JUMPING for JOY for JUMPING the TECHNICIAN Words of Wisdom from of Wisdom from Words Marcel Koller

No. 178

#EQUALGAME Promoting inclusion in Ukraine

WORLD CUP 14 European teams at the ready

Barcelona celebrate second Youth League title League Youth second celebrate Barcelona JUMPING FOR JOY FOR JUMPING THE TECHNICIAN Words of wisdom from of wisdom from Words Marcel Koller

No.178 • June 2018

EDITORIAL

NEW #EQUALGAME AWARD

hey say time flies when you are having professional player, male or female, who has fun, and this past European club been a role model in his or her community in Tcompetition season certainly glided by matters relating to the social responsibility so quickly that it is hard to believe it is all values of the campaign. Football is a force for coming to an end. Our elite competitions good, and players who take action and set have once again been at their best, with an example should be commended. plenty of thrilling twists and turns on the Of course, now the attention of most pitch, and goals scored at record pace! football fans around the globe will turn to As we approached the finals in Lyon and the World Cup, where 14 European teams Kyiv, it was easy to see why the UEFA will be competing. Considering that four of Champions League, the UEFA Europa League the last five World Cups have been won by and the UEFA Women’s Champions League European sides, I expect our representatives are now more popular than ever. to once again excel on Russian soil. I wish all Our youth competitions have also been of them the best of luck, and hope they can raising the bar to new levels. It was with provide their fans with plenty of thrills and great pleasure that I watched the top talents excitement. I am also confident that Russia go head to head in an exciting conclusion will host a memorable tournament, with a to another entertaining UEFA Youth League festive and safe atmosphere at all venues. season. This competition is going from I look forward to watching my fair share of strength to strength and, as I presented games, both in the stadiums and on TV. the trophy to FC Barcelona, I could tell how much it meant to each and every one of the young champions. All our club matches this past season featured branding for our new #EqualGame campaign. I believe this initiative, which promotes diversity, inclusion and accessibility, has been very successful, and I would like to announce that it has inspired the creation of a new award. Starting this summer, we will Aleksander Čeferin be presenting the #EqualGame Award to the UEFA President

UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 – 03 CONTENTS

Getty Images 30

Official publication of the Union of European Football Associations

Chief editor: Emmanuel Deconche

Deputy chief editor: Dominique Maurer

Chief writer: Mark Chaplin

External contributors:

Joseph Walker (pages 6-7) 16 UEFA Paul Saffer (pages 8-9) Ekaterina Grishenkova, RFU (pages 10-11) Julien Hernandez (pages 12-15) Laure James (page 26) IN THIS ISSUE Daniel Cade (page 27)

Translations: 6 Youth League 24 UEFA GROW UEFA Language Services FC Barcelona claim the trophy for the How to attract more players and retain Production: second time since 2014. them. Touchline

Printing: 8 Futsal Cup 30 The Technician Artgraphic Cavin, Inter FS set a record with their fifth win  Marcel Koller talks about his coaching CH-1422 Grandson in Zaragoza. philosophy.

Editorial deadline: 11 May 2018 10 World Cup 37 News from member European teams ready to shine in Russia. associations Cover photo: Getty Images 16 #EqualGame In Ukraine, Oleksandr uses football as an integration tool.

04 – UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 CONTENTS

10 AFP

6 Getty Images Sportsfile 8

UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 – 05 BARCELONA DO IT AGAIN

It was a case of back to the future for the 2017/18 UEFA Youth League finals at Colovray stadium from 20 to 23 April, as inaugural winners of five years ago Barcelona lifted their second Lennart Johansson Trophy in an enthralling weekend, emerging 3-0 victors over two-time champions Chelsea. Getty Images

he Catalan side were worthy winners, victorious on penalties after a rollercoaster with Porto’s Diogo Costa and Chelsea’s Jamie having conceded just one goal en route semi-final. Cumming both excelling. It was ultimately Tto the final four, impressively Cheered on by the local Portuguese Cumming who produced a remarkable­ – and eliminating Paris and Atlético Madrid in population, in addition to a few famous decisive – third save to send the 2015 and 2016 the knockout stages without conceding. faces in the stands, including Luís Figo, winners through. It was a tough blow for Porto, Barça and Chelsea, alongside FC Porto and Vítor Baía and Paolo Ferreira, João who would have been worthy finalists, though Manchester City, fought it out under glorious Brandão’s side came from behind to take Brandão feels the experience will see them springtime sunshine as a genuine festival of the lead just ten minutes before the final return stronger next year. football came to Nyon. Sell-out crowds, from whistle, but with a surprise in store. local schoolchildren to football fans of all Chelsea showed just why they are No fairytale comeback ages, were treated to three entertaining two-time champions of this competition, “The UEFA Youth League is very important games of the highest quality, with many a demonstrating real character as Joshua because it allows our players to experience ‘remember the name’ moment on display Grant equalised with just three minutes different styles of football and cultures,” from the youngsters. remaining to ensure those present would he said. “It also demands a higher standard, Friday’s first game saw highly fancied witness a first-ever penalty shootout at which obviously helps our players to grow Chelsea pushed all the way by debutants this stage of the finals. As ever with spot individually and as a team. We’ll be back; Porto, with the English side emerging kicks, the goalkeepers came to the fore, FC Porto always play to win.”

06 – UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 fairy-tale comebackforSimonDavies'team. nervy ending,thoughthere wastobeno game fiveminutesfroma timeensured distance before Nmecha'ssecondofthe substitute RabbiMatondofireda infrom put thetietobed. reduced totenmen–appeared tohave Alejandro Marqués –afterCityhadbeen just before half-time from Pérez and up andtwofurthergoalsinminutes Puig free-kick puttheCatalanside3-2 parity oneachoccasion.AwonderfulRicard Latibeaudiere andLukasNmecharestoring twice gaveBarça thelead,withJoel every­ genuine classicthathadjustabout saw Barça edgeoutManCity5-4ina Meanwhile, theday’s secondsemi-final onwards) in2017/18*. UEFA ChampionsLeague(group stage in boththeUEFA Youth Leagueandthe was encouragingthatnineplayers featured gap betweenyouthandseniorteams, it designedtohelpbridgethe tournament a defined purely intermsofmedals.In Success intheUEFA Youth Leagueisnot and Bridge betweenyouth Barcelona BinSpain’s second division. senior footballthisseason,playingfor Juan Mirandahaveallbeeninvolvedin Like midfielderRuiz,Marqués, Puigand Getty 19th birthdaythedaybefore thefinal. perfect gift forCollado,who celebratedhis Imagesit’s evenbetterif theycanwin,” hesaid. in asmanyofthesegamespossible,but the finals.It’s great forthem if theycanplay experience, bothinthegroup stageand them forthefirstteam. At theendofday,ouraimistoprepare andimprovement. to theplayers’learning this isveryimportantandcontributesalot García Pimienta. them; theythoroughly deserveit,”beamed the UEFA Youth LeagueandI’mthrilledfor these boys.Ithinkwe’re worthywinnersof effort tocompletea3-0win. the club–were followedbyalateAbelRuiz of thecompetitioninhisdebutseasonwith had scored inthequarters,semis A Marqués strikeineachhalf –meaninghe Barcelona dominatedChelseafrom theoff. for FranciscoGarcía Pimienta’s side,as The final was a less complicated affair The finalwasalesscomplicatedaffair However, theCitizensroared backas Getting their hands on the trophy was a Getting theirhandsonthetrophy wasa “That’s donebygettingthiskindof “Being abletotakepartineventslike “I’m delighted.Thesky’s thelimitfor thing. Carles Pérez and Alex Collado thing. CarlesPérez andAlexCollado senior teams

and final andfinal

Manchester City duo Phil Foden and Manchester CityduoPhilFodenand 2016/17 season. were represented –three more thaninthe inwhich43differenttournament countries youngsters. Theirtriumphconcludeda bode wellforhisgroup oftitle-winning Barcelona Binamovethatcanonly Pimienta hasbeennamedcoachof Since leadingBarcelona toglory,García and Wales. making hisseniordebutforbothChelsea a breakthrough seasonforthe17-year-old, that shouldnotdetractfrom whathasbeen might havemissedoutbecauseofinjurybut maiden UEFA Youth Leaguecampaign, seasons. Chelsea’s EthanAmpadu,alsoinhis push forafirstPortugueseLigatitleinfive his prominent role intheclub’s successful the semi-finalclashwithChelsea,given games, sowe’re doingourjob.” they’ve nowplayedinChampionsLeague City’s right reasons,” explainedJasonWilcox, competition. “They’re nothere, butforthe having madethree appearancesinthesenior Brahim Díazmissedthefinalsweekend, Referee: Andreas Ekberg (Sweden) Final Referee: FC City Manchester Referee: penalties on 5-4 win Chelsea Semi-finals RESULTS Chelsea FC Chelsea FC It is not only players making the step-up. It isnotonlyplayersmakingthestep-up. Likewise, Porto’s DiogoDalotmissed Getty Images a cademy director. “Thefactisthat

– 23 April 2018 April – 23 Aliyar Aghayev Aliyar (Azerbaijan) Srdjan Jovanovic (Serbia)

– 20 April 2018 – 20 April 0-3 2-2 Porto FC 4-5

FC Barcelona FC Barcelona

people as well as athletes. They learned about about people aswellathletes.Theylearned officer Pierluigi Collina,UEFA’s chiefrefereeing delivered byUEFA, includingonefrom Away from theturf, Off thepitch Dylan Vente (Feyenoord) Kazaiah Sterling(Tottenham Hotspur) Tyrell Malacia(Feyenoord) Khetag Khosonov(CSKAMoskva) Alexander Isak(Dortmund) Phil Foden(ManchesterCity) Brahim Díaz(ManchesterCity) Diogo Dalot(Porto) Fabrizio Caligara(Juventus) UEFA ChampionsLeague(groupstagetofinal) *Players inthe2017/18UEFA Youth Leagueand such joytostarsofthefuture. young spectatorsmayhopethatoneday Children on behalf oftheUEFA Foundation for permanent’ byputtingonafantasticshow old adagethat‘formistemporary,class and RaúlGonzálezproved the truthof childhood idolssuchasRonaldinho,Cafu (see page28).There theywatchedonas Match forSolidarityattheStadedeGenève have anothergoandbettereachother. be takenawaybytheircoachesaftertryingto Tension builtasbothsideseventuallyhadto ofthegoalwithin45seconds. four corners as manybouncingballspossibleintothe competitiveness, astheyattemptedtovolley technique andabilitywithfun took partinaskillschallengethatcombined on finalists alsoshared apost-matchdinner before thefinals get toknoweachotheroverabarbecue figures, andwere giventheopportunityto teamwork from someofthegame’s leading the importanceofrespect, dedicationand the ones bringing they themselveswillbetheonesbringing The participating teams also attended the The participatingteamsalsoattendedthe On theSaturday, morning the Monday. , designed to help them advance as , designedtohelpthemadvanceas and theUnitedNations.Those UEFA •June DIRECT kicked Abel RuizscoresBarcelona’s off, whilethetwo players satintalks third goalinthefinal. the finalists thefinalists 2018 2018

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07

INTER SET MORE RECORDS WITH FIFTH FUTSAL CUP TRIUMPH

In the last season before the competition is relaunched as the UEFA Futsal Champions League, Inter FS secured a record fifth UEFA Futsal Cup title with a typically dominant display in Zaragoza.

fter 17 seasons, the UEFA Futsal encounter 5-3 in front of a home crowd Cup will become the UEFA Futsal to go through to the semi-finals. Like the A Champions League in 2018/19. holders, Sporting and two-time champions And of those 17 competitions, Madrid’s FC Barcelona also progressed with a Inter – known as Boomerang Interviú in the maximum nine points. The identity of early years – have now won five, or three the fourth semi-finalists, however, was more than anyone else. a big shock. They secured that record-breaking fifth Győri ETO FC are elite-round regulars title with a 5-2 victory over Sporting Clube but, having lost their first two main-round de Portugal (whom they had beaten 7-0 in games 7-0 to Barcelona and 5-0 to Sportsfile last year’s final in Almaty), becoming only Luparense C/5 before scraping through to the second team ever to retain the Futsal the next round, their chances of making it Cup, after compatriots Playas de Castellón any further seemed slim. Indeed, despite before securing a shock 6-4 victory over FS, who triumphed in both 2001/02 and hosting their elite-round group, they then Luparense to become Hungary’s first-ever 2002/03. Coincidentally, both of those final lost 3-2 to FC Stalitsa Minsk in their semi-­finalists – a major triumph for coach wins also came against the same club – opening match. However, Győr then Javi Rodríguez (a three-time Futsal Cup Action 21 Charleroi. defeated Ukraine’s Kherson 3-2, with two winner as a player), who had joined the Although the competition will not goals in the last two minutes (with the club just before their European campaign actually be rebranded until next season, winner coming just five seconds from time), started. its format changed this season in preparation for that relaunch. Final tournament in Spain For the first time, three countries were With two Spanish representatives, the RESULTS guaranteed two representatives – then previous practice of awarding hosting rights three became four when holders Inter to a single club was shelved, with Zaragoza Semi-finals – 20 April 2018 also qualified as national champions. Győri ETO FC 1-6 Sporting Clube de Portugal – neatly positioned halfway between Consequently, Spain, Portugal, Russia and Referees: Ondřej Černý (Czech Republic) / Barcelona and Madrid – staging the final Italy were each represented by two clubs. Angelo Galante (Italy) tournament. The Pabellón Príncipe Felipe All in all, a record 56 clubs entered from was close to its 10,700 capacity on both 52 associations, including Northern Irish Inter FS 2-1 FC Barcelona nights and produced a superb atmosphere. debutants Belfast United FC. Referees: Bogdan Sorescu (Romania) / Having seen top scorer Fábio Aguiar Saša Tomić (Croatia) In a further change, the top four seeds depart for his native Portugal after the entered the competition in the main round, elite round, Győr always faced a tough task rather than being given byes straight to the Third-place play-off – 22 April 2018 in the finals, with Rodríguez pointing out elite-round stage. Nevertheless, most of the Győri ETO FC 1-7 FC Barcelona that the highest-paid player at each of leading contenders still made it through to Referees: Ondřej Černý (Czech Republic) / their three rivals probably earned more the elite round, with the exception of Angelo Galante (Italy) than his entire squad combined. The draw six-time finalists FC Dynamo of Russia, for the final tournament, which took place who lost all three of their main round Final – 22 April 2018 at Camp Nou at half-time in the UEFA games. Sporting Clube de Portugal 2-5 Inter FS Champions League match between In the elite round, Inter faced two-time Referees: Bogdan Sorescu (Romania) / Barcelona and Chelsea, pitted his side winners Kairat Almaty in Group D, with Saša Tomić (Croatia) against Sporting, and by half-time in that the Spanish side winning the deciding first semi-final, the Portuguese side were

08 – UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 through. Inter thengotbackontopafter half wore on,butcould notfindaway inaDanielShiraishifree-kick.– turned veteran oftheir2009and2017triumphs and inthefourthminute,captain Ortiz–a spectacular skill.Intergotontop earlyon, passion andhard challenges,aswell was playedatablisteringpace,fullof draws intheirprevious three meetings. years andplayedoutthree high-scoring dominated thedomesticsceneinrecent and Barcelona, whobetween themhave all-Spanish showdownbetweenInter Gettysemi-final nightwasfocusedonthe Imageslast year. had beenrunners-upbothin2011and their firstoutsideAlmaty,where they progressing totheirthird final–and Sporting ultimatelyprevailed 6-1, Győr ralliedinthesecondhalf, but their handsonsilverware inLjubljana). André SousaandPanyVarela allgetting fellow LionsPedro Cary,JoãoMatos, EURO 2018triumphthrough injury,with having missedoutonPortugal’s Futsal who waskeentosecure aEuropean title, 5-0 up(includingtwogoalsforCardinal, Barcelona warmedtotheirtaskasthe They didnotdisappoint.Thematch However, mostoftheattentionon

man ofthematch.Atsametime, the club’s footballteamandwasnamed who usedtobethereserve goalkeeperfor Hungarian goalkeeper, Marcell Alasztics, been more too,haditnotbeenforthe to a7-1victoryoverGyőr. Itwouldhave with third place,whichtheysecured thanks his oldrivalsfrom hisdayswithSLBenfica. semi-final, hewasoninspired formagainst though, hehiditwell.Indeed,asinthe months earlier. Ifthatwasthecase, Portugal’s FutsalEUROfinalwintwo from aseriousinjurysuffered during 80%” asOMágicocontinuedhisrecovery Inter’s starplayer, Ricardinho, was“onlyat ominous. According tocoachJesúsVelasco, earlier? From theoff, thesignswere had intheir7-0finaldefeat12months Sporting getanyclosertoInterthanthey But nowthequestioncame–could A SportingvInterfinal set in2015withISKDinaMoskva. equalling arecord thathehimself had tallytofourgoals, his finaltournament Esquerdinha, whosehat-trickbrought that award couldeasilyhavegoneto twice achievedbyDynamo. into theirthird straightfinal,equallingafeat Inter’s semi-finalmatchwinner. Interwere second yearrunningOrtizproved tobe Barcelona gaveeverything,butforthe afterwards, though,Ortizstruckagain. equaliser toEsquerdinha. Notlong the break –onlytoconcedea29thminute

Sportsfile Barcelona hadtoconsolethemselves

for Inter. from insidehisownhalf toseala5-2win Pola rolled theballintoanunguarded net pushing butthen,inthedyingseconds, Diogo pulledoneback.Sportingkept just overthree minutesremained when kept themselvesincontention,butonly piled onthegoals.Thistime,Sporting 2017, Sportingwentforbroke andInter – madeit4-1. missed thesemi-finalbecauseoftonsillitis early inthesecondhalf Rafael–whohad Elisandro thenscored Inter’s third, and Esquerdinha intheprevious match. ments –equallingtherecord setby ­ eight goalsinFutsalCupfinaltourna strike. Thatmovedhimontoatotalof Inter’s leadwithathunderous long-range swiftly equalised,Ricardinho thenrestored the opener, andalthoughDiegoCavinato In thethird minute,hesetupGadeiafor presenting thetrophy tohiswidow. Cecilio Rodríguez,whohaddiedinMarch, 2000s], andnowweare.” Marquinho andDanielwere [inthe said. “The‘Green Machine’ofSchumacher, that weare theleadersofEurope,” he mind afterthegame.“We haveshown in FutsalCupfixtures. compatriots’ record of13straightwins the trophy, Interhadalsomatchedtheir wins andemulatedCastellóninretaining Not onlyhadtheymovedontofive When facedwithasimilarsituationin Inter dedicatedtheirvictorytokitman History wasclearlyonRicardinho’s Elisandro (Inter)inactionthefinal UEFA •June DIRECT UEFA FUTSAL CUP FUTSAL UEFA against Sporting. 2018 2018

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09 WORLD CUP

WELCOME TO RUSSIA 2018! From 14 June to 15 July, the Russian Federation will play host to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. It represents a landmark moment for international football: the first time in history that the tournament has been staged in eastern Europe.

rom the moment Russia was confirmed opportunity to get a close look at the trophy as host way back in December 2010, the themselves thanks to the World Cup trophy tour, Fcountry has worked tirelessly to prepare which has seen it travel the length and breadth of for the tournament. Besides renovating stadiums Russia, and visit 51 other nations on six continents, and training facilities across the country, it has making it the biggest event of its kind in the undertaken major infrastructural work in each of tournament’s history. Ticket sales for the World the host cities to ensure they meet FIFA standards. Cup got under way on 14 September last year. All It is safe to say that the Russian Federation is now fans attending matches will receive a fan passport fully ready for the World Cup. (fan ID) when they buy their ticket. Meanwhile, A total of 32 national teams will take part fans without tickets will still be able to enjoy in the tournament, 14 of them from Europe. The the matches on the giant screens at one of draw for the group stages of the finals 11 fan festival sites in the host cities. was held at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow Last autumn, adidas unveiled the official back in December, in the presence of a host ball for the 2018 World Cup, the Telstar 18. of football legends including Pele, Diego Replicas of the official ball, in classic black Maradona, Ronaldo, Cafu, Gordon Banks, and white, are among the many items of licensed Fabio Cannavaro, Carles Puyol, Diego Forlan, merchandise available for purchase at the official Laurent Blanc and Gary Lineker. The ceremony was World Cup stores in the host cities. Also certain to officially launched by President Putin and FIFA be a popular souvenir will be the official 2018 president Gianni Infantino. World Cup mascot, a wolf called Zabivaka. During the ceremony, Miroslav Klose, a World Helping to ensure the success of the event Cup winner with Germany in 2014 when he will be a 15,000-strong team of volunteers. finished as the tournament’s top scorer, was Applications reached a record high, with on hand to unveil the coveted trophy, for some 177,000 people in 190 different which the 32 teams will compete this summer. countries applying for roles. Many of those The Fisht Olympic Stadium will host four group matches, including two Over the last eight months, hundreds of thousands recruited have already been put through their all-European head-to-heads – of football fans around the world have had the paces at the Confederations Cup last year. Portugal v Spain and Germany v Sweden. Getty Images

0610 –– UEFAUEFA DIRECTDIRECT •• JuneJune 20182018 WORLD CUP

Five host clusters the final, Luzhniki will host three other group stage Matches will be held in 12 stadiums in 11 cities. 15,000 matches, as well as a round of 16 match and one Reflecting the country’s vast geographical expanse, volunteers will be of the two semi-finals. spanning 11 time zones in all, the host cities were helping to ensure The other venue in the capital is Spartak divided into five clusters: Central (Moscow), North the success of the Stadium, home to the club of the same name. This (St Petersburg and Kaliningrad), South (Sochi and event, chosen from newly built arena opened in 2014 with a capacity Rostov-on-Don), Volga (Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, a record 177,000 of 45,000 and was one of four stadiums to host Kazan, Saransk and Volgograd) and Urals (Ekaterinburg). applications matches during the 2017 Confederations Cup. This Two of the venues are located in the capital, which summer Spartak Stadium will welcome four group will host both the opening match and the final. stage games and one of the round of 16 matches. Specifically, that honour will go to Luzhniki Stadium, 52 Another venue that played a prominent role the country’s largest football stadium. It is certainly no nations visited on the during the Confederations Cup, hosting the stranger to staging iconic sporting events, having World Cup trophy tour opening game and the final, was the St Petersburg played host to the opening and closing ceremonies of Stadium. Located on the Baltic city’s Krestovskiy the 1980 Summer Olympic Games as well as the Island, it is home to FC Zenit and, with a capacity UEFA Cup final in 1999 and most recently the UEFA 14 of 67,000, will be the second-largest venue at the Champions League final in 2008. European nations World Cup. It is scheduled to host no fewer than In 2013, the stadium was closed for major renovation will compete at the seven matches, including the third-place game. work to prepare it for the World Cup. That work was World Cup Two other World Cup venues were also put to the completed last year and the stadium opened its doors test during the Confederations Cup: Kazan Arena again for a prestigious friendly between Russia and in the city of the same name, which is home to FC Argentina attended by 78,750 spectators. Rubin, and Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi – which “Luzhniki Stadium has really changed,” commented was the main venue for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Russian national team coach Stanislav Cherchesov after Another of the venues, the Volgograd Arena, that match. “All the new stadiums in our country was thrust into the limelight on 9 May, when it are magnificent, including Luzhniki.” In addition to the hosted the Russian Cup final. The other six World opening match, between Russia and Saudi Arabia, and Cup venues – in Kaliningrad, Samara, Ekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk and Rostov-on-Don – all have regular experience hosting top-level matches in the Russian leagues. Needless to say, all of the stadiums and host cities are raring to go and looking forward to welcoming visitors from near and far to this summer’s football extravaganza.

UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 – 11 WORLD CUP

EUROPE’S HOPES RIDING HIGH

At the end of a qualifying competition full of thrills and spills, 13 European nations booked tickets to Russia for this summer’s World Cup finals. Of the usual suspects, Italy and the Netherlands missed out, while Iceland will be Europe’s sole World Cup debutants in 2018.

Group A: Russia must make history with Spain tending to dispose of their Iberian Although the USSR reached the World Cup neighbours on their road to glory, eliminating semi-finals in 1966, Russia have failed to make Portugal in both the 2010 World Cup round it past the first round in any of their three of 16 and the EURO 2012 semi-finals before appearances (1994, 2002 and 2014). going on to lift the trophy. As this year’s hosts they will be looking to At the 2014 World Cup and EURO 2016, put this right. With no qualifying matches, however, the armada came unstuck, making Stanislav Cherchesov’s men have only had an early exit from both tournaments. Portugal friendly matches to keep them occupied for took advantage of this dramatic fall from grace the last two years and have enjoyed varying by winning their first major honour at the end degrees of success, ranging from a narrow 1-0 of an epic EURO 2016 campaign in France. defeat to Argentina and an encouraging 3-3 Having trailed Switzerland for most of the UEFA draw with Spain in November 2017 to heavy qualifying competition, the Portuguese secured losses against Brazil (3-0) and France (3-1) in their ticket to Russia by beating the Swiss 2-0 This summer, Cristiano Ronaldo will March 2018. attempt to win the only title still to have at home on the final matchday. Rather like The draw was reasonably kind to Russia, eluded him in his amazing career. their EURO 2016 success, they owe their place who will face Saudi Arabia in the opening in the finals to a solid defence (4 goals match in Moscow on 14 June, followed by conceded in 10 matches) and an unstoppable games against Egypt and Uruguay. Their first Cristiano Ronaldo (15 goals). Fernando Santos’s target will be to get through the group stage, men will be able to call upon both in Russia something they failed to achieve at the 2017 and, with Spain awaiting on matchday 1, Confederations Cup but that, with the they will need to hit the ground running. exception of South Africa in 2010, all World Spain, meanwhile, enjoyed a highly Cup hosts have managed since 1930. impressive qualifying campaign, with nine wins, one draw, 36 goals scored and only three Group B: An Iberian duel Andrés Iniesta and his Spanish conceded (the best defence in the competition). team-mates are hoping to add a second Spain and Portugal have been two of Europe’s World Cup win to their list of honours With a squad containing a number of 2010 most successful teams over the past 20 years, after their 2010 triumph. World Cup winners, whose Russian adventure looks likely to be their last on the international stage (Iniesta, Piqué, Fabregas, Silva and Ramos), alongside less experienced players with numerous youth titles under their belts (Carvajal, Asensio, Isco, etc.), Julen Lopetegui seems to have found a good balance. The Spaniards and Portuguese are the favourites in a group that includes Morocco, who have only reached the last 16 once (in 1986), and Iran, who have never made it past the first round.

Group C: France the favourites, with Denmark on their tail Pooled with Peru, Australia and Denmark, France were considered by many to have been given the most favourable draw of all and are clear favourites to win Group C. After being denied a home victory at the last gasp by Portugal at EURO 2016, Hugo Lloris and his team-mates qualified quite comfortably Getty Images ahead of opponents including Sweden and the

12 – UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 THE TECHNICIANWORLD CUP

Netherlands. Nevertheless, despite their huge attacking potential, Les Bleus only scored 18 goals in ten matches. With talent such as Griezmann, Mbappé, Giroud, Dembélé, Coman, Lacazette, Martial, Fekir, Thauvin and Payet to call on, the choice is vast, but eye-catching displays have been few and far between in recent times. The French should be able to build confidence in what is a relatively straightforward group, but can they go all the way, as they did in 1998? Before contemplating such a feat, they will come up against Denmark in a final group fixture that will bring back some happy memories for the Scandinavians, who eliminated title-holders France at exactly the same stage of the 2002 World Cup. Having failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup and EURO 2016, Denmark secured their place in Getty Images Russia with a superb 5-1 play-off second-leg win over the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Christian Eriksen, who bagged a hat-trick in Dublin From St Petersburg to Vladivostok, the They followed this up by finishing top of an whole of Russia is expecting greats things and was outstanding throughout the qualifying of its national team. evenly balanced World Cup qualifying group, campaign (11 goals, 3 assists), will be one to ahead of teams such as Croatia, Ukraine and watch in Russia. With a squad containing a Turkey, thanks in part to five wins out of five number of regulars familiar with the demands at their elfin Laugardalsvöllur stadium (capacity of Europe’s top leagues (Kasper Schmeichel, just 9,800). Simon Kjaer and Thomas Delaney, to name just Star player Gylfi Sigurdsson is the central three), Denmark seem sufficiently equipped cog of a team that remains solid and well to cause a surprise or two. organised by coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, who seamlessly succeeded Swede Lars Group D: Iceland and Croatia, Lagerbäck after EURO 2016. more than outsiders One statistic in particular demonstrates After Iceland’s recent achievements, nothing Iceland’s incredible feat. With fewer than they can do will take anyone by surprise. 350,000 inhabitants, Iceland is the first Until two years ago, they had never even taken country with a population of under 1 million part in a major tournament. That was before Iceland’s supporters won the hearts of ever to qualify for a World Cup final everyone at EURO 2016 in France. Theirs EURO 2016, when they enthralled the whole is the smallest country ever to have tournament. of Europe by reaching the quarter-finals. reached the World Cup finals. Alongside Argentina, a giant of world football, and Nigeria, who regularly qualify for major competitions, Iceland will be joined in Group D by fellow Europeans Croatia. After finishing below Iceland in their qualifying group, the Croatians saw off Greece in the play-offs (4-1, 0-0) to reach their fifth World Cup finals. A magnificent run to the semi-finals in their inaugural appearance in 1998 was followed by first-round elimination in 2002, 2006 and 2014. Despite an attractive playing style, Croatia’s golden generation (Luka Modrić, Ivan Rakitić, Dejan Lovren, Ivan Perišić and Mario Mandžukić, for example) has yet to perform well at a major tournament. The 2018 World Cup is probably their last opportunity to shine on a global stage and, even in a tough group, the Croatians’ experience and know-how give them good reason to believe that they can produce results Getty Images commensurate with their talent.

UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 – 13 WORLD CUP

Group E: Can Switzerland Group F: Germany supreme, and Serbia topple Brazil? with Sweden on their heels? To many pundits, Brazil are the hot favourites for It is hard to avoid understatement when the title this summer. Yet before they can start discussing Germany’s chances of success in

Getty Images dreaming of a sixth World Cup, the Brazilians Russia. The current holders are among the will need to navigate a group containing Costa teams most widely tipped to lift the trophy Rica and two European teams, Switzerland in 2018. As usual. Having narrowly failed and Serbia. to add EURO 2016 to their 2014 World Cup Taking on the World Cup favourites in their triumph when they lost to France in the opening match is nothing new to the Swiss, who semi-finals, Joachim Löw’s men finished the created a huge upset when they beat Spain 1-0 qualifying competition with a 100% record. in 2010. Can they do the same to Brazil in 2018? With ten wins from ten matches and 43 goals Switzerland certainly have some talented players, scored by 21 players, the German coach was and their consistency at the top level shows that able to rotate his squad and involve as many they are a force to be reckoned with. In Russia, players as possible. they will contest their fourth consecutive World And if any further justification of the Cup, having reached the last 16 in 2014 before Germans’ status as favourites were needed, losing narrowly to Argentina (1-0 a.e.t.). the history books speak volumes: they have Despite an almost perfect campaign (nine reached the semi-finals in 12 of the last 16 wins and one defeat), the Swiss were beaten World Cups and have progressed beyond the by Portugal to top spot in their qualifying first round in all 18 of their final tournament group before eliminating Northern Ireland appearances. in the play-offs (1-0, 0-0). In Russia, they will face Mexico, who Joachim Löw’s men After missing out on the last EURO, Serbia they beat 4-1 in the 2017 Confederations finished the qualifying have enjoyed a renaissance, thanks in no small Cup semi-final before defeating Chile 1-0 part to striker Aleksandar Mitrović (6 goals in in the final. competition with a 10 matches). They avoided the play-offs by South Korea and Sweden will join them in 100% record. With ten winning their qualifying group ahead of the Group F. The Swedes caused the biggest shock wins from ten Republic of Ireland, Wales and Austria, who of the qualifying competition by ousting Italy matches and 43 goals had all taken part in EURO 2016. in the play-offs (1-0, 0-0) in front of a global scored by 21 players, This summer Serbia can rely on some audience both moved by Gianluigi Buffon’s tears the German coach experienced defensive players, such as and struck by the Swedish team’s composure. Ivanović, Kolarov and Matić, who have been Sweden has coped well with Zlatan was able to rotate his at top European clubs for many years. Taking Ibrahimović’s retirement from international squad and involve as on Costa Rica in their first match could secure football, thanks in particular to the emergence many players them a place in the last 16, a round they have of striker Marcus Berg, who scored eight goals as possible. only reached once before, in 1998 as Yugoslavia. in the qualifiers. While there are no real stars in the Scandinavians’ squad, their collective strength invariably makes them a tricky Julian Draxler and the German team will do their utmost to hold on to the opponent. Sweden’s objective in Russia is clear: trophy; something that no nation has to get past the first round, something they have managed to do since Brazil in 1962. not achieved in a final tournament (World Cup or EURO) since the 2006 World Cup, when they were knocked out in the round of 16 by… Germany.

Group G: Belgium and England, two big guns together The draw did no favours to Tunisia and Panama, pitting them against two European heavy hitters, Belgium and England, who both qualified undefeated with 17 victories in 20 matches between them. However, although their results were similar, their styles are very different. Belgium, blessed with a golden generation, scored more goals than any other team in the European Qualifiers (43). Romelu Lukaku (11 goals) in particular Getty Images benefited from the incredible attacking verve

14 – UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 WORLD CUP

Group H: Poland counting on Lewandowski Despite netting 15 times in 10 matches, Cristiano Ronaldo did not finish as the

Getty Images European Qualifiers’ leading scorer. As many as 16 of the 28 goals scored by Poland in their ten qualifying matches were credited to Robert Lewandowski, who thereby helped his country sail a relatively smooth passage to their first World Cup finals since 2006. Excitement levels in Poland are therefore sky-high, with more than 100,000 Poles expected to travel to Russia to support their team. Talented though he is, Lewandowski is not the only gifted player in Poland’s ranks, as they showed at EURO 2016 by remaining unbeaten in five matches and going out on penalties to the eventual winners, Portugal, in the quarter-finals. As the only European team in an evenly matched Group H, in which they will face Senegal, Colombia and Japan, Poland seem more than capable of progressing to the round of 16. Only then can they begin dreaming of going further in the competition, as they did Poland’s Robert Lewandowski was the best England are pinning their hopes on striker Harry Kane, in 1974 and 1982 when they finished in third scorer in the European Qualifiers for the with his season total of 45 goals across all competitions. place. 2018 World Cup, with 16 goals to his name. of a team that includes some of the continent’s most talented individuals, such as Eden Hazard (6 goals, 5 assists), Dries Mertens (5 goals, 7 assists) and Kevin de Bruyne (4 assists). Frequently hailed as a team for the future in recent years, the time has come for Belgium to live up to their billing in a final tournament, following quarter-final exits at the 2014 World Cup and EURO 2016. They are not the only ones to have struggled to reach the latter stages of recent tournaments. England, despite constantly being among the favourites, have not made it through to a World Cup semi-final since 1990. In contrast to the Belgians, England’s main strength in qualifying was their defence (three goals conceded: the best defence in the competition). In attack, much depends on Harry Kane’s ability to make the difference, although England’s talented youngsters (such as Marcus Rashford, Dele Alli and Raheem Sterling) are starting to emerge from the shadows. Following the cataclysmic defeat to Iceland in the EURO 2016 round of 16, English supporters are warming to their national team once again. England have only lost once in 21 matches against Belgium (in 1936), giving them a considerable psychological advantage ahead of their final group encounter in Kaliningrad on 28 June, which could determine who tops the group. Getty Images

UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 – 15 EQUAL GAME

OLEKSANDR FOMICHOV – UKRAINE

‘Football opens hearts’ “I am a coach but football has become more than a game to me,” says Oleksandr Fomichov, who is using ‘the power of football’ to improve the lives of people in his community. “It’s an education, a philosophy and a phenomenon. I try to show young people how to change their lives through football.”

lawyer and businessman by profession, the 32-year- Oleksandr’s love for the game shines through in old, who is originally from Donetsk, moved from everything he does. A decent footballer in his youth, the eastern Ukrainian city following the outbreak he is now showing, through his role as a coach, that ofA unrest in 2014. He left behind his business, while some the sport has the unique power to promote inclusion. family members were unable to follow him. However, “We invite people from the whole of Ukraine, he has succeeded in creating a new life for himself in irrespective of their background: some may have the western Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk. disabilities, some may be from ethnic minorities and some He now works for the League of Tolerance charity, might be internally displaced people,” he says. “Thanks whose aim is to teach people about common values and to our work, we can get all these groups together and the importance of inclusion, enabling them to look at life show that, on the training ground, people communicate from a different perspective, which ultimately leads to with each other and realise that there is actually no positive change. In a compelling difference between us at all.” analogy, he explains: “Football A modest and articulate man, Oleksandr pours his pitches mirror society as a whole. heart into what he fiercely believes will result in a We use football to show that better future for his community and country. we all should be involved in “Keeping faith in people is the most important factor the game, and that in the for the development of every country and the world as same way, we should all be a whole. We can build a sustainable society and use involved in society.” football as one of the tools that brings us together.” RESPECT CAMPAIGN

UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 – 17 “I’m a coach, I work with young people and I teach them how to use football to implement positive changes in their social lives.”

18 – UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 RESPECT CAMPAIGN “This is the power of football, which helps people from diverse backgrounds to find a common tongue, even though they speak different languages. It helps us improve our societ y.” RESPECT CAMPAIGN

“We invite people from the whole of Ukraine, irrespective of their background: some may have disabilities, some may be from ethnic minorities and some might be internally displaced people .”

UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 – 21 EQUAL GAME

“For a long time, I didn’t understand that football is something that can change the world around me.”

22 – UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 Photos: UEFA or reach any high nevertheless I’ve nevertheless I’ve the game and the as aprofessionalas managed to keep “I didn’t make didn’t it “I ability to share up my love for standard but but standard that love.” UEFA DIRECT •June RESPECT CAMPAIGN 2018 –

23 UEFA GROW

PARTICIPATION – KEY TO GROWING THE GAME

Football is the world’s most popular sport both on and off the field. However, maintaining that position is a constant challenge, given factors such as lifestyle, the game’s image, and the wide range of activities available to young and old alike in today’s society.

aunched in 2015, the UEFA GROW women's football. The plan will also detail without solid foundations it is difficult programme offers tailor-made the corresponding responsibilities, to expand and prosper. L consultation services to UEFA member optimum structures and programmes, Analysing this data enables UEFA GROW associations in the sectors most relevant and of course budgets. to see where funding is required, what for them. It has become the central Analysing participation data for 55 resources are lacking and what challenges business development platform for national football associations is no easy are faced. Moreover, if there is a need national associations all over Europe task. Nor is it helped by different to get more granular information, UEFA to grow the game in a systematic and definitions of what participation actually GROW representatives will spend strategic approach. means. In research conducted by UEFA additional time working with regional Without people playing football, it GROW in over 30 countries, more than staff and structures. would be very difficult for the sport to 25% of the adult population claimed to A national association is only as flourish, so participation is one of the most play football regularly, yet the average good as the structures that support it. important pillars of UEFA GROW. Although percentage of registered players in clubs Understanding the needs of the regional professional footballers grab the headlines, is as low as 3% UEFA-wide, i.e. there are associations and clubs is therefore a critical they make up only a tiny fraction of those many players but few are registered. part of driving active participation in the who actually play. UEFA GROW has been able to call on the sport. expertise of the UEFA Grassroots Charter UEFA GROW started working with Solid foundations and the UEFA Women's Football the Polish Football Federation (PZPN) in This is how UEFA GROW is looking to help. Development Programme, which are two January 2016. After a detailed analysis The programme assists the national longstanding initiatives aimed at increasing of the footballing landscape within the association in drafting a growth plan for participation by supporting specific aspects country, the association understood how participation and retention, which includes of the game. This helps UEFA GROW gain it was paramount to support its regions to the definition of clear yearly targets for a better understanding of the base of the get more people playing and engage those different age categories in both men's and football participation pyramid, because who are currently playing but are not connected to the association. The PZPN is hiring 48 people (three per region in the country) to work on boosting participation. It aims to increase its 400,000 registered players to over a million by 2022, but also to engage around 3 million unregistered players nationwide. "Without funding, it's impossible to implement good projects, but we've also benefited from UEFA's expertise," said PZPN general secretary Maciej Sawicki. "The people at UEFA give us the benefit of their know-how and experience, helping us improve our projects and make them really effective."

The Polish FA aims to grow from 400,000 registered PZPN players today to more than one million in 2022.

24 – UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 UEFA GROW

The Romanian FA succeeded in growing the number of girls playing football from 3,000 in 2016 to 48,000 just one year later.

The Romanian Football Federation (FRF) has also been working hard to boost women's football in conjunction with UEFA's Together #WePlayStrong initiative, which strives to get more girls and women playing the game, and the UEFA Women's Football Development Programme. The FRF has been instrumental in securing the chance for girls to play football in schools, while it has also introduced a league system for girls to ensure they have more regular playing opportunities. FRF "The growth of registered players is a key aspect of the work we do in the federation," said Răzvan Burleanu, Every registered player counts that the state manages to save on every president of the FRF. "The federation UEFA GROW also has a positive effect person who plays football, given their analysed the opportunities for girls and away from the football pitch, ensuring improved health and education, reduced boys to play football in schools and awareness at government levels that levels of crime, and contributions to the decided on a programme of education football participation contributes national GDP from increased employment and a review of the competition model enormously to society. The programme opportunities, facility development and the to make sure that especially more girls recently supported the development of sports service industry. had the opportunity to play football an econometric model (social return on When analysing the impact on the more regularly." investment) that can measure the impact country's health service, a study conducted The hike in participation levels has been of participation on health, social and by UEFA GROW found that it had managed impressive. In 2016, just 3,000 girls were economic performance metrics. to save around half a billion euros because playing football. The following year, this For example, in Romania a registered people were staying active, thereby number had risen to over 48,000 who player has a value of €1,650 to society. reducing the likelihood of conditions such were competing in school competitions. This is explained by the amount of money as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. To ensure that the girls receive the best possible coaching, the FRF has also introduced online education modules for teachers. The association has now seen retention levels among girls increase, partly Findings and implications allowing us to measure due to the fact the coaching they get is the current impact of participation in Romania more engaging and enjoyable. A football head coach is ultimately 700,000 football players in Romania judged on performance, and UEFA GROW is no exception to this rule. So far, the programme has worked with 28 UEFA national associations, and on average there has been an 18% growth in registered players over the last two and a half years. In contrast, those associations that have yet to sign up for the programme are seeing a downward trend in Economy Social Health Performance participation rates, leading to the €183m €53.8m €503.2m Romania currently conclusion that those implementing ranked between 9th and a strategic, scientific and systematic

direct contribution economic impact healthcare savings from 34th in all men’s, women’s approach to growing participation are to the economy of social benefits football participation and youth UEFA rankings reaping the rewards of fostering a healthy footballing environment.

UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 – 25 TRAINING

LEADING THE MATCH DELEGATION

From the Champions League through to youth competitions, the UEFA match delegate is the highest UEFA authority on site at every match.

he UEFA football operations unit is in Northern Ireland is the finished article, and every day charge of instructing and appointing The most recent seminar was held on duty is a school day. Tmatch delegates for more than 2,000 in Belfast on 23 and 24 April at the “We had a great mix of specialist matches annually. As the eyes and ears of spectacular Ballygally Castle Hotel, set areas at the seminar because, while the organisation, they hold great against the stunning backdrop of the we’re all involved in football in some responsibility, ensuring matches are well Antrim coastline. way, we come from different backgrounds. organised in accordance with the many “Many of the delegates were from As a police officer I was able to bring my regulations and procedures, and that the England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, understanding of security measures to the UEFA disciplinary services receive a full Wales and the Republic of Ireland, but seminar, while I learned a great deal from report of any infractions. we were also lucky enough to welcome colleagues involved in media matters and Ensuring that delegates are able to experienced delegates from Portugal, tournament organisation.” uphold UEFA’s high standards at every Bulgaria and Montenegro,” said William Peadar adds that while every effort match is essential. To this effect, seven Campbell, head of the CEO office at the is made to ensure matches go ahead seminars were recently held in Helsinki, Irish Football Association. “In total, 14 smoothly, problems can arise, and Munich, Tel Aviv, Chisinau, Ljubljana, nations were represented.” occasionally these are outside UEFA’s Tallinn and Belfast, attended by a total William, also a UEFA delegate, said it control. “Things happen that you can’t of 236 delegates. was an excellent opportunity to share legislate for, but there are procedures They received updates on competition knowledge and learn from his fellow in place to make sure the right course matters and regulations along with training delegates’ experience. “One of the key of action is followed,” he explained. on how to manage challenging and crisis things about being a delegate is, no matter “Everyone experiences some kind of situations. The seminars were also an how well prepared you are for a match, difficulty on the ground, and discussing opportunity for delegates to network you never quite know what to expect. how these are managed is really helpful, with colleagues and share best practices “Anything could happen, and while the making us all better prepared.” and on-site experiences. vast majority of UEFA competition matches A delegate for ten years and president Additionally, these events allow the proceed without a hitch, when you do of the Scottish Football Association, football operations unit to clarify how to hear of incidents, you always think, Alan McRae found the key message deal with various situations such as medical ‘how would I have dealt with that?’. of consistency particularly useful. “The inspections, pyrotechnics, racist behaviour, Understanding how others have reacted session on ensuring consistency across offensive banners and reporting, using to situations and their thought processes all delegates’ work was very interesting, real-case scenarios. Delegates at the recent is hugely beneficial.” particularly as we were given examples of seminars also discussed the most challenging Milovan Djukanović, head of the good reporting, and a structured model situations they had faced and how they had international department at the Football to follow for problem-solving, highlighting resolved them. Association of Montenegro, appreciated the situation, showing you’ve exhausted the combination of theory and learning all available options, explaining the from experience for facing challenging consequences and ultimately, the situations. “We were able to discover solution,” he said. problem-solving options using certain “I was first appointed as a delegate psychological approaches. We were in 2009, and the role has changed guided to think through match issues enormously since then. Previously we from various positions and roles to gain had rather cumbersome and lengthy a better understanding of the overall report-writing, but now we have slick impact and potential solutions.” new systems. And with the huge changes Peadar Ryan, a senior council member in football security, we have also had with the Football Association of Ireland to adapt,” he went on. “But the and a serving police officer, was impressed fundamental principles of being a by the breadth of expertise at the event. delegate still apply. An ability to “Firstly, I think it’s important to say nobody negotiate, always be approachable, demonstrate reason and be able to make big decisions, sometimes very quickly, Representatives of 14 UEFA member associations are all key. It was a really interesting Press Eye were at the seminar in Belfast. and highly enjoyable workshop.”

26 – UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 F the Republic of Ireland in early April to consider how football can be used to help migrants. part of UEFA’sAs Study Group Scheme, representatives of 21 member associations met in FOOTBALL AIDS REFUGEES possible. manner effective most inthe issue this addressing and organisations, and experts relevant other from as well as another, one from of learning intention express the with Refugees and Football Study Group seminar Scheme entitled aUEFA attended recently associations national of various representatives countries. intheir matters to improve have sought and impacted directly been haveof UEFA’s associations member Many it. alleviate to help potential the has also yet crisis, global by this affected been has football of society, fabric the in embedded deeply is that one and political and environmental issues. environmental and political cultural, economic, social, spanning debate aglobal sparked has migration forced this others, than affected more are countries some While worldwide. people 1,000 of every –9out homes their from driven have been world the Against that background, that Against As the world’s most popular sport, sport, popular most world’s the As around people 65 of million total A break down prejudices. down break and understanding mutual foster together, people bring can ootball

•  •  seminar: the after organisers the with conclusions main Trust,Wales her shared of Association Football the at manager initiatives. of such challenges and benefits of the understanding participants’ deepened programmes their of history the on stakeholders local with discussions candid and life. Open to topic the brought areas Athlone and Galway inthe for refugees programmes volunteering and coaching and sessions, training open leagues, to futsal Visits Open discussions refugees. to help football using when practice good share and challenges to discuss universities, and NGOs expert from delegates as well as associations, 21 member brought of representatives together (FAI), of Ireland Association Football the with incooperation organised was and 3to 6April from of Ireland Republic inthe place seminar, took The which to champion the sport and provide provide and sport the to champion aresponsibility has association Every football. enjoy to and play right the has Everybody Laura Easton, football development development football Easton, Laura

UEFA he concluded. by UEFA,” compiled being currently is which practices, of good a compendium be will visit of this legacies of the one and other with associations, practices these programmes. of success to the contribute – who communities and clubs inour and FAI the within –both people of the some met also They stakeholders. community other and of clubs support the with delivered, are programmes football refugee our ofhowexperience them first-hand with providing Ireland, through trip a road •  involved infootball. involved backgrounds refugee with people to get seeking when keyof the considerations some digest and debate on, to reflect time us gave days three seminar. “These of the host and programme football FAI’s intercultural for the coordinator Tomlinson, Des national said partners,” other UEFA and associations, other from learn and with network from, to hear importantly, as just perhaps and, do we to forwhat us share opportunity a great provided visit UEFA study this “Hosting •  •  •  • You trust. to build need opportunities for all. opportunities having to be there all the time. the all there to be having association national the without work the on carry can they so community, local inthe of people skills the develop and to nurture important is It programmes. providing short-term just than more about is regularly. It to want play who for people pathway You along-term to create need your activities. to support football outside – networks use of –and aware to be important is It who can speak to people on your behalf. your on to people speak can who community relevant the within voice an authoritative find can you if helps it groups, vulnerable To with engage “The overall aim was to share our good good to our share was aim overall “The “Our study visit took participants on participants took visit “Our study SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

UEFA DIRECT UEFA •

June June 2018

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27

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

STARS THRILL AT MATCH FOR SOLIDARITY

A glittering array of football legends came to Geneva on 21 April to take part in the UEFA-United Nations Match for Solidarity – not only to parade their skills, but also to give their support to children with disabilities.

he Swiss city’s Stade de Genève was in Geneva after the match added to the setting for a memorable occasion the fundraising drive. Autisme Genève is T on a warm and sunny spring day, the local beneficiary of the charity match. with 23,654 fans filling the stands to This non-profit organisation was set up on marvel at the stars on show, who lined the initiative of parents of children with up for two teams captained by Portuguese autism spectrum disorders. superstar Luís Figo and Brazilian ace At international level, the funds will Ronaldinho. support projects in Africa, Asia and South Fans were treated to 90 minutes of America. The projects will be chosen by a top-class entertainment, with Figo’s team committee of representatives from UEFA, running out narrow 4-3 winners. Raúl the United Nations Office in Geneva and González, Robert Pires, Nuno Gomes and the Fondation du Stade de Genève. Míchel Salgado found the net for Figo's The UEFA president, Aleksander Čeferin, team, with Célia Šašić, Alexander Frei who attended the game, was delighted at and Cafu replying for Ronaldinho's team. the success of the match. “I would like to The match was aimed at promoting thank the football legends and referees UEFA peace, human rights and well-being in who made such a crucial contribution by the world through the United Nations taking part in the match,” he said, “as Andrea Pirlo, Dejan Stanković, Ronaldinho and sustainable development goals, with the well as the United Nations, who teamed Cristian Chivu (left to right) were among the stars proceeds from the match going to the up with us for such a good cause. who turned out for the Match for Solidarity. UEFA Foundation for Children to finance “Special thanks also go to the authorities humanitarian and development projects in Geneva and all other partners, as well to help disabled children in Geneva and as to the generous donors who attended continued, “and the Match for Solidarity much further afield. the charity dinner and participated in the has demonstrated just how our sport Funds were also generated by a special auction. And, of course, to all the fans who can act as a force for social good.” digital auction of football memorabilia and came to the stadium in great numbers to Michael Møller, director-general of other items, including signed shirts, balls give their tremendous support. the United Nations Office in Geneva, and unique experiences offered by clubs “Football can play a vital role in also hailed the response to the event. and national associations. A charity dinner improving lives,” the UEFA president “I am proud the United Nations and UEFA could partner for this event to promote solidarity for peace, rights and well-being through the sustainable development goals," he said. "And all for a good cause – to help underprivileged children around the world.” Luís Figo and his fellow stars had a great deal of fun on the field. "We've enjoyed the match," Figo said after the final whistle. "We feel that we're reflecting the values of sport, and that we have had the chance to help people.” A children's match provided the curtain-raiser ahead of the charity match, with 11 youngsters from 11 different countries meeting for the first time and forming a team to play against a team UEFA of children from the Geneva area.

28 – UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 European FootballinNyon. other sport-relatedorganisationscelebratingtheirgraduationattheHouseof conclusion, with16participantsfromvariousinternationalsportsfederationsand On 6April,thefourthExecutiveMasterinSportGovernance(MESGO)cametoa T first-hand accounts from experienced experienced from accounts first-hand content, of academic a combination comprised and organisations sports major and/or universities by partner hosted all were sessions nine IV’s MESGO sessions MESGO of Structure Council Europe. of –the partner MESGO have anew will UEFA edition, fifth of the As federations. sports international various and universities European renowned –five partners of anumber with UEFA incooperation by organised is programme The perspective. social and economic political, sporting, a from them at of view, looking points different various from sport professional affecting challenges and issues address to seeks which approach, multidisciplinary inits lies strength MESGO’s beyond. and Europe throughout organisations of sports evolution to the contributing while development, personal and training of knowledge, source avital providing Tokyo. and York New Main, am Frankfurt Brussels, London, Barcelona, Mainz/ Amsterdam, Nyon/Lausanne, in Paris, place taking sessions with continents, three 18 over and spread months sessions nine organisationsglobal sports – comprised and European at administrators professional 16 MESGO NEW GRADUATES The programme acts as a catalyst, acatalyst, as acts programme The the management skills of senior of senior skills management the to enhance sought predecessors, its like –which, programme MESGO his

framework. economic special of sport’s context the in weaknesses and strengths respective their outlining competitions, successful to organise sports by different used are that systems of regulatory range wide the at looked session third The and regulation 3–Competition design Session goals. those to achieve use bodies governing which activities generating revenue- commercial and processes decision-making management systems, governance corporate structures, organisational various the explored and bodies governing of sports’ objectives and aims core the explained session This organisations sports of 2–Governance Session model. sports international the and sport of specificity the context, in asporting governance at looking as well as environment, operating economic and institutional sport’s of international understanding an develop to sought session first This sport international of 1–Context Session activities. social and play, networking role exercises, practical studies, case discussions/debates, industries, other from input providing lectures sector, sports inthe working practitioners

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UEFA DIRECT UEFA •

EDUCATION June June 2018

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MARCEL KOLLER ‘BE READY TO ADAPT’ Marcel Koller has known highs and lows during his two decades as a football coach. The former Switzerland defender won league titles in his home country with both FC St Gallen and Grasshopper Club Zürich, before spells working in Germany with 1.FC Köln and VfL Bochum 1848. Subsequently he became the first coach to earn Austria qualification for a major tournament since 1998, when guiding them to UEFA EURO 2016.

n the space of 20 years, the 57-year- mobile and all the social media possibilities difficult. They were still at work in their old has seen significant changes in the you have now. What would happen, for heads and you could notice that. So way the game is played – and in the example, was that somebody would play a for me it was important to greet every dynamic between players and coaches. defender as a striker even though they individual player with a handshake. Little wonder his advice to young weren’t a striker. That’s something that I didn’t just go into the dressing room Icoaches is to be flexible: “You have to wouldn’t happen today. When Roy and say ‘Hello everyone, now training adapt your idea to fit the pace, technical Hodgson arrived as Swiss national-team will start’. Instead I went to every player, ability or intelligence of what’s available manager he had very concrete ideas about shook their hand, looked them in the to you.” how to automate a lot of training drills and eye and spoke with them for short while. then you could see how these drills would I tried to talk about football to make As a player with Grasshopper, what play out on the pitch to bring you goals. them forget about work, and get them were the first steps you took I think he was one of the first people to do involved as quickly as possible. I was there towards a career in coaching? this very practically and then the second for a year and a half and at that time we When I was 25 I wondered what I’d do was Leo Beenhakker [at Grasshopper]. still had the relegation/promotion play-off after playing, so I started off with kids’ I was privileged to be his assistant coach round. We were in first place [before his football. I did coaching seminars in for three months and he imported a lot January 1999 departure], and we’d use Switzerland for the B and A diplomas, of ideas, in terms of playing systems, the team spirit to try to manage it. and then I got the instructor’s diploma, from the Netherlands and Spain, and When you don’t have top players at which at that time was the highest that helped me a lot. your disposal, it’s my philosophy to use diploma in Switzerland. At 31, I had harmony – maybe that’s the wrong word, the highest qualification but I was still a You’d played at the top level and but you can only manage with a good player and it was good to be able to watch won 56 caps for Switzerland. team spirit. coaches at first hand. I broke my leg and Why did you decide to step down was out for a while and got the chance to a level to take your first job at How would you describe your manage the youth team. In my recovery FC Wil 1900 in 1997/98? leadership style back then and period, when Leo Beenhakker was the For me it was clear that I wanted to start in how has it developed? coach, I also assisted with the first team. the lower leagues to gain experience. I think I was most likely cooperative. It was good to understand how to treat It’s important to know what you want, Was there one particular coach players and how to communicate with to be able to convey that to your players. who influenced you? them. Wil was still not a professional club At the end of the day, they need to know During my playing days, which were then – we only had two professionals, plus how we want to play, what my ideas are, quite a while ago, I always wondered how myself as the manager. The rest worked and I have to convey that. I think you I could bring the training on to the pitch. 80% and we started training at 4.30pm. have to be funny but in the same way It wasn’t as if you had your laptop and We trained four times a week and it was you want to be successful, so you also have to demand things if one or two “For me it was clear that I wanted to start in the lower players are failing to implement leagues to gain experience. It was good to understand something. It’s important to talk to the how to treat players and how to communicate with them. players and to use video, with today’s possibilities, to show the players. Back Wil was still not a professional club then – we only had then, I used to get my own TV from two professionals, plus myself as the manager.” home and bring in VHS cassettes.

UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 – 31 THE TECHNICIAN

At St Gallen, you led the club to the cup or for the UEFA Cup. And after make the team a collective. That doesn’t its first Swiss title for almost a negotiations, he gave it to me. With the mean you have to spend time with players century. How did you do it? players, it was the same – I went to the or be friends off the pitch, but you need to That had to do with communication. board and said: ‘We have to change this. have the same ideas and follow the same St Gallen is a city with a population of The players can’t just have motivation for path, and if you have that, you can be 80,000, which is relatively small. The half a year, it should be a whole year.’ successful. players were just happy if they won one I wanted them to understand that, as or two games and the locals would give their coach, I wanted them to have goals. Regarding the foreign players, them a pat on the back saying everything I didn’t want them to receive money to what were the challenges of a was super. I was used to something achieve the minimum, but to help them dressing room with different different at Grasshopper. We didn’t just try to achieve something big. We had a great languages and cultures? to win two games, but to win titles and team spirit. We weren’t the best team in We had a lot of Spanish speakers, cups or make it to international terms of player ability – Basel, Lugano South Americans who are a little bit competitions. I got there halfway through and Zurich were better – and at the start different from the Swiss, who can be a the season, in the winter, and in our opponents underestimated us, but I little colder and reserved. We tried to bring Switzerland there was the play-off system, was there putting on the pressure, saying these groups together with training camps and I learned that the players only got a that we could hold on until the end. And and made sure we didn’t have the Swiss bonus for the first stage of the season, and in the end, after 96 years, we won our on one side and the South Americans on then during the [second] championship second championship, which was a great the other. We tried to connect them so stage they stopped getting them. I surprise. that people wouldn’t feel uncomfortable if remember after the second game, there they couldn’t understand everything – you were talks, and I said that it was important Your next step as a manager can always speak with your hands and not to get complacent but to continue to was back at your old club, your feet! work. I tried to convey that, but the players Grasshopper, where you won didn’t take it on board. We had talks with the championship again. What Why did you want to go and video clips and everything but then a was it like managing there? work in Germany, as you did player said to me, ‘Boss, we get bonuses We had players who were individually with Köln and then Bochum? until December and then it stops. So after better than those at St Gallen. Straight I wanted to get to the Bundesliga because that, there’s nothing to play for’. away, in training, I noticed there was a it was too quiet for me in Switzerland. I And then the penny dropped. The better technical ability and speed that thought: ‘I want to talk about football president wanted to give me the same enabled them to play quicker. every day’. At that time in Switzerland, bonus but I said I didn’t want a bonus for There were also some foreign players when you had a game, two or three staying up, but a bonus for the title, for there and it was important for me to journalists would come to training on Thursday but were gone the rest of the week. In Germany you’d be in contact with journalists almost daily. They’d watch “At Grasshopper, there training and wanted a comment after were also some foreign every session. It’s much more fun to play players there and it was in a stadium full of 50,000 people rather important for me to than 5,000. That fascinated me and it was make the team a something totally different. Everything was collective. That doesn’t more direct and aggressive. The Swiss are calmer, but with the Germans if something mean you have to spend goes wrong, they’ll tell you to your face. time with players or be It doesn’t matter if it’s a fan or a player. friends off the pitch, but It can be good because you know exactly you need to have the what the problem is, but it’s difficult to same ideas and follow manage. You have to handle them first, the same path, and if to establish guidelines. But in terms of training, it was no different. you have that, you can be successful.” Looking at the media, do you have any recommendations how to handle them? Maybe I’m a little bit different in that I try to treat everyone equally. By that, I mean I wouldn’t take those who criticise me most out for dinner to avoid criticism in the press. I try to treat everyone the

Getty Images same and don’t give special bits of THE TECHNICIAN

Marc Janko playing against Hungary at EURO 2016, 18 years since Austria had

last qualified for a major tournament. Getty Images

information to some people just because An even more important ally of on the back. When you’re on the other they’re my friends. That does mean that the coach is his or her assistant. side battling relegation, it’s brutal. when things don’t go well, the criticism What’s your approach to choosing I experienced that in Germany, the comes in thick and fast, and you have whom to work alongside? negative energy. Everyone thinks they to be able to handle that. In the end it’s For the majority of my time as a coach, know better, everyone comes to tell you important to be able to find that out for I took on the assistant coach who was that – people come to training, and have yourself – maybe for you, it could be better already there, meaning we had an a go at you and the players, and your to speak to a couple of journalists to give assistant who already knew the players colleagues come in scared that they’re them some information so they write nicer and the set-up and I was ready to work going to lose their jobs and they unload things about you. Ultimately, though, it’s with them. You need good support all that pressure on to you too. their job and they have to fill their notepad too, which is why it’s very common for At Bochum, I had a sports psychologist and write a story. When the manager loses, managers to take an assistant with them. on the staff, but we had one player, an maybe for two weeks they’ll write nice The advantage of that is your assistant ex-international, and I couldn’t play him things, but if everyone is writing bad knows your ideas and approach and can at home anymore because he’d lost his things, then even they can’t write nice therefore pass them on. The disadvan­tage confidence. He couldn’t control the ball things so it all comes back to bite you. is not having all the information when and when he had a bad touch, you’d you start somewhere new, and that can hear groans in the stadium: ‘Not him Some coaches say they don’t take time. again! Another mistake!’ Players notice read the papers. How about you? that. He was burnt out by it. I talked to I think it’s important to be informed, During your time as a coach in him and I told him I’d play him away. It’s and also to know what your players are Germany, you won promotion huge pressure that you have to try to saying in public. They might reveal a tactic with Bochum but also lost a cope with all the time. You need to be or strategy, so it’s important because the relegation battle with Köln. wide awake every day and as a manager players get asked: ‘How’s the manager? Do How different are these two you have to lead by example. The players you want to play offensively/defensively?’ It’s challenges? need to see that you still have energy. important to stay in the loop, to be able They’re very different because if you Even when it’s going badly, you have to to intervene if need be. have the chance to win titles then there’s be the first one that says, ‘We can do positive euphoria – you notice it in the this’. If you stand in front of the players On a similar line, could you stadium, with the fans; you even notice not knowing if you can do it, then you talk about the significance of it at home with family. Everyone pats you can forget it. the press officer? It’s important for them to have a thick skin because journalists want a lot. They want to talk to the players and, more often than not, they want to speak to the good “For the majority of my time as a coach, players and it’s important for the team that I took on the assistant coach who was you share it out a bit. You shouldn’t always already there, meaning we had an take the same players; you should include the others because they also belong to the assistant who already knew the players team, and this is good for players that and the set-up and I was ready to work don’t get a lot of exposure. with them.”

UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 – 33 Getty Images THE TECHNICIAN

How about presenting the right “Patience is difficult these or feel they’re under pressure from their message to the media, in the face days; everything moves so families. The players don’t always say that of this pressure? fast. You notice with the to the manager because they think they For me, the best way, if you’re young players that patience won’t get played on the Saturday, so they disappointed or angry, is not to go on keep it in. But it’s important to be able to camera. Just walk away, take a shower to is hard. If I say to them, ‘Be build up a relationship. It doesn’t always cool off or get some air. If you’re full of patient’, the patience is have to be friendship as it’s important to adrenaline or you’re a bit disappointed and gone the next day.” shake them occasionally when you’re not you react, it’s more difficult to get things pleased with them. Sometimes a player under control. From my experience, I give doesn’t listen to you, then comes and asks myself five minutes to clear my head and why they’re not playing. And you have to prepare what I want to say. You’re a coach own ideas, and to get them on the same tell them, because they didn’t train well and the players watch TV, so if you speak page takes time. enough. Patience is difficult these days in front of the press and you’re in a bad because everything moves so fast. You mood then the players will hear that too. How did you maintain a dialogue notice with the young players that It’s important to speak with the players, to with your Austria players outside patience is hard. If I say to them, ‘Be pass on the criticism or praise before you of the international get-togethers? patient’, the patience is gone the next day. talk to the press, so the player feels If you want to convey your ideas, then you important that he heard it first, and then have to talk a lot. I visited the players at What tactical trends have you can talk to the press. their clubs, and I’d travel in the week to you observed that exist today meet the players and have more time for compared with even five years Moving on to your most recent conversations. I took my laptop with me, ago? role, how did you find the switch and we worked with videos, and I edited If you have one playing system, that’s not to international football as a coach sequences together of the players so I enough these days. You have to be able to with Austria? could tell them what I wanted from them play two or three. You need to be able to With a national team, you only have them – ‘I liked that, but this I’d like done react to the opponent if your system ten times a year. When you start as the differently’. doesn’t work. You have to reposition the manager, you only have ten days to convey players. That’s the work done in training. your ideas in November, and then they’re Overall, how would you say the At the top level, it’s down to athleticism, away for three months. Then in summer coach’s job has changed since you pace and technical ability. It can be you have some friendly matches, and then started as a head coach in 1997? different, but the top players are in October it all starts. In September, Today there’s a lot more communication. unbelievable. When you’re over 30 and October and November they come every I had managers in the past that hardly every three days you play your best game, month, but to get your ideas across is very spoke to me. When you had an injury, it’s a lot to handle, and you’re constantly difficult. I used to say: ‘I’m a manager they’d say: ‘Make sure you get better’. travelling. It’s very intense and I think it’s without a team!’ It took almost two and a They only cared about the players who harder now for players over 30. If you’re a half years to convey the ideas that I had in were there. That just made me more top club with 18 top players, maybe you my head, to the point where I thought, determined to come back, but nowadays can give some players a break, and that’s ‘OK now they’ve got it.’ It’s not just about it wouldn’t work. Now it’s important to important because it’s high intensity. For what goes on on the pitch. Every time, 23 talk to players, and even to put your arm your fitness regeneration and muscle new players come with another 10 or 15 in around some of them, or to talk about health, it is better to catch it earlier than the support team, and people come from things that aren’t related to football. to tear something and be out for three places with their own coaches and their Sometimes people have troubles at home months.

My favourite system

As a manager, you have your favourite systems. When I was in Switzerland, I usually played 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. People will say it’s the manager’s idea, but it’s important to include the players – if you have four top players, maybe it’s better to play 4-3-3 or in 3-4-3. In that respect, it’s important not to restrict yourself. If you’re in a club where you have the option to buy certain players, then you can orientate yourself around that – whether you want to play counter, offensive, pressing or defensive. In Austria, they played 4-3-2-1 in the national team before me, and were primarily defensive. My predecessor thought Austria could only play counterattacking. I’m more active. I was like that as a player – I didn’t like just watching, waiting for the opponent to make a mistake I could take advantage of. I was always the kind of player who preferred to attack. Getty Images THE TECHNICIAN

What advice would you give to young managers starting out today? I’d always advise young managers to learn how they should act with players. It always comes back to bite you if you lie to them – I prefer the direct approach, which is difficult as a manager. When you have two players who are equally as good as each other, with only one position available, you have to explain that and there’s no real explanation. As the manager, you need to make a decision and it’s important to be open and honest. Sometimes you have to explain that you just had a feeling. It can be that the player gets upset and slams doors, but that’s part of it. Another thing is, as a manager, you can’t always introduce ideas for which you need top-quality players. The players might not have the technical ability or speed, their touch might send the ball three or four metres away, which at the top level, results in the loss of the ball. So, it’s important to adapt – it’s important to have an idea about how you’ll work at the highest level, but you need to look at the players you have available. If you see you don’t have enough strikers or not enough pace, maybe you need to back off a bit. You can’t play high pressing with that, so maybe you need to play defensive or on the counter-attack. To give an example, when I started with Austria, during one of the first training sessions, a player took the ball and David Alaba was three metres away from him. I stopped play to say: ‘If your opponent receives the ball and you move in quickly, he won’t have time to control the ball, but if you’re three metres away, we’re at a disadvantage. I want you to be right next to him.’ Two minutes later, almost exactly the same situation happened: the ball comes in, and Alaba is right there. Sorted, in two minutes. That’s what it’s like with David Alaba – he’s a top player, with quick reactions and perception. At Bochum, I had a player and every year I’d tell him to close down the middle so the opponent couldn’t speed up the game. He was slower in his mentality and that’s the difference. You don’t have top players everywhere – you have to work with what’s at your disposal to try and convey the ideas you have. Some get it quickly, some more slowly and some not Getty Images at all.

UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 – 35 EURO 2024

TWO BIDDERS GO HEAD TO HEAD

After declaring their interest in hosting UEFA EURO 2024 in March 2017, Germany and Turkey have submitted their bid books.

n 24 April, the German Football Association (DFB) O submitted its bid dossier at the House of European Football in Nyon. The documents were handed over to the UEFA general secretary, Theodore Theodoridis, by DFB president Reinhard Grindel, accompanied by the DFB’s general secretary Friedrich Curtius, EURO 2024 bid ambassador Philipp Lahm, and ambassador for integration Celia Šašić. Two days later, it was the turn of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) president, Yıldırım Demirören, to hand his national association’s bid documents in to the UEFA general secretary. The TFF delegation also included first vice-president Servet Yardımcı, vice-president Ali Dürüst, board members Cengiz Zülfikaroğlu, UEFA Alaattin Aykaç and Mustafa Çağlar, general secretary Kadir Kardaş and TFF bid ambassador Barış Telli. In the coming weeks, the UEFA administration will start appraising the final bid dossiers, at which point it may require the bidders to provide further information or confirmation. As part of its transparent bidding process, UEFA will then complete a written evaluation report on each bid by September 2018, before the UEFA Executive Committee meets in Nyon on 27 September to take its decision on the EURO 2024 hosts.

On 24 April, the UEFA general secretary, Theodore Theodoridis, received the German FA’s bid to host EURO 2024, followed on 26 April by

that of the Turkish Football Federation. UEFA

36 – UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

AZERBAIJAN www.affa.az

Sustainable Development Goals and PLAYING FOR EQUALITY featuring the hashtag #playforequality. The event was jointly organised by the UN, the Association of Football NUBAR AGHAZADA Federations of Azerbaijan, the heads of mission spouses association in A special friendly match was recently Azerbaijani Under-19 girls’ team in Azerbaijan and the Mexican embassy, held between representatives of support of gender equality in the country. with the support of the local ministry of foreign diplomatic missions and the Both teams wore kit promoting the UN youth and sport. “Sport has huge potential to empower women and girls and provide them with life skills and opportunities,” said Ghulam Isaczai, the UN’s resident coordinator in Azerbaijan, in his welcome address. “The UN will continue to work with the Azerbaijani authorities and civil society in its efforts to empower girls and women.” Indeed, the opportunity to play sport is a fundamental right for all, according to Article 1 of UNESCO’s International Charter of Physical Education, Physical Activity and Sport. The young female players who took part in this event did a great job of promoting gender equality, acting as AFFA role models and showcasing their skills.

BELGIUM www.belgianfootball.be FOSTERING SOCIAL REINTEGRATION

JÉRÉMY SMEETS

Organised by the Belgian FA discover what it is like to be part of the and Pro League in partnership Belgian men’s or women’s national team with social organisations, the for a day, a feeling made all the more Belgian Homeless Cup (BHC) is designed tangible when the men’s national team to empower homeless people and help coach, Roberto Martínez, made an them reintegrate into society. appearance to present the medals at Through football, homeless players the end of the event. increase their chances of finding long- belgianhomelesscup.be Martínez confirmed his commitment to term accommodation, employment or this cause by attending the first Belgian training, as well as developing their social Homeless Cup gala on 15 March. More and communication skills. They also enjoy than 140 people gathered for this event the health benefits of improved physical which, with its auction highlight, raised fitness; in other words, becoming stronger Roberto over €25,000 in support of the further Martínez both physically and mentally. development of homeless football. Each homeless team is a partnership Guests at the gala were also able between a professional or semi- organises as many as 900 training sessions to meet a number of players from the professional club and a social a year. Belgian men’s and women’s national organisation. The 39 homeless teams Held at the Belgian football centre in homeless football teams, who shared in Belgium involve a total of 72 social Tubize on 5 March, the 2018 BHC once their stories and described the role institutions, 22 football clubs and 15 again demonstrated that the Belgian FA’s football plays in their lives. municipal authorities. The Belgian training facility truly is home to all Belgian The gala was a huge success and will Homeless Cup comes into contact with football. The tournament gave the several undoubtedly become a regular feature 500 homeless people each week and hundred participants the opportunity to of the social calendar.

UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 – 37 PEACE RIGHTS HUMAN AND UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF 38 NIKOLAY DYULGEROV NIKOLAY United Nations Association of Bulgaria, of Bulgaria, Association Nations United of the Kolev, vice-chairwoman the and director, Pavel executive deputy BFU agreementcooperation signed by the into a by entering sport through rights for human respect and tolerance promote to forces joined of Bulgaria Association Nations United the and (BFU) Union Rights. of Human Declaration Universal of the anniversary 70th the commemorated year’s tournament this Zaharieva, Ekterina affairs, of foreign minister inApril. base football national Boyana of the pitch the on people, to unite power football’s showcased NIKA BAHTIJAREVIĆ NIKA FOR MINORITIESRESPECT AUTISM AWARENESS AND CROATIA BULGARIA ASSOCIATIONSMEMBER from the UEFA Foundation for Children. UEFA Foundation the from for funding association autism Pogled the Croatian FA the nominated has success, by this inspired and, bodies governing and clubs of Croatian football number a from support received tournament futsal The children’s inNedelišće. park a to build and disorders spectrum autism with for children therapy for individual funds to raise tournament futsal charity a to hold association autism Pogled the populations. inmarginalised children to help activities of anumber with efforts grassroots its on down doubled has (HNS) Federation At the same time, the Bulgarian Football Football Bulgarian the time, At same the Bulgarian of the patronage the Under On 18 April, the HNS joined forces with with forces joined 18 HNS On the April, – UEFA •June DIRECT approaches, the Croatian Football Croatian Football the approaches, Cup World the and to end an draws Croatia’s season As club

organisations in Bulgaria again again inBulgaria organisations institutions and non-governmental Various diplomatic missions,

2018

the United Nations Association of Bulgaria of Bulgaria Association Nations United the and afederation as for us good is it context this “In people. unites that agame been biggest collaboration to date. collaboration biggest organisations’ two the was camp football this groups, social all towards respect and inclusivity for promoting tool a powerful as of football role the about learned who 250 children, than by more Attended Pula. in camp football minorities national ninth their hosted Organization Roma World Two later, Croatia’s and days HNS the not worldwide,” stated Pavel Kolev. Pavel worldwide,”not stated why and level, European at also but society, Bulgarian for beneficial only not are that results valuable very achieve nations. the between understanding and peace for achieving of diplomacy means a as of sport promotion the as well as – Goals for the 17 Goal and Partnerships Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, 16 Goal Well-Being, and Health Good 3 Goal –inparticular Development for Sustainable 2030 Agenda UN’s two organisations.two the between partnership long-term a new of start the is initiative The Fileva. Petranka of Croatian football. Croatian of development to the contributions for their Krznarić late Rudolf the and Đuričić Milan Jozo Pirić, Benić, to Stjepan trophy youth its awarded HNS the meeting, same the At secretary. general honorary first-ever HNS’s the pronounced was Pavlović Ante legend executive Croatian football of 2018, assembly which at general first “I am certain that this partnership will will partnership this that “I certain am The partnership is based on the the on based is partnership The In other news, the Croatian FA held its Croatian FA its the held news, other In always has football that highlighted He

Association (IRRSA) and the United United the and (IRRSA) Association International Relations Research Student the affairs, of foreign ministry Bulgarian the representing teams other with Ukraine, of Turkey,missions Iran, Sudan and beliefs. inpeople’s differences to away overcome as well as status, social and religion gender, origin, age, of regardless rights, human and peace of language of universal ashow to be issues.” of social a number of burden the lighten least at then resolve, to not if attempt, inan together to work Jordan in the autumn. inthe Jordan Cup regulars Asian AFC and Portugal champions European reigning against to: friendlies forward to look matches announced) (and recently exciting more have two fan, Croatia supporters football any to appease enough than more League. UEFA Nations inthe England and Spain champions world former Cup, World of the and stage group in the Iceland and Nigeria Argentina, friendlies, intwo Senegal face and Brazil to prepares team the as history, recent in year exciting most for their up gearing Croatia are front, team national the On place. third took who Iran, and insecond, came who IRRSA, by the shared was podium The awards. achievement individual of the most garnered also and inarow, year for asecond title the took Turks The of Bulgaria. Association Nations And while that list alone would be be would alone list that while And Zlatko Kelečević diplomatic the represented teams Seven proved again year’s match once This BFU www.bfunion.bg www.hns-cff.hr

MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

DENMARK www.dbu.dk HRH THE CROWN PRINCESS OF DENMARK RECEIVES UEFA DONATION

ANNE TJELL

On 22 March, Her Royal Highness The crown princess is chairwoman of the number has decreased since the research Crown Princess Mary of Denmark Mary Foundation and it was in this was first completed in 2013, when 1 in 8 brought a royal touch to the capacity that she was there to receive a children said they were affected. international friendly between Denmark donation of €50,000 from the UEFA The research has resulted in the and Panama. Before the players entered the Foundation for Children. The donation is to development of tools and partnerships pitch for the World Cup warm-up game, support the Mary Foundation’s work to with the Danish FA and top handball the crown princess herself was on the pitch ensure that all children thrive and feel player Mikkel Hansen revolving around at Brøndby Stadium. Not in football boots accepted in their free time, with an two core projects: Antibully, a project to but in the company of the chairman of the emphasis on football and sport. prevent bullying in children’s handball, and Danish FA, Jesper Møller. Both were And what better occasion for the Klubfidusen, which is about creating a safe greeted by the crowd attending the match cheque handover than a football match, environment in football clubs, to make all and a group of enthusiastic children. where the crown princess – herself a keen children feel safe and welcome. These two supporter of the national team – could projects constitute the main reason why deliver a clear message about the Mary the Mary Foundation was selected for a Foundation’s work. UEFA Foundation for Children donation. With an emphasis on bullying, the Jesper Møller said: “It is of great Mary Foundation has been undertaking importance that children have a good time world-leading research into the overlooked and feel secure playing football in the clubs topic of how doing sport affects children’s all over Denmark. Therefore, we are very well-being. excited about working together with the Most children associate sport with Mary Foundation and the crown princess having fun and making friends. However, to make sure that the important work is approximately 1 in 10 children in the third implemented and further developed.” to sixth grades in Danish schools have at The Mary Foundation plans to put the some point dropped out of a leisure activity donation towards its ongoing work in Anders Kjaerbye Anders because of bullying or poor welfare. That football clubs.

ENGLAND www.thefa.com ‘ON THE BOARD’ GRADUATES CELEBRATE AT WEMBLEY

SIOBHAN BURKE

The latest group to graduate from related organisations, is now in its fifth The FA the On The Board football year. Its earliest proponents include West governance programme run by Bromwich Albion FC’s caretaker manager In addition to celebrating the Effective Board Member (EBM) recently Darren Moore, former Blackburn Rovers FC achievements of this year’s graduates, celebrated their achievement with a and Wigan Athletic FC forward Jason the ceremony provided an excellent ceremony at Wembley Stadium. Roberts, and former Birmingham City FC opportunity for current and former Supported by The Football Association players Dave Barnett and Michael Johnson. participants to pay tribute to the late and the Professional Footballers’ The programme has evolved over the Cyrille Regis alongside members of the Association, the EBM programme, years and has been completed by a wide Regis family and special guests such as delivered by The Governance Forum and range of participants from across the Brighton and Hove Albion FC’s manager, designed to equip current and former football landscape. This year’s graduates Chris Hughton. BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) include former Norwich City FC player Paul To learn more about The Football and female footballers with the skills they McVeigh and Guyanese international Association’s inclusion programmes, need to sit on the boards of football- Christopher Nurse. please visit TheFA.com.

UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 – 39 MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

ESTONIA www.jalgpall.ee KNOWLEDGE-SHARING BETWEEN ASSOCIATIONS

MAARJA SAULEP

March and April were busy kooli! project, the Rimi football skills and summer camps are held every months for the Estonian FA, with festivals and summer camps, and year and they see thousands of children hosting a UEFA Study Group the Spin youth sports programme. enjoy the game in a supportive and Scheme seminar and a UEFA match Jalgpall kooli! or the Football for fun environment. delegates workshop both on the agenda. School! project, is aimed at popularising “It was good to share the experience For the first time, Estonia organised football among teachers, pupils and and knowledge we have from various a Study Group Scheme seminar, where parents. Qualified coaches and local projects and how we’ve included schools coaches and officials from San Marino, clubs go into schools and run training in our activities,” said Teet Allas, head of Gibraltar, Portugal, Estonia, Georgia and sessions for the pupils. The Spin youth the Estonian FA’s grassroots department. Albania exchanged technical know-how on sports programme is about giving children “We also gained a lot of new ideas for football’s role in schools and school sport. of different ages the opportunity to how to introduce football to more The officials from the Estonian FA develop social skills they need in life while people,” he added. shared their experiences of their Jalgpall playing football. Football skills festivals In mid-April, a workshop in Tallinn welcomed UEFA match delegates from Andorra, Albania, Belgium, Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Sweden and Switzerland. During the two-day seminar, the 38 delegates reviewed various case studies, discussed delegates’ duties, touched on the issues of safety and security during matches, and had practical sessions where they focused on communication EJA skills and incident management.

FAROE ISLANDS www.football.fo SPECIALLY DESIGNED NATIONAL KITS

TERJI NIELSEN

For the next four years, the the Faroese media and general public, it Faroese FA’s webshop has been busy national teams of the Faroe received a very positive response and the ever since! Islands will be wearing kits from Italian manufacture Macron, the first time the kits have been specially designed. Representatives of the Faroese FA designed the shirts with the supplier’s help and as a result they now feature various details such as a map of the islands discreetly printed on them and the local name for the country, Føroyar, on the neck. While the previous contract with adidas was good, the Faroese FA could not miss the opportunity to be involved in the design process. When the new kit was presented to FSF

40 – UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 CLUB CHARTER REACHES NEXT LEVEL REACHES NEXT CHARTER CLUB FIRST FRENCH E-FOOT TEAM BORN TEAM E-FOOT FIRST FRENCH JEAN-BAPTISTE SCHMIDT JEAN-BAPTISTE FRANCE MIKAEL ERÄVUORIMIKAEL FINLAND this weekend gives us high hopes for the for the hopes high us gives weekend this throughout displayed level excellent “The countries,” Neo. other said against to face off hungry and talented are players four new These side. eFoot nations. other against matches inexhibition playing be soon will and side national France’s first Corentin (alias Chevrey RocKy). (alias Cuillerier DaXe) and Lucas (alias Gil Herozia), Nathan Maestro), (alias Corentin Thuillier Devide: Fabien aka Neo, coach under team national for the selected were four players team. national French the on place their to gain inabattle centre football consultants. The club charter covers three three covers charter club The consultants. external and FAby Finnish experts supported inquestion, club the at process adevelopment triggering assessment each year, every with club participating each inFinland. players registered for 75% accounting initiative, of all in the part taking were of 184 clubs total year, this late March By a management. general and activities sporting their develop clubs to helping aview with clubs, 2013/14, 32 pilot with incooperation sectors. development grassroots and player inthe strong extremely are clubs charter. these club Both its of level highest and fifth the reached Tampere Ilves –had and Helsinki HJK “I’m proud to coach this first French French first “I’m this to coach proud join therefore four players These qualifiers, of these At outcome the The Finnish FA is committed to assessing to assessing FA Finnish committed is The in established was charter club The clubs in the Finnish first league – league first Finnish inthe clubs two that announced of Finland Association Football the March, In

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“The FFF intends to be a pioneer in apioneer to be intends FFF “The FA of Finland-Jussi Eskola HJK vIlves HJK all parties.” for process agood been therefore has This this. to us achieve help operations and infrastructure landscape, football country’s our that crucial is It fronts. all on operations our measure and develop to need we so sustainability, and quality of both interms for excellence striving are “We ClubEuropean Association). of the (and vice-chairman Helsinki of HJK club,” executive chief Riihilahti, Aki said model. excellence EFQM of the part forms which logic, RADAR on based is assessment level-five That Finland. Excellence by Laatukeskus assessed is club the completed, once then, FA Finnish by the funded and appointed consultant a by facilitated is process The development. inplayer process development ayear-long to complete has aclub level, To highest the reach our very active community.” active very our expanding and of football aspects in all expertise our consolidating be director.marketing will “We plan,” Vasseur, François action said “We want to be the top Nordic football football Nordic top the to want “We be MEMBER ASSOCIATIONSMEMBER

UEFA DIRECT UEFA www.palloliitto.fi •

June June www.fff.fr 2018

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41 FFF MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

GEORGIA www.gff.ge SECOND CERTIFICATE IN FOOTBALL MANAGEMENT KICKS OFF

KETI GOLIADZE

The Georgian CFM – the local the Georgian minister of culture and conducted to the highest standards.” equivalent of UEFA’s education sport, Mikheil Giorgadze; the GFF Maka Ioseliani expressed her full support programme – has just started its president, Levan Kobiashvili; and GIPA for the programme. “In today’s reality, it second intake. The programme is the first rector Maka Ioseliani, who congratulated is rare to see an institution demonstrate partnership project by the Georgian the participants on the start of the course such a progressive and timely approach Football Federation (GFF) and the and wished them good luck. to the issue of education, as Mr Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA). “Education is one of the top priorities Kobiashvili and the Georgian Football Free for all participants, it is fully funded for the GFF,” said Kobiashvili. “We are Federation have done,” she said. by the GFF and the Football Development delighted to partner with such a The certificate programme forms Fund of Georgia. prestigious institution as the GIPA, which part of a three-year cooperation agreement The launch ceremony was attended by will ensure that the programme is signed by the GFF and the GIPA. “I feel sure the agreement will give rise to a number of engaging projects. Success in sport, or indeed in any other field, is impossible to imagine without an associated improvement in education and qualifications,” added Mr Giorgadze. The five-month programme aims to train representatives of the football sector in management skills to support the development of domestic football. It is specifically designed for representatives of football clubs, other entities under the GFF’s jurisdiction, as well as individuals responsible for the development of the GFF sport in the country.

GIBRALTAR www.gibraltarfa.com FIRST INTERNATIONAL WIN AS A FIFA MEMBER

STEVEN GONZALEZ

It was a day the majority of them, they were determined to put on a

Gibraltarian football fans had show. Yet by half-time it was still 0-0. GFA been eagerly looking forward to: Latvia made three changes at half-time the first time in two years they could but still the massive home support watch their beloved national team on dominated the play on the field. home turf and wear their red and white The deadlock was finally broken in the with pride at Victoria Stadium. 88th minute, when Gibraltar were There was an air of expectancy in awarded a free-kick and Liam Walker the stadium despite the fact that scored the first international goal on Gibraltar’s Latvian opponents were, Gibraltarian soil in four years. Victoria ironically, the last team to play an Stadium erupted! international fixture in Gibraltar and Four minutes of added time that had won by a resounding 5-0. seemed like an eternity for the local crowd As the game kicked off, Gibraltar ultimately did not help Latvia, and the first as a FIFA member, and only their started out by far the more ambitious. match ended with Gibraltar’s first second since joining UEFA, not to mention Playing at home, with their fans behind international victory on home soil, their their first clean sheet in two years!

42 – UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

HUNGARY www.mlsz.hu PALOTAI INSPIRES YOUNG REFEREES

MÁRTON DINNYÉS

One of Hungary’s finest referees, Károly Palotai, passed away earlier this year at the age of 82. He had a unique career in football, winning a gold medal at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo as a player before going on to officiate in many World Cup and European Football Championship fixtures as a referee. In 2015, the Hungarian Football Federation launched its Palotai programme with a view to inspiring talented young referees throughout the mlsz.hu country. Only referees under the age of 20 are eligible to take part, with men careers a boost. So far, 460 participants skills. Some may even go on to officiate requiring two years’ experience and have enjoyed the benefits of this at international level, following in the women one year. The programme nationwide programme. footsteps of some of Hungary’s greatest helps young match officials gain a better With Palotai serving as a role model referees, such as István Zsolt, Sándor understanding of what it takes to be a for the young referees, they should be Puhl and Viktor Kassai – and, of course, modern football referee and gives their motivated to work hard and improve their Palotai himself.

ISRAEL www.football.org.il FOOTBALL CHALLENGE

EITAN DOTAN

The Israel Football Association’s sought to combine football with puzzles recent Football Challenge presenting maths challenges from the encouraged children to develop real world. their cognitive and analytical skills with The Football Challenge involved a tasks that combined football and variety of different stages in which mathematical puzzles. The winner, competitors had to answer two trivia 14-year-old Almog Wald, will be jetting questions about football, solve maths off to Russia this summer to watch a problems, score a goal while blindfolded, match at the 2018 World Cup. record their efforts on video, and International tests show that Israeli upload that video to the internet. schoolchildren still lag some way behind To get through the competition, their peers in other OECD countries children had to display creative when it comes to mathematics, mathematical thinking, demonstrate science and reading, regardless of critical analysis and independent socio-economic background. thought, take calculated risks and The children say that school is not show initiative – all qualities that they always relevant to their world and that will need to succeed in later life. The they do not always see a connection judges then selected the best videos between school subjects and real life. based on the children’s ability to Many of them lack motivation and do complete the various tasks. not see any need to invest time and The competition took place over a effort in their schoolwork. With that in two-week period in late January and mind, this innovative competition IFA early February.

UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 – 43 MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

ITALY www.figc.it SERIE A REFEREEING PUT UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

DIEGO ANTENOZIO

The Salone d’Onore at the headquarters of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) in Rome provided the setting for the annual meeting between Italy’s top-tier referees, members of the referee selection commission for Serie A (CAN A) and officials, head coaches and FIGC players’ representatives from the 20 top-division clubs. of fouls (-8.8%), yellow cards (-14.7%), and 105 of them had led to a change of Speakers included Giovanni Malagò, and red cards (-6.4%, with only one decision. When these decisions were CONI president and Serie A special sending off for dissent compared with 11 subjected to further analysis, it was commissioner; Roberto Fabbricini, in 2016/17) to an increase in penalties concluded that 17 were actually wrong, special commissioner of the Italian (+4.3%). including 8 that were deemed to have Football Federation (FIGC); Marcello The most dramatic change, however, significantly influenced the outcome of Nicchi, president of the Italian referees’ was a 19.3% reduction in player protests the match. association (AIA); Damiano Tommasi, and a 43% drop in diving and other forms Overall, the statistics underline the president of the Italian footballers’ of simulation. potential impact of this new technology, association (AIC); and Biagio Savarese, Inevitably, Rizzoli dedicated much of including its effectiveness as a deterrent vice-president of the Italian football his attention to the video assistant referee against anti-sporting behaviour. The coaches association (AIAC). (VAR) system, which has been trialled average time taken for the officials to The highlight of the morning’s during the Serie A campaign. He make a decision using VAR dropped from programme was provided by Nicola reminded the meeting that the match 82 seconds in the first three matchdays Rizzoli, head of referee selection for officials had used the protocol set out by to 31.5 seconds in the latter half of the Serie A, who presented statistics from the the IFAB, which limits the use of VAR to season, while – in another positive result ongoing 2017/18 season updated to correcting ‘clear and obvious errors’. – use of the system actually coincided matchday 33. In 346 matches (330 in Serie A, 16 in with a marginal gain in effective playing Compared with the previous campaign, the Coppa Italia), referees made 1,736 time, with the ball in play for an average the figures reveal a number of significant VAR checks (916 for goals, 464 for of 43 seconds more per match compared developments, from a drop in the number penalty awards and 356 for red cards) with 2016/17.

LATVIA www.lff.lv KASPARS GORKŠS ELECTED PRESIDENT

TOMS ĀRMANIS

Former Latvian national team futsal association – stood and Gorkšs Kaspars Gorkšs is

captain Kaspars Gorkšs was was elected during the first round of LFF one of the most elected as the new president of voting for a term that lasts until the 2020 popular and the Latvian Football Federation (LFF) at its LFF congress. successful footballers annual congress on 27 April. “In football we say that preparation in recent Latvian His predecessor, Guntis Indriksons, for the next match starts after the final history. He was who had held the position since 1996, whistle of the previous game,” said the capped 89 times and announced last year that he would resign newly elected president in his first public since 2010 had with effect from this year’s congress. address. “That’s also true for me – there captained the Three candidates – Kaspars Gorkšs, is no room for euphoria, because a lot national team. In Krišjānis Kļaviņš, president of SK Cēsis, needs to be done. Football must become October 2017 he announced his and Vadims Ļašenko, head of the Latvian the passion of Latvia.” retirement from playing the game.

44 – UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

LIECHTENSTEIN www.lfv.li FROM TOP-CAPPED PLAYER TO GENERAL SECRETARY

ANTON BANZER

The Liechtenstein Football the game in his country. Association (LFV) has just With 132 caps from his 20-year career, appointed another well-known and crowned Liechtenstein player of the player to its ranks. He is national team year in 2014 and 2016, Jehle started out goalkeeper Peter Jehle, who will take up as a youth player with FC Schaan, before the position of LFV general secretary in playing for his country at youth level. By July after hanging up his boots and the age of 16, he was already defending goalkeeper’s gloves. the senior national team goal. Jehle follows in the footsteps of After a stint with teams abroad, Mario Frick and Martin Stocklasa, who notably in Portugal and France, he joined the association a year ago as returned home in 2009 to play for coaches. The 36-year-old feels it is the FC Vaduz. right time to retire from active play and Peter Jehle succeeds Philipp Patsch as to dedicate himself to the LFV and make general secretary, who is leaving to

Peter Jehle LFV a long-term commitment to the future of pursue new professional challenges.

MALTA www.mfa.com.mt TROPHY TOUR AND VALLETTA CROWNED

KEVIN AZZOPARDI

In the weeks leading up to the final day of this season’s premier league, the Malta FA organised a mini-tour for the new league trophy. Designed by Thomas Lyte, the renowned London-based silversmiths who also produced the new FA trophy, the stunning cup is handcrafted in sterling silver and weighs in at five kilos, including the plinth. The first stop on the tour was the national sports school, where the trophy AquilinaD. was displayed to the great interest and enthusiasm of the pupils, who were also treated to a Q&A session with four Malta internationals: Hibernians defender Andrei Agius, Cain Attard, the Birkirkara wing back, and Ryan Camilleri and Paul Fenech, respectively captains of Valletta and Balzan. A thrilling final to the 2017/18 premier AquilinaD. league campaign culminated in Valletta FC being crowned Maltese champions for the while Balzan went down 1-0 to Hibernians competitions after a lapse of more than 40 24th time in their history. The title race on the same afternoon. Those results years. In the other categories, Qormi won went down to the wire as Valletta FC and meant that Valletta sealed top spot and the the first-division championship, Gudja Balzan FC headed into their final-day crown with a total of 58 points, three United captured the second-division league matches level on 55 points. ahead of Balzan, who qualified for the championship and Santa Venera Lightnings Valletta FC accomplished their mission Europa League along with Gżira United, finished top of the third division. Birkirkara after beating third-placed Gżira United 2-1, who are making a return to European retained the women’s league crown.

UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 – 45 MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

MOLDOVA www.fmf.md 2017 YEARBOOK

PRESS OFFICE

The ninth Moldovan football of statistics on the 2017 season, yearbook was recently including all appearances and goalscorers published in Chișinău. The in Moldova’s top three divisions. involvement of the Football Association The yearbook is a must for of Moldova (FMF) in this invaluable statisticians, providing full individual publication lends it added credibility analyses for each top-division club, as a point of reference. Since the first with facts, photos and figures issue in 2010, the editor, Victor Daghi, supplemented by a narrative season has recorded the major events of review and selected historical records. the last domestic football season It also updates a list of all Moldovan for posterity. champions since 1992, an all-time league After an opening message from table, details of the highest goalscorers FMF Pavel Cebanu, the FMF president, on of all time for the top two divisions and the association’s achievements, the information about each Moldovan Cup 128-page yearbook provides masses final and Super Cup.

NORTHERN IRELAND www.irishfa.com EDUCATION AND HERITAGE CENTRE A TOP VISITOR ATTRACTION

NIGEL TILSON

The Irish Football Association’s “We’re aiming for 10,000 visitors and The centre has a number of trusted volunteer education and heritage centre is 600 tours in 2018 and we are confident tour guides, who have received extensive now officially one of Belfast’s top we’ll reach that target,” Garrett adds. training to deliver a top visitor experience. visitor attractions. Housed in the national football stadium at Windsor Park, it tells the unique story of Northern Ireland football from the 1880s to the present day using a variety of media, interactive displays and key artefacts. The centre has just broken into TripAdvisor’s Top 10 list of the best things to do in Belfast. It is now ranked sixth out of 236 visitor attractions in the city. “By the end of 2017 we were sitting at number 33 out of 233 things to do in Belfast with a five-star rating from TripAdvisor,” explains centre manager Stephen Garrett. “Our aim this year was to get in to the top 20, so we’re naturally delighted to currently be in sixth place with a five-star rating.” Inaugurated last March by Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill and most-capped player Pat Jennings, the centre welcomed 7,197 visitors from all over the world – and held 448 tours – in Michael O’Neill and Pat Jennings its first nine months of operation. IFA

46 – UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

NORWAY www.fotball.no PLAYER DEVELOPMENT WORK PAYS OFF

YNGVE HAAVIK

For the first time, Norway has qualified for both the Under-19 and Under-17 European Championship final tournaments in the same season. The eye of the needle to qualify for UEFA youth championship final tournaments is very hard to pass through. Norway is a relatively small football nation, and it is therefore hugely inspiring that we have qualified for both the Under-19 and Under-17 European Championship finals in the same year for the first time. Margins are, of course, always a factor in football, but we think we are beginning to see the results of the more systematic player development work we started investing in a few years back when we set up the national team school. The Norwegian Football Association has also confirmed its gold-level status under the UEFA Grassroots Charter this year. Norwegian football’s overall vision is NFF to provide football activity to anyone who wants to play football, whatever their level been an obstacle to developing quality 17s as proof that we can do two and whoever they are. This means, among players. things at the same time: develop good other things, that there is no talent Norwegian football is working on international players, and make sure selection in children’s football up to the improvements in many areas, but we see that football is accessible to everyone age of 13, which some claim as having the success of our Under-19s and Under- at grassroots level.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND www.fai.ie MAKING A MARK IN GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL

GARETH MAHER introduction of the FAI Club Mark was the latest step in helping grassroots clubs The Football Association of around the country achieve their full Ireland (FAI) has launched the potential. “The FAI Club Mark will help Club Mark programme, which is lead to the improvement of standards in intended to help grassroots clubs our clubs. We will recognise the great throughout the country. The award is work done by the clubs in their based on best practice in the governance, communities, and take it to another level. management and administration of a club. “We’ve over 2,000 clubs in the country Three clubs have already completed the of different sizes. The FAI Club Mark will first stage of the programme, and help assist the clubs to improve their representatives from Mayo’s Achill Rovers, FAI standards off the pitch.” Donegal’s Gweedore Celtic and For more information on the FAI Club Waterford’s Park Rangers were presented the FAI’s chief executive, John Delaney. Mark, visit www.fai.ie/domestic/fai-club- with their awards at the official launch by Speaking at the event, Delaney said the mark

UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 – 47 MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

ROMANIA www.frf.ro NEW MANDATE FOR BURLEANU

PAUL ZAHARIA

With an absolute majority of 168 and Ilie Drăgan, and promised to do his votes from the 254 affiliated best to ensure continued unity over the members present (out of 256), next four years. 33-year-old Răzvan Burleanu was elected Unity has actually been one of the in a single ballot for a second four-year recurrent themes of the FRF president’s term as president of the Romanian speeches, emphasising not only the Football Federation (FRF) at the association’s philosophy and approach, -FRF Dangeorge Cristian association’s general assembly, held at its but also the direction to be followed in headquarters in Bucharest on 18 April. the future. “We have a duty to all the youngsters Burleanu first became president on “As the real force of Romanian football, playing in the newly created 5 March 2014. we have developed projects, put football competitions, and a duty to the second Expressing gratitude for the association’s first, and the FRF members above all and third leagues, women’s football and hard work over the previous four years, else,” he said after his re-election. “The to futsal. So we’ll carry on and make sure he said his door would continue to remain aim during my first term was to ensure that Romanian football serves you all. open to clubs and staff. financial stability. Now we have gained Let’s be a generation who only look He also extended a hand to the other confidence and are ready to go to the towards a better future,” declared candidates, Ioan Lupescu, Marcel Pușcaș next level. Burleanu to a standing ovation.

SCOTLAND www.scottishfa.co.uk SSE NAMED TITLE SPONSOR OF GIRLS’ SOCCER CENTRES

MICHAEL LAMONT

The Scottish Football Association Initially launched in April 2017 across the The event was also attended by more recently announced that energy Scottish FA’s six regions, by the end of than 100 girls from local schools company SSE would be the title the year there were 39 soccer centres, Camstradden Primary, Glasgow Gaelic sponsor of its girls’ soccer centres. involving some 650 girls. School and St Patrick’s Primary, who took The Scottish FA’s soccer centres aim Thanks to SSE’s investment, the part in small-sided matches and training to encourage a new generation of girls association is aiming to have more than drills led by the Scottish FA staff and aged 5–12 to fall in love with football in 1,000 girls enrolled at 50 soccer centres soccer centre ambassadors, as well as a a fun and nurturing environment. by the end of 2018. Soccer centres are special Q&A session with Shelley Kerr. run in partnership with local authorities, Statistics for girls’ and women’s leisure trusts, schools and community football have increased significantly in clubs, delivering weekly sessions and Scotland in recent years, with the number helping to create a pathway into the of registered players rising from 10,000 Scottish FA club game. to 12,000 by the end of 2017. “We are Six members of the Scottish women’s delighted to welcome SSE on board as national team have been appointed title sponsor of our girls’ soccer centres ambassadors for the soccer centres in and are extremely grateful to them for their respective home regions, providing their investment in growing the girls’ visible female role models for all game in Scotland,” said Donald Gillies, participating girls. head of girls’ and women’s football at the SSE’s sponsorship of the soccer centres Scottish FA. “Since the girls’ soccer was announced at a launch event at the centres were launched last year, we have SSE Hydro arena on 23 April attended by seen a tremendous uptake from young Scottish internationals Lee Alexander girls, no doubt sparked by the success of and Claire Emslie, as well as the national our women’s national team and the team’s head coach, Shelley Kerr. excellent work of local partners.”

48 – UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

SLOVAKIA www.futbalsfz.sk 21 LEGENDS IN THE HALL OF FAME

PETER SURIN

Since its inauguration in spring 2016, the Slovak football Hall of Fame has, as it were, come of age. There are now 21 inductees, up from the initial 11, another five having been added in 2017, with five more in 2018. “The Hall of Fame is a unique project, an expression of respect for those who have raised the art of football to a vital example of our nation’s self-awareness, Anton Urban, Ladislav Petráš for those who deserve glory and who have and Marián Masný forged the reputation of Slovak football,” SFZ (left to right) reads the preamble to the museum’s statutes. Places are reserved for football players, This year Andrej Kvašňák (in memoriam), 1964 Olympic games (Urban); European coaches, referees, officials and journalists: Anton Malatinský (in memoriam), Anton Championship glory in 1976 (Masný); whoever deserves recognition for hard Urban, Ladislav Petráš and Marián Masný European Champion Clubs’ Cup semi-final and honest work in Slovak football. joined the existing inductees: Jozef with Spartak Trnava (Malatinský); Nominees also need to embody the Adamec, Karol Dobias, Karol Galba, Ján European Champion Clubs’ Cup quarter- attributes of public respect, with a strong Popluhár, Viliam Schrojf, Leopold Šťastný, final and all-time best player for Sparta character and the right moral values. Jozef Čapkovič, Anton Ondrus, Adolf Prague (Kvašňák); and memorable The criteria are tough, but only such Scherer, Jozef Vengloš (2016), Titus goalscorer against Brazil in the 1970 personalities are worthy of the unique Buberník, Štefan Čambal, Jozef Kšiňan, World Cup (Petráš). trophy – a bronze statue by academic Ján Pivarník and Michal Vičan (2017). Many of them have experienced highs sculptor Jozef Hobor, featuring the ball All of these amazing football players and lows in their personal lives following in the top corner of the goal – and a have written an indelible chapter in the their successful football careers, yet their certificate of their place in the Slovak history of Slovak, Czechoslovak, European well-deserved place in the hall of fame football pantheon. and world football. The silver medal at the will endure.

SWEDEN www.svenskfotboll.se STATUES SEND ANTI-BULLYING MESSAGE

ANDREAS NILSSON

There were a few puzzled looks as experienced bullying when they were today still do nothing when they see Sweden’s national team walked out children,” says Per Leander, CEO of the bullying before their very eyes. This to face Chile at Friends Arena on Friends Foundation. “And yet many adults campaign aims to make the victims visible 24 March without the usual player escorts and encourage adults to step in when by their sides. Instead, each player carried they see children being harassed.” a statuette. The campaign has been financed by The symbolic gesture was part of a Swedbank, partner of both the Swedish high-profile campaign against bullying, in FA and the Friends Foundation. “We’re which 25 life-sized bronze sculptures have very grateful that the national team been installed at the arena, depicting helped us spread this important vulnerable children in environments message,” says Swedbank’s Johan where bullying typically occurs: hallways, Eriksson. “Football has the unique ability locker rooms, bathrooms and cafeterias. to engage people’s attention and if our The underlying message is simple: national players highlight the cause it can don’t be a spectator if you witness change the daily lives of thousands of bullying. “Seven out of ten adults SvFF children.”

UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 – 49 50 50 stories from all over the country. the over all from stories ROB DOWLING FOOTBALL ANEW FC CYMRU, MAGAZINE WEB WALES MEMBER ASSOCIATIONSMEMBER the evaluation of all UEFA member UEFA of all member evaluation the following Charter UEFA Grassroots the under status gold achieved having to celebrate, have cause already members league amateur the celebrations, president. honorary Mathier, Marcel now predecessor, his does as ranks, its from stems Gilliéron, Peter FA Swiss president, current The football. inSwiss role important an plays and associations regional ten organising committee. to the chair appointed association, regional Switzerland central the of Dickerhof, chairman the Urs with infull swing, already are celebrations anniversary. 100th its celebrating in2021 and be will it Association, Football Swiss of the divisions three PIERRE BENOIT PARTY AMATEUR FOR THE TIME LEAGUE SWITZERLAND ASSOCIATIONSMEMBER

FAW jubilee their Now, before even comprises league amateur The jubilee for the Preparations – UEFA •June DIRECT

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SFV MEMBER ASSOCIATIONSMEMBER BIRTHDAYS, NOTICES, FORTHCOMING EVENTS

BIRTHDAYS

Ekaterina Fedyshina (Russia, 1 June) Kepa Larumbe Beain (Spain, 16 June) Ferenc Székely (Hungary, 2 June) Michael Joseph Maessen (Netherlands, 17 June) NOTICES Liana Melania Stoicescu (Romania, 3 June) Rainer Werthmann (Germany, 17 June) Ivaylo Ivkov (Bulgaria, 3 June) 50th Paolo Rondelli (San Marino, 17 June) • On 18 April Răzvan Burleanu Radek Lobo (Czech Republic, 3 June) 50th Markus Nobs (Switzerland, 17 June) was re-elected president of the Klara Bjartmarz (Iceland, 3 June) Anne Rei (Estonia, 17 June) Romanian Football Federation. John Ward (Republic of Ireland, 4 June) Philippe Piat (France, 18 June) Yauheni Tratsiuk (Belarus, 4 June) Hannelore Ratzeburg (Germany, 18 June) Vito Roberto Tisci (Italy, 4 June) Ivan Novak (Croatia, 18 June) • On 27 April Kaspars Gorkšs Mete Düren (Turkey, 4 June) Eduard Prodani (Albania, 18 June) was elected president of the Jean-Samuel Leuba (Switzerland, 4 June) Elkhan Mammadov (Azerbaijan, 18 June) Latvian Football Federation. He Ludovico Micallef (Malta, 5 June) Tobias Wolf (Germany, 19 June) replaces Guntis Indriksons. Jaap Uilenberg (Netherlands, 5 June) Maria Mifsud (Malta, 20 June) John MacLean (Scotland, 5 June) 60th Peter Peters (Germany, 21 June) Maksimas Bechterevas (Lithuania, 5 June) Zoran Cvrk (Croatia, 21 June) Michael Joseph Hyland Tomasz Mikulski (Poland, 21 June) 50th FORTHCOMING EVENTS (Republic of Ireland, 6 June) Paulius Malžinskas (Lithuania, 21 June) Stefano Braschi (Italy, 6 June) Ilja Kaenzig (Switzerland, 21 June) Lars-Åke Björck (Sweden, 7 June) Vakhtang Bzikadze (Georgia, 21 June) Meetings Michel Sablon (Belgium, 7 June) Keith Hackett (England, 22 June) Sándor Berzi (Hungary, 7 June) David Martin (Northern Ireland, 22 June) 12 June, Nyon Onofre Costa (Portugal, 7 June) Zvi Rosen (Israel, 23 June) UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa Johannes Scholtz (Netherlands, 8 June) Vladimir Antonov (Moldova, 23 June) 60th League: preliminary round draws Jesper Møller Christensen (Denmark, 9 June) Leslie Irvine (Northern Ireland, 23 June) 60th 12/13 June, Moscow Antoine Portelli (Malta, 9 June) Georg Pangl (Austria, 23 June) FIFA Congress Petri Antero Jakonen (Finland, 9 June) Jean-Jacques Schonckert Jonathan Ford (Wales, 9 June) 50th (Luxembourg, 24 June) 19 June, Nyon Monica Jorge (Portugal, 9 June) 40th Renatus Temmink (Netherlands, 24 June) UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa Hans Bangerter (Switzerland, 10 June) João Rocha (Portugal, 24 June) League: draws for the first and second Andrew Shaw (England, 10 June) Jouni Hyytiä (Finland, 24 June) qualifying rounds Eleni Kiriou (Greece, 10 June) Jeannette Good (Finland, 24 June) 22 June, Nyon Thórir Hákonarson (Iceland, 11 June) Kaarlo Kankkunen (Finland, 24 June) UEFA Women's Champions League: Kristinn Jakobsson (Iceland, 11 June) Tom Borgions (Belgium, 24 June) qualifying round draw Zoran Dimić (Serbia, 11 June) Hilmi Sinan Güreli (Turkey, 24 June) José Luis López Serrano (Spain, 12 June) Arturs Gaidels (Latvia, 24 June) Competitions Alain Courtois (Belgium, 12 June) Mario Gjurcinovski (FYR Macedonia, 25 June) 4–12 June Jørn West Larsen (Denmark, 12 June) Michalis Koukoulakis (Greece, 25 June) Women’s World Cup: qualifying matches Haris Gvozden Foppe de Haan (Netherlands, 26 June) European Women's Under-19 Championship: (Bosnia and Herzegovina, 12 June) Anja Palusevic (Germany, 26 June) elite round Roland Coquard (France, 13 June) Nerijus Dunauskas (Lithuania, 26 June) 40th Targo Kaldoja (Estonia, 13 June) Barry Bright (England, 27 June) 14 June–15 July, Russia Matej Damjanović Sigurður Hannesson (Iceland, 27 June) World Cup (Bosnia and Herzegovina, 13 June) Eyjólfur Ólafsson (Iceland, 27 June) 26 June Galina Doneva (Bulgaria, 14 June) Ruud Dokter (Republic of Ireland, 27 June) UEFA Champions League: preliminary round Nuno Castro (Portugal, 14 June) José Venancio López Hierro (Spain, 27 June) (semi-finals) Vyacheslav Koloskov (Russia, 15 June) Wim Koevermans (Belgium, 28 June) Miguel Galán Torres (Spain, 15 June) Alessandro Giaquinto (San Marino, 28 June) 28 June Georgios Bikas (Greece, 15 April) Ivan Borissov Lekov (Bulgaria, 29 June) UEFA Europa League: preliminary round (first legs) Vilma Zurzė (Lithuania, 15 June) 30th Michael Tsichritzis (Greece, 29 June) Alkan Ergün (Turkey, 16 June) Paul-Daniel Zaharia (Romania, 29 June) 29 June Sabri Çelik (Turkey, 16 June) Ginta Pēce (Latvia, 29 June) UEFA Champions League: preliminary Ramish Maliyev (Azerbaijan, 16 June) Peter van Zunderd (Netherlands, 30 June) round (final)

UEFA DIRECT • June 2018 – 51 No.178 • June 2018