Draw in Montreux Transitional Season for the Under-21S Anti-Racism

No 47 – March 2006 Forum European Club Barcelona conference in Anti-racism Under-21s season forthe Transitional in Montreux Draw Forum European Club Barcelona conference in Anti-racism Under-21s season forthe Transitional in Montreux Draw 3.06 14 10 07 03 14 10 07 03 Including COVER IN THIS ISSUE Eleven questions for Mathieu Sprengers 09 The town of Montreux was decked out in the colours of EURO 2008 EURO 2008 qualifying draw 03 Second anti-racism conference 10 on 27 January to welcome the draw Tight schedule European Club Forum meets in Nyon 14 for the 2006–2008 European Foot- for the Under-21s 07 ball Championship qualifying competition. Referees prepare in Barcelona 08 News from member associations 16 PHOTO: UEFA-BOZZANI

Don’tEditorial ruin the dream

In itself, there is nothing very exciting about a draw: a few balls shuffled around and knocked together before being opened to divide the contestants into the different groups – and it’s all over in a matter of minutes! Draws for major competitions have, however, become keenly awaited events that are followed by millions of TV viewers, and the draw for the EURO 2008 qualifying competi- tion made in Montreux at the end of January was no excep- tion, drumming up all the excitement and anticipation that are part of such proceedings nowadays. The excitement that a draw generates is, of course, in proportion to the importance of the competition it relates to, but any ceremony of this kind is a special occasion, irrespective of the magnitude of the competition in question. For it is the only moment in the competition when everyone can dream: you know the name of your opponents but, whatever their reputation, nothing prevents you from dreaming of great exploits and believing in miracles – even if such miracles are unlikely in the harsh daylight of the competition. Dreams are an important part of football, and not only when draws are made. They feed the minds of countless young people who dream of following in the footsteps of their heroes; they take over the fans, who dream of seeing their team flying high at the top of the table, they distract from their daily preoccupations those for whom the football stadium is a hallowed place. We must not spoil those dreams by allowing harmful elements to taint our game. One such scourge is racism, which has just been the subject of a conference organised by UEFA in Barcelona. Words alone cannot eradicate this problem. A resolute attitude is needed too. Racism does not merit the slightest tolerance; it is up to all of us to condemn it and to do everything within our power to put a stop to it.

Lars-Christer Olsson Chief Executive

we care about football

02 uefadirect 3.06 EURO 2008 Preliminaries Qualifying round draw UEFA

KNOWN AROUND THE WORLD FOR ITS ANNUAL JAZZ FESTIVAL, MONTREUX WAS EURO 2004 ONCE AGAIN TRANSFORMED INTO A HIVE OF ACTIVITY FOR THE FIRST TELEVISED EVENT OF EURO 2008. THE QUALIFYING ROUND DRAW WAS HELD AT THE TOWN’S Record CONGRESS CENTRE ON 27 JANUARY. audience

For the first time in its history, qualifying matches for EURO 2004 and More than 7.9 billion the European Championship will the 2006 World Cup. people all over the world, involve 52 countries, which means all The top two teams in each of including over 1 billion in Asia, UEFA’s member associations will the seven groups will qualify for the watched the 31 EURO 2004 be taking part and setting a new final phase. matches. This figure illustrates record for the number of par- The qualifying matches will ticipants. Kazakhstan, a UEFA begin in autumn 2006 and the order the speed at which this compe- member since 2002, will be com- of fixtures, to be played on the dates tition has grown over the last peting for the first time. set in the calendar for international few years. Fifty nations split into seven matches, must be decided by the partici- “We hope that the 2008 groups will battle it out for the 14 pants in each group within 30 days of the tournament will trigger a remaining final round places. Tourna- draw. football boom in both host ment organisers Switzerland and Aus- The tournament’s opening match tria have qualified automatically. For will be played at the St. Jakob Park stadium countries, with long-lasting the draw, the 50 teams were divided in Basle, Switzerland on 7 June 2008, effects,” said the UEFA into seven pots in accordance with their with the final to be held at the Ernst Happel President. coefficients, calculated on the basis of stadium in Vienna, Austria on 29 June.

03 No one Left to right: could Ralph Zloczower, get in Stéphane Chapuisat, without Lars-Christer Olsson, a ticket! Andreas Herzog and Friedrich Stickler. UEFA GETTY IMAGES Draw in Montreux One event, many aspects

The imagery Finally, suspended from the sure that it can be raised even further in Mountains, movement and emo- ceiling, five plasma screens show images 2008.” tion. The three elements that inspired the of the host cities and then of the draw He is followed on stage by official logo of EURO 2008 adorn the set. itself. Greece’s coach Otto Rehhagel, who tells The Henri Delaunay trophy sits the audience that “Since we won, every proudly on the courtyard side of the audi- The line-up opponent has taken us much more seri- torium. And what a line-up! Swiss ously. We are now treated as one of the On the garden side, seven green television presenter Jacques Deschenaux big guns and we will slowly have to get pots rest on a blue table. The green rep- acts as master of ceremonies. used to that.” resents the colour of the ball used in the He welcomes Lennart Johans- Next come Ralph Zloczower, logo, reflecting the importance of nature son, the UEFA President, onto the stage President of the Swiss Football Asso- in the region. for his opening speech. “The European ciation (ASF), and his Austrian counter- In the background, the image of Championship final round in Portugal part, Friedrich Stickler, followed by Lars- the Alpine summits serves as a reminder set new standards”, says the President, Christer Olsson, UEFA CEO, and two of the extraordinary panorama shared by “New standards in terms of the quality famous international players, Switzerland’s the two host nations. of matches, new standards in terms of Stéphane Chapuisat, UEFA Champions A red bridge soars above the organisation and record-breaking audi- League winner with Borussia Dortmund mountains, further underlining the coop- ences… The bar has been set high for in 1997, and Austrian Andreas Herzog, eration between the two countries. Switzerland and Austria, but we are 1996 UEFA Cup winner with Bayern Munich. The procedure is explained and the draw begins. TV production by UEFA Everything has been carefully prepared, timed and rehearsed the previ- UEFA Media Technologies SA, established by UEFA as a service ous day under the watchful eye of a company providing information technology developments, took respon- studio director. sibility for host broadcasting at the draw, i.e. capturing the images and producing the international The media signal. It appointed Swiss broad- Around 500 media represen- casting company SSR as executive tatives gathered on the shores of Lake producer and transmitted the Geneva: 178 from the written press, 31 photographers, 20 radio stations and images via satellite. no fewer than 250 TV personnel covered Seventy television channels the event. which had acquired the rights They were assisted by an 18- broadcast the images in 50 coun- person press service, including two press tries across the world. TV viewers relations officers, two TV and media in Asia, Australia and the United operations managers, eight press attachés

States were therefore able to UEFA appointed for the event, three media watch the EURO 2008 qualifying draw. China also showed the draw live accreditation staff and three volunteers who came to lend a hand. and even sent a team to Montreux. Their task was enormous. As Another innovation was UEFA’s provision to TV broadcasters of soon as the media activities had been video highlights to be downloaded from the Internet and integrated into decided, suitable locations and equip- their news programmes. ment had to be chosen for each. A total Finally, the whole event was produced in HDTV format (high-defini- of seven fully equipped rooms were tion television). required for the national coaches’ press

04 uefadirect 3.06 Stéphane The show Chapuisat and of flashguns Andreas Herzog that goes pretend to fight with any over the trophy high-profile during the dress event. rehearsal. UEFA

and a TV area covering more than 2,000 m2 for the satellite vans and generators. UEFA-BOZZANI The auditorium itself was equipped with a television studio for conferences, as well as a work room SSR, the official broadcaster, 16 sound- capable of holding up to 180 journalists, proof cabins for the commentators, a “flash interview” area for the two platforms for the photographers, coaches’ immediate reactions, a 600 m2 two more for the TV cameras and mixed zone for individual interviews, around 300 seats for the written press. UEFA Martin Kallen Chief Operating Officer (COO) The preliminary draw was an important step on the road to “the UEFA EURO 2008 final tour- nament for all the teams involved and the two host countries in their role as organisers. The out- come was very satisfactory for the host associations and UEFA. The next challenge will be to prepare the UEFA EURO 2008 tournament with all the parties involved, to have them dedi- cated and committed to the project and to have their full cooperation. The efficient preparation of the tournament, involving the sup- porters, followed by positive results for the two host teams, will be important factors in generating excitement and pas- sion for this event in the UEFA two countries. “ Qualifying groups Group A Group B Group C Group D Group E Group F Group G Portugal France Greece Czech Republic England Sweden Netherlands Poland Italy Turkey Germany Croatia Spain Romania Serbia-Montenegro Ukraine Norway Slovakia Russia Denmark Bulgaria Belgium Scotland Bosnia-Herzegovina Republic of Ireland Israel Latvia Slovenia Finland Lithuania Hungary Wales Estonia Iceland Albania Armenia Georgia Moldova Cyprus FYR Macedonia Northern Ireland Belarus Azerbaijan Faroe Islands Malta San Marino Andorra Liechtenstein Luxembourg Kazakhstan

05 Left to right: Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria), Hans-Peter Briegel (Albania), Victor Piturca (Romania) and Marco van Basten (Netherlands): four of the Group G rivals.

EUROTOP partners at UEFA headquarters in Nyon (EUROTOP is the exclusive pro- gramme for partners of UEFA’s elite com- petitions for national men’s, Under-21, women’s and futsal teams). The sponsors were involved in GETTY IMAGES different ways: for example, Coca-Cola and Carlsberg both provided various The welcome The fashion “We deliberately chose Mon- The new EURO 2008 uniforms treux because of its beautiful scenery were created by Isalda Pelicano, the Por- and micro-climate,” Ralph Zloczower tuguese clothes designer who designed told the 1,000 or so people in the the uniforms for the 2004 finals. Stravinsky auditorium. “I am confident Having been selected again that our guests will feel at home in this from a group of three candidates, this exceptional atmosphere.” As well as the time she has combined grey and red in pride of the hosts, the warmth of their order to respect the balance between welcome was certainly evident. The current trends and elegance. Red, a com- tone has been set. Switzerland and Aus- mon denominator between the national

tria are determined to do their utmost colours of Switzerland and Austria, is UEFA to look after the supporters, players, featured on the scarves, ties, belts and An opportunity for the sponsors to present sponsors, media, suppliers and all the other accessories. themselves. volunteers. The day before the draw, the The sponsors drinks from their respective ranges, and municipality of Montreux invited around Sponsors’ activities began the each was represented by six hostesses. 550 people to an official dinner, where day before the draw, with a meeting of 61 Hyundai vehicles were used to trans- guests from the 52 member associations port the guests; JVC provided the 41 and host cities were able to sample the screens in the hospitality and press gastronomy of the region. areas; and 200 adidas rucksacks were On their arrival at Geneva handed out. airport, the guests were welcomed by This was also the first event EURO 2008 hostesses and transported of the new sponsor recognition pro- by one of 60 volunteer gramme, in which partners are identi- drivers recruited for fied on the decorations of EURO 2008 the occasion. More events. than 900 hotel rooms were Launch of a new trophy booked for the Could there have been a more night of 26 noble setting than the Stravinsky audito- January. rium for the launch of the new Henri Delaunay trophy? Unveiled to the press the day before the draw, the cup has lost its marble plinth, but has been enlarged in order to reflect the growth in the competition’s importance over recent

The UEFA years. The style and shape are the same, President, but the Greek athlete engraved on Lennart Johansson, presents the back of the original trophy has given the new trophy. way to a list of the names of previous winners. The new trophy was produced by London-based silversmith Asprey. It is

UEFA 60 cm high and weighs 8 kg.

06 uefadirect 3.06 Lars-Christer Olsson with 2006 final round Jakob Kuhn... in Portugal

... and Marco The 2004–2006 European van Basten. Under-21 Championship concludes in Portugal in June. The draw for the

GETTY IMAGES GETTY IMAGES final round was made in Porto on 8 February with the following result: Group A: Portugal, France, Serbia and Montenegro, Germany. Group B: Italy, Denmark, Ukraine, Under-21 Netherlands. Legendary Portuguese striker Eusebio made the draw alongside Lars-Åke Lagrell, chairman of the National Teams Committee. The final Championship round will take place from 23 May Heading in a new direction to 4 June at the stadiums in Agueda, Aveiro, Barcelos, Braga, Guimaraes THE EUROPEAN UNDER-21 CHAMPIONSHIP IS IN THE and Porto. PROCESS OF BEING SEPARATED FROM ITS SENIOR UEFA COUNTERPART AND THE WORLD CUP AND MOVING TO A SITUATION WHERE ITS FINAL ROUND WILL TAKE PLACE IN ODD-NUMBERED YEARS.

For the draw for the qualifying according to the results of the round of the 2006/07 competition, the 2002–2004 and 2004-2006 Under-21 Under-21 Championship was still asso- qualifying competitions. ciated with the main European Cham- With Swiss national team pionship as regards the date (27 January) coach Jakob Kuhn lending a hand, the Two Under-21 final and town (Montreux) of the event, but draw for the preliminary round pro- rounds in the space the time and place were different: 10 a.m. duced the following ties: of two years, with at the Montreux Palace hotel. All the Netherlands participating in both. UEFA’s member associations bar one (the 1. Estonia v Wales Faroe Islands) have entered the com- 2. Malta v Georgia petition, an increase of three compared 3. San Marino v Armenia with last time. 4. Liechtenstein v Northern Ireland Apart from the fact that the 5. Kazakhstan v Moldova draw differed in that the groups for the 6. Luxembourg v FYR Macedonia Under-21 qualifying round can no longer 7. Andorra v Iceland mirror those for the senior competitions, 8. Azerbaijan v Republic of Ireland which they did in the past for financial and practical reasons, the fact that the These matches, to be played JANNINK/AFP 2006/07 championship is shorter than over two legs, have to take place before their Under-21 team therefore qualifies usual meant that the qualifying groups 15 July, and the eight winners will then automatically. It was the coach of the had to be smaller than usual and that a join the other 34 teams in the qualify- senior Dutch national team, Marco van preliminary round has had to be added ing round. The Netherlands will host Basten, who assisted with the draw for on for the 16 lowest-ranked teams the final round in June 2007 for which the qualifying round. Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6 Group 7 Norway Spain Serbia and Belgium Italy Russia Portugal Montenegro Bosnia and Slovakia Greece Austria Hungary Poland Herzegovina Lithuania Albania Winner Winner Finland Latvia Winner Winner match 8 match 7 match 3 match 2

Group 8 Group 9 Group 10 Group 11 Group 12 Group 13 Group 14 Switzerland Czech Germany Denmark Croatia Turkey France Republic England Romania Sweden Ukraine Israel Slovenia Belarus Winner Winner Winner Bulgaria Winner Scotland match 5 Cyprus match 4 match 6 match 1

Given the short time available, the qualifiers will not be contested over two legs; the teams in a group will face each other once only, with one fixture at home and the other away. The dates set for these encounters are 16 August, 2/3 September and 5/6 September. The group winners will contest two-leg play-off matches in October to determine the seven other partici- pants for the final round in the Netherlands.

07 Rather than … and consisting of to hear one presentation what after another, everyone the course was else had an opportunity to say. for everyone to discuss and share their points of view… Course for Referees

Fine-tuning inEuropean Barcelona whistles

“FINE-TUNING FOR MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY” WAS THE TITLE OF THE OPENING SESSION ON THE FINAL DAY. BUT IT COULD EASILY HAVE BEEN ATTACHED AS A LABEL TO THE WHOLE OF THE 14TH UEFA ADVANCED COURSE FOR ELITE AND PREMIER REFEREES HOSTED BY THE SPANISH NATIONAL ASSOCIATION IN BARCELONA OVER A TIME-SPAN WHICH BRIDGED JANUARY AND FEBRUARY. AS PART OF THE MERIDIAN PROJECT, THE GUEST LIST INCLUDED REFEREES FROM MALAWI AND SOUTH AFRICA ALONG WITH A REFEREE INSTRUCTOR FROM EGYPT.

The starting point for Europe’s with players who put jewellery on again the areas in which the referees feel least 28 Elite and 20 Premier referees (of after the pre-match inspection. comfortable and to prepare guidelines which no fewer than 17 travelled to On the other hand, the and recommendations for the remain- the Catalan capital aware that they course was not dedicated exclusively der of the season. were on a list of candidates for the to polishing details. An entire session, In that respect, an especially FIFA World Cup) was the belief that featuring some revealing video evi- valuable afternoon was dedicated to standards are high. This was why there dence, was dedicated to the illegal use a “Learning From Each Other” session was strong emphasis on the need to of hands, arms and elbows – notably at involving the Technical Directors of FIFA act as role models for the 38 officials set-plays and in breaking up counter- and UEFA – Holger Osieck and Andy (the youngest of them aged 26) who attacks. This was not just a question Roxburgh – accompanied by four other attended the introductory course for of unifying criteria on punishment but technicians, György Mezey of Hungary, the new European recruits on the FIFA also, as a prelude to punishment, of Swedish national team coach Lars list of international referees. It was fine-tuning positional play and com- Lagerbäck, his Finnish counterpart Roy also why video analysis of the first part munication to enhance methods of Hodgson and Frank Rijkaard’s No. 2 of the European club competition detection. at FC Barcelona, Henk ten Cate. campaign focused on facets that, to However, the chairman, UEFA has been – and is – keen observers in the grandstand or the Volker Roth, and his fellow members to encourage dialogue between coaches living-room, might easily pass unno- of the UEFA Referees Committee and match officials, and the discussions ticed. Team-work between the four were adamant that the proceedings in in Barcelona certainly covered a lot of officials was fine-tuned, as were Barcelona should not be a succession ground. Inevitably, one of the bones of topics such as concentration, mental of ‘lectures’. The emphasis was on dia- contention was the application of the preparation, body language, the ex- logue, discussion groups and feedback ‘passive offside’ concept. But there was tent and nature of dialogue between from the referees which would allow also debate on significant issues such referee and players, or how to deal the Committee members to pinpoint as ‘best practice’ in handling set-plays or helping the referee to cope with high- speed counter-attacks launched as soon Verson Lwanja, a referee from as possession is won. The transitions Malawi, with between attacking and defensive play Massimo De Santis have become critical areas in modern from Italy, Claus Bo Larsen from football and both referees and coaches Denmark and are keen to operate on the same wave- Gianluca Paparesta, also from Italy. length. The game is evolving in terms of fitness and technique and the over- whelming impression in Barcelona was that the referees are keeping pace. “We may never attain perfection,” said Volker Roth at the post-course press conference, “but we are determined to

PHOTOS: UEFA carry on pursuing it.”

08 uefadirect 3.06 MATHIEU SPRENGERS Member of the UEFA Executive Netherlands Committee since 1996 24.5.1938 Treasurer since 2000 President of the Dutch Football Association PORTRAIT

Eleven questions for the Executive Committee members Mathieu

AFTER THE FOUR VICE-PRESIDENTS, IT IS NOW THE TURN OF THE UEFA TREASURER, MATHIEU SPRENGERS, TO ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS. Sprengers

Your first contact with football? had beaten the Czech Republic. I thought coast. Storms are fascinating at sea; nature My first football memories come from it was a cruel joke. But it was true and we is impressive. my hometown, Venlo, in the southwest went to EURO ‘96 in England. In 2000, A dream? of the Netherlands. Street football was the I made a pilgrimage to the Luxembourg FA For football, I hope it carries on as it game, the street the only authentic stadium to thank them! has in the last 50 years. Otherwise, in gen- and the rules were simple and easy: kick Defender or attacker? eral, I’d love each European to feel free to the ball into the goal, between two jackets I never went beyond street football. discover the continent and its peoples and or polo shirts. Goals were awarded by the On the street, I was a bit fat so my friends develop friendships with people from other biggest kid on the block! never chose me first. Actually, they chose cultures. We need to forget the disasters First experience of UEFA? me last most of the time. They really did not and the massacres of the past. In the last When I became a member of the need me, except that I owned the ball, so 50 years, we have managed to keep peace Youth Committee during the Under-16 they had to accept me. I usually ended up in Europe, with the terrible exception of Tournament in Belgium at Anderlecht’s on the losing side as “flying goalkeeper.” what happened in the Balkans. It should Constant vanden Stock stadium. Portugal We give you a ball, what do you not happen again; democracy and prosper- won the tournament that year. I was only do with it? ity for all are good recipes. there for two days and I had been elected I kick it but I wouldn’t do anything not long before. Immediately I was struck fancy with it. Kicking is a natural instinct, by the great professionalism of the the same as a newborn baby suckling at organisation. its mother’s breast. A player? A city? Johan Cruyff, No. 14. I remember the Well, of course I love Amsterdam, highlights of the first time I watched him Tallinn, Kiev, Barcelona, Madrid and so on, on TV. He was 17. Ajax were playing Gronin- but in the end, my favourite place is Venlo gen. He made two or three great moves and in Limburg. It’s my home town of 50,000 he was already leading the game and giving inhabitants. It is not a beautiful city; it was instructions to his older team-mates. He was destroyed at the end of World War II, but fast, technically perfect and always a leader, I feel at ease and at home in every corner. for the national team, Ajax and Barça. It is full of memories – good and bad: the A memorable match? war, my club, my job, my role in business Ajax v Liverpool in the fog in 1969 or (I am president of the local chamber of com- 1970 at the Olympic Stadium. You could merce). I feel good when I am back home. hardly see the ball, fog like pea soup, and Detective story or economic a 5-0 win for Ajax – a huge victory for treatise? Ajax, quite unheard of for a Dutch team in I read history books, about five long those days. Otherwise, I have fond memo- ones every year, big volumes. I am fasci- ries of the 1962 Champion Clubs’ Cup final nated by European history, the whole con- between Benfica and Real Madrid when tinent in the nineteenth century, World Leo Horn was the referee, and, of course, War II. I just read a book on the history of of England v Hungary in 1953. The Nether- Russia, also one about Mao-Ze-Dong. lands’ games against Brazil in 1994 and I support a peaceful unified Argentina in 1998 were also exciting. Europe, not a bureaucratic A memory linked to a UEFA activity? one, a Europe of the peoples. Every day is a laugh for me; I am opti- Sea or mountains? mistic by nature. Two weeks after the Ajax I love the mountains, victory in Vienna, the Netherlands had to I find them more interesting, play Belarus. Everyone was convinced that they give a sense of relativity, we could beat such a small football nation. of being just a molecule. I often We were very disappointed when we lost go to the French and Swiss 1-0 and thought we were out of EURO ‘96. Alps. At the same time, I own

Then someone told me that Luxembourg an apartment on the Belgian PHOTOS: UEFA

09 Ideas and messages to tackle racism. Second “unite against racism” conference A call to the players and coaches

THE SECOND “UNITE AGAINST RACISM” CONFERENCE, WHICH TOOK PLACE IN BARCELONA ON 1 FEBRUARY, CALLED ON

THE PEOPLE AT THE CENTRE OF THE ACTION, THE PLAYERS AND COACHES, TO MAKE THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE BATTLE

TO BANISH RACISM AND OTHER FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION WHICH CONTINUE TO EXIST IN FOOTBALL.

The conference saw new issues came up with innumerable suggestions a problem because they don’t meet raised, new ideas thrown into the and proposals that will now be taken racism in their ordinary daily lives. It’s melting pot and a clear message to the away and processed with a view to step- important to make people realise that racists – there are many people who ping up the campaign and putting more there is a problem and that they have are committed to driving you away from people in touch with the issues at stake. a role to play in eradicating it.” the game. UEFA, in conjunction with “There are two key elements “Also, awareness has to be its partners, has pledged to remain at in the fight against racism, which has to raised in certain countries – whereas the vanguard of the campaign. be acknowledged as a serious problem some countries may be aware of the In a series of workshops and within football and society,” said UEFA issue because they have large ethnic presentations, senior UEFA officials and Chief Executive Lars-Christer Olsson. communities, others are less aware. the Football Against Racism in Europe “First, you have to raise awareness and It is up to everyone to raise the issues (FARE) network, political figures and change people’s attitudes. A lot of and help increase knowledge through- members of numerous activist bodies people don’t understand that there is out Europe.” It was acknowledged PHOTOS. UEFA

10 uefadirect 3.06 at the conference that while hardened serious problem facing football today. Report from racists’ attitudes may be impossible to I congratulate UEFA and its partners change, youngsters in particular can be for their efforts in raising awareness of Brussels educated against the dangers of preju- the issue. Football is not just a sport, The European Parliament and dice of any kind. but a powerful means of integrating the Council of Ministers are now dis- Piara Powar from the Foot- people.” cussing the European Commission’s ball Against Racism in Europe network During the afternoon session, proposal to revise the so-called ‘Tele- echoed Mr Olsson’s comments and the stars on the pitch took centre vision without Frontiers’ Directive. called on national associations to play stage. Stellar talents such as Thierry Important for football are the plans their part in spreading the anti-racism Henry, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ronaldinho to regulate short news reports on message throughout their respective and Roberto Carlos have put their events of “high interest to the public”. The Commission published its countries, particularly those where such names behind the “Stand Up, Speak proposal at the end of 2005. Several problems have surfaced. “Racism has Up” campaign. It was agreed that committees of the European Parlia- victims – fans, professional players, players like these can bring their influ- ment will now negotiate amendments ethnic communities are suffering – so it ence to bear, as they are role models to the text, in a process that many must be challenged. I hope people will for millions of young people – a commentators expect to last more than go away from this conference with fresh vital target group in the anti-racism 12 months. The Culture and Educa- ideas to work together for change.” campaign. tion Committee will lead the discus- Former Chelsea FC and Celtic FC In Barcelona, former Gha- sions, but the committees on Industry, player Paul Elliot, now an adviser to the naian international Anthony Baffoe was the Internal Market, Trade and Legal UK Commission for Racial Equality, said: joined by footballing heavyweights Affairs will also have their say. “I have been in positions [during such as ex-Brazil ace Leonardo, former For UEFA and its members, the most important part of the Directive is matches] where I have seen bananas FC Barcelona idol and current Bulgaria Article 3b. The Commission’s proposal thrown at players, and heard monkey coach Hristo Stoichkov, ex-English reads as follows: chants. We have made tremendous professional Garth Crooks, the erst- 1. “Member States shall ensure progress in the fight against racism, but while Republic of Ireland coach Brian that, for the purposes of short news a tremendous amount of work still Kerr, and experienced Danish referee reports, broadcasters established in needs to be done. There has to be a Kim Milton Nielsen in a lively debate other Member States are not deprived policy of zero tolerance towards racism, which centred, among other things, on of access on a fair, reasonable and and a sense of collective responsibility how players, coaches and referees can non-discriminatory basis to events of among everyone involved. Football can make their mark in the campaign by high interest to the public which are be a wonderful vehicle to bring every- speaking up when they see, or are the transmitted by a broadcaster under one together, and this conference is a victims of, racist or other discrimina- their jurisdiction. way of laying down a solid basis to tory conduct. 2. Short news reports may be move forward.” “It was extremely important chosen freely by the broadcasters from The Spanish hosts of the con- to bring together the whole football the transmitting broadcaster’s signal ference were quick to underline that family,” said UEFA Communications & with at least the identification of their intensive work is being done in a coun- Public Affairs Director William Gaillard. source.” try that is also undergoing constant “Everyone recognises that racism is a UEFA is already meeting MEPs social change. “Spanish people were once problem within our sport and society – and national governments to express emigrants, but the country now receives together it is possible to do something its concerns about the article. In short, Article 3b is a case of bad regulation. a considerable number of immigrants,” against racism, not only for football, At no point has the Commission pre- said Spanish State Secretary for Sport but also for society at large.” Delegates sented clear evidence of the need Jaime Lisavetsky. “Spain is now a coun- expressed the view that UEFA, as the to regulate this area. It has never ex- try with many cultures, and sport has governing body of European football, plained how the public is in any way a vital role in helping to create an inter- should take a leadership role in the deprived of news. In its Impact Assess- cultural society here.” campaign, with its 52 member associa- ment, the Commission did not even FC Barcelona president Joan tions called on to give valuable assis- include the views of sports rights- Laporta described racism as “the most tance at domestic level. holders even though they had par- ➜

11 The 2006/07 UEFA Regions’ Cup ➜ ticipated in the consultation process regulations have from start to finish. been approved. The draw for the A clear majority of stakeholders, qualifying matches including many broadcasters and several takes place in Nyon on 15 March. European sports federations, has expressed its satisfaction with the cur- UEFA rent legal framework. At best, Article 3b is unnecessary. At worst, it will create legal uncertainty, undermine existing arrangements, and threaten investment in new media services. Meetings UEFA fully supports the freedom of information and the widespread availability of news about its competi- tions. As sport occupies an ever greater and other activities place in society and the media, citizens Preparing for the should have easy access to news about major events. The current legal frame- Budapest Congress work of copyright law, self-regulation TWO DAYS BEFORE THE EURO 2008 QUALIFYING DRAW, THE EXECUTIVE and contractual arrangements has proved perfectly sufficient to guarantee COMMITTEE HELD ITS FIRST ORDINARY MEETING OF THE YEAR IN NYON. the public’s access to news. Today, the public receives plentiful information The 30th Ordinary UEFA Con- marketing of EURO 2008 and the draw through an expanding range of media. gress, which takes place in Budapest for the qualifying round in Montreux, Technological progress has made on 23 March, was one of the key items and decided to allow the associations all of these questions more complex. dealt with at this meeting, at which only 30 days instead of 90 to agree on It is in the nature of certain new media the Committee approved the Congress their match schedules. It also reiterated platforms that audio-visual content agenda and programme. It also its position regarding the FIFA Club will be shorter. A good example is the finalised its report to the Congress World Cup, i.e. that the current format picture ‘clip’ service that some mobile and noted the Chief Executive’s annual should be maintained with six teams and operators provide to their subscribers, report for 2005. As usual, a financial no more than two matches for Europe’s which might typically include a report and budget will also be sub- representative, whose participation must ten-second video clip showing a goal or mitted to the Congress for approval, as be on a voluntary basis. On the UEFA a 60-second clip summarising the con- will proposed amendments to articles competition front, it approved the re- tent of a given match. These are innova- 59 to 63 of the UEFA Statutes regard- vised regulations for the 2006/07 UEFA tive commercial services which result ing recognition of the Statutes and dis- Regions’ Cup, which allows the teams in a better service for consumers. putes. A motion for the terms of office But if third parties, such as news of committee members to be extended agencies, were able to obtain clips of exceptionally will also be put to the Fifteen associations this material for ‘news reporting’ pur- Congress, at which UEFA’s convention on enough points poses, they would prejudice the legiti- on referee education and organisation In the intermediate fair play mate interests of rights-holders and will be presented, along with a status rankings compiled at the end of 2005, destroy the incentive to invest in these 15 national associations report on the HatTrick programme. new services. were above the eight point The Executive Committee mark required to be in the For UEFA, this is the heart of devoted much attention to the inde- running for an additional problem: Article 3b will not make life UEFA Cup place come the pendent review of European football better for consumers, but simply allow end of the season. news agencies to make money from to be undertaken on the initiative of Belgium were in top spot at the other people’s content. the United Kingdom when it still held intermediate stage. The association the presidency of the European Union. that tops the table in the final analysis At the end of the committee automatically earns an additional stage, the Parliament as a whole – all By means of broad consultation with UEFA Cup place, while another two 732 MEPS – will vote on a new text. all those concerned, the review will places are awarded by means of a examine how the European football draw involving all the associations that At the same time, the 25 member states finish on eight points or more. The will follow the discussions and put authorities, EU institutions and member UEFA Cup places in question go to the forward their own changes to the states can implement the Nice Declara- best-placed teams in the respective domestic fair play competitions. Commission text. The bigger the gap tion of December 2000 recognising 1. Belgium 8.166 pts 65 matches between the Parliament and the member the specific characteristics of sport. The 2. Sweden 8.127 50 states, the longer it will take to reach review is expected to be completed 3. Netherlands 8.118 62 a final compromise. It is quite possible by the end of May. 4. Latvia 8.114 29 that a final text will not appear before Looking further ahead, the 5. Finland 8.111 55 6. Norway 8.087 64 early 2008. Executive Committee discussed the 7. Germany 8.074 105 8. Estonia 8.068 26 9. Switzerland 8.057 62 10. Slovenia 8.040 37 12 uefadirect 3.06 taking part in the final round to increase their squads from 18 to 20 players; des- ignated the Turkish FA as hosts of the European Under-17 Championship final round in 2008 and the German FA as hosts in 2009; as well as deciding that the Czech Republic would host the UEFA European Under-19 Championship final Portugal and France sign UEFA coaching round in 2008 and Ukraine in 2009. convention Apart from that, the Committee autho- Having been accepted as a member of the UEFA Convention rised the Setanta Cup – an experimental on the Mutual Recognition of Coaching Qualifications at A and Pro levels competition involving four clubs each by the Executive Committee at its meeting in Malta in November, the from Northern Ireland and the Republic Portuguese Football Federation signed the convention at UEFA head- of Ireland – to be staged for another quarters in Nyon on 26 January. four years. Finally, it approved the organ- isation of six regional grassroots football workshops this year in Norway, Scot- land, England, Denmark, the Nether- lands and Germany, in chronological order. Still in the field of grassroots football, it gave the go-ahead for a vast online training programme for grass- roots coaches.

Meeting of the presidents and general secretaries A declaration of support The day before the draw in Montreux, UEFA hosted a meeting of the presidents and general secre- taries of its 52 member associations UEFA at its headquarters. On 10 February, it was the turn of the French Football Federation It was an opportunity to present to travel to Nyon, where it officially rejoined the convention at B, A and a progress report on the Top Executive Pro levels. The federation had been one of the founding members of the Programme aimed at strengthening the convention, before withdrawing provisionally on account of problems at operational and professional performance national level. of the national associations to ensure that they continue to hold the upper hand in the governance of football. about the revision of the European support in favour of football’s governing Fact-finding missions were Union’s “Television Without Frontiers” bodies from the national associations’ already conducted in 27 associations Directive (see pages 11-12). leaders resulted in an expression of soli- last year to identify their needs, and a A presentation about the dis- darity in the form of a declaration further 18 will be visited by the end pute between the Belgian club Charleroi underlining the importance of national of April. A series of round tables has and FIFA/UEFA – as well as about a simi- team football for financing the develop- also taken place, for the representatives lar case concerning Olympique Lyonnais ment work carried out by the associa- of five or six associations at a time. – to do with the release of players for tions and their resolute defence of the In addition, the presidents and national team duty prompted a lot of player release principle enshrined in general secretaries received information reaction from the floor. The unanimous the FIFA Statutes.

13 Karl-Heinz A mix Rummenigge of discussions and and Lars-Christer presentations. Olsson. UEFA-LATIN UEFA-LATIN European Club Forum THE EUROPEAN CLUB FORUM, A KEY PLATFORM FOR DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE CLUBS PARTICIPATING IN EUROPEAN COMPETITIONS AND UEFA, HELD A PLENARY MEETING AT THE HOUSE OF EUROPEAN FOOTBALL

IN NYON ON 6 AND 7 FEBRUARY. UEFA-LATIN

The format for this meeting participants who had not yet done so pattern for the revenue from the had been altered slightly, in line with a were encouraged to join the circle of users UEFA Cup and, above all, the Champi- request from the clubs to give them of the extranet which has been specially ons League for 2006-09. In general more time to analyse the proposed top- designed for them, the content of which they were sympathetic to the request ics and discuss them among themselves. will be expanded even further. made under the banner of solidarity In this way they had the chance to get by the “smaller” clubs, which would together even before the official open- Competitions take centre stage like the payments made to clubs elimi- ing of the meeting, discussions of this The European club competitions nated in the qualifying phase increased, sort then alternating with presentations lie at the heart of the relationship between pointing out that the amount of concerning the subjects on the agenda. the clubs and UEFA and as such they CHF 80,000 for each successful quali- Add to that the discussions during occupied a major role in discussions. A fying round has not been changed breaks and mealtimes and it is clear that presentation of the planned changes to since the introduction of the Champi- the club representatives had many the competition regulations for 2006/07 ons League and is now barely suffi- opportunities for strengthening links not (submitted to the Executive Committee cient to cover expenses. It remains to only among themselves but also with in March) barely provoked any comments, be seen where the extra money might representatives of UEFA. As Forum chair- the amendments already being familiar – come from. In this connection it should man Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said, this for example, the introduction of small be noted that, as from the 2006/07 aspect of the gatherings is not to be numbers of club- or association-trained season, all amounts will be calculated sniffed at. players – or of minor importance. in euros and no longer in Swiss francs. With dialogue and exchange of On the other hand, the clubs had While a large proportion of information going hand in hand, those more to say on the proposed distribution the clubs would like the format of the UEFA Cup to be reviewed after two years in operation, UEFA actually intends to have a close look in the very near future at the structure of all its com- petitions for the 2009-12 period. A timeline has already been established and four phases defined: laying down basic principles by May 2006, drawing up proposals by December 2006, con- sultations until April 2007 and a deci- sion by the Executive Committee in June 2007.

The issue of player agents The Forum members again underlined their desire for recognition in both economic and social terms and for acknowledgement of their wish to participate in decision-making in the areas which affect them. They also

UEFA-LATIN learned from UEFA CEO Lars-Christer

14 uefadirect 3.06 The Disability Football Panel at its meeting in Nyon. ??????????????? UEFA-FRAGNIÈRE

Olsson himself that, further to an initiative ways for UEFA to heighten the associa- launched by the United Kingdom presi- tions’ awareness in this field. dency of the European Union, an inde- It is not that UEFA is seeking to pendent report on European football was organise disability football competitions going to be produced (see page 12). in Europe; rather, it wants to draw on Player agents were another specific cases, contribute to the dissemi- important subject at the meeting. The nation of best practice in this area and participants noted the recommendations stimulate dialogue between associations

of a working group composed of repre- and external organisations. Specific UEFA-FRAGNIÈRE sentatives of the various stakeholders courses and conferences organised by ability Football Panel described this as (clubs, leagues, national associations, FIF- the member associations should be a pioneering initiative. Pro, UEFA and FIFA) concerning access highlighted, and work is currently being On the fringes of this year’s to the profession of agent, agents’ activi- done on other possibilities for offering ties and tighter regulation. As “clients” UEFA Cup final to be held in Eind- further incentives related to grassroots of the agents, the clubs have a key role hoven, UEFA is supporting a tourna- development. A key role here will be to play in monitoring the system. ment as part of its grassroots football played by the education of coaches and programme which will be staged by leaders for disability football. the Dutch FA and designed for various UEFA Disability UEFA recognises that one effec- age groups. There will be a specific Football Panel tive method of promoting disability foot- category for disabled youth players. The importance of disability foot- ball is to support specific grassroots This is a further example of how the ball, one of UEFA’s grassroots activities, development programmes, such as the media profile of disability football is reflected in the organisation’s efforts to seminars for coaches and referees in can be raised. create greater awareness of the sector blind futsal organised by the Interna- UEFA’s Disability Football among its member associations. tional Blind Sports Federation (IBSA). Panel acknowledges that there are UEFA is in favour of the asso- Nor is UEFA leaving the devel- still many problems to be overcome ciations making disability football an inte- opment work solely to the associations in this form of the game, especially gral part of their grassroots football or external organisations: it is setting as regards organisation and public development programmes. At its meeting a good example itself by including the perception. Current efforts and the on 17 January, chaired by UEFA’s Tech- subject of disability football in its annual promotion of new development nical Director, Andy Roxburgh, the Dis- grassroots football conference (the next programmes certainly represent a ability Football Panel looked at various one is due in Nyon in March). The Dis- step in the right direction.

Denmark signs the Grassroots Charter UEFA

Denmark has become the sixth national football charter are investment in the local training association to be admitted to UEFA’s Grassroots of players, promotion of the associations’ Charter, joining England, Germany, the Netherlands, work in this field, and support for the devel- Norway and Scotland. The three pillars of the opment of national training programmes.

15 Barbarez showed the same will and strength playing for Hamburg SV and was duly voted the club’s player of the year in 2005. With his club, he made it into the News last 32 of the UEFA Cup via the UEFA Inter- toto Cup. Although it was his last year as from member associations a player (he was born in 1971), he played more games than ever, both for his club and the national team. Although he had planned to retire from football after the match in Belgrade The host city ambassadors were, against Serbia and Herzegovina, coach Blaz AUSTRIA of course, present for the draw for the quali- Sliskovic, combined with huge pressure fying competition, even if Herbert Prohaska from the fans, persuaded him to stay on and participated from a distance in Vienna, where Host cities look forward help his team-mates in the EURO 2008 he was commentating on the draw for the qualifying competition. to EURO 2008 ORF TV channel. “This is a great award and honour. Excitement is already high in the Friedrich Stickler, president of the To be sportsman of the year in your own EURO 2008 host cities – Vienna, Innsbruck, Austrian FA, was proud to be accompanied country is what every player dreams of. I’m Klagenfurt and Salzburg – and preparations by such a prominent Austrian delegation very pleased and proud of it. But this award for the unique sports event are in full swing. for the draw in Montreux: federal minister is not just mine. It’s for the whole team. So All of the stadiums will be ready according Liese Prokop; Robert Pelousek from the Sport I would like to share this award with my team- to schedule, and each venue now has a host Austria federal chancellor’s office; governor mates,“ Barbarez said on receiving his award. city ambassador. Jörg Haider; Sandra Hofmann, head of the “Except for the game in Belgrade, Like in Germany for the World Cup, city of Vienna’s sports department; Hannes the whole year was successful and I’m the Austrian FA has also appointed a host Gschwentner, deputy governor of the Tyrol; proud of it. We had many exciting moments city ambassador for each of its four venues. Harald Scheucher, mayor of Klagenfurt; and that we shared with our fans in Bosnia and With Herbert Prohaska for Vienna, Heimo Ludwig Bieringer, mayor of Salzburg-Wals- Herzegovina, as well as with our fans across Pfeifenberger for Salzburg, Alfred Hörtnagl Siezenheim; as well as the ORF’s head of sport, Europe. I hope we at least managed to make for Innsbruck and Walter Kogler for Klagen- Elmar Oberhauser, Bundesliga board mem- them forget the problems for a while. How- furt, the association has chosen four house- ber Georg Pangl, and the chairmen of the ever, I’m sorry we missed out on ultimate hold names in Austrian football to promote regional football associations of the host success,” he added. the host cities. cities: Erwin Lentner, Herbert Hübel, Kurt Captain Sergej Barbarez and head Ehrenberger and Thomas Partl. coach Blaz Sliskovic attended the EURO 2008 Ronald Gollatz qualifying draw in Montreux. They are very pleased with their qualifying group. Just a couple of hours before the draw, at the Royal BOSNIA AND Palace Hotel, Sliskovic extended his contract HERZEGOVINA with the Football Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for another two years. This is his Sliskovic extends his contract third term in the national coach’s seat, and A jury of 50 players, head after the draw he said: coaches and others working in the field of “Group C is maybe a little bit easier sport elected Sergej Barbarez, captain of than the rest of the groups, but anyway it the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team, will be extremely tough to reach one of the who currently plays for Hamburg SV in first two places. Of course, European cham- GEPA PICTURES GEPA Germany, sportsman of the year from a field pions Greece are the favourites, but Turkey Host city ambassadors Walter Kogler, of 22 candidates. and Norway are not far behind. I think that Alfred Hörtnagl and Heimo Pfeifenberger we, along with Hungary, can play a signifi- (left to right). Sergej Barbarez deserved this important award. He has been the spiritual cant role in this group and fight for the top leader of the national team, played in all places. Moldova and Malta are outsiders, but Herbert Prohaska, host city ambas- World Cup qualifying matches and scored we should be really careful of them and not sador for Vienna: “Our team has three group two deciding goals, against Belgium in Zenica take them for granted. In the last two quali- matches in Vienna! I know from my own and against Lithuania in Vilnius. As a result, fying competitions, we were so close to the experience how important the support of our Bosnia and Herzegovina went into their last play-offs. We missed out at the final hurdle. fans is; they are more than the twelfth player!” qualifier, against Serbia and Montenegro, This time I hope it will be third time lucky”. Alfred Hörtnagl, host city ambassa- still with a chance of a place in the play-offs. Fuad Krvavac dor for Innsbruck: “Vienna, Salzburg, Klagen- furt and Innsbruck are beautiful cities. All the thousands of visitors will love them. They are great places for combining holidays and CROATIA football!” Heimo Pfeifenberger, host city am- Award for president of Croatian bassador for Salzburg: “Football means goals, drama, suspense and excitement, vic- Football Federation tory and defeat, joy and emotion! Respect The Zagreb residence of the French for the opponents and their fans. There’s no ambassador, François Saint-Paul, was the place for racism and trouble!” setting for a special ceremony on 19 January. Walter Kogler, host city ambassador Croatian FA president Vlatko Markovic was

for Klagenfurt: “EURO 2008 in Klagenfurt is F. KRVAVAC made a “Chevalier de l’Ordre National du the best that football fans could hope for!” Blaz Sliskovic (left) and Sergej Barbarez. Mérite”, an honour bestowed by the French

16 uefadirect 3.06 President, the award being presented namely England, Russia and Israel – thereby by Michel Platini, special emissary of the having the opportunity to widen its expe- FINLAND French President and vice-president of rience and further develop its friendly rela- the French Football Federation. In an tions with other national associations. inspiring speech delivered to numerous Ante Pavlovic Jari Litmanen wins 100th cap VIPs from football and other sports, poli- Finnish international Jari tics and public life, Platini described the Litmanen earned his 100th cap in January successful career of the former interna- in a match against South Korea in Riyadh, tional, who came into the public spotlight ENGLAND Saudi Arabia. at the World Cup in Chile in 1962. In addi- Jari Litmanen began his interna- tion to his subsequent coaching career, Assistance programme tional career in 1989 in a match against especially with OG Nice, and his spell as in South America Trinidad & Tobago. As he reaches his cen- head coach of the national team, tury, Litmanen has scored 25 goals and Markovic made a major contribution to An FA delegation travelled to enjoyed a tremendous international career. Croatian football as a whole. Platini also South America in January to kick off “Jari is a great role model for our spoke of all the work they had done the 2006 FA-CONMEBOL assistance pro- youth. He is a true professional and a team together for FIFA and UEFA. gramme. player. His success and example have This great honour marks the The FA’s Head of National Referee brought many youngsters to football prac- fact that Vlatko Markovic is the longest- Development, Ian Blanchard, Regional Ref- tice around our country. Jari was the first serving and most successful president of erees’ Manager Ray Olivier and Premiership football star in Finland, and his significance the Croatian Football Federation, having referee Peter Walton delivered three back- for Finnish football has been huge,” says been in the post for eight years after four to-back workshops in Ecuador, Venezuela Pekka Hämäläinen, president of the years as vice-president in charge of tech- and Peru to over 160 referees. Finnish Football Association. nical development. With his enthusiasm, At the moment, Jari Litmanen knowledge and experience, he has stimu- shares the top spot in the table of most- lated the development of all areas of foot- capped Finnish players with Ari Hjelm. ball – youth, grassroots, amateur, futsal Litmanen, who turned 35 in February, has and women’s football. He was behind the been in good form lately, so he is likely to founding of the academy for coach edu- better that record. In the list of top scorers, cation, has significantly improved the Litmanen passed Hjelm some time ago. Federation’s financial capacity and has Hjelm found the net 20 times during his ensured optimum conditions for national- career, which puts him in second place, team preparation. A member of the Croa- right after Jari. tian Olympic Committee, Vlatko Markovic Litmanen’s position as most-

has had very good working relations with THE FA capped player is not under immediate state institutions. All these activities have The referees get down to some hands-on threat either. Of active players, Liverpool’s contributed to his great reputation within training at the workshop in Venezuela. ever-present Sami Hyypiä is closest to Croatian football and public life. Jari with 74 caps. The joint meeting between the Sami Terävä Hungarian and Croatian governments The courses focused on a wide in Budapest on 16 January was a very im- range of advanced techniques for referees portant event, especially as the agenda such as Fitness & Nutrition, Communica- covered, among other things, the joint bid tion & Body Language and Dealing with by Hungary and Croatia to host EURO Players in Challenging Situations. 2012. Once again, both governments The Ecuador Football Federation underlined their full commitment to their received a three-day advanced referee bid to host the European Championship training workshop in January 2005 and final round, an exceptional sporting event. The FA delegation noted a marked im- In preparation for the partici- provement in the standard of their elite pation of the Croatian national team in referees. the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, “We were really impressed with the qualifying draw for EURO 2008 was the positive changes that have taken place followed with keen interest. Croatia is since we last visited almost 12 months pleased to have been drawn in the same ago,” said Olivier. group as three countries never previously “The commitment, dedication encountered in qualifying matches – and the improvement of their fitness and Jari refereeing skills was evident and we are Litmanen sure they will continue to develop these in wins his the future. The Federation is really forward- 100th cap. thinking and committed to their develop- ment and has a bright future. “In general, all the referees showed tremendous interest in developing their skills and they thoroughly enjoyed both the practical and theory sessions. “And it was really encouraging to see the participation of female referees HNS in the workshops, which underlines AMMAR/AFP CONMEBOL’s commitment to all aspects of Michel Platini presents Vlatko Markovic with his award while the mayor of Zagreb, the development of women’s football.” Milan Bandic, looks on. Nada Grkinic

17 ■ Introduction and implementation of the schools in the eastern part of the country. FRANCE licensing system in Georgia “After Klaus Sammer’s retirement and ■ Essential features of the licensing system Michael Skibbe’s departure, we intention- ally looked for a coach who had been ■ Sights set on 17 May Draft regulation on disciplinary sanctions trained in the former GDR because this For the second time in six years ■ Licensing criteria experience is important for our youth work. (since Real Madrid v Valencia in 2000), ■ Prospects for club licensing system. I’ve no doubt that Frank Engel is the ideal choice,” concluded Theo Zwanziger. the Stade de France is hosting the UEFA The main objectives of the semi- Stephan Brause Champions League final. nar were to: enhance participants’ under- This year is something of a golden standing of the importance of the licensing jubilee on home soil for the flagship UEFA process and of licensing requirements; es- club competition, which was dreamed up tablish close and mutually beneficial coop- GREECE in France 50 years ago and the first winners eration between licensors and clubs; dis- of which – Real Madrid no less – were cuss current problems in Georgian football crowned at the Parc des Princes in spring and possible solutions. New medical centre 1956. The seminar was certainly a suc- On 29 January, in Rhodes, the Hel- It is also a nice sign of confidence cess. Despite appalling weather conditions lenic Football Federation (HFF) in the pres- from UEFA towards the French Football Fed- and many other problems caused by the ence of its president, Vassilis Gagatsis, and eration (FFF), which, the minute the event energy crisis in our country, the seminar general secretary, Ioannis Economides, in- was assigned to it, did not waste any time was very well attended. The atmosphere augurated its first medical centre, equipped putting together a “17 May 2006” organis- was dynamic and friendly, and everyone with ten electronic devices for blood and ing committee under its chief executive, played an active role. cardiologic examinations. Jacques Lambert, and project officer Odile The organisers distributed feed- On 10 February, the second such Lanceau. back surveys to all the participants, so that centre was inaugurated in Volos and by the Since the start of the season, they could offer their own opinions of the end of the year the HFF aims to create three three-day planning meetings have event. The feedback was mainly positive, about 30 health check centres for amateur already taken place at the venue (in October, and the suggestions for improvement will players, especially in regions located far December and February), the last one be taken into consideration by the GFF from Athens. The centres’ programme for ending with the launch of ticket sales on licensing staff. amateur players is run by telemedicine 3 February at the St-Denis town hall and Bakar Jordania (telemetry), whereby trained doctors and the introduction of Laurent Blanc as nurses at the medical centres send the “ambassador” for the final. results of the players examinations via There will be another two meet- GERMANY telemedicine to the HFF’s chief doctor, who ings before the big day, in March and April, checks them and electronically informs the with the draws for the quarter-finals and competent players’ licence department semi-finals taking place in conjunction with Frank Engel joins about the players’ health. the meeting on 10 March in the gilded the coaching staff The immediate objective of the interior of the city hall in Paris. HFF is to check all amateur players before Halle, Erfurt, Jena and Plauen – Each of these site visits to the the beginning of the new season and in those were the first stops on the tour of Stade de France begins and ends with a this way to assist remote regions. the east of the country made by German plenary meeting, but most of the work is Mr Economides, who is coordi- FA (DFB) executive president Theo Zwanziger carried out in small groups of “experts” from nating the programme, says, “The player’s last November to assess the current situa- UEFA, TEAM Marketing and the FFF cover- health card is important because there are tion football in the new German states, ing very specific aspects (sports-related, pro- geographic difficulties in Greece. The where, for the time being, there are still only motion, commercial, media, logistics, proto- results of the examinations reach the HFF four second division and three third division col, etc.), everyone working towards a suc- via telemedicine from regions with difficult clubs. In each city, he held so-called net- cessful final on all fronts on 17 May. access to Athens, like for example, villages work conferences with representatives of It is hard to imagine the complex- and islands. the clubs, state, city and local economy. ity, scale and precision of the organisation “In the future, we hope to be able “We’re not here to make hand-outs, but without being directly involved, but every- to offer this service to other sports federa- want to get things moving in the different thing is going smoothly so far, thanks to the tions as well. However, our first objective, regions, cities and local economies in order professionalism of TEAM Marketing, under if possible, would be to enable health checks to improve the future prospects of the the experienced and watchful eye of the for children and senior citizens in remote well-known clubs in the east because healthy UEFA event manager. regions. The programme is self-financed football in the east has to be good for See you there on 17 May! and we are hoping for scientific and possi- German football as a whole,” Theo Philippe Tournon bly material support from the international Zwanziger explained. football authorities.” For this reason, a coach who is Michalis Koutsouris familiar with the football situation and con- GEORGIA ditions in the eastern part of Germany has been appointed to strengthen the DFB’s coaching staff. He is Frank Engel, 54, from HUNGARY GFF licensing seminar Leipzig, who took up the position of national The licensing unit of the Georgian Under-18 coach on 1 January, following the Football Federation (GFF) held a seminar departure of Michael Skibbe to Bayer 04 MLSZ moves to new headquarters from 25 to 28 January at FA headquarters. Leverkusen and temporary management of One of the biggest problems for GFF officials responsible for licensing and the team by Ulli Stielike. In addition, Engel, the leadership of Hungarian football has finance and their counterparts froms clubs whose last jobs were as assistant to Jörg just been solved, as the Hungarian FA (MLSZ) throughout the country took part in the Berger at Eintracht Frankfurt, Alemannia moved into new headquarters on the first event. The seminar included modules on Aachen and Hansa Rostock, will do a lot of day of February. Before that, the associa- the following subjects: work to promote the sport-orientated tion had been hiring different offices in

18 uefadirect 3.06 Budapest but had not owned its own 1,232 seats when required, as well as a premises. new central ticket office with eight coun- The 1,524m2, three-storey building ters, which will be sited on the bus park. comprises 36 offices, four meeting rooms By the end of November this year, and a 500m2 basement. It is situated in the the new north stand should also be finished, suburbs of Budapest in a new district called incorporating a restaurant, business lounge Köérberek-Tóváros, close to the M1 and and offices for FC Vaduz, as well as an extra M7 motorways. equipment room. The north stand, which The headquarters was built with has 1,241 seats, is being fitted out with a the assistance of UEFA and FIFA, with UEFA convertible seating system so that it can be contributing CHF 2.5m and FIFA promising fully or partly transformed into standing USD 400,000 for new furniture. room for up to 2,092 spectators. Once the The new centre took just over a two stands are completed, the Rheinpark year to complete. During the excavation stadium will offer a total of 6,078 seats, or process, the builders found 13th-century 3,605 seats and standing room for 4,184, human remains on the site. LFF all covered. The new atmosphere has already Jurijs Andrejevs, the national coach of Latvia. Despite the building work on the generated a new kind of working spirit south and north stands, the Challenge inside the walls as the Hungarian Football League home fixtures of FC Vaduz and the League’s president, István Kisteleki, leads The EURO 2008 qualifying draw national team’s matches can still go ahead. has landed Latvia with great opponents, the association as caretaker (as the first Judith Frommelt man of the ad hoc committee) until the says national coach Jurijs Andrejevs. “We congress at the end of February elects a have a good chance of reaching the finals,” new president and board. he claims. The draw was also celebrated by the Latvian Football Federation by present- Márton Dinnyés ing its new home page at www.lff.lv. The Latvian premier league, the “LMT Virsliga” kicks off on 8 April, when the new FC Ditton head coach, former Benfica and Porto player Sergey Juran, will be the centre of attention. Away from the field, the federation is actively involved in talks and activities related to stadium reconstruction and renovation in the coun-

try, which also includes the question of LFV cofinancing. The Rheinpark stadium is set to expand. Martins Hartmanis

MLSZ-THALY LIECHTENSTEIN LITHUANIA The Hungarian Football Federation’s new headquarters. Footballing milestone Traditional referees’ tournament On 23 January, the ground-break- For two days, the small town of ing ceremony took place at the Rheinpark Kazlu Ruda played host to the third ref- LATVIA stadium in Vaduz for the extension of the erees’ football tournament, which this year stadium and rebuilding of the current train- involved all of Lithuania’s referees as well ing facilities. Since November, work has as referees from Estonia. The tournament 2006 starts under sign of goodwill already been completed on an additional is named after well-known Lithuanian The new year has started very suc- natural grass playing field behind the exist- referee Kestucio Andziulio. cessfully for Latvian football – our national ing training ground. The chairman of the referees’ team brought home the King’s Cup from Since the Rheinpark stadium association, Jonas Braga, thanked the mayor Thailand (the tournament was organised in opened on 31 July 1998, work has already of Kazlu Ruda, Aidas Vaisnoras, for hosting memory of the victims of the tsunami) and taken place, three years ago, to improve the tournament. our Under-19 team produced outstanding safety aspects. Then six months ago, work “I hope that the Kestucio And- results in the Granatkin Cup in Russia. began to build the additional natural grass ziulio Cup will become an established tradi- For the Latvian national team, the playing field, which will probably be ready tion and will do everything I can to ensure 2006 season started on 28 February with for training purposes in August. its continuation. Next year we will invite a match against Germany’s Under-21s. The next steps are to extend the referees from another country too. Last Before that, five national-team players were stadium and overhaul the training facilities. year referees from Russia took part,” due to play in a charity match in Riga against On the site of the present training ground, Mr Braga said. five players from the Italian club Roma, in- a natural grass playing field and a playing Maaren Olander (FIFA referee) cluding Francesco Totti, who is a UNICEF field with artificial turf will be built. Work is was elected best woman player of this goodwill ambassador. All the money from due to be completed by the end of June year’s tournament and Deivis Kancelskis this 3x15-minute five-a-side match was this year, making the additional natural grass from Siauliai best player. Best goalkeeper destined for UNICEF’s programme to stop playing field north of the current training was Aleksandras Melnikovas from Lithua- violence against children. However, the day ground and the new artificial playing sur- nia, best defender Risto Kranberg from before the match, Francesco Totti was face ready for the 2006/07 season. By then, Estonia, best forward Audrius Zuta from injured and had to pull out. As a result, the the new covered south stand should also Klaipeda (FIFA referee) and best goalscorer match was postponed until a date yet to be ready, offering standing room for 2,092 Jurijus Paskovskis from Vilnius. be determined. spectators which can be converted into Vaiva Zizaite

19 predecessor, Horst Heese, both as coach opment at the KNVB, during his word of MALTA and as the Malta FA Technical Director, will welcome. set his sights on consolidating the sound Joop Albeda, coach of the national technical infrastructure built during these men’s volleyball team that won gold at the European test for Malta last years, as well as gaining more esteem Olympics in Atlanta, had lengthy discussions under new coach for Malta’s national team. with the youth football coaches attending The Maltese could not mask their The preliminary stage of the his workshop on the coaching of young disappointment when their country’s group 2008 European Championship will present high-level performers. Human movement opponents in the EURO 2008 qualifying a stern test for Dusan Fitzel. scientist Jacques van Rossum discussed the competition were announced in Montreux, Alex Vella importance of winning for young sports- Switzerland, late in January. men. KNVB coaches Ruud Kaiser and Ruud This was because a glamorous Dokter told about their experiences with footballing nation had eluded Malta. The NETHERLANDS the Dutch national Under-17 side before islanders, known to follow closely the for- and during the FIFA U-17 World Champion- tunes of the more established countries ship in Peru last year. in this sport, were hoping to have one of Youth coaches focus on During the afternoon hours, a group of Ajax Under-17 players practised in those big guns in their group. England development of talented players and Italy, traditionally having the strongest front of all the participants, showing the Youth coaches representing all following on the island, would have been characteristics of the age group and their professional clubs and dozens of amateur ideal opponents. age-related training goals. clubs playing in the national competitions The result of the day’s programme have been discussing various aspects of was that everyone present realised how talented young players. Over 250 coaches precious talented players are. On the other attended the 10th National Coach Day hand, they need very specific treatment organised by the Dutch Football Associa- which requires experience, knowledge and tion (KNVB) in Zeist. Scientists, KNVB dedication from the coaches at club level coaches and coaches from other sports as well as national level who are trying lectured on how to deal with top talents. bring these players to their peak. With The participants then had the opportunity that in mind, everyone realised that there to take part in two of the seven workshops is still a lot to do in recognising talents, that were set up for the day. training them and developing their full For the last ten years, the KNVB potential. has organised national coach day on a Rob de Leede Wednesday in January when most youth coaches have a relatively quiet time due

D. AQUILINA to the mid-season break. Each year a par- Joseph Mifsud, president of the Malta FA, ticular theme is chosen which appeals to NORWAY and Dusan Fitzel, national coach (right). youth coaches especially and which touches on the latest developments in youth foot- Financial support The cool reception by the ball as well. Maltese after the draw was compounded How do you define a talent? to women’s clubs by the knowledge that home matches will How do you deal with talented players as a The NFF Executive Committee not generate as much revenue as would club coach? How should talented players has decided to give financial support to have been the case had Malta been grouped be trained and what sort of training can the women’s clubs in the top league from with more ‘attractive’ teams. they handle at what age? These were only 2006 to 2008 so that they can appoint Countries drawn from the first some of the questions asked by Wim van managing directors to run the clubs on a two pots, Greece, surprise winners of the Zwam, responsible for youth football devel- full-time basis. 2004 title, and Turkey, may not have a ‘top notch’ tag in Malta. Nevertheless, these nations command worldwide respect, espe- cially after their recent exploits on the big stage of international football. Norway, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary and Moldova, Malta’s other group opponents, should also prove to be tough, though not so formidable, customers. As is always the case, Malta’s aspi- rations in the group matches are mundane, given the limited playing resources of this small country. The first is to collect as many points as possible to improve on the previ- ous total, and then to avoid bottom place in the standings. This must be foremost in the mind of the newly appointed Malta national team coach from the Czech Republic, Dusan Fitzel, who was presented to the Maltese media a few days before the draw was made.

The Czech coach, following on JAN DE KONING the same lines as those of his German National Coach Day was a popular event in the Netherlands.

20 uefadirect 3.06 This is an important step towards (FAI) and the Irish Rugby Football Union League and the family of football in Ire- making the clubs more professional, and (IRFU) with the Irish Government con- land will work to bring proposals to a the goal is, of course, to strengthen the tributing EUR 191 million. Construction special general meeting shortly. women’s game for the future. proper, depending on planning, is sched- Pat Costello “We think that in order to con- uled for 2007, with completion in 2009. tinue the good development in women’s In a ground-breaking decision, football, it is of great importance that the FAI and the IRFU have agreed with the clubs are led in a professional way. the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to SCOTLAND We hope that this decision will help play home international rugby and foot- strengthen the clubs in terms of organi- ball fixtures in 2007 at Croke Park, sation and administration,” said NFF Dublin, the GAA’s magnificent 83,000- Another national team president Sondre Kåfjord. capacity stadium, recognised as one of Scotland has a new national The board has decided to cover the finest arenas in Europe. football team, as the Scottish FA, in part- 90 percent of all the costs the first year, Speaking of the decision, FAI nership with Scottish Disability Sport, has 60 percent the second year, and 30 per- Chief Executive Officer John Delaney formed an international squad for players cent in the last year. said, “The prospect of an Irish interna- with cerebral palsy. “We hope that within three tional soccer team playing at Croke Park The cerebral palsy team will years the clubs will have reached a level will appeal to everyone who has an play their first home match on 5 March of organisation that makes them able interest in sport.” against Northern Ireland, at the Sport- to bear all the costs themselves,” said Furthermore, the Minister scotland National Centre in Largs, and Kåfjord. for Arts, Sports and Tourism, John hope this will be a springboard to more This season, a club licence O’Donoghue TD, has announced plans activity. has also been introduced for the top to proceed with the first phase of the Stuart Sharp was appointed last women’s clubs. The licence sets require- Abbotstown Sports Campus over a five- year by the SFA as Development Officer ments for finances, facilities and other year period, 2006 to 2010. for Disability Football, a post that was matters. This phase of the sports campus established in partnership with Scottish Hopefully, both these decisions will see the development of facilities and Disability Sport, McDonald’s and Sports- will encourage positive developments in training areas as well specialist facilities match. He will coach the team. women’s football. for field sports such as soccer. In addition Players with cerebral palsy have Roger Solheim to entering discussions for the relocation the opportunity to access international of its headquarters to Abbotstown, the football through Capability Scotland’s FAI will also work to develop a football membership of the Cerebral Palsy Inter- REPUBLIC academy on the campus. national Sports and Recreation Associa- Following the agreement of a tion (CP-ISRA). A classification system OF IRELAND “Statement of Intent” by the clubs at the exists for this area of football that recog- Annual General Meeting of the eircom nises the variation in functional ability of Staunton appointed manager League, the national senior league, work players with cerebral palsy. Competition The Republic of Ireland’s most on progressing with the merger opportunities are provided within a mod- capped player, Stephen Staunton, has between the FAI and the eircom ified seven-a-side game. This football for- been appointed Senior International League, as envisaged by a white mat is the only one recognised by the Manager on a four-year contract. The paper on the league, will now International Paralympic Committee former Liverpool and Aston Villa player, proceed, with an expected im- and allows all players to compete at who was capped 102 times and also plementation date of the 2007 international level in CP-ISRA World captained his country, will have Sir Bobby season. Addressing the club and European Championships. Robson, International Football Consul- delegates at the AGM, David The Scottish FA will be look- tant, Kevin MacDonald, Coach, and Alan Blood, President of the FAI, ing to form other disability national Kelly, Goalkeeping Coach, as his back- urged the clubs to grasp the op- teams in addition to the cerebral palsy room team. portunity which now exists and to squad in the future. Other areas of “To play for and captain your have the courage to embrace development involve the setting up country is a great honour and I was for- change. A steering group of a ground-breaking league tunate to do both,” Staunton said. “To of the FAI, the eircom involving deaf teams and manage my country though is the ulti- mate honour; it is clearly the opportunity of a lifetime,” he added. Staunton said he was looking forward to the challenge of Group D of the EURO 2008 qualifiers. “It is a very dif- ficult group and we will be taking on very strong teams but you can be sure that the top teams will not be overjoyed at facing us either,” he enthused. Stuart Devlin The plans for the plays for Scotland’s development of the proposed cerebral palsy team. new Lansdowne Road stadium have been lodged with Dublin City Council. The proposed new SFA 50,000 all-seater stadium has been budgeted to cost EUR 365 million in a joint venture between the Football Association of Ireland

21 teams with learning disabilities. Part of An Under-19 national team has been chairman of the youth committee of the their build-up to international status is a revived, coached by Zoran Tesko, and plans Football Federation of Ukraine. match against the Scottish media, and to play six matches this year. Just before In April, once winter is behind on this occasion the SFA will present the the end of 2005, the senior national us, the new championship will begin. In UEFA award for Best Disability Grassroots futsal team got a new coach, Andrej the meantime, the registration of youth Football Event 2005 to Scottish Disability Dobovicnik. The team already played two players will be completed. Everyone will Sport. matches against Portugal under the receive a registration card for taking part Stuart Sharp said: “The Scottish new coach last year and at the end of in the competition. This important step FA recognises the importance of pro- January won an international tourna- is aimed at stamping out the problem of viding players with disabilities access to ment in France, thereby taking a step in false players (with false passport data). football. We are working to establish the right direction towards their ultimate Valeriy Nykonenko meaningful and progressive programmes goal, which is the European Futsal Cham- to allow players with disabilities to reach pionship final round in Portugal in 2007. their full potential.” The plan of friendly matches for 2006 is A key factor in optimising the designed to take the team even closer WALES development of players is the establish- to that goal, with two matches against ment of the National Centre for Disability the Netherlands in April, two against the New office Football. The centre, based at the Uni- Czech Republic in May, and two against versity of Stirling, will allow selected dis- Italy at the end of the year. The Football Association of Wales (FAW) moved to its new offices ability footballers to access physiotherapy, Stane Kokalj / Irena Ilesic Cujovic sports science support and specialised during the weekend of 19/20 November. coaching. The new office was purchased with the Andy Mitchell generous assistance of UEFA HatTrick UKRAINE funding. The Council of the FAW wish to put on record its grateful thanks to UEFA for its generosity in assisting the FAW to SLOVENIA Time for a youth super league purchase this brand-new office. The fifth edition of the chil- The new office enables the FAW dren’s/youth football league (CYFL) has to bring all its activities under one roof. Ambitious plans for futsal taken place. At the beginning of Septem- The new office, which is fully compliant It could be said that a breath of ber, 192 top league teams, 180 first with all governmental and local authority fresh air has been blowing in futsal in league teams and 12 Under-19 teams regulations, is also air-conditioned and Slovenia since the new futsal committee meets the latest IT requirements. In addi- of the Football Association of Slovenia tion, the office also allows disabled access (FAS) started work under chairman Patrik to all areas. Perosa, vice-chairman and director of The FAW hope the new office futsal national teams Stane Kokalj, and will enable it to improve its efficiency and secretary Mateja Dominko. to further develop it customer satisfac- The first step was to change tion. The office is a two-storey building the name and logo of this type of foot- comprising, on the ground floor, the ball, and futsal is now called futsal in reception, board room, refectory, archive, Slovenian as well. The FAS Futsal Com- secure rooms and equipment room and, mittee hopes to raise the popularity of on the first floor, the main open-plan futsal and also to introduce some finan- office area. The office has been equipped cial stability, the latter being one of the with the latest IT, telecommunication major issues at the moment. and office equipment. By changing the name, all the The office, which became fully national futsal competitions have also operational on Tuesday, 22 November, undergone a name change. At the mo- is appreciated by all the staff. The ambi- ment, the seventh national Under-16 ence and condition of the new office championship is drawing to a close, and makes an extremely welcome change from

a new Under-19 competition started FFU our old building (over 100 years old) in this season. Youth football in the spotlight. Westgate Street. Some major changes have also David G. Collins taken place in the national futsal teams. started out in the competition. Despite an improvement in the quality and in the approach to organising and running the competition, the CYFL’s executive com- mittee admits that a change of format is necessary. This question requires a sys- tematic and measured approach. It is time for a children’s/youth super league to be set up, which would require two 12-team divisions being organised first. “The CYFL’s executive committee has decided that fundamental changes need to be made to the compe- tition format urgently. We’ve proposed a number of possible solutions for the FAW NZS national children’s/youth competitions as The national futsal team. from next season,” said Oleg Orekhov, New headquarters for the FAW.

22 uefadirect 3.06 UEFA

New publications

ANNUARIO DEL CALCIO MONDIALE 2005-06 A must for anyone with an interest in foot- Communications ball-related statistics on an international Birthdays – Calendar scale, the 18th edition of this handbook compiled by Salvatore Lo Presti has just been pub- lished. Comprising over 1,000 pages, it is a bit too bulky to carry around, but it remains a Birthdays ● Andrea Lastrucci (Italy, 23.3) ● Outi Saarinen (Finland, 23.3) reference work that is worth ● Stefan Reshko (Ukraine, 24.3) keeping close at hand. Vlastibor Minarovjech (Slovakia), member of the ● Maurizio Laudi (Italy, 24.3) (Cantelli, 40013 Castelmaggiore (BO), Italy. circle of former committee members, celebrates ● Kurt Helmer Sørensen (Denmark, 25.3) Fax: +39-051 63 288 15. Cost: EUR 24.) his 80th birthday on 13 March. Another member ● Anatoli Milchenko (Georgia, 26.3) of the same circle, Lambros Adamou (Cyprus), ● Wilfried Straub (Germany, 26.3) turns 70 on 20 March. On 26 March, Ray Kiddell INTERCONTINENTAL CUP 1960-2004 ● Kemal Kapulluoglu (Turkey, 26.3) The European/South American Cup was (England), member of the Women’s Football ● Konstantin Vikhrov (Ukraine, 27.3) abandoned in favour of the Club World Cup Committee, reaches the same milestone. They are ● John McClelland (Scotland, 27.3) last year. The time was there- joined by the FIFA president, Joseph S. Blatter, on ● José Antonio Casajús (Spain, 27.3) 10 March. Two members of the Referee Observers ● Armen Minasyan (Armenia, 27.3) fore ripe to devote a book to Panel celebrate their 50th birthdays this month: ● Pavel Cebanu (Moldova, 28.3) the 43 encounters between Andreas Georgiou (Cyprus) on 18 March and ● Edgar Obertüfer (Switzerland, 29.3) the champion clubs of Europe Mario van der Ende (Netherlands) on 28 March. ● Ian Beasley (England, 29.3) and South America. Luis UEFA would like to wish them all many happy ● Stefan Ormandjiev (Bulgaria, 29.3) returns and also a happy birthday to: Amorim has assembled all the ● Alan Snoddy (Northern Ireland, 29.3) facts: team line-ups, goal- ● Benny Jacobsen (Denmark, 1.3) ● Juan V. Dura (Spain, 29.3) scorers, referees and discipli- ● Damir Vrbanovic (Croatia, 2.3) ● Aleksei Mikhailichenko (Ukraine, 30.3) ● Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder (Germany, 3.3) nary sanctions. The book starts with a brief ● Dragan Stojkovic (Serbia and Montenegro, 3.3) history of the competition and ends ● Esa Antero Palsi (Finland, 4.3) Upcoming events with some interesting additional statistics. ● Boris Durlen (Croatia, 6.3) Meetings ([email protected]) ● Liana Melania Stoicescu (Romania, 6.3) ● Pedro M. Aurteneche Viñegra (Spain, 7.3) 9.3.2006, Paris LIEUX ET STADES MYTHIQUES ● Dusan Maravic (Serbia and Montenegro, 7.3) Club Competitions Committee Memorable sporting exploits are closely ● Branimir Babarogic 10.3.2006, Paris linked to the places where they took place: (Serbia and Montenegro, 7.3) Draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals the great passes in cycling, ● Jean Schiltz (Luxembourg, 7.3) of the UEFA Champions League the famous ski runs, the ● Tomás Gea (Andorra, 7.3) 14-17.3.2006, Nyon ● Josep Lluís Vilaseca Guasch (Spain, 8.3) UEFA Grassroots Conference renowned Formula 1 circuits ● Juraj Oblozinsky (Slovakia, 8.3) and, of course, the stadiums ● 15.3.2006, Nyon Alexis Ponnet (Belgium, 9.3) Draw for the preliminary and intermediary for major footballing achieve- ● Vladimir Aleshin (Russia, 9.3) rounds of the 5th UEFA Regions’ Cup ments. In this richly illustrated ● Hendrik Kesler (Netherlands, 9.3) 17.3.2006, Eindhoven work, François Duboisset ● Ruben Hayrapetyan (Armenia, 9.3) and Frédéric Viard take the reader on a tour ● Amãndio Carvalho (Portugal, 10.3) Draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the UEFA Cup of the sites of a whole host of great sporting ● Mateo Beusan (Croatia, 10.3) ● Lucien Kayser (Luxembourg, 11.3) 21-22.3.2006, Budapest moments, including, in football, a dozen ● Olga Zhukovska (Ukraine, 11.3) Executive Committee famous stadiums, such as Barcelona’s Camp ● Jean-François Crucke (Belgium, 12.3) 23.3.2006, Budapest Nou, the Santiago Bernabeu and the Parc ● Thomas Partl (Austria, 13.3) 30th Ordinary UEFA Congress des Princes. (Editions De Vecchi S.A, 52 rue ● Jan Obst (Czech Republic, 13.3) Montmartre, FR-75002 Paris.) ● Robin Russell (England, 14.3) Competitions ● David Taylor (Scotland, 14.3) 7-8.3.2006 Notices ● Alexander Chernov (Russia, 16.3) UEFA Champions League: first knockout round ● Liutauras Varanavicius (Lithuania, 17.3) (return legs) ■ On 19 January, the congress of the ● Christakis Skapoullis (Cyprus, 18.3) ● 9.3.2006 Turkish FA elected Haluk Ulusoy as its Marcello Nicchi (Italy, 18.3) UEFA Cup: round of 16 (first legs) ● Steve Williams (England, 19.3) new president. ● Rune Bratseth (Norway, 19.3) 15-16.3.2006 ■ The Estonian FA has moved to: UEFA Cup: round of 16 (return legs) ● Aristides Stathopoulos (Greece, 20.3) Le Coq Arena, Asula 4c, EE-11312 Tallinn. ● Bülent Yavuz (Turkey, 20.3) 28-29.3.2006 Phone: + 372 627 9960. Fax: +372 627 ● UEFA Champions League: quarter-finals Jim Boyce (Republic of Ireland, 21.3) 9969. ● Gines Melendez Sotos (Spain, 22.3) (first legs) ● Michail Kassabov (Bulgaria, 22.3) 30.3.2006 ■ Alexey Spirin has resigned as general ● Franz Krösslhuber (Austria, 23.3) UEFA Cup: quarter-finals (first legs) secretary of the Russian Football Union.

WE CARE ABOUT FOOTBALL Editor André Vieli The views expressed in signed articles are not necessarily the Produced by Atema Communication SA, CH-1196 Gland official views of UEFA. Official publication of the The reproduction of articles Union des associations or extracts of any information européennes de football Printed by Cavin SA, CH-1422 Grandson published in uefadirect is authorised, provided the Communications and Public Affairs Division Editorial deadline: 10 February 2006 source is indicated. UEFA Route de Genève 46 Union des associations CH-1260 Nyon européennes de football Switzerland Phone +41 848 00 27 27 Fax +41 848 01 27 27 uefa.com