35Th Ordinary UEFA Congress in Paris

No. 10 7 – 04/2011 35th Ordinary UEFA Congress in Paris

UEFADirect107EN.indd 1 13.04.11 14:38 2 In this issue

35th Ordinary UEFA Congress in Paris 4 On 22 March, national association delegates gathered in Paris for the annual Ordinary UEFA Congress, where they entrusted Michel Platini with another four-year term as president and held Executive Committee elections, resulting in three new members. UEFA

Executive Committee meeting 10 Before the congress, the Executive Committee met in the French capital, where further discussions were had on the need to preserve

the integrity of UEFA’s competitions. UEFA

A call to governments 12 The Professional Football Strategy Council Getty Images has called on governments to support football with regard to betting.

Finals just around the corner 14 It is that time of year again, when the WE CARE ABOUT FOOTBALL excitement starts to mount as the European Ofﬁ cial publication of the club competition ﬁ nals draw near. Union des associations Preparations are in full swing in London

européennes de football and Dublin, this year’s hosts. Getty Images Chief editor : André Vieli Produced by : News from member associations 17 Atema Communication SA, CH-1196 Gland Printing : Artgraphic Cavin SA, CH-1422 Grandson Editorial deadline : 8 April 2011 Supplement

The views expressed in signed articles are not necessarily the Medicine Matters takes a look at ACL injuries, ofﬁ cial views of UEFA. treating injuries with plasma injections, and hepatitis The reproduction of articles published in UEFA·direct is authorised, provided the source is indicated. in professional football.

UEFA Route de Genève 46 CH-1260 Nyon Switzerland Tel. +41 848 00 27 27 Fax +41 848 01 27 27 www.UEFA.com E-mail: [email protected] Cover

The magniﬁ cent Grand Palais in Paris was the setting for the 35th Ordinary UEFA Congress, where Michel Platini was re-elected as UEFA president by acclamation. Photo: Kovarik/AFP

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An exciting

landmark UEFA

he centralised marketing of matches is nothing new Last, but by no means least, this project has not been T in football and the system used in the UEFA Champions imposed from the top down; it is the result of consultation League has long served as a reference and model. It and a commitment to ongoing dialogue. is unanimously supported and clearly suits everyone involved. This is the approach I proposed when ﬁ rst elected UEFA president and the approach we have since Nevertheless, it was a bold idea to try to introduce adopted, together. the principle of centralised marketing for all European Championship and World Cup qualiﬁ ers. Every asso- Thank you to all of you for your continued faith in me. ciation has its own contracts and customs, the sporting value of teams is as varied as the size of domestic mar- kets, and national associations are not run along the same lines as clubs. Michel Platini That said, many associations believed in this project UEFA President from the start, and with enough conviction to gradually persuade the more sceptical. The Executive Committee has also given the project its full support and is ready to provide funds if required. Now, all 53 member associations have signed up. This is both a powerful signal of their desire to raise the status of national team football and an exemplary act of solidarity on the part of the larger associations.

At a practical level, it will no doubt be a relief for the associations not to have to worry about the media value of the opponents the draws throw at them and instead to be able to concentrate fully on sporting concerns.

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A new term of ofﬁ ce for Michel Platini

The 35th Ordinary UEFA Congress was held on 22 March at the Grand Palais in Paris, where Michel Platini obtained a new four-year term of ofﬁ ce as UEFA president and seven members were elected or re-elected to the Executive Committee.

t was by acclamation that the delegates from all presidents and general secretaries of our 53 member I53 UEFA member associations re-elected Michel Platini associations ever more infl uential (…). In short, together (France), the only candidate for the offi ce of UEFA presi- we have given back to our elected representatives the dent. power to initiate and lead UEFA’s sporting and strategic Earlier, in his opening speech, Michel Platini looked policies. You are once again the heart of our organisa- back over his fi rst four years at the UEFA helm, reviewing tion and its driving force.” his accomplishments according to the fi ve commitments The second commitment was to increase solidarity that he made during his electoral campaign in 2007. payments and exchanges between national associations, Regarding the fi rst commitment, which was to rein- a goal that was achieved thanks to various exchange force the legitimacy of UEFA representatives, Michel programmes and the development of the HatTrick pro- Platini emphasised that “Together we have enlarged gramme, as a result of which, “we have moved up (…) the Executive Committee and strengthened its powers from a total of €408 million redistributed to the federa- and scope (…). We have put the committees back at tions in the period from 2008 to 2012 to almost €500 the heart of our organisation (…). We have made the million for 2012–16.”

The Executive Committee during the congress

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Michel Platini addresses the delegates after his election

The third commitment was to guarantee the universal- The president set out the steps towards achieving this ity of competitions, which resulted, in particular, in the objective, starting with the centralised sale of the rights decision to increase the number of European Football to the qualifying matches of the national teams. “I am Championship fi nal round participants to 24 as from delighted to offi cially announce that, as of today, every- EURO 2016, the reform of the UEFA Champions League one, without exception, is on board. We have received access list and the transformation of the UEFA Cup into the signatures of all 53 national associations, marking the UEFA Europa League. the start of a great adventure.” Michel Platini also promised to re-establish unity Thanking those who had believed in the project from between football families, which led to the creation the start and those who have joined up since, the presi- of the Professional Football Strategy Council, where dent emphasised that “[It’s] a major endeavour which is all football families can have their voices heard. He also indicative (…) of UEFA’s new form of governance: also highlighted the excellent relations that UEFA now governance in which the new watchword is consulta- enjoys with FIFA: “We now work hand in hand with FIFA tion!” He also added: “Nothing will happen without in many areas, in particular to protect national associa- you! Because this UEFA is, above all, YOUR UEFA.” tions against any form of political interference.” Lastly, Michel Platini promised to work towards exempla- Formidable challenges rity in football, a commitment that was put into action with After mentioning the diffi cult challenge of organising the launch of the Respect campaign, an increase in socially EURO 2012, Michel Platini noted that: “Our role cannot responsible actions and the introduction of measures to be reduced to simply organising competitions. We are combat racism in stadiums and step up the fi ght against also, and above all, a governing body and a proactive doping. Falling into the same category are the initiatives to force.” combat corruption linked to betting, the strengthening and As such, UEFA is confronted with some formidable the improvement of relations with the European institutions challenges. Recalling that for the year 2009 alone and the launch of the fi nancial fair play project in club foot- Europe’s professional clubs accumulated losses of €1.2 ball. “Without your support (…), none of this would have billion, Michel Platini stressed that: “(…) there is a huge been possible”, Michel Platini concluded before turning to amount of money in football, but more importantly there is the future and setting out his objectives. a moral problem in the way this money is sometimes gen- erated and used… Financial fair play is a crucial project Objectives that will enable us to clean up certain practices within our The fi rst objective relates to national teams: “We have game. It will be implemented in full in the course of my to do our best to (…) increase the value of national teams. next term and we will apply the rules with the courage It’s up to us to get them back to where they belong.” and resolution for which UEFA should be known.”

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Appeal to the authorities Three new faces on the Executive Committee It is also on these two virtues that the UEFA presi- As well as the ofﬁ ce of president, also up for elec- dent is calling to combat violence in stadiums and fraud tion were seven seats on the Executive Committee, for linked to betting. However, these two scourges will take which 13 candidates were in the running. Just one of the more than courage and resolution to combat and can- outgoing members was standing down: Joseph Mifsud, not be beaten without the help of the political and state from Malta. authorities, whom the UEFA president urged to: “take Candidates needed 27 votes – an absolute majority the necessary steps. Every country should establish a of the 53 votes – to be elected in the ﬁ rst round, and six whole battery of legal measures enabling them to ban candidates achieved this. They were: hooligans from stadiums. Every country should appoint • Ángel María Villar Llona (outgoing member, Spain, a prosecutor in charge of illegal betting and corruption 47 votes) in sport. (…) every country should also clearly and fully • Senes Erzik (outgoing member, Turkey, 42 votes) recognise the European sports model.” • Peter Gilliéron (new, Switzerland, 40 votes) Moving on to make reference to the strategy meeting • Grigoriy Surkis (outgoing member, Ukraine, 38 votes) that will be held in Cyprus this autumn (see page 11), • Borislav Mihaylov (new, Bulgaria, 28 votes) Michel Platini emphasised that: “We can use the meet- • Sergey Fursenko (new, Russia, 27 votes) ing to shape the future of UEFA and European football. Everything is possible. But we must keep our faith and In the second round, a simple majority was enough to passion alive for the sake of the game, because at the be elected, allowing Mircea Sandu (Romania) to keep end of the day it is a game. At the same time, we must his seat with 15 votes. ensure that our action is always transparent, responsible, The other candidates were the two outgoing members open, exemplary and united.” Liutauras Varanaviˇcius (Lithuania) and Gilberto Madaíl

The new UEFA Executive Committee

Sergey Fursenko Photos: UEFA Borislav Mihaylov Peter Gilliéron Shortly after the congress, the Executive Committee met in its new composition for a brief inaugural meeting. The committee will be as follows for the next two years: President: Michel Platini (France); 1st vice-president: Senes Erzik (Turkey); 2nd vice-president: Geoffrey Thompson (England); 3rd vice-president: Ángel María Villar Llona (Spain); 4th vice-president: Marios N. Lefkaritis (Cyprus); 5th vice-president: Giancarlo Abete (Italy). Members: Sergey Fursenko (Russia), Peter Gilliéron (Switzerland), Allan Hansen (Denmark), František Laurinec (Slovakia), Avraham Luzon (Israel), Borislav Mihaylov (Bulgaria), Mircea Sandu (Romania), Grigoriy Surkis (Ukraine), Michael van Praag (Netherlands), and Theo Zwanziger (Germany).

UEFADirect107EN.indd 6 13.04.11 14:38 7 Two new honorary members

Following the Executive Committee’s recommendation, the congress named two new honorary members:

Joseph Mifsud, who has just left the Executive Committee, was elected to the committee at the 1994 UEFA Congress in

UEFA Vienna. He was a UEFA vice- The national association delegates president from 2009 to 2011, and served on the FIFA Execu- tive Committee from 1998 to (Portugal) as well as Ivan Hašek (Czech Republic), 2000 and as president of the François De Keersmaecker (Belgium), Grzegorz Lato Malta Football Association (Poland) and Norman Darmanin Demajo (Malta). from 1992 to 2010. FIFA Executive Committee elections also featured on UEFA the agenda. Ángel María Villar Llona kept his position as vice-president while Theo Zwanziger (Germany) won a seat as a member. There were no other candidates Antonio Matarrese spent 12 and both were therefore elected by acclamation. Theo years on the UEFA Execu- Zwanziger replaces Franz Beckenbauer, also from tive Committee. Elected at Germany, who did not run. the 1988 UEFA Congress in Michel Platini’s re-election as the president of UEFA Munich, he became a vice- meant that he automatically kept his position as vice- president in 1992 and held president of FIFA. ofﬁ ce until 2000, before The congress was also informed that the four British becoming a special adviser associations had entrusted Jim Boyce (Northern Ireland) to the committee from 2000 with the seat guaranteed to them by the FIFA statutes. He to 2002. He was also a FIFA will replace Geoffrey Thompson (England). vice-president from 1994 to 2002 and president of the Healthy ﬁ nances Italian Football Federation

Apart from the activity reports of the UEFA president UEFA from 1987 to 1996. and the Executive Committee as well as the UEFA administration (➜ UEFA.com), approved by the congress, the delegates heard, in the form of a video, reports on the In addition, the UEFA Order of Merit was presented to: activities of the 19 UEFA committees, as summarised • Jean-Pierre Escalettes (France) by their respective chairmen. • Ellert B. Schram (Iceland) Regarding fi nancial issues, the congress approved • Ralph Zloczower (Switzerland) the 2009/10 annual accounts and the budget for the 2011/12 fi nancial year. Marios N. Lefkaritis, chairman These three former presidents of national associations and of the Finance Committee, reported that UEFA’s fi nan- UEFA committee members received the UEFA Order of Merit cial situation was healthy, even though the past fi nancial in Ruby. year had ended with a loss of €66.4 million – less than the budgeted loss of €80 million. This was explained by The UEFA Order of Merit in Emerald was awarded posthu- the fact that UEFA had adopted a four-year cycle whose mously to former Slovakian international Ján Popluhár, who died fi nancial peak coincided with the European Football at the beginning of March. Championship fi nal round while the three other years were characterised by a negative result. The UEFA Congress also paid tribute to Franz Beckenbauer. For 2009/10, UEFA’s total revenue had reached Having reached the end of his term as European member of the €1,394.7 million, which had been used according to FIFA Executive Committee, the two-time winner of the World Cup the policy of redistribution (€960.2 million to participat- (the only European to have won it as both a player and a head ing teams) and solidarity (€237.9 million). ● coach) has chosen to devote more time to his family. ●

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Fernand speeches Duchaussoy, president Representatives of FIFA, other confederations, of the French honorary members of UEFA, members of the circle Football Federation of former UEFA committee members and other personalities from the worlds of football and politics, as well as representatives from the media, were invited to attend the congress alongside the national Fernand Duchaussoy, president of the French Foot- association delegates. ball Federation, emphasised the merits of the UEFA president, a man “who has a gift for succeeding Before the proceedings began, three speakers addressed in everything he does (…) and for turning his words the congress. into action.” He also recalled that UEFA had some of its roots in Paris, mentioning the pioneering role For the FIFA president, Joseph S. Blatter, meetings of Henri Delaunay and the role of France in creating the in Paris were always moving as it was in Paris, in 1998, UEFA competitions. He concluded by thanking UEFA that he had been elected president of world football’s for entrusting the French federation with the organisation of EURO 2016.

Joseph S. Blatter, Chantal FIFA president Jouanno, French sports minister

governing body. As always, he stressed in his message to the congress the importance of the European confederation in world football – highlighting the remarkable Chantal Jouanno, the French sports minister, came to success of European teams at the 2010 World Cup and read out a message from the French president, Nicolas thanking the confederation for its important contribution Sarkozy, who had been prevented from attending him- to the development of world football. “With UEFA,” he self by the current “immense international challenges”. added, “we have started work on a joint programme Through his sports minister, Nicolas Sarkozy said: to protect young footballers and club identities.” “You have chosen France to host and organise EURO On a more general topic, the FIFA president 2016, and France will live up to the trust you have appealed for solidarity among all leaders to ﬁ ght “all placed in it and make this European competition a the little devils that exist in the world” and prepare a world event. We will keep our promises. You can be better future for the next generation. sure of my personal commitment in this respect.”

Representatives of FIFA and its confederations Photos: UEFA

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The French president also applauded the measures can count on my full support to promote the human UEFA is taking to widen access to its club competitions, side and solidarity of football; football which is well- to promote fi nancial fair play and to fi ght corruption, regulated and free of irregularities; in other words, violence and racism, as well as to protect young foot- football which remains fi rst and foremost a sport, and, ballers. He concluded by saying, “You know that you moreover, a team sport.” ● Paris - from 1984 to 2011

Only one other ordinary UEFA Congress has been held in Paris: the 17th, which took place at the Hilton International hotel, situated not far from the Eiffel Tower, on 26 June 1984. It was attended by representatives of the 34 member associations of which UEFA was comprised at that time.

mong the numerous congress delegates who gath- and then on the Organizing Committee of the UEFA Club Aered in the French capital on 22 March this year, a Competitions”. Hungarian György Szilágyi, long-serving dozen had also attended the congress in Paris 27 years member of the Youth Committee, was also at the Paris ago. One such person was the new honorary member congress in 1984. “What I remember above all is how Joseph Mifsud, who remembers that: “It was the ﬁ rst time emotional Jacques Georges was after he was elected. that I had attended a UEFA Congress. I was vice-presi- He could hardly speak.” dent of the Malta Football Association at the time, and we made a proposal relating to disciplinary procedure. “It wasn’t accepted at the time, but it has since become well-established practice.” The ﬁ rst UEFA vice-president, Senes Erzik, was a member of the Turkish delegation: “I had already attended the 1978 congress in Istanbul as a member of the organising committee and I had also taken part in the Dresden Photos: UEFA

Gerhard Dušan Another election left its mark on Edgar Obertüfer, Aigner with Maravic, from Switzerland, who was for many years a pillar Lennart member of the Control and Disciplinary Committee. “That year, Johansson, of the circle who also of former the Swiss association put forward its president, Freddy attended UEFA Rumo, as a candidate instead of Lucien Schmidlin, the congress committee who was the UEFA treasurer; the congress made Lucien in 1984 as members Schmidlin an honorary member and our president was president of the Swedish brilliantly elected.” The same happy fate awaited the Football current president of the Swiss Football Association, Peter Association congress in 1982. I remember Jacques Georges being Gilliéron, this year. elected in Paris. He had already been acting president On the administrative side, the current honorary mem- since the death of Artemio Franchi. I was a member ber and former UEFA CEO Gerhard Aigner was also of the executive committee of the Turkish federation at present at the 1984 congress, as a head of department. the time.” “It was a special congress for our general secretary, Several of those who attended the 1984 congress Hans Bangerter. He had just turned 60 and celebrated are now loyal members of the circle of former UEFA 25 years at the head of the general secretariat. The committee members. Dušan Maravic, for example, who congress paid tribute to him and presented him with a was a representative of the Yugoslavian federation back painting by a Scottish artist.” in 1984, remembers that: “This congress was particu- As for the current UEFA president, Michel Platini, he larly emotional for me because I had played at Racing- was not at that congress. He was preparing for the ﬁ nal

Photos: UEFA Club de Paris for fi ve years. It was this congress that was of EURO ‘84, in which he captained France to glory the start of my career on UEFA committees, fi rst on the on home soil, and helped in no small way to secure Committee for Problems concerning Radio and Television France’s fi rst major title in international football. ●

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UEFADirect107EN.indd 9 13.04.11 14:38 EDITORIAL I MEETINGS I COURSES I COMPETITIONS I NEWS I ASSOCIATIONS I NOTICES 10 Executive Committee Nine European groups for the 2014 World Cup

With the UEFA president in the chair, the Executive Committee met in Paris on 20 and 21 March for what would be the last meeting for at least one of its members, the last elections having taken place two years ago, at the 2009 UEFA Congress in Copenhagen.

he recurrent themes of Executive Committee meetings measure the committee would like to see taken, as part T– preparations for EURO 2012, preserving the integ- of a wider policy of sharing information. Preventative rity of competitions, competition regulations and fi nancial measures go hand in hand with a policy of zero tolerance issues – also appeared on the agenda in Paris, along not only towards the actual culprits, but towards anyone with more specifi c issues. whose behaviour is in breach of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations. The life ban imposed on a Ukrainian referee Integrity offi cers (upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport) serves as an Regarding the protection of UEFA’s competitions in the example of UEFA’s determination in this area. face of illegal betting and associated corruption, the committee was given a report by a working party made up Equality in disciplinary measures of selected Executive Committee members and supported With regard to the competitions themselves, the Execu- the idea of creating a network of ‘integrity offi cers’ within tive Committee approved the regulations for the 2011/12 the national associations. The committee also declared UEFA Champions League, the 2011/12 UEFA Europa itself in favour of close cooperation with supranational League and the 2012 Super Cup. The modifi cations and state authorities, including the police and public include how to separate teams who are equal on points prosecutors. Collaboration with other international sports at the end of group matches (by taking into account the bodies who are confronted with similar problems is another number of goals scored in matches between the teams UEFA

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concerned), what happens if a club is disqualifi ed or withdraws from the competition before the end of the group stage (all their results and points are discounted), and what happens if a match has to be abandoned (in principle, only the time remaining is replayed). In disciplinary matters, single yellow cards and suspensions that are unspent at the end of the qualifying phase will not be carried forward to the group stage. This measure is intended to put the teams who take part in qualifying on an equal footing with those who enter the main competition directly. The Executive Committee also approved the 2011/12 UEFA Women’s Champions League regulations. The main modifi cation concerns the access list: the stage at which the clubs enter the competition will be determined by the national association’s UEFA ranking alone, and no longer by their position in their respective domestic leagues (winners or runners-up). On the topic of women’s football, the committee also approved a measure intended to protect the health of young players: from the 2012/13 season onwards, they will only be able to take part in one UEFA youth competition per qualifying round and only one national team fi nal round each season. UEFA After receiving Nine 2014 World Cup qualifying groups a photo album For the fi nal round of the 2014 World Cup, which 22 March 2012, for the fi rst time since the Turkish metropolis at the Execu- tive Committee will be played in Brazil, the FIFA Executive Committee hosted the European football governing body’s general meeting, Franz has allocated 13 places to European teams and invited meeting back in April 1978. Beckenbauer is the confederations to suggest the format of their respec- Before that, the Executive Committee will meet in Cyprus given another tive qualifying competitions. The UEFA Executive Commit- on 22 and 23 September this year, after a strategy meet- gift at the end of the congress tee declared itself in favour of using the same system for ing with the presidents and general secretaries of the the European qualifying competition as was used for the 53 national associations from 19 to 21 September, when 2010 World Cup, i.e. eight groups of six teams and one several fundamental topics will be discussed, such as group of fi ve, with the eight best runners-up competing the international match calendar, the future of the UEFA in play-offs to determine which four teams will accompany competitions and relations between different members the nine group winners to Brazil. The qualifying competition of the football family (leagues, clubs, the Professional Foot- should begin shortly after EURO 2012, i.e. in September, ball Strategy Council, etc.). and last until November 2013. This proposal will be sub- Finally, in light of the continued evolution of women’s mitted to FIFA for approval. football in Europe, where the number of registered members Another World Cup will already have taken place is growing constantly, the committee noted that women by then, namely the Futsal World Cup. The fi nal round remain underrepresented within governing bodies. will be played in Thailand in November 2012 and will On the initiative of the UEFA president, the Executive include 24 teams, instead of 20 as it was in 2008. Con- Committee therefore decided to take the symbolic step sequently, Europe will have one more representative than of appointing a woman as chairman of the Women’s Foot- before, giving it seven places in all. The Executive Committee ball Committee and inviting her to participate in Executive adopted the regulations for the qualifying competition in Committee meetings as of September. Paris. In principle, three rounds will be played: qualifi ers, a main round of mini-tournaments, and play-offs. ■ At the end of its meeting, the Executive Committee paid tribute to Joseph Mifsud, who had just taken part in The Executive Committee also approved: his last meeting after having served on the UEFA Executive Committee for 17 years, and as vice-president for the last • the Regulations of the UEFA Futsal Cup 2011/12; and two. The president gave him the symbolic key to UEFA • the new UEFA Anti-Doping Regulations, which come headquarters. Franz Beckenbauer, who is leaving the into force on 29 May. FIFA Executive Committee after a four-year term of offi ce, received a photo album documenting his long contribu- Next UEFA Congress in Istanbul tion to football as a token of UEFA’s gratitude. Both Joseph The Executive Committee decided that the 36th Mifsud and Franz Beckenbauer were also honoured the Ordinary UEFA Congress would be held in Istanbul on next day by the UEFA Congress (see page 7). ●

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During its meeting in Nyon on 10 March, the Professional Football Strategy Council reached a united position on the issue of betting and approved the following resolution.

The Professional Football Strategy Council: • recalls that such fi nancial compensation is also essential for funding grassroots football as well as fi ght- • resolves to further strengthen joint efforts to pre- ing match-fi xing and sports fraud; vent and combat match-fi xing, in line with the resolution against match fi xing adopted by the Professional Foot- • in line with recent initiatives of the European Commis- ball Strategy Council in Monaco on 27 August 2010; sion, European Parliament, Council of Europe and certain national authorities, urges political authorities to adopt con- • recalls that fi nancial solidarity depends on redis- crete national and/or Europe-wide legislation to address tribution of revenue from the commercial exploitation these matters and to ensure a fair fi nancial return to football. of top professional football to the grassroots; In addition to agreeing the above resolution, the PFSC • expresses concern at the growing unauthorised received an update on the QC Leisure case (regarding commercial use of football competitions for betting territorial exclusivity agreements on the broadcasting purposes; of matches) following the publication of the opinion of the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the • considers that competition organisers/clubs should European Union. The international match calendar was have the right, including intellectual property rights, to also addressed, as was youth development. Finally, the consent to their events being used by betting compa- PFSC discussed the next steps in the European social nies and that such companies should pay fair fi nancial dialogue, and in particular how to implement the mini- compensation; mum requirements for player contracts. ● Doping control offi cers’ annual seminar

UEFA’s doping control ofﬁ cers (DCOs) met on 31 March and 1 April for their annual seminar at the House of European Football in Nyon. The gathering highlighted their crucial contribution to the campaign against drug-taking in European football.

he DCOs perform in and out-of-competition controls Tin UEFA’s competitions, covering everything from the major club competitions to youth, women’s and futsal tournaments. The seminar focused, among other things, on preparations for doping controls at UEFA EURO 2012, an analy- sis of doping controls in 2009/10 and 2010/11, a preview of next season’s activities and a presentation of the 2011 UEFA Anti-Doping Regulations, which will come into force in May following their recent approval by the UEFA Executive Committee.

■ Demand for EURO 2012 tickets was tremendous, with no fewer than 12,149,425 applications received through the ticket portal on UEFA.com. Applications

UEFA came from 206 different countries, although the vast Dr Michel D’Hooghe, chairman of the Medical Committee, majority (88%) were from Poland and Ukraine. Draws addresses the doping control ofﬁ cers will be held to allocate the tickets. ●

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Meeting with supporter NEWS FROM BRUSSELS representatives EU action UEFA and European supporter representatives discussed current issues at their fourth annual meeting on on betting could 14 March at the House of European Football in Nyon. be on the cards The supporter representatives came from Football Sup- porters Europe, Supporters Direct Europe and the Centre Speaking at the UEFA Congress in Paris on for Access to Football in Europe. 22 March, the UEFA president named the Items discussed included disciplinary issues affecting fans, ticketing and security-related matters, fan embassy fi ght against match fi xing as one of the key and fan liaison questions, facilities for disabled fans and priorities for his second term in offi ce. the further reinforcement of the ongoing constructive dialogue between UEFA and supporter representatives. day later, some 250km northwest, The supporter groups presented their activities, as A in Brussels, the European Commission well as a number of proposals and recommendations for published its long-awaited paper on online further dialogue. UEFA emphasised its responsibilities in betting, including match fi xing. The Euro- relation to spectators attending matches and welcomed pean Commission Green Paper on On-line the support of supporter groups in the drive to eliminate Gambling in the Internal Market seeks to violence and racist conduct. establish whether the different national reg- “The fans are football people – they represent football’s identity, both at club and national team level,” ulatory models seen in the various member said the UEFA president, Michel Platini. “Supporters are states can continue to coexist and whether always there to follow their team through sunshine and EU action in this area is needed. showers, irrespective of whether the team is playing well or not.” The UEFA president pledged to consult the rel- The launch of this EU-level consultation is ● evant FSE representatives on UEFA matters. good news for sports competition organisers and the possibility of a common EU approach to betting is a very positive pros- Women’s futsal tournament pect for UEFA. The fi rst step in the fi ght in Ukraine against match fi xing is for all countries to recognise it as an illegal activity and make Thanks to the support of UEFA partners FARE and it a punishable offence. Creating a regu- the Never Again association, Chrzaszczyki of War- latory framework for online betting and saw, Poland, took part in the fourth Królowe Hali acknowledging the intellectual property (Queens of the Hall) futsal tournament, held in Lutsk, rights of sports event organisers are further western Ukraine, on Sunday 6 March. Besides steps on the road to combatting match Poland’s Chrzaszczyki, there were five teams from fi xing and ensuring fi nancial solidarity Ukraine and Russia: Legion (Lutsk), NRG (Kyiv), in European football. The commission’s OMEGA (St Petersburg), Krylia (Moscow) and Spar- tak (Briansk). The tournament was organised by the green paper calls for contributions and Regional Futsal Association of Volyn. views on all these points. Throughout the tournament, the atmosphere on the field and in the stands was very positive and Stakeholders, including sports organisa- the event provided an opportunity to discuss anti- tions such as UEFA, are invited to submit discrimination projects. ● their contributions to the debate by the end of July 2011. The initiative is spearheaded by Michel Barnier, France’s member of the European Commission, who is responsible for internal market policy. ● The Polish youth team at the tournament in Ukraine

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UEFADirect107EN.indd 13 13.04.11 14:38 EDITORIAL I MEETINGS I COURSES I COMPETITIONS I NEWS I ASSOCIATIONS I NOTICES 14 From Dublin to London More than ﬁ nals

The climax to the European club season is fast approaching, with the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Women’s Champions League ﬁ nals to be held in London on 28 and 26 May respectively, after Dublin has hosted the UEFA Europa League ﬁ nal on 18 May.

t is 19 years since Wembley Stadium last staged a Euro- Great memories Ipean champions’ competition fi nal, and the European From George Best’s brilliant solo effort in extra time club game will mark its return to London with a fl ourish. against SL Benfi ca in 1968 to the thunderous free-kick As UEFA hosts its fi rst fi nal in the new stadium, London will with which Ronald Koeman secured Barcelona their fi rst have its fi rst experience of the UEFA Champions Festival, European champions’ title, against UC Sampdoria in a week-long celebration of football in Hyde Park. 1992, the ‘home of football’ conjures up so many great memories and classic moments. No London side has ever won a Euro- Since then, of course, the venue has been entirely pean champions’ trophy, but the com- rebuilt. The old Wembley was pulled down in 2003 petition’s history is closely tied to the with the iconic twin towers replaced by a stunning arch British capital. Five previous finals have that reaches high above the stadium. The breathtaking been held at Wembley, with AC Milan new ground boasts a seated capacity of 90,000 and (1963), Manchester United FC (1968), opened for business in 2007. “The new Wembley is AFC Ajax (1971), Liverpool FC (1978) magnifi cent,” the 2011 UEFA Champions League fi nal and most recently FC Barcelona (1992) all claim- ambassador, Gary Lineker, said. “Players will still dream ing European club football’s greatest prize on the hal- of playing at Wembley and certainly they will dream lowed turf. of playing the UEFA Champions League fi nal at Wem- Getty Images

Wembley Stadium and its iconic arch

UEFADirect107EN.indd 14 13.04.11 14:38 bley. Walking up those steps to receive a trophy is just about as special a feeling as you can get.”

Women’s Champions League ﬁ nal Two nights before Wembley returns to centre stage, attention will be focused further south on the banks of the Thames, where Fulham FC’s Craven Cottage will stage the UEFA Women’s Champions League ﬁ nal. Until last year, when the competition was transformed from the UEFA Women’s Cup to the UEFA Women’s Champions

League, the showpiece had been played Getty Images over two legs, but the resounding suc- Dublin cess of the one-off fi nal in the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez Arena was in Getafe, where a crowd of 10,372 saw 1. FFC Turbine visit to the UEFA Champions Festival would be complete inaugurated Potsdam defeat Olympique Lyonnais on penalties, has without a photo with the trophy itself. at a friendly helped ensure the new format is here to stay. between the Republic Fulham’s quaint riverside ground is no longer a secret Grassroots Day of Ireland to fans of European football following the remarkable A major aim of the festival is to get children and com- and Argentina run of London’s oldest active professional football club to munities involved and the skills clinics provide a glimpse the UEFA Europa League fi nal last season. Designed by of the work that will be going on across the continent, the renowned stadium architect Archibald Leitch, Craven involving all 53 member associations, on Wednesday Cottage was built in 1905 and still boasts, in one cor- 25 May, the second annual UEFA Grassroots Day. Cre- ner, the famous cottage after which it is named. In the ated to encourage participation at all levels of the game style of traditional English grounds, the stands sit tight and to show that football is open to everyone, Grass- to the pitch and with a capacity of around 22,500 the roots Day is held in the week of the UEFA Champions atmosphere for the fi nal will be excellent if it comes any- League fi nal to also emphasise that the game cannot where close to matching that of Fulham’s UEFA Europa fl ourish at the highest levels without solid foundations at League nights last season. “It’s fantastic for women’s foot- the grassroots. To mark the excellent work being done ball in this country that the fi nal is being hosted in London to promote grassroots football across the continent, the and at Fulham,” England women’s manager and 2011 UEFA Grassroots Awards for outstanding achievement UEFA Women’s Champions League fi nal ambassador, will be announced by the UEFA technical director, Andy Hope Powell, said. “It will be a great occasion.” Roxburgh, in London that day.

A long week But fi rst, the spotlight will be on the For the second year, the UEFA Champions League fi nal Irish capital for the UEFA Europa will be played on a Saturday to give children and fami- League fi nal. The stunning new Dublin lies a greater chance to enjoy the show. It will be the Arena has been built on the site culmination of the week-long UEFA Champions Festival, of the old Lansdowne Road stadium which will bring the UEFA Champions League to the heart and its unique design, with a glass wall of London from Saturday 21 May to Saturday 28 May. behind the north stand, gives it person- Held at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park, it will allow ality and a stamp of originality. It will be the fi rst time a thousands of fans who might not have tickets to the main UEFA club fi nal has been played in the Republic of Ire- event at Wembley to still take part in the occasion. land and the event is a fi tting fi nale to a memorable fi rst Organised fan festivities have been a major part of the season at the 50,000 capacity stadium, which opened UEFA Champions League fi nal since the 2006 show- on 11 August 2010 when Ireland played Argentina in piece in Paris and they were taken to a new high last an international friendly. year with the introduction of the fi rst week-long festival Lansdowne Road was home to Ireland’s football and in the Parque del Retiro in Madrid. rugby union sides and many matches it hosted will go That proved a huge success with locals and travelling down in Irish history, not least the 2-0 win against Bul- fans alike, and there will again be something for every- garia in October 1987 which helped secure Ireland’s one in Hyde Park. Kids will be encouraged to take part place in the 1988 European Championship, the nation’s in skills clinics hosted by leading fi gures of the European fi rst major fi nals. The UEFA Europa League fi nal ambas- game and past masters will be on hand to show them sador, Ronnie Whelan, was in that side and is sure the how it is done in the all-star Ultimate Champions match. new stadium will also soon carve its own niche in history. Fans can fi nd out more about the history of the competi- “The stadium is brilliant,” he said. “It wouldn’t matter who tion in the Museum of Champions or relive some of its got through to the fi nal, even the biggest clubs in Europe: greatest moments in the Theatre of Champions. And no the stadium itself is fi t for a big, big fi nal.” �

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UEFADirect107EN.indd 15 13.04.11 14:38 EDITORIAL I MEETINGS I COURSES I COMPETITIONS I NEWS I ASSOCIATIONS I NOTICES 16 European Women’s Championship Seven qualifying groups for Women’s EURO 2013 The 2011–13 European Women’s Championship qualifying group stage draw was held at the House of European Football on 14 March.

hirty-eight teams (including the two group winners from the preliminary round, FYR Macedonia Tand Armenia) have been split into seven qualifying groups (three groups of six teams and four groups of fi ve). The seven group winners and the best runner-up will go straight to the fi nal round, while the other six runners-up will compete in play-off matches, the winners of which will also qualify for the fi nals. The qualifying matches will start in September 2011 and will last 12 months, after which the play-off matches will be played as home and away matches in October 2012. The fi nal round will take place in Sweden in July 2013. As hosts, Sweden qualify automatically.

Draw results European Under-17 Championship Group 1: Italy, Russia, Poland, Greece, FYR Macedonia, Spain knocked out Bosnia and Herzegovina* Group 2: Germany, Spain, in U17 elite round Switzerland, Romania, Turkey,

UEFA Kazakhstan England reaffi rmed their position as European U17 Group 3: Norway, Iceland, champions by again beating Spain, the 2010 runners-up, Belgium, Hungary, Northern 2-1 on the last day of their elite round mini-tournament. Swedish Ireland, Bulgaria international Group 4: France, Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Having notched up three victories, England Hedvig Lindahl Wales, Israel have secured their place in the U17 fi nal took part in the draw alongside Group 5: Finland, Ukraine, Belarus, Slovakia, Estonia round, taking place from 3 to 15 May Gianni Group 6: England, Netherlands, Slovenia, Serbia, in Serbia. The Czech Republic, the Neth- Infantino, Croatia erlands, Denmark, Germany, France and UEFA general Group 7: Denmark, Czech Republic, Austria, Portugal, Romania will also be competing alongside secretary Armenia. the hosts and the title holders. This will be the fi rst time * If the federation’s suspension is lifted. ● that Romania has taken part in a UEFA U17 fi nal round. The fi nal round draw took place on 5 April at Belgrade city hall and was conducted by Jim Boyce, fi rst vice-chair- Women’s Champions League man of the Youth and Amateur Football Committee, with the help of Vladimir Petrovic, former Serbian international Germany guaranteed and now coach of the Serbian national team. The draw produced the following groups: a place in Women’s Group A: Serbia, Denmark, France, England Champions League fi nal Group B: Germany, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Romania Novi Sad, Indjija, Smederevo and Belgrade will host For the fourth year running, Germany will be the 15 fi nal round matches. The fi nal itself will take place represented in the Women’s Champions League fi nal. on 15 May at the Karadjordje stadium in Novi Sad. Nine matches, including the semi-fi nals and fi nal, will be The title holders, 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam, broadcast by Eurosport. face FCR 2001 Duisbourg in the semi- This fi nal round will also determine which teams rep- fi nals, after they knocked out French team resent Europe at the FCF Juvisy Essonne and England’s Everton next U-17 World respectively. The two other semi-fi nalists Cup, which is tak- are 2010 fi nalists Olympique Lyonnais, ing place from 18 who put an end to the run of Russian team WFC Zvezda June to 10 July in 2005 Perm, and Arsenal LFC of England, who beat Mexico. The top Vogel/Bongarts/Getty Images Vogel/Bongarts/Getty Swedish team Linköpings FC. The fi nal will take place on Germany v Switzerland in the elite round three in each group 26 May at Fulham’s Craven Cottage stadium in London. ● of the European U17 Championship will earn a place. ●

UEFADirect107EN.indd 16 13.04.11 14:39 Albania 17 www.fshf.org

Football comes to schools Football in Albania may soon be a separate subject in schools. This has been confi rmed by a high-level meeting held Football will between the ministry of education and sci- soon be ence and the Albanian Football Associa- on the school tion (FShF). The FShF has been developing FSHF curriculum this idea for a long time and it is supported by UEFA and FIFA, the highest international the pair discussed the best ways to imple- Mr Duka guaranteed the support of the organisations in football. ment it in the specifi c context of the Alba- FShF, not only in supplying educational It was made clear at a recent meeting nian education system. materials but also in providing qualifi ed between the Albanian minister of educa- Mr Tafaj welcomed the project and personnel. tion and science, Myqerem Tafaj, and the ensured it would fi nd support in the near The introduction of football to the Alba- president of the FShF, Armand Duka, that future. He said that the national school nian school curriculum is a major step the Albanian state is interested in pushing system needed to support such initiatives forward in spreading this much-loved sport ahead with the initiative. At the meeting, to help education reach the highest levels. in the country. ● Press offi ce

Armenia www.ffa.am

Beginning of the new nian Premier League and the Armenian Meanwhile, Armenia’s women’s team season Cup. Eight teams – FC Pyunik, FC Banants, successfully completed the preliminary FC Ulysses, FC Mika, FC Impuls, FC Gand- round of the 2011–13 European Women’s March was marked by three interesting zasar, FC Shirak and FC Ararat – are com- Championship. In a mini-tournament in- events in Armenian football. Firstly, the peting in these competitions for the champi- volving Georgia, the Faroe Islands and new season got under way in the Arme- onship title and the cup. Cup matches are Malta, our team won ﬁ rst place. In the all knockout games, next qualifying round, Armenia will play while the champion- Denmark, the Czech Republic, Austria and ship is a round-robin Portugal. competition consist- And ﬁ nally, the main event of the month Member associations ing of four rounds. was the EURO 2012 qualifying group match between Armenia and Russia, which took place on 26 March at the Republican Stadium in Yerevan. The crowds in the stands emphasised the importance of this action-packed match. It ended in a 0-0 There was a good draw, but the fans out to support their team atmosphere at the were not disappointed. match between FFA Armenia and Russia ● Tigran Israelyan

Azerbaijan www.affa.az

Increase in registered observers and match delegates. The AFFA • players selected by AFFA scouts; members also registered staff from the clubs, the • contact details of football associations, regional football federations and its own local clubs and clubs in other countries; In 2009, the Association of Football Fed- administration. • statistics from all domestic leagues: erations of Azerbaijan (AFFA) announced a As of the start of the current season, teams, players, coaches (including age, new registration project. At that time there all participants in all tournaments have nationality, etc.). were only 1,320 players and coaches to undergo this registration process and The AFFA football family is now more regis tered in the AFFA database. receive a special licence. than 15,000 strong and growing daily. There are different reasons for the The AFFA database also contains: increase seen since the project got under • qualifi cations of coaches and other club staff; ● Elchin Mammadov way. The fi rst is the organisation of youth tournaments and different grassroots projects. For the last two seasons, the AFFA has organised new youth leagues, including U13 and U14 leagues and an U16 women’s league. The association has also organised different schools’ cups and football lessons in schools. The total number of youngsters involved in these projects over the last two years is over 6,500. The second factor is more extensive registration in different categories. When the AFFA fi rst started the project, it focused on players and coaches in the domestic professional and youth (U17 and U15) leagues. The next step was to implement the system in amateur football, futsal, women’s football and beach soccer, and to include referees, referee Membership is on the increase

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UEFADirect107EN.indd 17 13.04.11 14:39 EDITORIAL I MEETINGS I COURSES I COMPETITIONS I NEWS I ASSOCIATIONS I NOTICES 18 Belarus www.bff.by

FC Bobruichanka win women’s super cup On 26 March, the women’s super cup was played on the artifi cial pitch at the SOK Olim- piyskiy stadium. FC Bobruichanka, the winners of the national championship, played against the cup winners, Zorka-BDU, who also fi nished second in the championship. The teams had already met in the cup fi nal in November. It was a game of both youth and experience. Marina Lis, one of the most experienced players in the Zorka-BDU squad and the Belarus national team, was on the bench having ended BFF her playing career and become Zorka’s coach. Bobruichanka, winners of the women’s Super Cup Her successors defi nitely lacked her attacking experience during the match but both teams After 90 minutes the score was 0-0 and the So the second Belarusian super cup heads to clearly wanted to win the trophy, and as a game, just like in November, went to a penalty Bobruisk. result many players left the pitch only with the shoot-out. This time Bobruichanka got the upper assistance of their medical staff. hand and won 4-3. ● Yulia Zenkovich

England www.thefa.com

The excitement is growing on 28 May and the women’s fi nal at Fulham of the last six fi nals involving English clubs. FC’s Craven Cottage on 26 May is mounting While trying to remain impartial, we at The FA With less than two months to go until the every day. have our fi ngers crossed for another English culmination of the UEFA Champions League, It is a huge honour for everyone at The fi nalist this year! excitement about the men’s fi nal at Wembley Football Association to be hosting our friends We are also proud to be hosting the UEFA from UEFA and visitors from all over the world Women’s Champions League fi nal, formerly in May, particularly as it allows us to put the the UEFA Women’s Cup, which is now in its spotlight on Wembley Stadium, which was tenth season. It comes at a time when women’s built for historic occasions such as this. football in England is going from strength Finals are always one of the most exhilarating to strength, not least with the launch of the elements of sport and it is safe to say that a Women’s Super League. European fi nal in front of a capacity crowd at As previous hosts Madrid, Rome and Wembley will be a very special event, not only Moscow will no doubt confirm, the UEFA for those lucky enough to be in attendance, Champions League fi nal is a wonderful event, but also for the millions of people who will be not just for the host stadium but also the host watching around the world. city. Through the Champions Festival that will This will be the sixth European Cup fi nal to be be taking place over eight days in Hyde Park staged in London in the history of the competi- and the sight of the famous Wembley arch that tion, and the fi rst time since Wembley re-opened will be lit on 28 May for all of London to see, its doors in 2007 that we have been able to we believe that Londoners will be able to con- stage the fi nal of Europe’s premier football nect to this year’s fi nal like never before. The FA competition. Club football in England con- The Wembley logo tinues to be as strong as ever, with fi ve out ● Nick Meakin

Georgia www.gff.ge

Technical centre renovated Sichinava built two more football fi elds, completely renovated “My thanks to every single member of the the whole building and added an Georgian Football Federation staff, who have extra fl oor. He promised the GFF worked 24 hours a day to complete our train- that he would fi nish Basa before ing centre,” said Temuri Ketsbaia, Georgian their decisive match against national team coach, after their excellent Croatia, and therefore acted not match against Croatia (1-0) in Tbilisi on 26 only as supervisor of the con- March. struction process, but also as a Work on the Basa training centre (named worker himself, like all GFF staff. after Avtandil (Basa) Gogoberidze, a legen- He cleaned corridors, carried dary Dinamo Tbilisi player) was started ten furniture and helped to lay bricks, years ago by Merab Jordania, then president among other things. Thanks to of the Georgian Football Federation (GFF), such hard work before the game with investments from UEFA and FIFA. It was, against Croatia, the Georgian The Basa centre GFF however, never fi nished, and between 2005 national football team could train and 2009 Basa was completely destroyed. on the Basa pitch for the fi rst time It was only after the election in October 2009 in ten years. accommodation for 50, a swimming pool, rest of the new GFF president, Zviad Sichinava, The renovated training centre will be com- areas and a billiards table on fi ve hectares that a decision was taken to resume work on pleted by the end of 2011 and will include of land in total. the training ground, located on the western a fl oodlit stadium that can hold 3,000 specta- side of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. tors, two more pitches (one of them artifi cial), ● Tatia Burduli / Mamuka Kvaratskhelia

UEFADirect107EN.indd 18 13.04.11 14:39 Iceland 19 www.ksi.is

played two friendlies against teams that will also be among the eight fi nalists in Denmark this summer. First they travelled to Kyiv, where Ukraine beat Iceland 3-2. Four days later Ice- land played England in Preston for the fi rst time in this age group. Iceland won 2-1 after Eng- land had scored the fi rst goal. Both teams had key players missing but that gave others a chance to shine and push for a place in Den- mark next summer. ● Thorvaldur Ingimundarson

Latvia www.lff.lv

O!Karte Latvian youth football league This year’s Latvian youth championship will

KSI be called the O!Karte youth football league after the Latvian Football Federation (LFF) and The Icelandic U21s, ready for the fi nal round in Denmark Latvijas Mobilais Telefons (LMT), Latvia’s biggest mobile phone company, signed a sponsor- Early start in Iceland The Icelandic U21 men’s team have reached ship deal on 24 March. The O!Karte league the fi nals of the European Under-21 Champion- is a Latvian youth football championship that The start of the season in Iceland is just ship for the fi rst time in history. This year the will be played in nine age groups and involve around the corner and is unusually early this fi nals will be played in Denmark and have been year. The men’s top division, Úrvalsdeild, will met with huge interest from fans in Iceland, who start on 1 May this year. That is ten days ear- will go to Denmark in large numbers to cheer lier than usual, but a regular season in Iceland, on their boys. Iceland’s fi rst game will be on played in the summer, only has a time span 11 June and the tournament will end on 25 of 20 weeks. So, even though the groundsmen June. As a consequence of the number of at the clubs have to work overtime this year to players also playing in our top division, no get their grounds ready early, this is due to a domestic games will be scheduled between rather “positive problem”. these dates. This promising U21 team has

Kazakhstan www.kff.kz

President re-elected seen improvements in Kazakhstan football for new term together. Great work has been done to create a healthy environment for competition and, to The election congress of the Football Fed- a considerable degree, we have accomplished LFF eration of Kazakhstan (FFK) took place in this goal. Improvements have been seen in the The LFF general secretary, Janis Mezeckis Astana on 11 March. The main item on the championship, which has resulted in teams (right), and the LMT president, Juris Binde, agenda was the election of raising their game as well. We presenting the new youth league the FFK president and execu- should continue to work in this tive committee members. The area, but if we do not have 6,170 players from 331 teams and more than only candidate for the posi- spectators at our matches, we 60 clubs from all over Latvia, with more than tion of FFK president was can say that all our work is in 3,000 matches from April to November 2011. the outgoing president, Adil- vain. We who work in foot- In other news, the LFF has continued its UEFA bek Jaxybekov. The con- ball should all succeed in this HatTrick II programme by signing deals with gress delegates expressed direction. Currently, the per- councils in the Latvian cities of Daugavpils, their full support for Mr formance of our national team Rezekne, Preili and Ju-rmala. The LFF will Jaxybekov and elected him leaves much to be desired. This donate full-size artifi cial grass pitches for these for another four-year term. is connected to the develop- cities’ stadiums. Meanwhile, the fi rst football Besides the president, the ment of youth football. Much pitch sponsored by the UEFA HatTrick II pro- 14 FFK executive committee work is being done in this fi eld gramme will be opened in September at the members were also elected. in every region. Many aspects new Riga Technical University football centre. Following the congress, the are handled by the regions or On Thursday 31 March, the LFF held its FFK executive committee met by private investors. This means annual general meeting at the Islande hotel in for the fi rst time in its new that society as a whole is inter- Riga, where the LFF president, Guntis Indriksons, composition and re-elected KFF ested in football. We should the general secretary, Janis Mezeckis, and the Seilda Baishakov, Mikhail A new four-year term of offi ce involve the country’s youth and deputy general secretary, Edgars Pukinsks, Gurman and Viktor Katkov as for Adilbek Jaxybekov invest in football. We have presented the work done by the association vice-presidents. our own accomplishments, and in 2010. They also presented the delegates “On behalf of the executive committee mem- we have our own diffi culties as well. We are with plans for the years ahead, including the bers, I would like to express my gratitude to aware of them. We will do our best to resolve proposed restructuring and statute changes. all the federation members and congress del- them and to develop football in Kazakhstan. As usual, a UEFA representative was in attend- egates. The re-election of the president and the I look forward to further cooperation”, said the ance, this time in the form of UEFA Executive executive committee members for a new term is FFK president, Adilbek Jaxybekov. Committee member František Laurinec from a great responsibility for us. We have worked Slovakia. very closely for the last four years. We have ● Aleksander Keplin ● Media department

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UEFADirect107EN.indd 19 13.04.11 14:39 EDITORIAL I MEETINGS I COURSES I COMPETITIONS I NEWS I ASSOCIATIONS I NOTICES 20 Liechtenstein www.lfv.li

2011 annual general meeting The Liechtenstein Football Association (LFV) chairman, however, his position as held its annual general meeting in Triesen- marketing and communications director berg on 24 March. Besides the approval remains vacant for the time being, of the annual report and accounts, the agenda as the LFV is pursuing further, deeper included various elections. The meeting was cooperation with the clubs over the attended by high-ranking guests such as the next few months, which is likely to have president of the German Football Association, an impact on the composition of the Theo Zwanziger, and FIFA representative and board. Meanwhile, the LFV’s director former Swiss international Jean-Paul Brigger, of grassroots football, Heinz Biedermann, as well as representatives of the eastern Swiss LFV was re-elected. and Voralberg football associations. Both Theo From left to right: Heinz Biedermann, The LFV board is therefore now as fol- Zwanziger and Jean-Paul Brigger addressed Matthias Voigt, Reinhard Walser and Urs Gerner lows: president: Reinhard Walser (exist- the delegates, expressing their warm regard ing); vice-president: Matthias Voigt for the LFV and their recognition of its excel- tion of the association’s own technical centre. (new); director of fi nance, Urs Gerner (exist- lent work. The LFV president, Reinhard Walser, The routine LFV board elections resulted in just ing); director of elite football: Rudolf Marxer also reported on the work done, and on the one new name. Matthias Voigt was elected (existing); director of grassroots football: Heinz association’s vision and goals for the future. in place of former vice-president Fredi Hilti, Biedermann (existing); director of marketing/ He refl ected on the fi nancial success of the last who stood down after ten years on the board. communications: pending. 12 months and looked forward to keener pro- Georges Lüchinger also stepped down after motion of women’s football and the construc- fi ve years of service. At the request of the ● Anton Banzer

Malta Montenegro www.mfa.com.mt www.fscg.co.me

Physical trainer course ball complex, was intended to provide training New fl oodlights at Podgorica in the fi eld of specialised physical preparation stadium The technical centre of the Malta Football for footballers, with emphasis on top fi tness Association (MFA) recently organised a course levels. for prospective physical trainers in football. Lectures were given by several experts The course, held at the Ta’Qali national foot- in the fi eld, many of whom are of international repute. They included foreign speakers from Italy and England, with Maltese specialists completing the round-up. The association’s national teams sector, with Luca Pagani responsible for players’ fi tness training, is constantly engaged in this fi eld of activity and the response from prospective trainers in the Maltese islands is very encour- aging. This was in fact the second comprehensive course of its kind, after 13 candidates successfully completed the inaugural training last year. FSCG This initiative by the MFA has raised aware- The fl oodlit Podgorica stadium ness of the importance of footballers achieving optimal levels of fi tness in application of state- The national football teams of Montenegro D. Aquilina of-the-art science. and Uzbekistan were honoured to play the Luca Pagani, the kingpin of the course ● Alex Vella very fi rst game under the new fl oodlights at Podgorica stadium, Montenegro’s biggest stadium. Moldova The renovation of the fl oodlights, as well as the installation of an electricity generator and www.fmf.md emergency lighting, was carried out thanks to a $1m donation from UEFA and the technical A book for the 100th and business cooperation of the Football Asso- anniversary of Moldovan ciation of Montenegro and the capital city. football The new fl oodlights provide average illumi- nance of 1.839lx towards the fi xed cameras, To mark the centenary of Moldovan football, which is much higher than the UEFA standard Serghei Donets, president of the football history for category four stadiums. They provide 30% and statistics association, was commissioned more light than the previous fl oodlights, while by the Football Association of Moldova to pro- using 30% less power. duce a book about the history of Moldovan The new fl oodlights are another step towards football. our goal of completely renovating the stadium. Some 20 journalists and photographers This includes the construction of a new eastern

were involved in producing this 575-page FMF stand, which should be under way by the book, which includes 339 pages on the history end of the year, and the reconstruction and of Moldovan football, its most famous players, The book commemorating the improvement of the western stand. its leaders and its infrastructure – all beautifully centenary of Moldovan Football With a solid 1-0 win against Uzbekistan at illustrated, with lots of archived photos. There the Podgorica stadium, the Montenegrin team is also a detailed statistics section, containing national team, U21 team games, and all the extended their fabulous clean sheet to seven lists not only of competition winners, but also matches of the Moldovan clubs in European games (six of which they have won). of Moldova’s top scorers and players of the competitions. year as well as full statistics on the Moldovan ● Press ofﬁ ce ● Ivan Radovic

UEFADirect107EN.indd 20 13.04.11 14:39 Northern Ireland 21 www.irishfa.com

Exchange of experiences attended by nearly 80 referees and observers. Howard for taking the time to visit us. Obvi- The topics discussed were leadership skills, ously he is a very busy man and we value World Cup referee Howard Webb was a decision-making and confl ict management. this support. Our senior offi cials, development guest of the Irish FA recently when he paid Sports psychologists Dr John Kramer from group offi cials and referee academy group a short visit to Northern Ireland. He was the Queen’s University and Michael Austin and members all learnt a lot from his input.” chief guest at a development seminar in Belfast Martin Walker from Train Your Mind all deliv- ered excellent presentations, with Howard ● Sueann Harrison Webb using his personal experiences to illus- trate the theory. During his trip, Howard also visited the San Marino North East Ulster Referees Association, at which he spoke to over 100 members and took www.fsgc.sm them through his experiences at the World Cup fi nals in South Africa. He also took time out Visit from Giancarlo Abete to visit staff at the Irish FA headquarters. “It’s always a pleasure to visit Northern Ireland. There is great satisfaction in San Marino, fol- My fi rst visit here was to referee at the Bally- lowing confi rmation by Giancarlo Abete, UEFA mena schoolboys’ international tournament Executive Committee member and president and I have happy memories as this coincided of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), of the with the start of my international career,” excellent results achieved by the San Marino said Howard. “The world of refereeing has Football Federation (FSGC). His visit came a changed dramatically in the past ten years few days after the FSGC received UEFA’s club

IFA and it’s great to see the Irish FA providing their licensing quality seal: for the seventh consecu- offi cials with all this extra support.” tive year, the federation has successfully met Howard Webb (centre top) with referees Alan Snoddy, referee development offi cer the requirements of the club licensing system. from Northern Ireland for the Irish FA, added: “We are indebted to After bringing greetings from the UEFA president, Michel Platini, Giancarlo Abete participated in the FSGC’s general meeting. Republic of Ireland On the agenda were the approval of the fi nal budget and forecast, a report by the president, www.fai.ie Giorgio Crescentini, and the presentation of the FSGC’s fair play trophy to S.C. Faetano. Ireland’s top coaches great success as manager of the now defunct Giancarlo Abete confi rmed the great achieve- graduate to Pro licence Sporting Fingal, winning the FAI Ford Cup in ments of the FSGC, emphasising the good rela- 2009. tionship it had with the FIGC. The work done The next generation of top Irish coaches, The League of Ireland is also well repre- which includes some high-profi le personalities sented in the list of graduates, with Eddie from the game in Ireland and England, recently Gormley, folk hero at Bray Wanderers and received their UEFA Pro diplomas. St Patrick’s Athletic; Harry McCue, of Drogheda Five of them – Curtis Fleming, Jeff Kenna, United fame; Martin Russell, currently a con- John Devine, Kenny Cunningham and Liam tender for manager of the year for his role at Buckley – are former Republic of Ireland inter- UCD; Tommy Dunne, boss of Cork City; and nationals who bring to their coaching a total Paul Cook, the man who has transformed Sligo of 124 caps between them. Rovers into FAI Cup winners and one of the They also represent a wide range of top most attractive teams in the league. FSCG clubs, where the seeds for their interest in When men of this calibre are graduating the coaching side of football were no doubt from the FAI’s coaching courses, one can be sown. Fleming was a cult hero at St Patrick’s sure that the future of football in Ireland is in safe Giancarlo Abete Athletic and Middlesbrough; Kenna at South- hands. (left) presents the ampton, Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham The other recipients of diplomas are also high fair play trophy City; Devine at Arsenal and Norwich City; profi le. Steve Harrison is currently Coventry

to S.C. Faetano FSGC Cunningham at Millwall and Birmingham City; City’s caretaker manager and was previously and Buckley at Shamrock Rovers, Waregem, assistant manager at Middlesbrough and Eng- St Patrick’s Athletic and Sporting Fingal. land under Steve McClaren, while Michael in San Marino was assessed positively and Cunningham has moved into TV punditry with Browne works at the Aspire youth academy declared in line with UEFA’s objectives and pro- ease, Devine has just launched puresoccer.ie, in Qatar. grammes. In particular, credit was given to the a coaching website, and Liam Buckley enjoyed ● Fran Whearty federation’s attention to youth development and youth sectors, but another important point was infrastructure, an area in which the FSGC has invested a lot over the years, ensuring UEFA’s standards are met here too. Giancarlo Abete acknowledged the “quality” work done by the FSGC and its president, Giorgio Crescentini. He also mentioned how the relationship between the FSGC and the FIGC would continue to grow over time, in the spirit of teamwork within UEFA. The federations’ friendly relationship has been conﬁ rmed in recent years by Giancarlo Abete himself, whose latest visit was his fourth, following a ﬁ rst visit with the UEFA president, a visit to attend the inauguration of the reinforced natural grass pitch at the Stadio Olimpico in Serravalle, and a third visit for the renewal of the cooperation agreement between the neighbouring FAI federations. The new Pro coaches ● Elia Gorini

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UEFADirect107EN.indd 21 13.04.11 14:39 EDITORIAL I MEETINGS I COURSES I COMPETITIONS I NEWS I ASSOCIATIONS I NOTICES 22 Slovakia www.futbalsfz.sk

Best player in Slovakia in Slovakia). The woman footballer of the year awarded Ján Popluhár prize was Eva Kolenová and the best coach was Vladimír Weiss. The results of the 2010 Slovakian player of the A special prize was presented to Miroslav year poll were announced on Sunday 27 March Karhan, who is the ﬁ rst Slovakian footballer to at the PO Hviezdoslav city theatre in Bratislava. have played in more than 100 matches for the Marek Hamsík, the midﬁ elder from SSC Napoli, national team. A special honour was also pre- has kept his title from 2009 and Miroslav sented to Jozef Vengloš for his 75th birthday, Stoch has once more won the Peter Dubovsky which was in February. prize for best U21 footballer. Jozef Pavlík The prime minister of Slovakia, Iveta Radicová, Rene Miko has been awarded the title of best referee remembered Ján Popluhár in her speech at the The president of the Slovak Football Association, of 2010 and Robert Jez has been named best awards ceremony. Ján Popluhár was an excep- Ján Kovácik (with the UEFA Order of Merit) and player in the Corgon Liga (the highest league tional character in Slovakian and world football Iveta Radicová, the prime minister of Slovakia

who died in early March, and thus the player Sweden of the year award is named after him. The president of the Slovak Football Association, www.svenskfotboll.se Ján Kovácik, gave the legendary footballer’s family the Order of Merit in Emerald he received Lars-Åke Lagrell begins fi nal “I am honoured and privileged to have been from Michel Platini at the 35th UEFA Ordinary term as president elected for one more year, but as I declared Congress in Paris in March. earlier, it is in the best interests of both the FA and myself that I resign in 2012. And, ● Juraj Cˇurny of course, I will always be there to support Swedish football in the future.” Karl-Erik Nilsson (former FIFA referee and Turkey tournament director for the 2009 European Under-21 Championship final round) was www.tff.org elected as a new member of the board, replac- ing Gillis Persson, who decided not to stand Turkey to host FIFA for re-election. Kennet Håkansson and Jörgen U-20 World Cup 2013 Eriksson were both re-elected for two-year terms. Turkey has won the bid to host the biggest The meeting delegates also heard that the event in its history. In a media conference held economic result for the 2010 fi scal year was at FIFA headquarters in Zurich at the begin- SvFF SEK 10.3 million, while many other positive ning of March, the FIFA Executive Committee topics were discussed: the number of active announced that the 2013 U-20 World Cup A new and fi nal term of offi ce for players has increased for the eighth consecu- would be held in Turkey. Lars-Åke Lagrell tive year, a number of modern stadiums are Turkey outbid rival candidates Uzbekistan being built and excellent progress is being and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with The Swedish FA’s annual meeting unani- made in player development. Among the chal- a bid that proposed 10 cities (Antalya, mously re-elected Lars-Åke Lagrell as presi- lenges the Swedish FA hopes to meet this year Bursa, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Izmir, Kayseri, dent, but he announced that this, his 21st term, are improving attendance in the top leagues Manisa, Rize, Sanlıurfa, Trabzon) and 13 would be his last at the helm of the association. and qualifi cation for EURO 2012. stadiums which will put Turkey on the world The Swedish FA holds presidential elections football map. A fi nal decision on the host every year. ● Andreas Nilsson cities will be made after visits by FIFA offi cials. In a speech given after the announcement, the TFF vice-president, Lutfi Arıbogˇan, said: Switzerland ‘’We are honoured to be here today, winning the right to host the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup www.football.ch in Turkey. We are glad to see our six months of continuous efforts bear fruit. The president, U21 preparations running its performances on the pitch. “It is great to prime minister, sports minister, general direc- smoothly see that absolutely everyone is pulling in the torate of youth and sports, Turkey’s clubs and same direction,” said Tami after the ten-day also our government – from the ministries to The fi nal round of the European Under-21 training camp at the end of March. Captain, the municipalities of the candidate cities – all Championship will be held in Denmark in June, team leader and goalkeeper Yann Sommer has provided the support necessary to strengthen with Switzerland involved for the fi rst time since also been struck by the atmosphere among the our bid for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. We are their appearances in 2002 and 2004. Follow- players. grateful to them. We also thank our honorary ing a win and a draw in the play- In addition to the players in president, UEFA fi rst vice-president and FIFA offs against Sweden and some the current squad, fi ve talented Executive Committee member, Senes Erzik.’’ other outstanding performances, youngsters who recently played Lutfi Arıbogˇan emphasised that the tourna- expectations in and around the for the national A team – Affolter, ment, which will last for a month, will inject team coached by Pierluigi Tami Derdiyok, Gavranovic, Stocker around $300 million into the economy, adding are very high as the fi nal round and Shaqiri – and who all made that “this year’s U-20 World Cup in Colombia approaches. The positive impres- occasional appearances during provided 9,000 jobs, of which 2,900 were sions the team has been making the Under-21 qualifying competi- direct employment. We are sure that these for a long time were confi rmed at tion, are all still young enough fi gures will increase in our country.” their training camp in Qatar and to play in the fi nal round. The The FIFA U-20 World Cup is a chance for Saudi Arabia, with victories in both most experienced member of this the star players of the future to demonstrate practice matches, in which the whole group is Eren Derdiyok. The Bayer their skills on the world football stage for the squad took part. Leverkusen striker has already fi rst time. The tournament is also broadcast live Denmark, Iceland and Belarus ASF/SFV won 31 senior international caps, in many countries. The 2013 fi nals will be held will be Switzerland’s group oppo- Eren Derdiyok, in the having scored in his debut against in June, with teams from 24 different countries nents in Denmark – diffi cult but national A team but still England at Wembley Stadium in participating. beatable for a squad whose excel- young enough to play February 2008. lent team spirit is as impressive as for the U21s too ● Pierre Benoit ● Communications Department

UEFADirect107EN.indd 22 13.04.11 14:39 EDITORIAL I MEETINGS I COURSES I COMPETITIONS I NEWS I ASSOCIATIONS I NOTICES Birthdays, calendar, notices 23 Birthdays

atrick Daly (Republic of Ireland), referee Ainar Leppänen (Estonia, 24.5) Notices P observer, is celebrating his 70th birth- Packie Bonner (Republic of Ireland, 24.5) day on 28 May. Before that, on 8 May, Semen Andreev (Russia, 25.5) ■ On 1 April FIFA and UEFA suspended Marc Dobbeleir (Belgium), doping control Ivancica Sudac (Croatia, 25.5) the Bosnia and Herzegovina Football offi cer, is turning 60, as is Suheil Daood Evgeni Giner (Russia, 26.5) Federation (NFSBiH) until further notice (Israel), referee observer, on 25 May. On Barbara Straková (Czech Republic, 26.5) due to its refusal to adopt statutes that the same day, Hans Cooman (Belgium), Robert Jeurissen (Belgium, 27.5) conform to FIFA and UEFA’s recommenda- doping control offi cer, is 50. Zdenek Sivek (Czech Republic, 28.5) tions. This means that the NFSBiH loses all FIFA and UEFA membership rights. UEFA also extends birthday wishes for May to: Jim Stjerne Hansen (Denmark, 28.5) Jean-Pierre Escalettes (France, 29.5) NFSBiH representative and club teams Campbell Ogilvie (Scotland, 1.5) are no longer entitled to take part in Jacques Antenen (Switzerland, 29.5) Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark, 1.5) international competitions and NFSBiH Arnaldo Cunha (Portugal, 31.5) Ladislav Gádoši (Slovakia, 3.5) offi cials are no longer allowed to partici- Volydymyr Chorno-Ivanov (Ukraine, 3.5) pate in any international match or event Anghel Iordanescu (Romania, 4.5) until the suspension is lifted. Eleonora Gambillara (Switzerland, 4.5) ■ On 11 March Adilbek Jaxybekov was Peter Gilliéron (Switzerland, 5.5) Forthcoming re-elected as chairman of the Football Costakis Koutsokoumnis (Cyprus, 5.5) Federation of Kazakhstan for four years. Kenneth Ridden (England, 6.5) events ■ Lars-Åke Lagrell has been re-elected Guðmundur Pétursson (Iceland, 6.5) Meetings as chairman of the Swedish Football Stanislav Strapek (Slovakia, 6.5) Association for one year. Karl-Erik Nilsson (Sweden, 6.5) Pekka Luhtanen (Finland, 8.5) 9–11.5.2011, Nyon Michel Pralong (Switzerland, 8.5) Referee talents and mentors seminar Match agents Miroslav Tulinger (Czech Republic, 8.5) 11.5.2011, Braga Patrick Comninos (Greece, 8.5) Three new UEFA licences have been UEFA Regions’ Cup fi nal round draw awarded to the following agents: Ucha Ugulava (Georgia, 8.5) Armen Melikbekyan (Armenia, 10.5) 11–13.5.2011, Nyon Brian Horne Jean-Marie Gantenbein Course for women referees Sporting Events Limited 15/16 Shafers Arcade (Luxembourg, 11.5) 13.5.2011, Nyon Ernst-Peter Radziwill (Germany, 11.5) 677 High Road HatTrick Committee Benfl eet, Essex Timo Huttunen (Finland, 11.5) SS7 5SF, UK Henrik Ravnild (Denmark, 13.5) 25.5.2011, London Grassroots Day +44 7710 103 310 Mattia Piffaretti (Switzerland, 13.5) [email protected] Odile Lanceau (France, 14.5) 31.5–1.6.2011, Zurich Richard Ugoh Carlos Manuel Ferreira Matos FIFA Congress (Portugal, 14.5) 4 Francis Court 3 Myers Lane Hans-Jörg Eissmann (Germany, 15.5) Competitions New Cross, London Piotr Maranda (Poland, 15.5) SE14 5RU, UK Håkan Nyberg (Sweden, 15.5) +44 7534 171 633 Nikolay Levnikov (Russia, 15.5) 3/4.5.2011 [email protected] Evzen Amler (Czech Republic, 15.5) UEFA Champions League: semi-fi nals Angel Bungurov (FYR Macedonia, 16.5) (return legs) Heinrich Rosenauer SPI 2.0 GmbH Luboš Michel (Slovakia, 16.5) 3–15.5.2011, Serbia Sport for your identity Svein Johannessen (Norway, 17.5) UEFA European Under-17 Championship Rainerstrasse 15 Lars Appelqvist (Sweden, 18.5) fi nal round 4600 Wels Andreas Morisbak (Norway, 19.5) Austria Jozef Marko (Slovakia, 19.5) 5.5.2011 +43 664 284 15 99 Gaetano De Gabriele (Malta, 19.5) UEFA Europa League: semi-fi nals [email protected] Milovan Djukonovic (Montenegro, 19.5) (return legs) Rune Pedersen (Norway, 19.5) 18.5.2011, Dublin Raimondas Statkevicius (Lithuania, 19.5) Obituary UEFA Europa League: fi nal Michał Listkiewicz (Poland, 20.5) Serge Muhmenthaler (Switzerland, 20.5) 26.5.2011, London Michel Daphinoff, former assistant UEFA Ivan Simic (Slovenia, 20.5) UEFA Women’s Champions League: fi nal general secretary, died on 15 March at the age of 85. Having previously worked Miodrag Belodedici (Romania, 20.5) 28.5.2011, London in international relations at the Bulgarian Ewa Gajewska (Poland, 21.5) UEFA Champions League: fi nal Football Union, Michel Daphinoff joined Nicolai Cebotari (Moldova, 21.5) UEFA in May 1961 as assistant to the Costas Kapitanis (Cyprus, 21.5) 30.5–11.6.2011, Italy then general secretary. He was in charge Theo van Seggelen (Netherlands, 22.5) European Women’s Under-19 Championship of fi nancial matters until he retired Karl Dhont (Belgium, 22.5) fi nal round in December 1990.

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