this of just one club. number, we are launching a free web Serie A soon to be sold worldwide Since the start of this season, TV service in November. To begin with, From 2010, the Italian league will Telekom has been showing matches on it will only show a few minutes of centralise the negotiation of TV rights, the internet. Here also, the subscription interviews and reports, but we expect which is currently the clubs‘ prerogative. covers the whole Bundesliga, even to increase programme content.” It is followed by around six million Italian though individual matches can be select- Digital television was launched viewers, all media combined. Cable and ed via the menu. The telecommunica- in Belgium two and a half years ago. digital TV are equally popular: the day’s tions giant has not announced any fig- Belgacom TV pays the clubs EUR 36 highlights, broadcast in the evening, al- ures, but says it is pleased with the level million a year, distributed according ways attract big audiences. of interest shown so far. to a fairly complex payment system: Sky, a pay-TV channel, shows The clubs disseminate all sorts each club receives a fixed sum plus an magazine programmes and matches. of information via their internet sites. They amount dependent on its position in Subscribers can choose a general package also sell their merchandising products the previous season’s league table, the or the matches of one particular team. online. is one club five previous seasons and the number The channel also offers thematic pro- with its own television channel, BVB TV. of matches shown live. Subscribers to grammes linked to the match that is of Some videos are accessible to anyone, Belgacom TV can choose a club’s home most interest to the TV viewer or internet but a subscription is necessary for access matches or the top games. surfer. It is very successful, with more to a wide range of other material. Pascale Pierard than four million subscribers. Media Set Premium, second in the ratings with 1.6 million customers, uses a similar formula, but with a pre- paid card which can be charged up de- pending on how much it is used. La7, a newcomer to the scene, is already carving out a market share. As if that were not enough choice, Italian football fans can also watch matches via Alice, a telecom- munications company, and the internet. Each club has its own website, of course, although some are more sophisti- cated than others, depending on the size of the club. AC Milan‘s site is available in Italian, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chi- nese and Japanese. It shows numerous Belgium’s clubs are not the interviews with club officials and players. only ones to be happy about the new possibilities for Membership of the so-called Community broadcasting their matches. is free. Users can receive newsletters and access a blog as well as various other services. Milan uses the site as a link be- tween the club and its supporters. Photo News

9 Italy Romania Grigoriy Surkis, v Belarus (in white) chairman of the Futsal and in the are taking Beach Soccer Committee, qualifiers. part in their conducted the draw in Nyon first futsal for the Futsal World Cup. final round. FICG Keystone/EPA/T.Lombar UEFA-pjwoods.ch

Draw for the European Futsal Futsal World Cup On 18 September, UEFA’s head- quarters in Nyon hosted the draw Championship for the European qualifying com- petition for the 2008 FIFA World Final round in Porto Futsal Cup, to be held in Brazil. in November Europe can send five representa- tives to the tournament and 38 WHEN THE COMPETITION KICKED OFF, 36 TEAMS WERE DREAMING nations – a record number for OF LIFTING THE 2007 EUROPEAN FUTSAL CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY. AFTER THE any futsal competition involving PRELIMINARY AND QUALIFYING ROUNDS, ONLY EIGHT TEAMS STILL HAVE A national teams – are set to battle CHANCE OF FULFILLING THAT DREAM. it out for a place in the finals. They have been split into ten groups The final round of the fifth Romania (making their debut in the (two groups of three teams and edition of the European Futsal Cham- final round) and Portugal. Group B eight groups of four). This qualify- pionship will be held in Portugal contains the current holders and ing round will be played in mini- from 16 to 25 November. The for- 2001 winners, Spain, as well tournament form in February 2008 mer winners of the competition as Russia (winners in 1999), and the ten group winners will con- (Spain, Italy and Russia) will all be Serbia and Ukraine (finalists in test two-legged play-off matches; involved and they are also the only 2001 and 2003). the winners of these ties will qualify three teams to have participated All the matches will be for the finals. in all the final phases since the com- held at the Gondomar multi-sports This competition marks the inter- petition was launched. centre (except two matches on the national futsal debuts of Estonia Following the draw in May, last day of the group stage, which will Group A will be composed of Italy take place in Santo Tirso) and will be and Montenegro and the first time (2003 winners), the Czech Republic, broadcast live by TV channel Eurosport. England, Bulgaria, Malta and Turkey have entered a World Cup qualifying competition. The current world champions are Spain, who have won the last two Schedule editions (2000 and 2004). GROUP A Group 1: Russia, Serbia, France; 16.11 Czech Republic – Romania Group 2: Netherlands, Bosnia and 16.11 Portugal – Italy Herzegovina, Lithuania, Estonia; 18.11 Italy – Romania Group 3: Spain, Croatia, Georgia; 18.11 Portugal – Czech Republic 21.11 Romania – Portugal Group 4: Hungary, Poland, FYR 21.11 Italy – Czech Republic Macedonia, England; Group 5: Belgium, Belarus, GROUP B Romania, Montenegro; 17.11 Spain – Ukraine Group 6: Czech Republic, 17.11 Serbia – Russia Azerbaijan, Finland, Armenia; 19.11 Ukraine – Russia Group 7: Slovenia, Greece, Albania, 19.11 Spain – Serbia Malta; 21.11 Ukraine – Serbia Group 8: Italy, Andorra, Cyprus, 21.11 Russia – Spain Kazakhstan; Group 9: Portugal, Slovakia, Latvia, The semi-finals will be played on Friday 23 Novem- Turkey; ber; the final and third Group 10: Ukraine, Moldova, Israel, Bulgaria. Spain will be trying to retain place play-off will take place

the title they won in 2005. Keystone/EFE on 25 November. Mini-tournament hosts printed in bold.

10 uefadirect 11.07 Packie Dialogue Bonner, plays a Technical key role Director at coach of the education Football director Association symposiums. of Ireland.

head coach of the Under-21s, Stuart Symposium for Pearce, both of whom attended the symposium. English youngsters even have to compete with imported talent for access to youth academies. Hence Coach Education the conviction at The FA that the future hinges on the ability to produce well-coached talent in the critical age groups. Directors The participants saw evidence Quality rather than quantity that The FA is on the right track when they went to Wembley Stadium to watch COACHING STRUCTURES AND THE STATUS OF THE PROFESSION EMERGED training sessions involving three Totten- AS THE KEY FEATURES AT THE COACH EDUCATION DIRECTORS SYMPOSIUM STAGED ham Hotspur youth teams. But we must IN LONDON FROM 24 TO 26 SEPTEMBER. not give the impression that this was an all-English event. Willi Ruttensteiner It was the seventh event of down the menu, the introduction of reviewed youth structures within the its kind and a great deal has been the ‘A Youth’ licence was universally Austrian association, Per Omdal dropped achieved on the coaching front since welcomed as a good move and gener- into London en route from China to the first one was held in Nyon in June ated some interesting discussion on Istanbul (!) to present with passion and 1995 – not least the implantation of structures in youth coaching and the panache UEFA’s new football develop- the UEFA Coaching Convention, which best pathways between the different ment set-up, and the title “Coaching is now just a few weeks away from its coaching licences. on the Frontline” allowed Fabio Capello tenth anniversary. As the participants and Gérard Houllier to take the stage heard in London, there are currently 37 Hard competition and, in a week when four UEFA Cham- national associations entitled to issue Player development was a pions League coaches left their posts, full ‘Pro licences’; 9 to issue diplomas central theme in London – and one discuss the many qualities – apart from up to ‘A’ level; and a further 6 able which was close to the hearts of the coaching ability – that the frontline to award the ‘B’ licence. Montenegro, hosts. As Sir Trevor observed, only 37% technician requires if he is to success- UEFA’s newest national association, is a of the players who had started Premier fully do his job… and keep it. Hopefully, candidate to sign a convention which League matches that weekend were the coach education directors left has already reached a total of around English and there were not enough London with clearer ideas about how 160,000 UEFA-endorsed licences. Under-21s to form a team. This was to ‘teach the teachers’ and equip the But the symposium in London bad news to England’s national team modern-day coach for an increasingly was, by no means, a number-crunching manager, Steve McClaren, and the demanding job. exercise. Indeed, the emphasis was on quality rather than quantity – and there was certainly no shortage of quality in the impeccable organisation of a 170- person event by a strong FA team, captained by Chairman Geoffrey Thomp- son and Technical Director Sir Trevor Brooking. Incidentally, the participants were witnesses to a debut by Jean Michel Bénézet, who stepped on to the stage just after Geoffrey Thompson – and just before he officially took over Peter as FIFA’s new Technical Director. Sturgess As it happened, coaching from The Football licences were a topical issue in the Association English capital – which is why the press runs a practical conference featuring Sir Trevor, Howard session. Wilkinson, Gérard Houllier and Andy

Roxburgh ate up almost an hour of the Photos: Sportsfile opening-day lunch break. Further

11 Michel Platini The UEFA with the president Executive and honorary Committee president of the meeting Turkish Football in Istanbul. Federation, Haluk Ulusoy (left) and Senes Erzik, UEFA vice-president. Kilic/AFP/Getty Images TFF

will place the two top-ranked teams into Groups C and D, where they will Meetings and occupy first place. The ceremony will continue with the division of the four lowest- ranked teams (pot 4) into each group, other activities followed by the third pot and, finally, pot 2. Two balls will be drawn each Draws on the horizon time: one with the name of the team and the other with its place in the THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MET IN ISTANBUL ON 26 SEPTEMBER, group. Places in the group will deter- WITH UEFA PRESIDENT MICHEL PLATINI IN THE CHAIR. mine the order of fixtures, since the match schedule is already contained EURO 2008 is fast ap- For the draw in Lucerne, in the regulations. proaching. In less than 240 days, the which will form part of a programme first match will kick off in Basle; devoted to a celebration of football Draw for the 2010 World Cup before that, the finalists will be drawn and fair play, the Executive Committee Another draw will take place into four groups in Lucerne on 2 decided on the following procedure: a few days earlier, on 25 November, December. Switzerland and Austria, the two host in Durban, South Africa. This will deter- President of Euro 2008 SA associations, will occupy first position mine the qualifying groups for the and of the Austrian Football Associa- in Groups A and B respectively; the 2010 World Cup. While the formula tion, Friedrich Stickler gave the Execu- other teams will be divided into four for the European qualifying compe- tive Committee a detailed report on pots based on rankings obtained tition has already been decided (eight the work currently in progress, men- from their results in the qualifying groups of six teams and one of five, tioning, in particular, the inauguration competitions for the 2006 World Cup with 13 places for the group winners of the stadiums in Zurich and Klagen- and EURO 2008. If current European and the four winners of play-off furt in September. “As far as possi- champions Greece qualify, they will matches between the eight best run- ble,” he summed up, “the situation is automatically be allocated first posi- ners-up), it had not yet been deter- under control”. tion in these rankings. An initial draw mined what ranking system should be used for the draw. The Executive Committee decided to propose that Qualifiers end in November FIFA use the FIFA/Coca-Cola monthly The qualifying round for EURO 2008 will conclude on 21 rankings to determine the order of November. The top two in each of the seven groups will qualify the European teams. along with Switzerland and Austria, the two tournament hosts. The Executive Committee If two or more teams finish on the same number of points, the also welcomed the positive outcome competition rules will determine which team qualifies under of negotiations with the International the following criteria. To begin with, only the results of the matches between Federation of Professional Footballers’ the teams concerned are taken into consideration: Associations (FIFPro), which has cre- ated a European section as part of its a) highest number of points; recent restructuring. In the light of b) best goal difference; this change, it was necessary to review c) highest number of goals scored; the Memorandum of Understanding d) highest number of goals scored away from home; signed in 2005 (the new Memoran- dum of Understanding was signed on e) if, after applying these four criteria to several teams, two or more 11 October). of these teams still have an equal ranking, the same criteria a) to d) will be reapplied to these teams; Partnership with the Red Cross f) if teams are still equal, results of all group matches will be considered, At EURO 2004, UEFA invited with the following criteria: a charitable organisation to be asso- 1) best goals difference; ciated with its flagship competition for 2) most goals scored; national teams for the first time. The 3) most goals scored away from home; International Committee of the Red 4) fair play conduct; Cross (ICRC) was chosen on that occa- g) if the teams still cannot be separated, lots will be drawn. sion and, at the proposal of the new

12 uefadirect 11.07 The dates of The Executive the final round of Committee meeting the European in Istanbul was Under-21 Champ- an opportunity to ionship in 2009 sign the UEFA have been changed Grassroots Charter, to avoid a TV clash to which Turkey was

with the Confed- TFF admitted in April. erations Cup.

Organisational changes at UEFA Following changes to the UEFA Statutes and the introduction Action Images of new Organisational Regulations, the General Secretary of UEFA has introduced a number of changes to the organisation after an Fair Play and Social Responsibility Com- mittee, the Executive Committee decided internal review. in Istanbul to repeat the initiative at Markus Studer, for many years Deputy General Secretary and EURO 2008, once again with the ICRC. then Deputy CEO, left UEFA at the beginning of October after more The Executive Committee also than 18 years with the organisation, mainly in the legal field. allocated CHF 1 million to the Greek Foot- The new structure of the UEFA administration rests on three ball Association to help fund the recon- principles – football development, governance and revenue generation. struction of football infrastructures Apart from the General Secretary (David Taylor) and Deputy General damaged by the fires in Greece during Secretary (Gianni Infantino), the organisation is divided into eight divisions: the summer. Competitions (Giorgio Marchetti), Football Development (Andy Roxburgh), Communications (William Gaillard), National Associations (Jacob Erel), New dates for the Under-21s Finance (Hanspeter Jenni), Services (Jean-Paul Turrian), Marketing Although the final round of (Philippe Le Floc’h) and Commercial (Philippe Margraff). the European Under-21 Championship In addition, UEFA has two wholly-owned subsidiary companies has been moved from even to odd- – Euro 2008 SA (COO, Martin Kallen) and UEFA Media Technologies numbered years in order to emerge from (CEO, Alexandre Fourtoy). the shadow of the World Cup or Euro- The new structure will be fully operational from 1 November. pean Championship finals, there is still a risk that it will clash with the FIFA Confederations Cup every four years. qualifying groups of three or four teams ■ reasserted its firm determination to This will be the case in 2009, when the each and a final round with eight par- combat racism and all forms of dis- Confederations Cup is due to be played ticipants. According to the provisional crimination in football and urged ref- in South Africa from 14 to 28 June. requests for participation in this competi- erees and delegates to take action After FIFA published the tournament tion, 27 countries are expected to enter whenever this sort of offence occurred; schedule, the Executive Committee the first edition. ■ took note of a report summarising the decided to slightly amend the dates for first four seasons of the club licensing the Under-21 finals in Sweden. The tour- In brief system and the positive effects it had had (see pages 6-7); nament will start one day later than The Executive Committee: initially planned, i.e. 15 June, and finish ■ agreed to extend until the 2010/11 ■ fixed the dates and venues of its on Monday 29 June. season permission to organise the meetings for 2008/09: 29-30 January in Turning to futsal, the Executive “Royal Cup“, a cross-border competi- Zagreb, 27-28 March in Liechtenstein, Committee approved the regulations of tion involving clubs from Denmark, 22-23 May in Moscow, 25-26 Septem- the inaugural European Under-21 Futsal Norway and Sweden. ber in Bordeaux, 11-12 November in Tournament, which will involve seven Belgrade, 16-17 December in Nyon, 27-28 January at the venue of the 2009 The Executive Committee has been informed of the appoint- UEFA Congress (venue to be confirmed), ment of Jacques Lambert as 17-18 March in Bucharest, 12-13 May EURO 2012 Commissioner. This (to be confirmed) and 30 June-1 July is an important supervisory in Vilnius; role reflecting the political and ■ supported the principle of an insurance strategic challenges underlying fund in case of player injuries during the successful delivery of the EURO 2008, based on the model used EURO 2012 project. UEFA appre- by FIFA at the 2006 World Cup; ciates the support of the French Football Federation, who have ■ appointed Dane Jost, General Secretary agreed that Jacques Lambert of the Slovenian Football Association, can carry out this role on a part- Photo News as an internal auditor of the accounts, time basis, whilst continuing as The new Memorandum of Understanding replacing his compatriot Marko Ilesic, Chief Executive of the French with FIFPro was signed in Brussels in October. who had reached the end of his official Philippe Piat, president of FIFPro Division Football Federation. Europe, and Michel Platini shake hands. mandate;

13 Germany v Norway England in the semi-finals of the reached Women’s World Cup. the quarter- finals. Jin/AFP/Getty Images

Scoreboard for

Brown/AFP/Getty Images Brown/AFP/Getty national associations FIFA Women’s deciding factor in overcoming the One of the main objectives World Cup, Brazilians’ artistry, the winning goals of the UEFA HatTrick assistance were scored by three-times FIFA programme is to promote the China 2007: Germany world player of the year good management of the national champions again (52nd minute) and Simone Laudehr associations. Thanks to a 2-0 win over (86th minute). In the spring, Vienna Brazil in on 30 September, The fifth edition of the hosted a series of work- the German women’s side coached FIFA Women’s World Cup set new shops on the “Score- by became the first standards not only on the pitch, but board” system, which aims team to successfully defend the also where TV viewing figures and to strengthen the link Women’s World Cup. commercial exploitation are between long-term strategic planning and Player of the match was concerned, winning many new the day-to-day running of a national German goalkeeper , fans for women’s football. football association. who excelled with several spectacular A total of five European Following these workshops, saves, kept out a penalty by Brazilian teams took part in the final round a model scoreboard for national associa- Marta – the tournament’s best player in China. Sweden and Denmark tions was devised. For the associations, and top goalscorer – and did not were eliminated in the group it is not so much a case of drawing up concede a single goal in the phase, England lost to the an actual strategy as trying to improve whole tournament. In a hard- USA in the quarter-finals their everyday management processes. fought and enthralling final, and Norway were beaten The system requires the associations to in which the collective 3-0 by Germany in the define not only the improvements they strength and nous of semi-finals. are seeking, but also how they intend to the Germans was measure their progress. ultimately the It focuses on four main areas: Nadine Angerer, ■ members, i.e. the improvements that Germany’s invincible goalkeeper, more the association wishes to make to than earned the its relations with its members (clubs, right to hold up the world cup. regional leagues, etc.); ■ partners: how to improve relations with partners such as local commu- nities and sponsors; ■ processes that will enable them to achieve improvements in the two afo- rementioned areas; ■ people, i.e. managing the association’s human resources in order to achieve these improvements. For each of these areas, the association defines its own objectives and what it wants to measure, before identi- fying the actions it intends to implement. The national associations’ “scoreboard” helps associations to iden- tify actions that can be implemented immediately in their daily activities. It also provides a practical plan which can be easily communicated. In addition, it helps associations to focus their energy and resources in a single direction and is easy to use as it eliminates non-essential infor- mation and reduces the number of

Getty Images measures and actions to be implemented.

14 uefadirect 11.07 Left to right: Eddy Beckers, Managing Director of SO Belgium, Guido Kestens Vice-President of SO Belgium, and François De Keersmaecker, President of the Belgian FA, at the signature of the agreement between Special Olympics and the Belgian FA. SO Belgique

Support for Special Olympics Belgium News from At the beginning of September, Special Olympics and the Belgian Brussels Football Association (URBSFA) signed a cooperation agreement. By signing this charter, the two organisations agreed to promote the devel- UEFA, the European Com- opment of football for learning-disabled players throughout the country. The URBSFA mission and the Portuguese Presi- president, François De Keersmaecker, promised Special Olympics Belgium equipment, dency of the EU are organising infrastructure and promotional initiatives. Eddy Beckers, Managing Director of Special Olympics Belgium, expressed his hope that the charter would raise the profile of dis- a conference on violence in sport abled players and create more opportunities for them. in Brussels on 28 and 29 Novem- ber in an effort to find new ways of improving stadium security. Meridian Project: These experts have then Michel Platini, UEFA President, and developing passed on what they have learned at Franco Frattini, Vice-President a convention for five regional seminars held in Africa: of the European Commission, will African coaches in Congo-Brazzaville, Libya, Mali, participate in a joint press con- Namibia and Tanzania. For follow-up ference being held to conclude Over the past year, the purposes, UEFA sent one of its own the debates. Meridian project has been focusing experts to each of these seminars. on training in an effort to help All African national associations were Acts of violence are tarnishing young players to receive a better invited to send two of their repre- the image of football and turning football education. sentatives to one or other of these away a number of people who In order to reach all seminars. These representatives will think it is dangerous to go to a African national associ- now share the knowledge they have match. They also represent a sig- ations, a pyramid- acquired within their associations so nificant nuisance for people who shaped training struc- that, bit by bit, grassroots football in live near stadiums, who have to ture has been chosen: each country can develop in the light cope with a feeling of insecurity African coaching and refereeing of this expertise, with particular em- experts have been invited to Europe phasis on youth football. as well as the damage caused to to attend specialist courses or seminars While these seminars are their property by such incidents. run by UEFA. organised at national level, the African ➜ Football clubs themselves also suffer, since repeated acts of vio- lence reduce their income due to the resulting decline in atten- dances. With these thoughts in mind, the Commission, Parliament and Portuguese Presidency of the EU have joined forces with UEFA to organise a conference entitled “Towards an EU Strategy against Violence in Sport“. The aim of this conference, which will bring together all par- ties concerned by this issue (Euro- pean institutions, UEFA, sports organisations, national govern- ments, local authorities, law enforcement agencies, support- ers’ groups, clubs, etc.) is to share UEFA Back in Africa, the experts share what they learned in Europe. information and experiences, to ➜

15 The UEFA stand in Lille. ➜ raise awareness of the best prac- tices currently being used and to discuss the content of a Europe- wide initiative (whether police

training or a legislative measure) UEFA designed to promote peaceful sports events. Possible activities organised ➜ in partnership with national and football confederation (CAF), with tech- as their current and future activities. international political and sports nical support from UEFA, is endeav- The FIFA and IOC documentation bodies, as well as the development ouring to establish a convention for centres were represented, along with coaches, based on the Convention television companies and university of common standards, will also be on the Mutual Recognition of Coach- libraries. discussed. ing Qualifications which has been The meeting was a success, At the end of the debates, developed in Europe. with the creation of interest groups recommendations will be drafted in As soon as the African on audiovisual archive management, order to form the basis of a new, convention has been drafted and acquisition coordination and the cre- ambitious strategy involving all the approved, it will be gradually intro- ation of links between reference cata- stakeholders concerned. duced, starting with an initial phase logues. The IOC will host the network’s This conference is in keeping in five pilot national associations. next annual meeting. Meanwhile, with the policies of Michel Platini the UEFA Documentation Centre will continue to develop its cooperation who, since he was elected as UEFA Swiss sport with the network in all the fields it is president, has made the fight documentalists currently involved in within UEFA: against violence one of his priorities: visit UEFA documentation, archives and coop- “Violence of any kind has no place eration with universities. in football. We must not accept it On 20 September, the and must ensure it is eradicated”. UEFA Documentation Centre welcomed the members of the In view of the importance of Swiss network of sport documen- UEFA at “Football strengthening ways of fighting this talists in Nyon for their fifth Attitude 2007”: problem, UEFA strongly urges the annual meeting. marrying the stadium security officers of all the In plenary sessions and professional and national associations to attend the working group meetings, information amateur games conference in Brussels on 28 and experts from various sports organisa- The French city of Lille tions discussed their strategies as well 29 November. hosted its first football exhibition – Football Attitude 2007 – in Sep- tember. UEFA had its own stand, where it presented its activities. Using floor space of 2,000m2, tournaments between sponsors, jour- nalists, football legends and youngsters keen to share their passion for foot- ball were held over three consecutive days. With football, futsal, footvolley and even a virtual French football championship, the event attracted around 28,000 visitors, some of whom participated in the various interactive activities on offer. The exhibition also included an associations’ village with entertain- ment and educational events, under the patronage of former international referee Eric Poulat. UEFA‘s Anti-Doping Unit raised visitors’ awareness of the risks connected with drug use by encour- aging them to participate in a quiz

UEFA-pjwoods.ch prepared by WADA (World Anti-Dop- The documentalists at UEFA’s headquarters. ing Agency).

16 uefadirect 11.07 fromN memberEWS associations

main attractions for the numerous sports they are backing the national team. They AUSTRIA enthusiasts who came from all over the are the type of fans we need, fans that country to attend. will support us through thick and thin,” Martin Kallen, Chief Operating Offi- said the excited president. In the after- This year’s “Sports Day” cer of Euro 2008 SA, came from Nyon noon, Friedrich Stickler and tournament focuses on football to celebrate the Sports Day in Vienna’s directors Christian Schmölzer (Austria) On the Day of Sport, held on the last Heldenplatz and brought with him the and Christian Mutschler (Switzerland) weekend of September, the Austrian original European Championship trophy, drew the names of three winners of pairs Football Association (ÖFB), Austria’s four the famous Henri Delaunay cup, which of tickets for Austria’s group matches EURO 2008 host cities (Innsbruck, will be handed to the newly crowned next June. Klagenfurt, Salzburg and Vienna), Öster- European champions in the Ernst Happel Another highlight on the stage was reich Werbung and the Euroschools 2008 stadium on 29 June 2008. “This is a the reception granted to the EURO 2008 fair play project joined Euro 2008 SA unique event being staged here. Others delegation by Federal Chancellor Alfred at a special event held in Vienna’s would do well to follow this example,” Gusenbauer, who presented a magnifi- Heldenplatz. commented an impressed Kallen. cent cake with a EURO 2008 design The 11th edition of Austria’s largest ÖFB President Friedrich Stickler spent to Friedrich Stickler, Martin Kallen, open-air sports festival, organised by the the whole day in the Heldenplatz, rub- ÖFB team coach Josef Hickersberger Federal Chancellery, attracted more than bing shoulders with many fans. “It is and EURO 2008 ambassador Andreas 300,000 visitors, a record for this event. great that so many people have spoken Herzog. EURO 2008 was undoubtedly one of the to me positively today and told me that Stefan Illek

National Sports Day. BKA

The purpose of the competition AZERBAIJAN was to prepare for the World Disability BOSNIA AND Football Championship in Bulgaria in HERZEGOVINA November. Tournament for disabled players Teams from Ulduz, Shimshak, Umid FF BHZ mourns its president, The Association of Football Federa- and Zirve took part in the tournament, Milan Jelic tions of Azerbaijan (AFFA) organises from which Ulduz emerged victorious, Milan Jelic, president of the Football different tournaments to increase the winning all their matches in the process. Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina popularity of football in the country. It The AFFA plans to hold similar tour- (FF BHZ), suffered a severe heart attack also endeavours to develop alternative naments regularly in the future. on the last Sunday of September, after football and stages regular tourna- Mikayil Guliev his sports activities in Modrica. Although ments for this purpose. The Payiz he was immediately transferred to turniri (autumn tournament), organ- hospital in Doboj by helicopter, attempts ised by the AFFA for disabled players to revive him did not succeed. from 21 to 24 September, is one such Milan Jelic was born on 26 March competition. 1956 in Koprivina, near Modrica. He The speakers addressing the open- obtained a masters degree and doctor- ing ceremony praised the tournament ate in economics in Banja Luka. As for encouraging disabled people to feel a sports administrator, he was twice like full members of society. elected president of the FF BHZ. He was

The teams were supplied with foot- AFFA also president of the Football Asso- ball kits by the AFFA, which also The tournament helped disabled players to ciation of the Republic of Srpska. He appointed all the referees. feel that they are full members of society. achieved significant results, first and ➜

17 The Baltic League final is also ap- proaching, for which two Latvian first LATVIA division clubs have qualified – FK Ventspils and SK Liepajas Metalurgs. The

F.Krvavac FK Ventspils win Latvian Cup final is played over two legs, on 20 Oc- Michel Platini signs the book of condolences. The 70th Latvian Cup final was tober and 3 November, but these dates played on 30 September and for the may change because of the tough end- ➜ foremost, in terms of promoting foot- fifth time in a row the trophy went to of-season LMT Virsliga calendar. ball in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Kurzeme region, with the reigning Finally, the Latvian post office has contributed to the unification of foot- LMT Virsliga champions, FK Ventspils, given a great present to Latvian football ball at national level in 2002. Milan Jelic beating first division newcomers, youth to commemorate its centenary. For the was voted in as president of the club JFK Olimps, 3-0. For JFK Olimps, first time in its history, the post office Republic of Srpska at the last elections, reaching the final was already a great has issued a round stamp featuring a a position he still held at the time of his achievement and it would have been a footballer. sudden death. sensation had the result been different. Martins Hartmanis A memorial service was held in Sara- Both coaches and the media were sat- jevo, attended by the UEFA president, isfied with the match and the coaches Michel Platini, who signed the book of of the two finalists agreed that it had condolences. The service was also at- been a great performance. tended by members of the executive Since 2003, FK Ventspils have won committee of the FF BHZ, as well as the Latvian Cup four times, but in 2006 many other football administrators. The it was won by their neighbours Liepa- first vice-president of the FF BHZ, Iljo jas Metalurgs. Dominkovic, paid tribute to the person Now all eyes are on the LMT Virsliga, and work of Milan Jelic. in which, with four rounds remaining, ?■ National team football has dom- any of the top four clubs could still win inated the scene on the field of late. the title, with only five points separat-

However, it was not a very cheerful time ing the current leaders from the club LFF for Bosnian football. After three wins presently in fourth place. FKC Ventspils, winners of the Latvian Cup. in the spring in the EURO 2008 quali- fiers, the Bosnian national suffered two 1-0 defeats, first against Hungary in Szekesfeheravar and then against The old electronic scoreboard will Moldova in Sarajevo. soon be dismantled and another one The Under-21s got off to a good MALTA with better visual facilities is due to take start in their campaign to qualify for its place. Meanwhile, other facilities for the 2009 European Championship the spectators’ comfort and safety are finals in Sweden, beating Malta 4-0 in Sound investment being improved. Zenica, but, unfortunately, lost to 3-0 Aware that football can only prosper The very good crowd that watched to Romania in Ramnicu Valcea three when all its sectors are looked after Malta hold Turkey to a 2-2 home draw days later. according to pre-devised plans, the in a recent European Championship The Under-19s were heavily defeated Malta FA (MFA) is continuing to invest qualifying match could admire these up- in their first European qualifying match, in various areas. graded facilities in and around the sta- losing 8-1 to Germany in the tourna- Catering for grassroots football, up- dium. After all, these are mandatory ment in Moscow. Ivo Knezevic’s team grading the standard of coaches and amenities which UEFA calls for, espe- tried hard against Russia, losing only referees and attending to the needs of cially for international matches. 1-0 against the host nation, who the different categories of its national Alex Vella went on to win the group, ahead of teams and member clubs are among Germany. In their last match, Bosnia the association’s priorities. and Herzegovina achieved a 2-2 Improving football facilities is also on draw against Estonia and finished the MFA’s agenda of sound investment. the tournament in third place. Since the onus is on the Maltese asso- The Grbavica stadium in Sarajevo ciation to organise its own competi- and the Stamal arena in Kresevo hosted tions, which are primarily held at its own the Group 6 qualifying tournament in venues, it is constantly engaged in the European Women’s Under-19 enhancing its infrastructure. Championship. Under coach Samir The football complex at Ta’ Qali is the Hurem, the young Bosnians finished in main area of activity. After the installa- third place. They lost 2-0 to Denmark tion of the FIFA two-star artificial turf at and 6-0 to Belgium, but beat Latvia the Centenary Stadium last July, main- 2-1. First place went to Denmark, with tenance work at the national stadium D.Aquilina Belgium finishing in second place. included new fences along the main Malta celebrate their excellent result Fuad Krvavac stand to replace the old ones. against Turkey.

18 uefadirect 11.07 EWS from member associationsN

programmes. As a result, two training KNVB street football competition was fields at its technical centre in Vadul- an outstanding opportunity to form a lui-Voda have been equipped with team with a few friends. In view of the floodlighting. national recognition that the competi- The lighting systems were supplied tion has received in the last few years by the Dutch company Aerolux Inter- and the ambitions for the future, the national BV, whose supervisor, Jürgen KNVB aims to make the event larger Oortmann, travelled to Moldova to co- every year. ordinate the installation work carried Rob de Leede FMF out by the Moldovan company Mata- Floodlighting installed thanks to the HatTrick con-Lux. programme. The director of the FAM technical NORTHERN centre, Anatolie Motornii, was pleased to conclude that the work was com- IRELAND MOLDOVA pleted in line with the existing interna- tional standards, and he also highlighted The views of the new president the efficient cooperation between the In June, Raymond Kennedy became Better facilities for the two companies involved. “This is a valu- the new president of the Irish Football national teams able gift from UEFA to the FAM and, in Association (IFA). Born and bred in Col- The Football Association of Moldova particular, to our national team players, eraine, but now living in Limavady, he (FAM) is one of the first UEFA members who can now also train in the evening,” is a founder member of the Northern to have benefited from financial assis- he said. Ireland Milk Cup and a former Limavady tance from UEFA’s HatTrick investment Victor Daghi and Roe Valley player.

football club affiliated to the KNVB. NETHERLANDS After local and regional preliminary rounds, the winners of the KNVB com- petitions and the city competitions play Street football grows rapidly each other in the finals at district level. The start of the street football tour- The winners of these Under-13 and nament of the Football Association of Under-11 district finals go through in the Netherlands (KNVB) in October was the national final at what is arguably the the launch of the largest ever competi- best known square in the country, Dam tion of its kind in the Netherlands. Last Square in Amsterdam. year, 17,000 children took part in the The U9 competition concludes with tournament, twice that number of boys finals at regional level. The overall compe- IFA and girls are expected to compete in this tition is open to teams of five players, girls and/or boys. Mixed teams are Raymond Kennedy, President of the season’s four-a-side tournament. In the Irish Football Association. southern district of the KNVB alone, 250 teams more than last year had put their Raymond believes that these are ex- names down within days of the call for citing times for Northern Irish football entries opening. and is looking forward to focusing on a The growth in the number of com- number of areas during the coming petitors is due mainly to two new pos- year. “My main area of focus will be on sibilities created by the KNVB. First of the infrastructure of our senior and in- all, boys and girls in the Under-9 cate- ternational football scene. We need a gory are allowed to take part now as major investment into a lot of the well, which was not the case in the past. grounds, if not all of them,” he said. Secondly,14 cities throughout the coun- “Generally we want to make watch- try have agreed to organise KNVB street KNVB ing football a family event, but for this A four-a-side system ensures that every player football tournaments for children who is fully involved in the game. to happen at all clubs the facilities need have not yet joined a football club. The to be improved – the bottom line is we winners of the city competitions for allowed to compete in each age cate- need better facilities. And I think we Under-13s and Under-11s will join the gory. One of the five players serves as need more women and children com- regular KNVB street football competi- the substitute. Players can be substituted ing along to the games; but I would like tion at a later stage. at any time and as often as desired. to encourage families to attend the Consequently, the KNVB street foot- Football clubs used the first and last games and support their local team and ball competition is now open to all chil- Saturday of the autumn holiday to or- help create a family atmosphere to en- dren (boys and girls) under the age of ganise the preliminary rounds of the courage others to come along.” 13 nationwide for the first time, and KNVB street football competition for So how does the new president see they do not need to be a member of a their members. For most children, the the Irish FA moving forward? “I see it ➜

19 ➜ moving forward in a way that makes Football at the Football Association ■ providing a pathway and resources the association a slicker organisation,” of Norway. for developing coaching he said. “Before we maybe weren’t as It is up to the schools themselves ■ creating a support network of much business-orientated, but football how they want to organise the cup management structures and adminis- is also a business now and changes have competition. Some schools want tration been taking place in how the asso- to make it an integral part of the ■ maintaining and building strong ciation is run. school programme throughout the relationships with key stakeholders. “A game of football out on a field is whole school year, while others want Fran Whearty fine but there is a bit of business needed to arrange football matches against to put it there. If you go back to the other schools in order to build friend- millennium year there were all sorts of ship among children from different ROMANIA things done, such as the Millennium areas of the town. The only criterion is Stadium in Cardiff and the Dome in that the schools base their cup com- London, yet there was nothing done in petitions on football for all and the Course for referee observers Northern Ireland. This is one of the main values of fair play. Despite not hosting any mini-tour- things I will be chasing down the gov- Yngve Haavik nament this autumn, the Romanian FA ernment for in the near future.” still proved its organisational skills by Gareth Steen hosting – at the Intercontinental hotel REPUBLIC in Bucharest – an important UEFA ref- OF IRELAND eree observers course, part of UEFA’s HatTrick Education Programme. The NORWAY Football in Schools programme course, which took place on 4 and 5 The Football Association of Ireland October, was led by two members of 370 Fair Play Cups in schools (FAI), in conjunction with the Football the UEFA Referees Committee, Jaap Association of Ireland Schools, recently Uilenberg and Hugh Dallas, with Ken More than 370 primary schools in Ridden serving as technical adviser. Norway will organise Fair Play Cups dur- launched its plan to develop schools’ football. The participants did not spend all day ing this school year to put the spotlight in the classroom. In a very tight sched- on football for all and fair play. Launched by former Republic of Ireland star, Kenny Cunningham, the ule, they attended the UEFA Cup first- Football in Schools programme provides leg match between FC Rapid Bucuresti a clear guide on how to implement and FC Nürnberg on the first day, with football within the current education each of the ten participants being asked system. not simply to enjoy the match, but also The plan, which will operate in con- to complete a condensed version of the junction with the association’s technical UEFA referee observer’s report form. development plan, was formulated in The next morning, in an interactive consultation with the teachers who session based on the DVD of the match, currently run existing competitions the two members of the UEFA Referees and teams. Committee and the technical adviser discussed the key points of the match

YNGVE HAAVIK The aim of the Football in Schools with the participants and also conduct- programme is to increase the number Audun Fevik, Director of Grassroots ed a match analysis and discussions with of football participants in schools over Football at the Norwegian FA, is delighted at the team of referees – not with the how successful the Fair Play Cup has been. the next three years. This will be team who had officiated at the match, achieved by: but with meeting participants playing Together with the national lottery ■ increasing participation by providing the role of the referees. company, Norsk Tipping, the Football opportunities at an appropriate level At the end of the two-day meeting, Association of Norway has invited all ■ providing well structured age- all the UEFA referee observers and the primary schools in Norway to organise apropriate competitions a Fair Play Cup open to any school- members of the UEFA Referees Com- mittee stressed how useful this course children who want to take part and with had been, and also praised the facilities the focus on fair play and the values it provided by the Intercontinental hotel, represent. So far, 370 primary schools by the Romanian FA and by the host have signed up and more are expected club of the match, FC Rapid Bucuresti. to join in. The Romanian FA is totally commit- “I’m really pleased to see how much ted to being a very active part of the en- interest there is in combining football tire HatTrick programme, participating for all with proactive work against in the first HatTrick KISS (knowledge and bullying in schools. I think we have met information-sharing scenario) meeting a need, and I’m impressed by the in Nyon, as well as already confirming creativity the schools have shown its participation in the next seminars and when it comes to how they want to meetings to be organised this year and organise their cup competition,” says FAI in the years ahead. Audun Fevik, Director of Grassroots A schoolbook with a difference for Gaelic pupils. Paul Zaharia

20 uefadirect 11.07 EWS from member associationsN

Christian Karembeu keeps SERBIA goal against Zvezdan Terzic, President of First football fair the Serbian FA. From 14 to16 September, the LAV Football Fair took place in Belgrade. It was the first such fair in the history not FAS only of Serbia or the former Yugoslavia, but also of the whole of the Balkans. Super League clubs were represented, The fair was held in the new Belgrade together with clubs from lower divisions. TURKEY International Expocentre. The highlights were when FK Crvena The fair was opened by the former Zvezda and FK Partizan players and staff French international midfielder and visited the fair, drawing the crowds in. Grassroots festival in Istanbul 1998 World champion, Christian The stall of the FA of Serbia attracted A UEFA “A” licence refresher course Karembeu. “An event like this can the most visitors – more than 10,000 was organised at the national teams’ sometimes help the development of in all, who could buy national team Turkcell facilities in Riva Istanbul. The football more than great matches or shirts, souvenirs, articles for schoolboys, purpose of the course, which was at- players. It brings together the past and balls, etc. tended by 19 participants, was to train the future, and I am impressed with The draw for the first round of the the trainers, following on from the or- what I have seen here,” he said. LAV Cup was also held at the fair. Thirty- ganisation of UEFA “B” and “A” licence The fair was the idea of the Football two clubs went into the pot and are courses. Association of Serbia, which wanted to now competing for the domestic cup The national U17 team, coached by highlight all the different elements of and total prize money of EUR 250,000, Senol Ustaomer, won a friendly tourna- football in Serbia, as well as the past EUR 81,000 of which is reserved for the ment hosted by The Football Associa- achievements of the Serbian national eventual winners. tion in England, beating Italy 3-0, draw- team and clubs, their present situation “It was a great event, which, I be- ing 1-1 against the hosts and beating and their future prospects. lieve, will make our football much Northern Ireland 8-0. Thanks to their Thirty-nine organisations, clubs, and stronger, as it deserves,” said Zvezdan goal advantage, Turkey finished top of company marketing departments had Terzic, President of the FA of Serbia. the table, with seven points, ahead of stands at the fair, at which all Serbian Aleksandar Boskovic England. The first Istanbul grassroots football festival for disabled players was organ- ised by the Research & Development De- partment and Disability Coordination Committee of the Turkish Football As- sociation (TFF). TFF board members, TFF General Secretary Lutfi Aribogan, MPs, representatives of sponsors and famous singers attended the opening ceremo- ny of the two-day festival. They also saw the Turkey v Hungary EURO 2008 qual- ifying match.

Swiss Olympic The TFF has sold radio broadcasting The training camp for young Swiss expatriates. rights for the Turkcell Super League to Aged between 12 and 18, the young Alem FM for USD 3.5 million. The deal expatriates spent a week training hard permits live radio broadcasts of all Turk- SWITZERLAND and showing their undoubted footballing cell Super League matches during the skills to SFV coaches Pierluigi Tami, Win- 2007/08 season. fried Kurz, Bruno Quadri and Erich Bur- Ilker Ugur gener. SFV Technical Director Hansruedi Camp for Swiss expatriates Hasler was impressed by the ability level in Switzerland of the invited participants. “Every one of Thirty young Swiss expatriates at- the players who came to Ticino merited tended a week-long training camp in their invitation.“ Hasler was particularly Tenero (Ticino). They were invited to pleased “that we saw three or four play- Switzerland by the Swiss Football Asso- ers who undoubtedly have the talent to ciation (SFV), which is keen to find be selected for one of our junior teams”. young players with the ability to repre- Whether they will actually be selected sent Switzerland at junior level from will be decided by the SFV coaches after among the 200,000 or so youngsters they have fully evaluated the training who are growing up outside their coun- camp. TFF try of origin. Pierre Benoit The grassroots football festival in Istanbul.

21 EWS from member associationsN

UKRAINE

Start of a five-year renaissance Grygoriy Surkis has been re-elected president of the Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU) at the federation’s ninth congress, which was also attended by UEFA vice-president Senes Erzik. Surkis, 58, will begin his third term in office since being appointed to the top position in Ukrainian football in 2000. “With this vote, our team has become even stronger both in numbers and in quality,” said Surkis, whose coun- try will act as joint hosts of UEFA EURO 2012 alongside Poland. “This is no time for ceremony or speeches, however. I promise that all our efforts will be put into improving the infrastructure for EURO 2012.” The 137 delegates at the congress also elected a new FFU executive com- Aberystwyth Town’s players mittee, albeit with only minor changes. show racism the red card. Exceptionally, this term of office will last five years – until preparations for EURO

2012 have been completed. FAW “I have been heading the national been introduced for all Principality federation since 2000, and I have all the Welsh Premier League players for this grounds to speak about my team as a WALES season, the bulk of the cost of which real family,” said Surkis in praise of his is being underwritten by the Football new executive committee. “During the Campaign against racism Association of Wales. The club licens- three years that we were bidding for ing process has been extended this EURO 2012, these people all proved The Principality Building Society that if we really get down to something, Welsh Premier League has recently season to encompass a domestic we do it well. It is no surprise that many showed its support to the Football licence, and from the 2008/09 season, current FFU programmes, especially Against Racism in Europe (FARE) clubs failing to meet all the licensing Action Week at all league grounds. criteria will be subject to sanctions, Before kick-off at all league and which range from warnings and fines Loosemores League Cup matches to the possibility of exclusion from the played between 17 and 30 October, Welsh Premier League. Most clubs players from every club entered the field have made considerable progress in of play wearing Show Racism the Red all aspects of club licensing since its Card T-shirts. The players then lined up inception, but the introduction of in front of the main stand and displayed domestic licensing should ensure red cards promoting anti-racism to all uniform standards throughout the spectators. All match programmes in- 18 clubs. cluded a full page promoting football The FAW licensing department has against racism, using a poster which also organised regional workshops for was chosen in a schools competition or- the clubs, to improve their relations Pavlo Kubanov ganised by Show Racism the Red Card. with the media. The workshops were The Annual General Meeting of the association. The winner of the competition, Sophie very well attended and included a pres- Howard, was rewarded with a trip to entation by the FAW Media Officer, concerning children’s, youth and grass- the Nou Camp where she met Thierry Ceri Stennett. The FAW will issue a roots football, are considered in Europe Henry of Barcelona FC. This is the latest certificate of competence to all those as ‘Ukrainian miracles’. And we are that attended, which is a minimum ready to fulfil the goals of the prepara- initiative undertaken in partnership with requirement for club media officers tion period for EURO 2012 which, in Show Racism the Red Card and their within the UEFA and domestic licens- Ukraine, we have named the ‘five-year campaign officer in Wales, Sunil Patel. ing criteria. renaissance’.” As part of the UEFA club licensing Bogdan Buga scheme, cardiovascular screening has Andrew Howard

22 uefadirect 11.07 UEFA

New match agents

New UEFA match agent licences have been Communications granted to: Jose Manuel ESTÉLLER Birthdays – Calendar Marmella 12, A 1 08023 Barcelona Spain Tel. +34 639 30 25 14 Birthdays ● Marcos Del Cuadro (Switzerland, 26.11) Fax +34 93 241 21 43 ● Marios N. Lefkaritis (Cyprus, 28.11) [email protected] ● Ante Vucemilovic-Simunoviv (Croatia, 28.11) Armando GALLEGO Peter Gardiner (Scotland), a member of the ● Wolfgang Niersbach (Germany, 30.11) Avenida 303, 16, 2°1a circle of former committee members, celebrates his 80th birthday on 7 November. Match dele- 08860 Castelldefels gate Wolf-Günter Wiesel (Germany) is 60 on Upcoming events Spain 16 November, a milestone at which he is joined Tel. +34 93 636 2605 on 29 November by Marko Ilesic (Slovenia), a Meetings Mobile: +34 629 704 184 member of the circle of former committee mem- 5.11.2007, Nyon [email protected] bers. Last but not least, Willi Hink (Germany), Medical Committee Miguel Macedo AUGUSTO a member of the Grassroots Panel, turns 50 on 9 November. 6.11.2007, Nyon 10 SPORT Birthday greetings also go this month to: Futsal and Beach Soccer Committee Av. Praia Da Vitória, n°71, 5° B Stadium and Security Committee 1050-183 Lisbon ● Marc Batta (France, 1.11) Portugal ● Josef Krula (Czech Republic, 1.11) 7.11.2007, Nyon ● György Szilágyi (Hungary, 2.11) Referees Committee Tel. +351 21 330 3460 ● Francesco Bianchi (Switzerland, 2.11) Legal Committee Fax +351 21 330 3469 ● Gero Bisanz (Germany, 3.11) 8.11.2007, Nyon [email protected] ● Micky Zager (Israel, 4.11) National Team Competitions Committee Mark TAYLOR ● Lennart Johansson (Sweden, 5.11) HatTrick Committee PSC Ltd ● Fernand Meese (Belgium, 5.11) 9.11.2007, Nyon ● Unit 9, Lichfield Business Village, The Friary Mircea Pascu (Romania, 6.11) National Associations Committee Lichfield, Staffs, WS13 6QD ● Jean-Claude Jourquin (Belgium, 6.11) Development and Technical Assistance England ● Peter Westenthaler (Austria, 6.11) Committee ● Vladimir Badura (Slovakia, 7.11) Tel. +44 1543 308 646 ● Sergio Di Cesare (Italy, 8.11) 12.11.2007, Nyon Fax +44 1543 308 609 ● Rudolf Zavrl (Slovenia, 9.11) Professional Football Strategy Council [email protected] ● Jorge Perez Arias (Spain, 9.11) 25.11.2007, Durban, South Africa Gassan WAKED ● Draw for the qualifying round of the Theodore Giannikos (Greece, 9.11) [email protected] ● Sandor Barcs (Hungary, 10.11) 2010 World Cup ● Rolf Hediger (Switzerland, 10.11) 27.11.2007, Cannes In addition, the licence of Stefano PUCCI ● Marc Van Geersom (Belgium, 10.11) Elite Club Youth Coaches Forum (Italy) has been renewed. ● Frank Paauw (Netherlands, 10.11) ● Emilio Garcia Silvero (Spain, 10.11) 27-29.11.2007, Cannes ● Gerhard Kapl (Austria, 11.11) UEFA Elite Youth Football Conference New publication ● Uno Tutk (Estonia, 11.11) 28.11.2007, Cannes ● Antonio Silva Pereira (Portugal, 12.11) Draws for the elite rounds of the 2007/08 The European Football Yearbook ● Howard Wilkinson (England, 13.11) youth competitions (U19/U17) Mike Hammond’s yearbook has long ● Peter Rees (Wales, 15.11) 29.11.2007, Cannes been a source of information for football ● Jean Lemmer (Luxembourg, 15.11) Draws for the qualifying rounds of the 2008/09 fans, providing a comprehensive review ● Otto Demuth (Germany, 16.11) youth competitions (U19/U17) ● Susan Ann Hough (England, 16.11) of last season’s domestic and international ● 30.11-1.12.2007, Lucerne competitions, as well as club addresses Pablo Porta Bussoms (Spain, 17.11) Executive Committee ● Jan Fasung (Slovakia, 17.11) and a wealth of statistics. For the first ● Dumitru Mihalache (Romania, 18.11) Competitions time, this year’s edition has been published ● Knarik Abelyan (Armenia, 18.11) in cooperation with UEFA. ● Jacques Liénard (France, 19.11) 6/7.11.2007 (www.themagazinshop.com) ● Horst R. Schmidt (Germany, 19.11) UEFA Champions League: group matches ● Paolo Zeppilli (Italy, 19.11) (matchday 4) ● Petr Fousek (Czech Republic, 19.11) 8.11.2007 Obituary ● Katrin Riechert (Switzerland, 19.11) UEFA Cup: group matches (matchday 2) ● David H. Will (Scotland, 20.11) Milan Jelic, President of the Football ● 16-25.11.2007, Portugal Jean-Louis Piette (France, 20.11) European Futsal Championship final round Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ● Joeke de Jong (Netherlands, 21.11) ● Serghiy Storozhenko (Ukraine, 21.11) 27/28.11.2007 died suddenly on 30 September aged 51. ● Jyrki Filppu (Finland, 22.11) UEFA Champions League: group matches He was a member of UEFA’s Administra- ● Jonas Braga (Lithuania, 25.11) (matchday 5) tive Experts Panel and had recently ● Zbigniew Przesmycki (Poland, 26.11) 29.11.2007 been appointed vice-chairman of the ● Styrbjörn Oskarsson (Finland, 26.11) UEFA Cup: group matches (matchday 3) UEFA Legal Committee.

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: 12 October 2007 source is indicated. UEFA Route de Genève 46 Union des associations CH-1260 Nyon européennes de football Switzerland Phone +41 848 00 27 27 Fax +41 848 01 27 27 .com