UEFAdirect-73-Mai•E/7.0:anglais 17.4.200811:29Page1 No 5873 – FévrierMay 2008 2007 and to Madrid awarded 2010 finals project Scoreboard workshop team EURO 2008 the horizon finals on competition Club and Hamburg to Madrid awarded 2010 finals project Scoreboard workshop team EURO 2008 the horizon finals on competition Club 5.08 12 10 07 03 12 10 07 03 UEFAdirect-73-Mai•E/7.0:anglais 17.4.2008 11:29 Page 2

Message Photos: UEFA-pjwoods.ch of the president An immeasurable loss Mathieu Sprengers passed away on 6 April, aged 69, after an illness that was as cruel as it was sudden. President of the Dutch Football Association since 1993, Mathieu Sprengers was elected to the UEFA Executive Committee at the UEFA Congress in in 1996. In 2000, he took responsibility for UEFA’s finances as treasurer, an office that he held until 2007. In this capacity, he played a crucial role in UEFA’s solidarity policy, in particular by chairing the HatTrick Board, dealing with financial assistance to the national associations. Mathieu Sprengers was also one of the key figures of EURO 2000, co-hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands, and UEFA benefited enormously from the experience he acquired in this respect. IN THIS ISSUE A man of great integrity, faithful to his ideas Club competition finals but respectful of the opinion of the majority, Mathieu on the horizon 03 Sprengers was one of the pillars of the UEFA U17 final round Executive Committee, through both his pleasant in Turkey 06 nature and his forward-thinking approach. From his days of playing football in EURO 2008 team workshop 07 the streets as a boy, he kept the spirit of friendship as well as a constant desire to Scoreboard project develop grassroots football. at the halfway mark 10 “Jeu” will leave a big void in the football – in his home country Executive Committee and on the international scene. However, it his family and friends who will feel his meets in Liechtenstein for the first time 12 sudden loss the most. On behalf of UEFA and myself, I express our deepest News from member sympathies to them. associations 17

COVER Along with three English clubs, UEFA President FC Barcelona qualified for the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, knocking out German side Schalke 04 in the quarter-finals. Giovani outmanoeuvres defender, Marcelo Bordon. Photo: Getty Images

02 uefadirect 5.08 UEFAdirect-73-Mai•E/7.0:anglais 17.4.2008 11:29 Page 3 All eyes on Manchester and while????????????????????????? waiting for EURO 2008 to start

Michel Platini hands the UEFA Champions League trophy to the mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, as Leonardo (left) and Umberto Gandini from AC look on. UEFA-pjwoods.ch

THE OPENING MATCH OF EURO 2008 KICKS OFF AT THE ST. JAKOB PARK fielded by Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United (i.e. just under STADIUM IN ON 7 JUNE. IN THE MEANTIME, EUROPEAN CLUB FOOTBALL WILL a quarter) were English, while the other BE IN THE SPOTLIGHT, WITH THE UEFA CUP FINAL COMING UP IN MANCHESTER 41 came from 22 different countries and four continents. ON 14 MAY AND THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL IN MOSCOW ON 21 MAY.

This season’s UEFA Champions 2007, it was to be Liverpool’s day Fifteenth host nation League will have been marked by each time. Last season, however, the On 30 April, we will know which the domination of the English clubs, English teams did not manage to pre- two teams will be walking out onto the the four clubs involved in the vent AC Milan from going all the brand-new pitch at the group stage all having qualified for way and winning the competition. in Moscow on 21 May, to be greeted the quarter-finals – an unprece- This time, the other team still in the by a crowd of 69,500. It will be the first dented feat in UEFA’s flagship club running for a place in the final is time in the more than 50 year history competition. And like last season, another Latin football heavyweight, of the European Champion Clubs’ Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester FC Barcelona. Cup/UEFA Champions League that the United have made it through to the As a result of the general liber- Russian capital has hosted a final. Until semi-finals where, for the third time alisation of the markets triggered by now, the Luzhniki stadium has been in four seasons, Liverpool and Chelsea the “Bosman ruling”, the English clubs’ the venue for just one UEFA club com- are competing against each other for success is not, however, down to only petition final, the 1999 UEFA Cup final a place in the final. In their two previous English footballers. In the quarter-finals, between Parma FC and Olympique semi-final encounters, in 2005 and for example, only 13 of the 54 players de Marseille. is the 15th nation

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The ball UEFA Cup designed by handover addidas in Manchester for the Moscow final. Getty Images UEFA-pjwood.ch

to host a Champions Cup/League The official match ball for the in 1996. Fellow quarter-finalists final, which has been to Italy seven final was also unveiled in Moscow in PSV Eindhoven also have their name times, to , Germany and Spain April, 300 copies of which were then on the honours’ roll, having won the six times apiece, to five times, distributed to the public and school- UEFA Cup in 1984. They were also one Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands children. The winners of the final can of the three teams in the last eight to four times, Greece and Scotland three use the ball for all their UEFA Cham - have started out the season in the UEFA times and , Serbia, Switzerland pions League matches next season. Champions League, the other two being and Turkey once. They will not, however, get to keep the Sporting and Rangers. trophy for the year, but will receive a Fringe activities are also Cup handover full-size replica (see page 13). planned in Manchester, notably a youth Moscow is already geared street football festival involving 600 up for the event. On 3 April, a delega- First for Manchester participants, which will end on the day tion from the reigning champions, A trophy handover ceremony of the final. AC Milan, travelled to Moscow to hand has also taken place in Manchester, the trophy back to the UEFA president, where a delegation from Fair play draw who then placed it in the safe keep ing the UEFA Cup titleholders, Manchester is also the venue of the mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, Sevilla FC, were on hand to for the draw for the UEFA fair play until the day of the final. The trophy return the trophy to the competition, which will will do a tour of five Russian cities UEFA president, who then be made between the before returning to Moscow for an presented it to the Lord pre-match press confer- event that has become intrinsically Mayor of Manchester, Glynn Evans, to ences the day before linked with the final, the Champions look after until the final. the final. Three places Festival, which serves to publicly For Manchester, hosting the in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup are at stake. promote not only the final UEFA Cup final is a double first: on The association which finishes top of but also football’s the one hand, because it has never the fair play rankings is automatically values, such as hosted a UEFA Cup final before, hav- rewarded with one of the places, while respect. ing “only” ever hosted a UEFA Cham- the two others are allocated by means

Luca Toni (9) pions League final – in 2003, when of the draw which involves all the other and Manuel AC Milan played Juventus; national associations which finish Tena grapple for possession in and on the other with an average of eight points or more a closely-fought hand, because it will from all the matches played by their tie between Bayern Munich be the first final national team and clubs between 1 May and Getafe, which the to take place 2007 and 30 April 2008. Only associa- German side at the 44,000- tions which have played a minimum only won on away goals, seater City of number of matches (this cut-off point is thanks to Manchester calculated by dividing the total number Toni’s goal in the last minute Sta dium. The of UEFA matches by the number of of extra time. 2003 UEFA national associations) are eligible. In mid- Champions March, eight associations were in League final was held at this position in the provisional rankings: . Norway, at the top of the table, fol- At the quarter- lowed by England, Sweden, , final stage in this season’s Germany, Finland, Spain and Estonia. UEFA Cup, seven national These UEFA Cup places are not allocated associations were still in the according to the domestic league running, Germany the only one tables, but on the basis of the domestic with two representatives fair play competitions. left, both previous winners The final rankings will be of the competition: Bayer published at the beginning of May Leverkusen in (see www..com). 1988 and Bayern Each match is assessed accord- ing to the following criteria: red and yellow cards, positive play, respect for the opponent and for the referee,

Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images behaviour of officials and of the crowd.

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Both matches Mid-air between Olympique challenge Lyonnais and during the Swedish side Umeå semi-final ended in a draw: between an away goal was FFC Frankfurt all that separated and Bardolino. the two sides. Lemaistre/PanoramiC Lemaistre/PanoramiC SIDI-Sport management

either. France’s made it anything but easy for Umeå, UEFA Women’s who only qualified thanks to an away goal. In the first leg at the Stade Gerland in Lyon, in front of over Cup final 12,000 spectators, the French women A German-Swedish managed a 1-1 draw, Louisa Necib scoring the equaliser in the 72nd showpiece minute, after Umeå’s Madelaine Edlund had opened the score in the 57th. In ON 17 MAY IN UMEÅ, THE LOCAL TEAM WILL PLAY THEIR FIFTH UEFA the return leg in Sweden, Olympique Lyonnais kept pace with the Swedes WOMEN’S CUP FINAL, WHERE THEY WILL FACE GERMANY’S and even created two excellent scoring 1. FFC FRANKFURT. THE RETURN LEG WILL TAKE PLACE IN FRANKFURT opportunities, only to be thwarted by THE FOLLOWING WEEK, ON 24 MAY. the crossbar and the post. The match ended 0-0. The two finalists were the titleholders and the only team to trouble In the other semi, Italian side favourites in the semis in light of their the German-Swedish dominance. ASD CF Bardolino Verona may have glistening track records and lived To reach this season’s final, lost both legs, but not without making up to expectations to bring Umeå and Frankfurt – who both Frankfurt work for their wins. In the about their third meeting in the entered the competition in the first leg in Germany, Bardolino Verona final of this competition. At their second qualifying round – have conceded a goal in the early stages first final in 2002, played as played 7 matches each. Umeå and were 2-0 down at half-time. just one match, Frankfurt beat have won 4, drawn 3, scored 18 Despite pulling a goal back just after Umeå 2-0. The teams then met again and conceded 4. As for Frankfurt, they half-time, they eventually lost 4-2. In in the 2004 final, when the Swedes took have won 5, drawn 2, scored 15 and the return leg, with the help of over revenge, decisively beating the Germans conceded 6. 12,500 supporters, the Italians held 3-0 at home and 5-0 in Frankfurt. out and even created a few chances, The two teams also contested a very Tough opposition but gradually the Germans took charge close semi-final in the 2002/03 season – We should not overlook the and scored three times in the last it had to be decided on penalties but other semi-finalists’ solid performances 20 minutes. in the end it was Umeå who reached the final.

A nervous moment at the Two trophies apiece Italian end in the semi-final between Umeå have played in four FFC Frankfurt and Bardolino. UEFA Women’s Cup finals to date, from which they have taken two titles. In comparison, Frankfurt have played only three finals but they too have two wins

to their name. In fact, there has only ever SIDI-Sport management been one Women’s Cup final, in 2005, that has not featured either Umeå or Frankfurt. The roll call of past winners is dominated by German teams, with three titles accumulated by Frankfurt (two) and Potsdam Turbine (one), followed by Sweden’s Umeå (two) and England’s Arsenal LFC (one). Arsenal are the current

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The Atatürk The stadium will stadium host the final. at the Mardan sports complex.

which was constructed European Under-17 primarily for this U17 Championship, as well to provide a training ground and Championship match venue for European Antalya looking forward teams who hold camps in Antalya. The last stadium is to May the WOW sports centre, which is the official ground of WOW TWO-TIME EUROPEAN UNDER-16/UNDER-17 CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS Hotels. It has a 550-seater capacity. TURKEY HAVE THE PLEASURE OF STAGING THE FINAL ROUND OF THIS COMPETITION

FOR THE SECOND TIME IN THEIR HISTORY IN MAY. at the final draw In order to raise awareness In 1992/93, 1992/93 youth generation that won the of the tournament, Turkey’s coach, Fatih when Poland were Mediterranean Games. Terim, attended the draw for the final crowned champions in round on 3 April. Ironically, in Group A, the European Under-16 A popular destination Turkey were drawn with the Netherlands, Championship, Turkey The host city selected for this who they beat 2-0 in 2005 to win the was the venue for the year’s tournament is Antalya, which U17 Championship that year. Serbia and final round, with and Bursa attracts 5.5 million tourists each year Scotland are other teams in the group. as the host cities. More recently, with its sunny beaches and modern Group B consists of France, the Republic Turkey hosted the 2005 UEFA/CAF tourist facilities. Last but not least, of Ireland, Spain and Switzerland. Meridian Cup in Aydın and Izmir. Antalya is one of the favourite locations Fan participation will be an Turkey won the 2004/05 U17 of leading European clubs who want important aspect of the championship. Championship in Italy and finished to hold their mid-season camps in a Hosts Turkey will use this as an advan- fourth at the subsequent U17 World warmer environment. Every January, tage, but fans of other teams will have Cup in Peru. Such outstanding success Antalya witnesses an influx of thou- the opportunity both to have a holiday at youth level made the country eager sands of teams from various regions of in Turkey and support their youth players to host another youth tournament. . Antalya is swiftly moving to competing in the European Under-17 Youth football is important in Turkey, become a centre of European football. Championship. as everybody knows that the senior Türker Tozar team which finished third in the 2002 Three stadiums World Cup was a product of the Now, the Turkish Football Schedule Federation (TFF) is finalising its prepara- tions for the championship, in order Group A to provide a satisfying and enjoyable 4 May Turkey – Netherlands Fatih Terim experience for all those involved. Twelve 4 May Scotland – Serbia (facing the 7 May Turkey – Scotland camera) and TFF employees will be dedi cated to the 7 May Netherlands – Serbia Jim Boyce, tournament, in addition to 32 out- 10 May Serbia – Turkey vice-president of the Youth sourced professionals. Each finalist team 10 May Netherlands – Scotland and Amateur Football will have an exclusive liaison officer to Group B Committee, assist them. 4 May France – Republic of Ireland at the draw. The tournament will be 4 May Spain – Switzerland 7 May France – Spain played at three different stadiums. 7 May Republic of Ireland – Switzerland Antalya’s Atatürk stadium will be the 10 May Switzerland – France biggest, with its 11,738 capacity, and 10 May Republic of Ireland – Spain the venue for the final. This stadium Semi-finals is also the home ground of the Bank 13 May Winners Group B – Runners-up Group A Asya club . 13 May Winners Group A – Runners-up Group B With its 8,000 capacity, the Mardan Final

Photos: TFF sports complex is the second venue, 16 May

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Michel Platini The Russian The faces delegation Anti-Doping the media. unveils Charter. its pillar. Sportsfile Keystone Sportsfile

well as at future UEFA competitions and events. The word ‘Respect’ will Before be put forward constantly during the tournament, via initiatives such as respecting opponents, the opposition’s national anthem and the referees. EURO 2008 The ‘Respect’ logo will be visible on Workshop for the finalists shirts and drinks bottles. “EURO 2008 offers us the opportunity to highlight in a concept which epitomises all of our work at the level of social responsibility – respect. Respect for opponents, in EURO 2008 EDGES EVER CLOSER – AND FINAL PREPARATIONS ARE BEING the cities, in the stands and on the MADE TO WELCOME NOT ONLY THE 16 TEAMS, BUT ALSO MILLIONS OF FOOTBALL pitch. There must be respect for the difference and diversity that enriches FANS AND GUESTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, TO THIS EAGERLY AWAITED our continent.“ said Mr Platini. FOOTBALL FESTIVAL IN AUSTRIA AND SWITZERLAND BETWEEN 7 AND 29 JUNE. ON 12 AND 13 MARCH IN VIENNA, THE COUNTDOWN TO THE TOURNAMENT Anti-Doping Charter STEPPED UP A GEAR WITH A PREPARATORY WORKSHOP FOR THE 16 NATIONAL The EURO 2008 finalists signed an Anti-Doping Charter in ASSOCIATIONS BIDDING FOR EUROPEAN GLORY THIS SUMMER. Vienna, paving the way for blood tests to be carried out on players for the Each delegation sent up to Up to two million foreign first time. The charter allows both eight members to the Austrian capital, guests are expected for the final round blood and urine samples to be taken including the president, general secre- between 7 and 29 June. Accreditations in some 300 tests before and during tary, head coach, ticketing officer, man- will total 35,000, with 8,300 media this summer’s tournament. ager and team doctor. The most impor- representatives from 100 countries cov- Coaches and association tant topics on the agenda were tourna- ering the action. Some 5,000 volun- presidents of the competing nations ment guidelines, services and facilities teers will be contributing to the smooth at EURO 2008 went to Vienna’s leg- available to the participating teams, running of the event, and 1,500 staff endary stadium to unveil UEFA and Euro 2008 SA organisation, will be deployed per match. the Walk of Fame. They revealed the accommodation, transport, accredita- first 18 of 70 commemorative plaques tion, pitches, match operations, med- Motto: respect which have been hung on columns ical services, TV and media issues and The two-day workshop also supporting the 50,000-capacity venue anti-doping. involved a series of important accompa- in the Austrian capital, which will pro- Like millions of enthusiasts, nying activities to promote the final vide the stage for the climax of the UEFA President Michel Platini is eager round. Michel Platini unveiled a cam- tournament on 29 June. For now, the for the action to start. “We’re almost paign entitled ‘Respect’, which will excitement is mounting day by day as there now,” he said in Vienna. “The feature prominently at EURO 2008, as the summer draws nearer… long wait will soon be over, EURO starts in less than three months and every- thing is just about ready. Austria and Switzerland will be the centre of the world for three weeks. “I have myself visited all of the EURO 2008 host cities and stadiums. The cities are of course superb, they are all capitals of international tourism, and the stadiums are true football stadiums just as we love them – the supporters, who will be true supporters, will be close to the players – real players who will show us how football really is in The representatives of the stadiums where the visibility is excellent 16 finalists and the UEFA president present the Anti-

for everyone.” Doping Charter. Keystone

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Vadim The Sometimes, Devidov from enthusiasm you just have Rosenborg, of SK Brann’s to give up one of the supporters on the idea Nordic clubs keeps them of playing! which was still warm! in European action in February. Pinto/AFP Photos Wire/PA PA Boucau-Krakowski/AFP/Getty Images Calendar year

championshipsPros and cons

THIRTEEN UEFA MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS (, BELARUS, ESTONIA, FINLAND, FAROE ISLANDS,

ICELAND, KAZAKHSTAN, LATVIA, LITHUANIA, NORWAY, REPUBLIC OF IRELAND, RUSSIA AND SWEDEN)

KICKED OFF THEIR TOP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS AT THE START OF THE YEAR. IN THESE COUNTRIES,

THE COMPETITION THUS FOLLOWS THE CALENDAR YEAR.

In the above associations, in question were still going strong ation. Even though it escapes much the league champions are therefore in UEFA competitions in Feb ruary of the bad weather that sweeps along crowned at the end of the autumn (SK Brann, Helsingborgs IF, Rosen- the west coast of Norway, Sweden and they must wait until the following borg BK, Spartak Moscow and Zenit nevertheless starts its championship in summer to take their place on the St. Petersburg). March and wraps it up in November. European stage. This situation is “The cold is our ally com- Football there is none the worse for it: not all bad pared with teams in until a few years ago, the Swedish though: southern Europe,” cup competition took place during the this sea- says Stefan winter break. Now it runs during the son, for Stjirnholm, championship. “We played our quali- example, press officer fying matches for EURO 2008 and five clubs for the the Olympic Games in November. from the Swedish The turnout was excellent. This sea- associ- Football son, the Swedish premier league has ations Associ- increased from 14 to 16 clubs. The championship will be longer but it will still follow the calendar year. Also, at the time of the preliminary rounds in the UEFA club competitions, our clubs are in their stride and the players are on top form, which is not necessarily the case in clubs whose champion - ships restart in August. For us, this phase is vital. It is rare that we make it through the winter in UEFA com- petitions.“ The Russian clubs are spend- In November, Sweden played Latvia ing more and more time in the south in the EURO 2008 of Europe during their long winter, qualifying competition. so that they can train in good condi- tions. There are no complaints to be heard. Last winter, Norway’s Brann and Rosenborg followed suit, in anticipation of their European campaigns in mid-February, as their domestic champion- ship had finished at the

Henriksson/Scanpix/AFP end of November and

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Things hot up …while on on the pitch the bench, for Tottenham it’s a matter in their UEFA of trying to Cup match stay warm. against Slavia … A Wire/PA Photos A Wire/PA P Photos Wire/PA PA

the new season would not get under Heated pitches way until the end of March. Over the Denmark kicks off its cham- last few years, Norway has brought pionship at the end of July and pauses Rys/Bongarts/Getty Images forward the start of its championship between mid-December and mid-March. Zenit St. Petersburg (Victor Fayzulin, in white) by three weeks in order to give its With a view to reducing the length of proved stronger than Bayer Leverkusen in the footballers a two-week summer break. the break, it is asking its professional UEFA Cup quarter-finals. Clubs contesting European competi- clubs to install heated pitches. Two are Boleslav, Uherské Hradiste and tions are faced with major difficulties: currently in place. Vitkovice – are equipped with heated the players must keep their form for The has a pitches. In 2010, this provision will be a whole year, because competitions similar climate to that of Poland. Its mandatory for all top division clubs. at European level continue into supporters prefer a long winter break, In fact, the cold affects the supporters December and start up again in Feb- enabling them to attend matches when the most.” ruary. Five years ago, lots of clubs took the weather is better. The country has Slavia Prague were knocked part in a tournament in La Manga, kept the same match calendar as the out of their European campaign in Spain, but an initiative of this kind former Czechoslovakia, running from February. “The southern clubs have could only attract the elite. It is impos- September to May or June, depending better chances of qualifying at the sible to alter the calendar, despite on the international agenda, and end of winter. Any sides that hope to Norway’s 15 indoor football pitches: with a break for winter. Václav Tichý, represent us have to head south, where many metres of snow fall across the spokesperson for the Czech Football the training conditions are better. country in winter. Norway is wedged League, explains: “We have never Slavia spent one week training in between the sea and the mountains. considered changing it. Nine stadiums Dubai. But that obviously does not Its main roads are usable but it would – those of Sparta, Slavia, Teplice, replace the competition pace.” be futile and extremely arduous to try Olomouc, Liberec, Jablonec, Mladá Pascale Pierard to clear the others. The challenge of getting around in winter would put spectators off, all the more so as this sporty nation is notoriously keen on Swiss study The Swiss Football League (SFL) studied the possibility of bringing winter sports. its calendar into line with the calendar year on many occasions in the early 1990s when UEFA had only 35 members and there were fewer matches, German model and later with a view to improving conditions for spectators. Unfortu- In countries with more or nately, however, the fans tra- less the same climates, in which the ditionally go away on holiday championship spans two calendar in July, so it would have been years, it is the length of the winter unthinkable to play at this break that can be problematic. In time of year. Poland, for example, the national Switzerland also shied championship runs from July to May, away from the domino effect with a break from mid-December that the change would have had in the amateur divisions, until the end of February. Just two from which clubs are pro - clubs have spent the winter in Euro- moted each season. Edmond pean competitions in recent years. Isoz, SFL director, says: “The Adrian Skubis, spokesperson for the first championship would Ekstraklasa, the country’s top division, have lasted 18 months. Also, Grasshopper – FC Basel: explains: “More than the calendar, the amateurs play their finals a traditional it’s a question of money. We want to in May and June, in ideal encounter in weather conditions that draw a Swiss cham- shorten the winter break, to mirror pionship that the German , but to do so in the crowds and enable the will not change we need covered pitches. In 2011, clubs to organise BBQs and its season. other profitable activities. Keystone we should be able to organise 34 cham- If they had to play these decisive games in November, they would be pionship matchdays involving 18 stripped of revenue. The amateurs are also used to taking family holidays teams and shorten the break by two in summer. Finally, in winter football is in direct competition with ice or three weeks. What’s more, our hockey.” winters are getting milder with global Edmond Isoz can think of yet another drawback: “If there is a warming. This is a factor that ultima- six-month gap between a league win and a European campaign, the club tely needs bearing in mind.” risks losing a lot of its players.” P. P.

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The Scoreboard project being presented in Vienna. Photos: UEFA

So how can we take our Securing success thinking from the pitch and transfer it to the management work being for the national associations done within the NAs? How do we ensure that the NAs achieve the same level of success as their teams on the pitch? To help NAs deal with exactly What’s the these questions, we have introduced a new management tool, the NA Scoreboard.

First half score? In January 2007, the UEFA THE UEFA HATTRICK PROGRAMME IS CONTINUING TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT NA Scoreboard project, devised in asso- ciation with the HatTrick programme, OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS BY INTRODUCING THE “NA SCOREBOARD”, A SIMPLE was presented to the UEFA Congress. AND EFFECTIVE PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOL. In May 2007, each NA was invited to a one-day training session in Vienna When you play football, the hard, but with no clear goal in mind where they were introduced to the objective is clear: each team wants to win. or clear purpose to their actions. Imagine project in more detail and trained in How you achieve this is also clear: score 22 players running after a ball without how to use the NA Scoreboard. The more goals than your competitor. So on knowing why, or imagine everyone aim of the project was to introduce a the pitch, objectives are clearly defined agreeing that the aim is to win the game, practical tool that would help the and progress is easily measured. but without agreeing how to measure NAs to set, manage and achieve their Off the pitch, however, when it who is winning. In these scenarios, foot- objectives. comes to the management of the national ball, rather than being the most popular The NA Scoreboard is a associations (NAs), the objectives and sport in the world, would most likely sports-tailored version of a business how these are achieved is not always as become a confusing experience for both management tool called the “Bal- clear. NAs are often found to be working players and spectators alike. anced Scorecard”, which is currently used around the world by many com- The NA Scoreboard panies both large and small. Following the example of this business tool, the NA Scoreboard acknowledges 1 2 that today’s football associations face Our members Our partners many different challenges when trying How do we improve How do we strengthen our services? our relations? to set and achieve objectives, and have to deal with numerous stake- holders both internally and externally. To overcome these chal- lenges, the NA Scoreboard examines Output the NA’s objectives from four different perspectives: what should be done The Association in terms of improving our services to Input our members and our partners, and what should be done to improve our internal processes and people in order to achieve our objectives. 3 4 The NA Scoreboard helps the Our processes Our people NAs to: Where do we have Where do we have to improve? to develop? 1. prioritise their main objectives within these four areas;

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The project was presented to the associations at the UEFA Congress in Düsseldorf. UEFA-pjwoods.ch

The high begin in the coming months. The aim standard of play must be is to provide the support and guidance reflected in needed to ensure that the NAs achieve the national associations. their objectives. There is much we can learn from our beloved sport: the clear objective of the game, the precise way of measuring success, and the Empics Sport/PA Photos Empics Sport/PA con tinual drive to improve the sport have all ensured the success of foot- 2. identify how they can measure Second half ball on the pitch. With the NA Score- progress at regular intervals to As the project moves into board, UEFA has taken these ideas and ensure their objectives are being its second phase, the focus is now on used them off the pitch as well to met; analysing the information received ensure that each and every one of its 3. determine the concrete courses from the NA Scoreboards in order to NAs can be successful in creating of action needed to achieve these get a clear overview of the NAs’ needs the best possible conditions for the results. and activities. A thorough follow-up continual development and growth In short, it enables the NAs to on the Scoreboards submitted will of our sport. turn plans into concrete action. Example of a filled-in scoreboard Half-time score under 1, “Our Members”. A little more than a year after the introduction of the project, Objectives Measurements Target value By when Actions more than 80% of the NAs have sub- A) mitted their Scoreboards and have To increase Number of 30 meetings 1 year A1: Send letters and thereby defined their current objectives the number of meetings project description to and identified what action they will take 6-10 year-old with local local authorities. and subsequently monitor to ensure children authorities belonging to regarding A2: Develop presentation that these objectives are met. clubs by 20% mini-pitches. and sales pitch. The initial feedback from the over two years. associations has been very positive, A3: Organise events on existing mini-pitches indicating that the NA Scoreboard is a with VIPs. valuable tool that provides a basis for improving their project management A4: Send follow-up systems. letters after meetings. The completed NA Scoreboards A5: Inform UEFA about have also provided valuable information initiatives. for the HatTrick programme. The Hat- B) Trick team has gained a much better Number of 10 new 1 year B1: Invite clubs to understanding of the NAs’ main priori- recruitment initiatives. information meetings. ties. One of their key observations has activities. been that many of the associations are B2: Develop new fun initiatives. currently working on interesting and creative youth and grassroots activities. B3: Organise events Another general trend is the focus on and competitions for improving the image of their associa- children with the clubs. tions. The Scoreboards have provided B4: Develop promotional a lot of new ideas on how different material. associations are approaching these B5: Send material to issues. This information can now be schools and companies. shared with the other associations.

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Executive The Arena Committee Hamburg meeting is the 2010 in Vaduz. UEFA Cup final venue. Vogel/Bongarts/Getty Images Vogel/Bongarts/Getty ??????????????? UEFA-pjwoods.ch

Monaco by a further three years. The curtain-raiser to the new UEFA Meetings and club competition season will therefore continue to take place there until 2011 at least, in conjunction with other pre-season events. has other activities been the venue for the UEFA Super 2010 club competition Cup since 1998. A number of other final finals in Madrid and Hamburg round hosts were also designated, the French Football Federation’s bid for THE UEFA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING HELD IN VADUZ ON 28 MARCH WAS the 2010 European Under-19 Cham- THE FIRST TO BE HELD IN LIECHTENSTEIN SINCE UEFA WAS FOUNDED IN 1954. pionship final round being successful, and Nyon being selected as the venue The imminence of EURO Federation was one of the candidates. for the 2008 and 2009 four-team final 2008, which is taking place in the two They were not disappointed, the Exec- round of the European Women’s countries surrounding the principality, utive Committee deciding in favour Under-17 Championship. These tour- Austria and Switzerland, was the obvi- of their bid. naments will be organised by the ous reason for the choice of venue UEFA administration directly and the for the committee’s second meeting UEFA Super Cup stays in Monaco matches held at the ground opposite of the year. The committee also had to UEFA’s headquarters. As per tradition, the pres- decide on the venues for the 2010 ident and general secretary of the host and 2011 UEFA club competition finals. Regulations approved national association – in this case, On the basis of the bids in their cur- Among its regular business, Reinhard Walser and Roland Ospelt – rent form, it decided only on the 2010 the Executive Committee heard reports were guests at the meeting. For them, finals, awarding the UEFA Champions from the chairmen of those commit- the most important item on the agenda League final to the Santiago Bernabéu tees which had met since its last meet- was certainly the choice of hosts in Madrid and the UEFA Cup to the ing and considered the recommen - for the 2010 final round of the Arena Hamburg. dations forwarded by these bodies. European Under-17 Championship, It also decided to extend the In this regard, it gave its backing to for which the Liechtenstein Football UEFA Super Cup arrangement with the development of a RESPECT cam- paign and approved the 2008/09 UEFA club competition regulations

The UEFA Super Cup (including an increase in the number will stay at the Stade Louis II of locally or association-trained players in Monaco. UEFA/F.Bozzani from six to eight), as well as those of the 2008/09 UEFA Futsal and Women’s Cups. The committee also decided to move the European Futsal Cham- pionship final round so that it does not clash with UEFA club competition matches or national team qualifying matches. Consequently, the next final round, to be hosted by Hungary, will take place from 18 to 30 January 2010 instead of in November 2009.

Women’s football The schedule for the women’s EURO in 2009 in Finland has also been

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The Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid – a prestigious venue for the 2010 UEFA Champions League final.

News from Brussels

Getty Images A video promotion produced by UEFA and FARE (Football Against changed on account of the fact that Following the recommen - Racism in Europe), with the sup- the tournament will now be played dation of the Women’s Football Com- port of the European Commission, in five stadiums instead of six. This mittee, the Executive Committee will be shown on giant screens change does not affect the duration felt that the time had come to put all during EURO 2008 in Austria and of the tournament, which will run the national associations on the Switzerland from 7 to 29 June. The from 23 August to 10 September same footing and to start the compe- video, which publicises the new 2009. At the same time, the Executive tition with group matches and no RESPECT policy recently launched Committee decided on the draw preliminary round. This system will by the UEFA president, recognises procedure for the final round. For the apply for the 2009-11 European quali- first time, the tournament will involve fying competition for the 2011 FIFA the virtues of linguistic diversity. three groups of four teams. Women’s World Cup in Germany, The key message conveyed Still in the realms of women’s for which the host nation qualifies by the video is that the linguistic football, the division of participants automatically. diversity of Europe can help make into two divisions, which charac- the European football scene a Albanian FA suspended terised the early national team com- friendlier place. petitions, has been abolished once At its meeting in Vaduz, the Spurred on by the success of and for all. A first step in this direction Executive Committee again paid close the “Get Active” campaign advert was taken when the number of attention to matters regarding UEFA teams in the first division was increased. member associations. In this respect, broadcast at half-time in each UEFA Then, for the current European it deplored the situation in Albania, Champions League match since Women’s Championship, a preliminary where state intervention was affecting September, UEFA wanted to repeat round was organised instead of two the running of the national football the initiative of broadcasting a divisions. association. Consequently, and in ➜ 30-second advert at half-time during big football matches. New trophy policy The RESPECT advert portrays linguistic diversity as something By approving the 2008/09 competition regulations, the Executive Committee at the same time endorsed a new policy for the that brings Europeans – and trophies presented to the winners. European football fans – closer Until now, the winners kept the trophy together, and as a powerful instru- for a period defined in the competition regula- ment for countering intolerance tions (usually until just before the end of the and racism. next competition). Only teams that won a com- Promoting diversity is an petition three times in a row or five times in total important aspect of UEFA’s activi- could keep the trophy for good (a feat achieved ties. Since 2001, UEFA has worked by Real Madrid CF, FC Bayern München, AFC Ajax, in close partnership with FARE AC Milan and Liverpool FC in the Champions Cup/League). Otherwise, the winners only got to to support its anti-racism efforts by keep a reduced-size replica of the trophy. means of national and European From now on, the trophies will stay at awareness campaigns, as well as UEFA’s headquarters and will only be used for the club-orientated action. Sportsfile official ceremony at the end of a final. The win- During EURO 2008, apart from ners will receive a full-size replica to keep. the video advert, a joint UEFA/FARE Teams which win a competition three times in a row or five times in total will receive a special award. campaign entitled “Unite Against Racism” will be the basis of numer- ➜

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➜ ous schemes, such as slogan displays alongside the pitches, declarations against intolerance by the teams taking part, and articles in the official match pro- grammes. Activities will even spill out into the host cities, with street football games being

organised so that fans of differ- Getty Images UEFA ent origins can mix. In addition, Fiorentina – here in their UEFA Cup quarter-final Located opposite the House of European win against PSV Eindhoven – will meet Barcelona Football in Nyon, the Colovray stadium will fans will distribute information in a special match to mark the anniversary of be the venue for the European Women’s former UEFA president Artemio Franchi’s death. Under-17 Championship final round. to fellow supporters in Austria and Switzerland throughout the ➜ accordance with the decision Women’s U17 final tournament. already taken by FIFA, the Executive round in Nyon The video is still in the pro- Com mittee suspended the Alban- The final round of the duction stages but will be ready ian Football Association with imme- first European Women’s Under-17 in time for the start of EURO diate effect. Championship will take place in In other business, it heard 2008, when it will be shown on Nyon, Switzerland, just across the giant screens both inside and a report on the production of the TV road from UEFA’s headquarters, outside the stadiums. It will then signal for EURO 2008, reviewed the from 20 to 23 May. preparations and organisational move to the small screen and The Colovray stadium is set-up for EURO 2012, and defined be shown at half-time in each the venue for the four the rules for replacing committee UEFA Champions League match matches in question, which members. Finally, it learned that ACF next season. As a result, the will be organised by the Fiorentina will play FC Barcelona in UEFA administration – the message of the campaign will the match being organised in Florence first time that it has fulfilled this role. ring loud and clear to football on 30 July to mark the 25th anniver- After a first round that put fans everywhere. sary of the death of the former UEFA the ten group winners and six best president, Artemio Franchi. runners-up through to the next round, England, Denmark and France emerged victorious from the second round and booked their places in the final round. They will be joined by a fourth finalist, Germany will do all they can to be among whose identity remained undecided the finalists in the at the time of going to press, the European Women’s Under-17 Championship. matches in Group 3, involving Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Poland, still to be completed In the semi-finals on 20 May, England will play France, while Den- mark will play the winners of Group 3. In the second round, Denmark, runners- up in their first round group, finished ahead of Russia, also first round runners-up, and Iceland and Finland, who topped their first round groups. England and France, meanwhile, won their six qualifying matches, England with a goal difference of 24-2 and France 36-0. The match for third place and the final are scheduled for 23 May. Irrespective of who finishes where in the final round, all four finalists are already rewarded with a place in the first U-17 Women’s World Cup, which will take place in New Zealand later this

Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images Baron/Bongarts/Getty year, from 28 October to 16 November.

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Social responsibility activities

■ , Man- chester United FC’s striker, who is an ambassador for the Score for the Red Cross UEFA campaign launched by UEFA and the International Committee Futsal referees in Helsinki. of the Red Cross (ICRC) for EURO Sirkka/Eastpress Oy Sirkka/Eastpress 2008, received a cheque for Futsal referees course in Helsinki CHF 100,000 from UEFA before his club’s UEFA Champions The massive development of futsal in recent years – prompted in League quarter-final against AS part by UEFA’s introduction of European national team and club competitions – Roma on 9 April. has led the European football body to pay closer attention to the training and promotion of futsal referees. At the end of March, nearly Futsal officials have been likened 40 of Europe’s top futsal match officials to referees in terms of their travelled to Helsinki for the third UEFA activity during a match, as well as their course for futsal referees, during which flexibility, positioning and visual concentra - they received crucial tips on how to pre- tion on the game. Werner Helsen, UEFA’s pare properly and officiate effectively. referee fitness expert, put the referees

UEFA recognises the unique nature of through their paces in a fitness test. Other Getty Images futsal as a sport, and so feels it must aspects of the course in Helsinki included address the question of the referees dealing with red and yellow cards, reading This cheque, and all the and their education. the game, positioning and movement. other money collected during the campaign, will benefit land- mine victims in Afghanistan by Galaxy Foot 2008 providing them with artificial From 7 to 9 March, football fans gathered at the Parc des Expositions limbs, physiotherapy and voca- in for the third edition of France’s most popular football fair. tional training. Never wanting to miss an oppor- Direct interaction ■ The International Blind tunity to increase its contact with the In the Galaxy Foot job zone, Sports Federation (IBSA) organ- general public and to present its many more than 150 young people had the ised a series of seminars in Eng- activities, UEFA was keen to have a chance to meet sports professionals, land at the beginning of April stand at the event. including former players, referees, jour- as part of its development pro- The exhibition, which brought nalists, marketing directors, sponsors gramme. The seminars provided together both clubs and players, attracted and players’ agents. football coaches and referees more than 47,000 visitors, who took part For UEFA, the key reason for from England, Northern Ireland, in the numerous activities on offer, includ- attending big football exhibitions of the Republic of Ireland and ing the refereeing workshops organised this kind is that they provide an open Wales with training and skills to by the French Football Federation (FFF) at window; an opportunity for direct work with visually impaired its stand, ball juggling competitions, skills interaction. This time, UEFA used the futsal players. courses and challenges, and a video-game opportunity to present its HatTrick Other seminars will take tournament. Present at the event were programme. place this year in Germany, Rus- Bernard Laporte, French secretary of state sia and Turkey. UEFA supported for sport; Jean-Pierre Escalettes, president this project by presenting the of the FFF; Frédéric Thiriez, president of IBSA with its CHF 1 million charity the French professional football league; cheque in Monaco last year. Gérard Houllier, national technical director; and , French national ■ UEFA has embarked on team coach. They were joined by former its environmental respect pro- players such as Just Fontaine, Dominique gramme by partnering the World Rocheteau, Raï, Bernard Lama, Amara Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) Simba and as well and supporting the Panda Ball, as current players including the French a gala evening organised in women’s A team and their coach Bruno Monaco on 5 April to raise UEFA funds to conserve Europe’s bio - Bini, and players from Paris St Germain Bernard Laporte and Jean-Pierre Escalettes take such as Amara Diané and Didier Digard. a close look at the HatTrick programme. diversity.

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Azerbaijan , New AFFA face Finland the new president, in one of Azerbaijan Rovnag their last national Abdullayev. matches in coach. the EURO 2008 qualifying campaign. Getty Images Photos Wire/PA PA AFFA

third national parliament. Since Football Federation 2004, Abduallyev has been president of PFC Neftchi. Under his leadership, of Azerbaijan the team won the national cham- Entering a new era pionship in 2004 and 2005, and the cup in 2004. The side has also encountered success at international THE ASSOCIATION OF FOOTBALL FEDERATIONS OF AZERBAIJAN (AFFA) IS ENTER- level, finishing runners-up in the ING A NEW ERA WITH THE ELECTION OF A NEW PRESIDENT AND THE APPOINT- 2005 CIS and Baltic states’ cup and winning the competition in MENT OF A NEW COACH FOR ITS NATIONAL A TEAM. 2006, as well as twice competing in the UEFA Champions League pre - The presidential election Abdullayev became the third presi - liminaries. was held during an AFFA extraordinary dent of the AFFA. The new president conference on 14 March in the pres- thanked the conference, saying: A champion national coach ence of UEFA and FIFA representatives. “All the promises in my manifesto will One of the first decisions All but one of the 30 members entitled be fulfilled, and I will do my best to taken by the new AFFA president was to vote attended the conference. realise all the aims of the state pro- to appoint the former German inter- There was only one item on the agenda: gramme for the development of foot- national Berti Vogts as national team the election. ball in Azerbaijan between 2005 and coach for Azerbaijan’s World Cup Two candidates were in the 2015, which was signed by the presi- qualifying campaign, where the side running: the president of the Amateur dent of the republic, Ilham Aliyev. will face Germany, Russia, Wales, Football Federation of Azerbaijan (AFF), I will do my utmost to improve foot- Finland and Liechtenstein in Group 4. Kamil Rahimov, and the president of ball in Azerbaijan, to attract more Berti Vogts, 61, who as a PFC Neftchi, Rovnag Abdullayev. Their fans to the stadiums and to encour- player was part of the 1974 World biographies and election manifestos age the Azerbaijan national team.” Cup winning team, started his coach- were published on the AFFA website Rovnag Abdullayev was ing career at the helm of the German and in the press. born in 1965 and trained as an engi- Under-20 side. In 1990, he became neer. In December 2005, he was the national A team coach and subse- More fans in the stadiums appointed president of the Azerbaijan quently took the side to European With 27 votes cast for Rovnag state oil company. The same year, glory at EURO ‘96 in England. He left Abdullayev and two for Kamil Rahimov, he was elected as a member of the the German national team after the 1998 World Cup and moved to Bayer Leverkusen, before deciding to pursue his career abroad as national coach of Kuwait, Scotland and Nigeria respectively. “We chose Berti Vogts because of what he has accomplished in his career,” said Rovnag Abdullayev. “His skill and experience will be beneficial to our team. We want Azerbaijan to be the surprise of the qualifying tournament, but we can’t sit around and expect Vogts to perform wonders. We – the clubs, the players and the association – must help him.” Press conference after the

presidential election. AFFA Elkhan Mammadov

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fromN memberEWS associations

ficially granted licences to the eight teams was performed by the national delega- – FC Pyunik, FC Banants, FC Mika, tions themselves. Michel Platini said: “The ARMENIA FC Ararat, FC Gandzasar, FC Shirak, Walk of Fame is a really great idea. I would FC Ulysses and FC Kilikia – authorising like to congratulate the Austrian Football New season starts in Armenia them to participate in the premier league, Association on this achievement.” Presi- which will run until 15 November. dent of the Austrian FA, Friedrich Stickler, The Football Federation of Armenia New premier league and first division said: “With the Walk of Fame, we have started its new 2008 season on 21 March logos were presented at the beginning of not only immortalised all the finalists with the Armenian Cup round of 16. March. at the Ernst Happel stadium, but also cre- The premier league teams qualified for the Tigran Israelyan ated a piece of football history.” quarter-finals as expected, with no seri- The unveiling of additional columns ous opposition from their first-division op- took place at the Austria-Netherlands ponents. The cup winner will be decided international friendly at the end of March. on 9 May. Claudia Pekar The Armenian premier league champi- onship started on 6 April and includes eight teams, just like last season. Before the championship got under way, however, the Armenian FA’s licensing committee of- The logos of Armenia’s top two divisions. BOSNIA- HERZEGOVINA Good futsal results faced Gornik Zabrze, were both equally The Bosnia-Herzegovina futsal team did unforgettable. Following a complete over- extremely well in the qualifiers for the AUSTRIA haul, the stadium was reopened in 1986, 2008 World Championship, which will with Austria beating Germany 4-1 in the take place in this October. In the opening match. In 1987 and 1990, city of Visoko (Bosnia-Herzegovina), the Walk of Fame – national league champions contested the national team came top of Group 2, Austrian FA immortalises European Champion Clubs’ Cup final at above Lithuania, the Netherlands and Es- EURO 2008 participants the Viennese stadium. In 1993, the city tonia. Bosnia-Herzegovina drew 1-1 The Ernst Happel stadium is not only dedicated the stadium to the late ex- against Lithuania, beat Estonia with a con- home to the Austrian national team, but international and coaching legend, Ernst vincing 12-1, and confirmed their group also a sporting venue steeped in tradition. Happel. Following further renovation victory by winning 5-2 against the Nether- On 29 June, the stadium will host the work, the stadium was reopened once lands. Led by Tomislav Curcic, the team EURO 2008 final and the Austrian Foot- again in 1994, and in 1995, it played host went on to meet double world cham pions ball Association aptly chose the EURO to the UEFA Champions League final Spain in the play-offs in April. 2008 finalists’ workshop as the occasion between Ajax Amsterdam and AC Milan. during which to immortalise all of the par- June 2008 will, however, see the greatest ticipating nations. highlight in the stadium’s history as, in ad- The Ernst Happel stadium in Vienna is dition to three group matches, the Ernst a sporting venue with a long tradition. Happel stadium is to be the venue for two Opened in 1931, “the old lady”, as UEFA quarter-finals, a semi-final and, on 29 President Michel Platini affectionately June, the final of EURO 2008. calls it, has hosted some of football’s most In order to pay worthy tribute to this historic occasions. and all of the previous highlights, the Aus- There was, for example, the 1960 Aus- trian FA has opened a Walk of Fame tria-Spain international which set a new around the Ernst Happel stadium’s load-

spectator record with a crowd of 90,726. bearing columns. The 70 columns have F.Krvavac The European Champion Clubs’ Cup final been transformed into a Walk of Fame in 1964, between and Real The Bosnian futsal team celebrate and thus, no doubt, will become one victory in the qualifying tournament. Madrid, and the 1970 European Cup Win- of the most popular photo spots for ners’ Cup final, in which Manchester City EURO 2008 visitors. The Under-17s also did very well in (Austria’s footballer of the century), the elite round (Group 7) of their Euro- Andreas Herzog (most capped Austrian pean championship in the Netherlands, international), Anton Polster (Austrian although they failed to reach the final record goalscorer), Hans Krankl (scorer of round in Antalya, Turkey. A win against the goal of the century), and Ernst Hap- the Netherlands (1-0) and a draw against pel (Austrian coach of the century) all have Hungary (2-2) was not enough when a permanent plaque. All the UEFA club combined with their 2-0 defeat against competition trophies and the FIFA World Norway. The Netherlands topped the Cup trophy also take pride of place. The group, leaving Bosnia-Herzegovina, led by first 18 columns were unveiled in the pres- Velimir Stojnic, in third. ence of all the national associations and In spite of its new coach, Branimir Tulic, UEFA President Michel Platini during the the Bosnia-Herzegovina Under-21 side EURO 2008 finalists’ workshop in Vienna failed to end last year’s losing streak. in mid-March. These 18 columns repre- At the Asim Ferhatovic Hase stadium in

ÖFB sent the 16 participating associations, the Kosovo, they were beaten 2-1 by Wales, Michel Platini and Friedrich Stickler unveil European Championship trophy and the who hold first place in Group 10 in the the EURO 2008 pillar. official EURO 2008 logo. The unveiling 2009 Under-21 Championship qualifiers. ➜

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➜ Bosnia-Herzegovina’s two remaining When Andy Roxburgh attended the matches, against Romania and France, will 2008 UEFA referees course in Cyprus, the be played in the autumn. Cyprus FA’s coaching school, in collabo- Meho Kodro, the new head coach of ration with the Cyprus coaches union, the senior Bosnia-Herzegovina side, made organised a one-day coaching seminar for his debut in front of home fans at the their members. UEFA’s technical director Bilino Polje stadium in Zenica. Interestingly, made a very fruitful and educational pres- this is also where Meho Kodro made his entation to more than 60 coaches at the first official appearance as a player for his GSP stadium conference centre in .

country – in what was Bosnia-Herzegov- CFA The Cyprus FA’s coaching school and ina’s first-ever home game, played on 24 A plaque for UEFA’s technical director, the Cyprus coaches union honoured Mr April 1996 against Albania (0-0). As was Andy Roxburgh. Roxburgh with a commemorative plaque the case back then, the recent match at the end of the seminar. against FYR Macedonia produced no win- Furthermore, the Cyprus FA’s coaching ners (2-2). The friendly was kicked off by school has been keeping up its UEFA- the president of Bosnia-Herzegovina, CYPRUS recognised educational seminars with Zeljko Komsic, who is a huge football fan a diploma seminar for goalkeeping and an ardent supporter of the Bosnia- Same format for the first coaches in March and a UEFA C course for Herzegovina team. youth development in April. The regular Bosnia-Herzegovina Foot- division championship Kyriacos Giorgallis ball Federation assembly was held at the At its meeting on 18 March, the end of March in the presence of FIFA and Cyprus Football Association decided UEFA representatives. One of the most to keep the same first division champi- important decisions taken was to create onship format for the 2008/09 season, first and second-instance club licensing due to the great success of this system ENGLAND bodies, thereby finally fulfilling UEFA during the current season (14 teams, requirements. The proposed youth com- regular season of 26 matchdays and six petition system for the 2008/09 season play-off dates). Big investment in was also adopted. According to this sys- After the first 26 matchdays, the top grassroots football tem, young footballers (junior and youth 12 teams in the table are split into three has an- players at premier league clubs) will be di- groups of four and the bottom two – the nounced its biggest ever investment in vided geographically to compete in two 13th and 14th-placed teams – are auto- grassroots football with a GBP 200m in- groups of eight teams. This competition matically relegated to the second division. jection of funds aimed at improving all as- system will be supported by the UEFA This year, Nea Salamina Famagusta and pects of the game over the next five years. youth football development programme. Olympiacos Nicosia were the two unlucky The FA’s recently launched National In other news, Marijan Jelic was sides. Game Strategy is the result of the most elected to the Bosnia-Herzegovina Foot- As far as coach education is concerned, extensive consultation process undertaken ball Federation executive board, in place the Cyprus FA’s coaching school con - by the governing body in England, with of Milan Jelic, who passed away recently. tinues to run educational courses all 37,000 people involved in football can- Fuad Krvavac year round. vassed for their opinion. The plan has four clear goals: to in- crease and retain participation in football at all levels, to raise standards and address Under-21 national team. Kolev is a well- abusive behaviour, to develop better known and respected coach whose last players, and to improve the game’s grass- BULGARIA job was to lead the Indonesian national roots’ administration. Underpinning the team through the qualifiers for the last four areas will be a drive to improve facil- World Cup. Prior to that, Kolev had been ities and to have a skilled workforce. Work starts on a national head coach of various top professional FA Chief Executive Brian Barwick said football complex clubs in Indonesia and other Southeast of the launch on 18 March: “It’s a very im- Recently the government of Bulgaria Asian countries. portant day in the everyday life of English took up an important initiative concern- Another recent event in Bulgarian foot- football. ing the future of football in the country: ball was a meeting between the owners it approved the site for a national football and chairmen of all Bulgaria’s first division complex. Construction will start in early clubs. The meeting was initiated by May and, once complete, the complex will the football union’s president, Borislav have at least four grass football pitches, Michaylov, and one important decision a hotel and recreational, medical and reached was to invite bids for live TV administrative facilities. The project will broadcast rights for matches in the Bul- cost over EUR 10 million. The plot is lo- garian top division. The decision under- cated close to the national sports acad - scores the commitment of all club owners emy, overlooking the Vitosha mountain, to improving the quality of the Bulgarian just outside , the Bulgarian capital. championship and to marketing it in a The aim is to complete the project within modern way. To kick start efforts, a plan four years using the latest innovations in was devised to bring together various construction and planning. legal, marketing and economics experts In other news, the Bulgarian Football in a working group that is due to start dis- Union executive committee has appointed cussions at the beginning of May. The FA Ivan Kolev as the new coach of the Borislav Konstantinov GBP 200 million for grassroots football.

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EWS from member associationsN

“We are able to unveil an unprece- ball in the street and certainly did not only dented GBP 200m investment, which is learn to play by training with my club. largely the product of successful television With this fantastic project, the DFB is mak- and commercial deals. We will spend that ing sure that our children also have the money wisely, not least because we have chance to play a quick game of football asked those involved how they want it to after school. I was therefore only too be spent. pleased to accept the role of ambassador “Firstly we want more people involved for the DFB mini-pitch campaign.” in the game – players, coaches, spec - Thomas Hackbarth tators, administrators and, critically, referees. “Secondly we want better coaches, more skilful players, especially children. Thirdly we want to make it easier to or- LATVIA ganise the game locally. “And fourthly we want to raise stan- dards of behaviour and address abusive

EJL Conference confirms Latvian behaviour. And as a parent and lover of football growth the game this goal is especially close to The president, Aivar Pohlak (centre), in the company of Michel Platini and Marios At the end of March, the Latvian Foot- my heart.” N. Lefkaritis. ball Federation held its annual general FA Chairman Lord Triesman added: “It meeting, which was also attended by represents the biggest investment ever crete plans for the future,” Pohlak ex- UEFA Executive Committee member Per made in grassroots football. It is a huge plained. Ravn Omdal. The delegates approved the and valuable effort. Having played a lot The building of the first full-size indoor 2007 annual report and the president of of amateur football myself, been a referee sports hall and the launch of projects the federation, Guntis Indriksons, gave a and coached, what I have seen shows the to improve stadiums with natural grass 40-minute speech on the development of investment is demonstrably needed.” pitches are the next steps. Once the Latvian football. Nada Grkinic infrastructure has been modernised, the Indriksons noted that, over the last EJL would like to host UEFA youth tour- year, various publications, complaints and naments. commendations relating to football had Mihkel Uiboleht implied that Latvian football development had stalled. He mentioned five criteria ESTONIA by which to assess football in a country – national team results, youth team results, competitive national players with clubs UEFA president’s visit boosts GERMANY abroad, club results in European tour - infrastructure plans naments and the standard of national A visit by the UEFA president, Michel championships. “In all of these, progress Platini, to Estonia at the beginning of April World cup star Andreas Brehme has been seen, but we have to work carried a message of friendly relations and to open new mini-pitches more on the grassroots, coach education, cooperation between the European foot- Andreas Brehme has been appointed and stadium improvements,” Indriksons ball governing body and the Estonian ambassador for the German Football As- said. Football Association (EJL). sociation’s “1,000 mini-pitches” cam- UEFA’s priority is for Latvian develop- The EJL president, Aivar Pohlak, wel- paign. In this capacity, the former inter- ment to continue at the best possible comed the UEFA delegation, which also national, who has 86 caps to his name pace. As part of the UEFA study group included vice-president Marios N. Lefkari- and scored the winning penalty in Ger- scheme, Mr Omdal invited three groups tis, and Theodore Theodoridis, director of many’s 1-0 victory over Argentina in the of 11 individuals involved in Latvian foot- the National Associations Division. 1990 World Cup final, will attend mini- ball to choose the country from which The UEFA delegation held meetings pitch opening events across Germany. they could the learn most. He also said with the EJL board and its general secre- In autumn 2007, the German Football that all-year-round training for all football tary, Tõnu Sirel, as well as with Estonia’s Association (DFB) decided that 1,000 ar- players was essential for success, and that minister for culture, Laine Jänes; the chair- tificial pitches should be built on school artificial pitches were therefore crucial. ➜ man of the department for sport, Tõnu premises in cooperation with local foot- Seil; the mayor of Tallinn, Edgar Savisaar; ball clubs. Fifteen prototype pitches were and the deputy mayor of Tallinn, Kaia Jäp- installed and opened by the DFB’s regional pinen. On the agenda were important is- associations in 2007, and the remaining sues for Estonian football, such as the de- 985 pitches are due to be built between velopment of infrastructure. April and the end of 2008. At the press conference Michel Platini “I’m delighted that we’ve been able to said that his visit had allowed the discus- enlist Andreas Brehme for this important sion of political and economic points and role. As a player, he was part of many suc- helped to stress the importance of foot- cess stories in German football and be- ball: “We are here to help, but the rest is came very popular with the fans. More- up to you,” said the UEFA president. over, he has always remained close to the The EJL president was grateful for the grassroots and is therefore exactly the UEFA delegation’s contribution: “We can right person for our mini-pitch campaign,”

see that this visit will boost the develop- said the DFB president, Theo Zwanziger. A.F.I. ment of our infrastructure. Already at Brehme, 47, said of his appointment Per Ravn Omdal addresses the AGM these meetings, we have made very con- by the DFB: “I myself began playing foot- of the Latvian FA.

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➜ Another problem for Latvia is attracting terest with coaches and scouts from dif- supporters to the stadiums, to which Mr ferent countries among the spec tators, all Omdal responded: “It’s not the size of the eager to follow the future of these young stadium, but the services that matter.” aspiring footballers. Indeed, there was no The LMT Virsliga started on 5 April with shortage of quality performances. ten clubs, two more than last season. Turkey came out on top, beating all of “This is the right decision and the fruits the other contestants, and the Republic of it will be seen in the future,” said Mr of Ireland finished second with two victo- Omdal. ries. Although Italy and filled the Per Ravn Omdal also visited Riga in bottom places, they too showed that they April with UEFA’s National Associations have some very promising young foot- director, Theodore Theodoridis, within the ballers in their ranks. framework of the Top Executive Pro- Another indication of the Malta FA gramme. They attended the LMT Virsliga technical team’s commitment to provid-

opening press conference, after which LFV ing greater opportunities for its youth they met the Latvian FA’s president, Gun- Michel Platini presents a UEFA pennant players was the Under-14 side’s participa- tis Indriksons, and general secretary, Janis to minister Klaus Tschütscher. tion in an international tournament in Pisa, Mezeckis. Italy. This too was a fruitful event. Martins Hartmanis of the Liechtenstein FA are very excited To cap it all, Malta’s national team about the Executive Committee’s decision scored a historic home victory, the biggest and will do everything in their power to in their history, when they beat Liechten- organise another fantastic tournament. stein 7-1 in a friendly. The hero was Judith Frommelt Michael Mifsud, who boosted his reputa- LIECHTENSTEIN tion by netting five goals to reach a remarkable total of 19 in 56 matches for his country so far: enviable figures by any UEFA Executive Committee standard. meets in Vaduz MALTA On the administrative side, the Malta On Friday 28 March, the UEFA Execu- FA showed just how proactive it is when tive Committee met for the first time in it approved several additions and amend- Liechtenstein. Reinhard Walser, the pres- Fruitful youth tournaments ments to its statutes at its extraordinary ident of the Liechtenstein Football Asso- and a record win general meeting. During the session, ciation, was delighted to have the Execu- As part of its programme to further three new associations, the Malta Ama- tive Committee members in Liechtenstein develop its youth sector, the Malta teur Football Association, the Malta and invited them all to dinner on the FA organised a four-team Under-16 Football Coaches Association and the Thursday evening, together with the gov- international tournament at its complex Malta Football Referees Association, were ernment of the Principality of Liechten- adjacent to the Ta’ Qali national stadium. also approved as full members of the stein. Klaus Tschütscher, the sports minis- The five-day tournament, which involved country’s FA. ter and deputy head of the government, nations with reputable European standings Alex Vella welcomed the distinguished guests to as well as the hosts, attracted a lot of in- the Hofkellerei des Fürsten von Liechten- stein (“the prince’s wine cellars”) and took great pleasure in UEFA’s choice of Liechtenstein for an Executive Com- NETHERLANDS mittee working session. Friday was spent dealing with the various business on the agenda. KNVB street soccer launch The highlight from Liechtenstein’s point Last month, the Dutch Football Asso- of view would have to have been the ciation (KNVB) launched a new set-up for acceptance of its bid to host the 2010 the KNVB street soccer competition. The European Under-17 Championship final number of participants will increase from round. Five years ago, Liechtenstein hosted the final round of a European 30,000 to 40,000 in just a single year Under-19 Championship, which was a merely by incorporating local street com- great success and is still remembered as petitions that have been organised by such by all who were involved. The leaders cities over recent decades. The idea is that in four years’ time no fewer than 100,000 children under 12 will take part in the ex- citing and appealing KNVB street soccer competition. Five goals Last year, the KNVB approached all the out of seven larger cities in the country which organ- for Michael ise their own local street soccer tourna- Mifsud against Liechtenstein. ments. Fifteen cities agreed to take part in the new KNVB street soccer tourna- D.Aquilina ment. In 2012, the number of cities should have increased to 60. When Secretary of State for Sport Jet Bussemaker kicked off the KNVB street

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Each of the 13 councils has been lenges, so that we can decide which allocated GBP 25,000 in funding by the way to go in the future,” said the direc- IFA through the UEFA HatTrick pro- tor of professional football, Per-Mathias gramme. Høgmo, from the Norwegian Football David McVeigh, the club licensing and Association. facilities manager at the IFA, who has Together with Norsk Toppfotball, which been responsible for the project since its represents the interests of the clubs in the inception said: “The overarching aim of Tippeligaen and the Adeccoligaen, the top the project was to identify a need, two leagues in Norway, the Norwegian strengthen partnerships and, most Football Association has organised several importantly, create high quality sports committees responsible for different areas which can be utilised in a safe and areas such as sport, infrastructure, secure manner.” organisation and marketing. The key aim Northern Ireland manager, Nigel is to collect information in order to Worthington, added: “Sport is about establish the right direction for the years encouraging communities to come to come. together and also about promoting “It’s getting tougher to be among the a healthy lifestyle, and the mini-pitches, best in Europe, and we have to identify which are being constructed through- the right tools to develop football in Nor- out the country, will help do both way,” said Høgmo. these things. The process will, in the end, lead to KNVB/Chamid fotografie concrete goals for the national teams and Jet Bussemaker got the tournament under way. the top clubs. Roger Solheim soccer tournament in The Hague on 26 March, she started an event that runs along parallel tracks. The football clubs af- filiated to the KNVB organise the regular REPUBLIC KNVB tournaments for their members up to the age of 12. The winners of the local OF IRELAND finals proceed to regional finals and from there all six districts will organise semi fi- St. Patrick’s Athletic crowned nals on 7 and 14 June. The winners of IFA futsal champions those semi-finals meet each other in the Nigel Worthington cuts the St. Patrick’s Athletic are the 2008 national final, which is organised on the ribbon at the ceremony to inaugurate eircom Futsal League of Ireland cham - the Ballyhornan mini-pitch. most famous square of the Netherlands, pions. The Saints claimed victory in the Dam Square in Amsterdam. final with two goals in extra time against Whereas 17,000 children competed in “From a football perspective, our an impressive Bohemians side. last year’s competition, the event now in- youth players are the future of football volves 40,000 – 30,000 from the clubs’ in Northern Ireland. Therefore, there competition and 10,000 from the tour- is a need to ensure that the right facil- naments organised by the cities. In four ities are available to allow them to years’ time, the clubs and cities are due to learn and develop as players, and I provide an equal share of 50,000 partici- believe that the mini-pitches in the dif- pants each. ferent council areas will go a long way Rob de Leede in helping to develop our young foot- ballers.” Sueann Harrison

NORTHERN

IRELAND NORWAY FAI A replica trophy for each of St. Patrick’s Installation of a series Athletic’s players. of mini-pitches Looking to Europe Northern Ireland manager, Nigel Wor- Norwegian football is looking to Alexandru Gutu put the Saints ahead thington, was in County Down recently to Europe in order to identify the right tools but an equaliser from Alan Lynch had officially open the new multi-purpose to become competitive in the international the sides level at the end of normal time. mini-pitch at Ballyhornan. arena. With just minutes remaining in the The facility is part of a mini-pitch pro- “We have started a project to bench- second period of extra time, Artur gramme which is currently being rolled mark Norwegian football against other Opeldus gave St. Patrick’s Athletic the out across the province. By the end football leagues in Europe, in order to advantage with an unstoppable drive. of the programme, a total of 21 mini- find out where our strengths and weak- Sergei Musteata made sure of victory in pitches will have been constructed in nesses lie. Hopefully, it will tell us some- the dying seconds when he scored the 13 council areas. thing about our possibilities and chal- Saints’ third. ➜

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➜ As eircom Futsal League of Ireland against violence”. To date, almost 1,400 champions, St. Patrick’s Athletic win clubs have complied, proof that the clubs EUR 10,000 and a chance to represent Ire- SWITZERLAND are willing to do all they can to tackle un- land in the UEFA Futsal Cup. sporting behaviour and lack of respect, Dane Massey of Bray Wanderers was both for the opposition and the referees, Fair play pact signed in organised football. The president of the named player of the tournament for his by almost every club brilliant displays for the Seagulls, who Swiss Football Association, Ralph Zloc- were defeated by St. Patrick’s Athletic in The Swiss Football Association has re- zower, is thrilled with the result: “The huge the semi finals of the competition. ceived widespread support from the coun- response from the clubs is proof that they try’s football clubs in its quest to promote are all prepared to put an end to un- For a complete list of results from the fair play and discourage violence both on sporting behaviour and violence.” 2008 eircom Futsal League of Ireland, see and off the football pitch. The fair play pact follows many other http://www.eircomloi.ie/the-divi- In recent years, we have seen a decline similar initiatives, some of which are still sions/futsal-league/ in respect and fair play at our football in place (e.g. the “fair play competition, Eoghan Rice grounds. The Swiss Football Association fair play trophy and be tolerant games”) therefore launched a new campaign a and is another next step in our quest to year ago, inviting all 1,414 of its member combat unsporting behaviour. clubs to sign a “Pact for fair play and Pierre Benoit SCOTLAND

Draw for the semi-finals “Our grassroots activities are appre- The Scottish FA was recently delighted ciated not only by UEFA but also by UKRAINE the FIFA president, Joseph S. Blatter,” to host two of the most influential said the president of the Ukrainian FA, figures in world football, when the FIFA Grigoriy Surkis. “For example, both have and UEFA presidents, Joseph S. Blatter Five stars for real heroes been interested in our experience of As many already know, Ukraine introducing a lesson plan containing recently became a five-star member of football elements into primary school the UEFA Grassroots Charter. To mark curricula. This is an excellent reflection this occasion, a presentation about on our joint efforts, which have been the five-star membership was made at named ‘Ukraine’s miracle’.“ the end of March, at the headquarters In brief, there are 664,433 registered of the Football Federation of Ukraine participants in Ukrainian grassroots com- (FFU), and selected individuals were petitions, 38,667 of which are women. honoured for their outstanding contri- The Ukrainian FA supports popular tour- butions to the very important social task naments such as the Leather Ball of encouraging and supporting grass- (295,084 10-13 year olds); the village roots activities. schools’ football festival, Lets give Joy to Special medals, letters of commen- the Children! (75,000 participants); and dation and mementos were thus pre- the Tournament of a Thousand Teams in sented to members of the country’s min- Kharkov, which is considered to be the istries of education and sports, the sports biggest regional youth competition in companies Kolos, Spartak and Ukraine, Ukraine. The Ukrainian FA also works and various football associations for with the government to host competi- amateurs, disabled people, women, stu- tions for women and disabled people, dents, veterans, etc. The achievements introduce football into prisons and SFA of all these organisations were highly organise other such initiatives. Joseph S. Blatter and Michel Platini with the Scottish Cup. praised by international experts. Bogdan Buga

and Michel Platini, attended the Inter- national Football Association Board meeting at the world famous Gleneagles Hotel. Despite their busy schedules, both men took charge of the draw for the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup, which managed to throw up some interesting ties. The IFAB meeting itself was a busy one, with a number of key football issues on the agenda. One of these issues was simulation, whereby the delegates heard about the Scottish FA’s pilot scheme to use retrospective punishment for players guilty of this offence. The Scot- tish FA plans to introduce the scheme into Scottish football next season. FFU Rob Shorthouse Grigoriy Surkis presents the UEFA five-star diploma.

22 uefadirect 5.08 UEFAdirect-73-Mai•E/7.0:anglais 17.4.2008 11:29 Page 23 UEFA

Match agents

UEFA has renewed the match agent Communications licences of: ■ Henrik Niss (Denmark) Birthdays – Calendar ■ Frank Oudt (Netherlands) ■ Sidi M. Airouss (Belgium). At the same time, the licence of Alain Veyssière (France) has been revoked.

Birthdays ● Rune Pedersen (Norway, 19.5) New books ● Raimondas Statkevicius (Lithuania, 19.5) ● Michal Listkiewicz (Poland, 20.5) Haim Zimmer (Israel), member of the ● Serge Muhmenthaler (Switzerland, 20.5) Sport et Nationalités – Faut-il protéger National Associations Committee, celebrates ● Zvezdan Terzic (Serbia, 21.5) l’identité nationale? his 70th birthday on 9 May. Arie Frost (Israel), ● Theo van Seggelen (Netherlands, 22.5) In the fifth edition of their annual study on referee observer, turns 60 on 11 May. He will ● Packie Bonner (Republic of Ireland, 24.5) nationality in sport, Serge and Michel Pautot be joined at the same milestone on 27 May ● Ainar Leppänen (Estonia, 24.5) compare the percentage of foreign players by Robert Jeurissen (Belgium), match delegate. ● Semen Andreev (Russia, 25.5) and their influence in different professional Two referee observers celebrate their 50th ● Suheil Daood (Israel, 25.5) sports in France. In a second part of the birthdays in May: Carlos Manuel Ferreira ● Hans Cooman (Belgium, 25.5) study, the authors try to prove the “foreign Matos (Portugal) on 14 May and Evzen Amler ● Ivancica Sudac (Croatia, 25.5) preference” of big football clubs by going (Czech Republic) on 15 May. Nicolai Cebotari ● Ramon Calderon Ramos (Spain, 26.5) through the squads of the clubs that have (Moldova), member of the Media Committee, ● Zdenek Sivek (Czech Republic, 28.5) played in the final of the UEFA Champions celebrates the same birthday on 21 May. ● Patrick A. Daly (Republic of Ireland, 28.5) League since 2004. The authors also give an UEFA also wishes many happy returns to: ● Jim Stjerne Hansen (Denmark, 28.5) overview of the transfer of strikers in the ● Mircea-Lucian Salomir (Romania, 1.5) ● Jean-Pierre Escalettes (France, 29.5) biggest European football leagues, as well ● R. Campbell Ogilvie (Scotland, 1.5) ● Jacques Antenen (Switzerland, 29.5) as a list of the French players in these com - ● Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark, 1.5) petitions (www.legisport.com). ● Johann Hantschk (Austria, 3.5) ● Ladislav Gadosi (Slovakia, 3.5) Le Guide du Championnat d’Europe 2008 ● Volydymyr Chorno-Ivanov (Ukraine, 3.5) Forthcoming events EURO 2008 is almost upon us and for those ● Anghel Iordanescu (Romania, 4.5) who want to brush up on their knowledge ● Eleonora Gambillara (Switzerland, 4.5) Meetings of previous editions, this ● Peter Gilliéron (Switzerland, 5.5) 7-8.5.2008, Nyon guide by Daniel Masnari has ● Costakis Koutsokoumnis (Cyprus, 5.5) appeared at just the right 8th Seminar for Mentors and Talents ● Kenneth Ridden (England, 6.5) time. Data on the qualifying ● Gudmundur Petursson (Iceland, 6.5) 14.5.2008, Manchester matches, all the final round ● Stanislav Strapek (Slovakia, 6.5) Professional Football Strategy Council matches and over 1,300 players ● Karl-Erik Nilsson (Sweden, 6.5) 19.5.2008, Blois provide an excellent portrait ● Murat Jaha (Bosnia-Herzegovina, 7.5) Draw for the final round of the European of EURO 2008, the qualified ● Pekka Luhtanen (Finland, 8.5) Women’s Under-19 Championship teams and the venues, with ● Michel Pralong (Switzerland, 8.5) anecdotes and various statistics to complete ● 19-20.5.2008, Moscow Marc Dobbeleir (Belgium, 8.5) Executive Committee the picture. The guide is available in French ● Patrick Comninos (Greece, 8.5) and German. ● Ucha Ugulava (Georgia, 8.5) ● Robert B. Valentine (Scotland, 10.5) Competitions Daniel Masnari has also published the ● Georgios Borovilos (Greece, 10.5) 1.5.2008 Guide du football suisse 2007-08, available ● Armen Melikbekyan (Armenia, 10.5) UEFA Cup semi-finals (return legs) in French and German, and L’Intégrale des ● Ernst-Peter Radziwill (Germany, 11.5) 4-16.5.2008, Turkey 18 Coupes du monde 1930-2006 (DM Foot ● Timo Huttunen (Finland, 11.5) European Under-17 Championship Editions, Daniel Masnari, Résidence Grange ● Jean-Marie Gantenbein (Luxembourg, 12.5) final round Neuve 4, 1036 Sullens, Switzerland). ● Henrik Ravnild (Denmark, 13.5) ● Odile Lanceau (France, 14.5) 14.5.2008, Manchester Kids im Fussball-Fieber ● Hans-Jörg Eissmann (Germany, 15.5) UEFA Cup final This small book by Helmut and Friedhelm ● Piotr Maranda (Poland, 15.5) 17.5.2008, Umeå Heitmann, published by BVK Buch Verlag ● Hakan Nyberg (Sweden, 15.5) UEFA Women’s Cup final (first leg) Kempen e. K., is designed to ● Nikolay Levnikov (Russia, 15.5) 20-23.5.2008, Nyon get children (aged 8 and ● Angel Bungurov (FYR Macedonia, 16.5) European Women’s Under-17 Championship above) interested in football ● Lubos Michel (Slovakia, 16.5) final round through games, interviews ● Svein Johannessen (Norway, 17.5) and even songs (on the CD ● Lars Appelqvist (Sweden, 18.5) 21.5.2008, Moscow that comes with the book). ● Andreas Morisbak (Norway, 19.5) UEFA Champions League final It could also be very useful ● Jozef Marko (Slovakia, 19.5) 24.5.2008, Frankfurt for children’s football coaches ● Gaetano Degabriele (Malta, 19.5) UEFA Women’s Cup final, (return leg) (www.buchverlagkempen.de).

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 Division Editorial deadline: 11 April 2008 source is indicated. UEFAdirect-73-Mai•E/7.0:anglais 17.4.2008 11:29 Page 24

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