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6.04Includ<strong>in</strong>g<strong>Golden</strong> <strong>Jubilee</strong><strong>celebrations</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Cyprus</strong> <strong>03</strong><strong>XXVIII</strong> <strong>UEFA</strong> <strong>Congress</strong> <strong>06</strong>EURO 2004 contenders 08No. 26 – June 2004HatTrick programme 14


COVERUsers of uefa.com votedZ<strong>in</strong>ed<strong>in</strong>e Zidane (shown herechalleng<strong>in</strong>g Belgium’sV<strong>in</strong>cent Kompany) best Europeanplayer of the last 50 years.PHOTO: BONGARTSIN THIS ISSUE<strong>UEFA</strong> celebratesits <strong>Golden</strong> <strong>Jubilee</strong> <strong>in</strong> Limassol <strong>03</strong>Stability for the ExecutiveCommittee <strong>06</strong>Two books for the <strong>Golden</strong> <strong>Jubilee</strong> 07An analysisof the EURO 2004 contenders 08HatTrick programme 14Boomerang Interviúw<strong>in</strong> the <strong>UEFA</strong> Futsal Cup 15News from member associations 16EditorialLet the game commence!In April, European football experienced one of theadm<strong>in</strong>istrative highlights of its year <strong>in</strong> Limassol on the islandof <strong>Cyprus</strong>: the <strong>XXVIII</strong> Ord<strong>in</strong>ary <strong>UEFA</strong> <strong>Congress</strong>, whichwas the perfect occasion to celebrate the organisation’s<strong>Golden</strong> <strong>Jubilee</strong>.For the delegates and guests it was an opportunityto pay tribute to some deserv<strong>in</strong>g servants of football,as well as to remember the pioneers and visionaries who built <strong>UEFA</strong>,and their successors, who have made it the dynamic and efficientorganisation that it is today.The representatives of the national associations also had thepossibility to relive – through archive pictures and commentaries fromsome of the great figures of European football – the evolution of thegame and some of the moments <strong>in</strong> the historyof the European competitions that rema<strong>in</strong> firmlyetched <strong>in</strong> the memory, such as the <strong>in</strong>credibleend<strong>in</strong>g to the 1999 <strong>UEFA</strong> Champions Leaguef<strong>in</strong>al <strong>in</strong> Barcelona between Manchester Unitedand Bayern Munich and, further back, <strong>in</strong> 1960,the fantastic victory of Real Madrid over E<strong>in</strong>tracht Frankfurt<strong>in</strong> Glasgow, <strong>in</strong> front of a record crowd.To a large extent, it was <strong>in</strong> order for European football to be ableto experience top-level competitions <strong>in</strong> both the club and the nationalteam sectors that the pioneers founded <strong>UEFA</strong> <strong>in</strong> 1954. Thanks to the competitioncalendar, which means that this <strong>Golden</strong> <strong>Jubilee</strong> year co<strong>in</strong>cides witha European Championship f<strong>in</strong>al round, we will be able to pay the mostmagnificent of tributes to <strong>UEFA</strong>’s founders: a European Championship f<strong>in</strong>alround beyond their wildest dreams, with 16 f<strong>in</strong>alists, marvellous stadiumsand excited crowds whose passion is heat<strong>in</strong>g up even before thetournament has kicked off.So after the commemorative ceremonies, it’s time for the action.Vive o 2004!Lars-Christer OlssonChief ExecutiveBONGARTSwe care about football02 uefadirect 6.04


<strong>UEFA</strong> <strong>Golden</strong> <strong>Jubilee</strong>Time to celebrateThe full complementof those who wererewarded for their servicesto <strong>UEFA</strong> and football.<strong>UEFA</strong>MONTE CAPUTO, HIGH ABOVE THE CYPRIOT CITY OF LIMASSOL, WAS THE VENUEFOR THE <strong>XXVIII</strong> ORDINARY <strong>UEFA</strong> CONGRESS ON 22 AND 23 APRIL.Day one of this general assemblyof the European national footballassociations was entirely devoted tothe <strong>UEFA</strong> <strong>Golden</strong> <strong>Jubilee</strong>.Images of some greatmoments from the Europeancompetitions immediately setthe tone for this special occasion:a look back, not withnostalgia but with great admirationfor the pioneers’ achievementsand with gratitude for the excit<strong>in</strong>gfootball<strong>in</strong>g moments produced by theplayers dur<strong>in</strong>g the first half-century of<strong>UEFA</strong>’s existence.Follow<strong>in</strong>g welcom<strong>in</strong>g remarksby Pefkios Georgiades, Cypriot M<strong>in</strong>isterfor Education and Culture, and MariosN. Lefkaritis, Honorary President of theCypriot Football Association and amember of the <strong>UEFA</strong> Executive Committee,FIFA President Joseph S. Blatteremphasised the importance of Europeanfootball and its competitionsand paid tribute to the presidentsand general secretarieswho had left their mark on<strong>UEFA</strong>. He also po<strong>in</strong>ted out that<strong>UEFA</strong> was the most powerful ofthe six FIFA confederations andthat, without the expertise ofEuropean technicians, adm<strong>in</strong>istratorsand other specialists, “footballwould never have become a universalsport”. He ended by say<strong>in</strong>g,“Congratulations and thank you forwhat you have done”.The <strong>UEFA</strong> president, LennartJohansson, for his part, said that,“This assembly of European football<strong>in</strong> <strong>Cyprus</strong> is an ideal opportunityto remember the pioneers who built<strong>UEFA</strong> and to retrace the ma<strong>in</strong> stagesof our confederation’s development.These pioneers would surely beproud to know that <strong>UEFA</strong> todayis a well-known, highly-rated <strong>in</strong>stitutionbuilt on sound f<strong>in</strong>ancialfoundations, which has been ableto adapt its structures and work<strong>in</strong>gmethods <strong>in</strong> order to meet thenumerous challenges of a constantlychang<strong>in</strong>g world <strong>in</strong> whichfootball can no longer pretendto be outside the social, economicand even political spheres.”Look<strong>in</strong>g to the future, the<strong>UEFA</strong> President cont<strong>in</strong>ued, “We mustcont<strong>in</strong>ue to show the pioneers’spirit: our faith <strong>in</strong> the particularvalues of football should give usthe strength to cont<strong>in</strong>ue protect<strong>in</strong>gthe <strong>in</strong>terests of our sport andto ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> its global structures,focus<strong>in</strong>g on solidarity and thecommon good rather than <strong>in</strong>dividual<strong>in</strong>terests”.00 <strong>03</strong>


LennartJohanssonpresentsthe Orderof Meritto JosephS. Blatter...... GyörgySzilagyi...<strong>UEFA</strong><strong>UEFA</strong><strong>UEFA</strong>Faithful servants<strong>UEFA</strong> owes its prosperity toits competitions and players, but alsoto all those who work with<strong>in</strong> its committees,panels and work<strong>in</strong>g groups aswell as its adm<strong>in</strong>istration and thenational associations, not forgett<strong>in</strong>gthose people who, outside these <strong>in</strong>stitutions,have also played an active role<strong>in</strong> promot<strong>in</strong>g football and its wellbe<strong>in</strong>g.The <strong>Golden</strong> <strong>Jubilee</strong> <strong>celebrations</strong>were an ideal opportunity to pay tributeto some of these <strong>in</strong>valuable friendsof football. For those who have servedon its committees and panels for12 years or more, <strong>UEFA</strong> has created a“Circle of former committee members”who, follow<strong>in</strong>g their retirement fromthe European bodies, are <strong>in</strong>vited toeach <strong>Congress</strong> <strong>in</strong> order to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>their l<strong>in</strong>ks with the European footballcommunity and to rediscover theatmosphere of these large <strong>in</strong>ternationalgather<strong>in</strong>gs. This year, 26 <strong>in</strong>dividualsbecame eligible for membership of theCircle once they step down from <strong>UEFA</strong>committees (see box).<strong>UEFA</strong> Order of MeritIn 1998, for people who do notnecessarily belong to the <strong>UEFA</strong> bodies,but who have given outstand<strong>in</strong>g serviceto football, <strong>UEFA</strong> <strong>in</strong>troduced its Orderof Merit, which is split <strong>in</strong>to three categories:diamond, ruby and emerald.Diamond is reserved for peoplewho have assumed the highestfunctions <strong>in</strong> football or have servedthe game with particular dist<strong>in</strong>ction.On these grounds, FIFA PresidentJoseph S. Blatter (Switzerland) has beenadded to the list of recipients, alongwith Egidius Braun (Germany), formerpresident of the German FootballAssociation and <strong>UEFA</strong> vice-presidentand treasurer; Antero da Silva Resende(Portugal), former member of the<strong>UEFA</strong> Executive Committee, presidentof the Portuguese Football Associationand member of the committee responsiblefor revis<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>UEFA</strong> Statutes;Erw<strong>in</strong> Himmelseher (Germany), whohas participated <strong>in</strong> the organisationof all major <strong>in</strong>ternational footballevents s<strong>in</strong>ce the 1974 World Cup;Klaus Hempel and Jürgen Lenz (Germany),co-founders of TEAM Market<strong>in</strong>gAG, <strong>UEFA</strong>’s commercial partners<strong>in</strong>ce the creation of the <strong>UEFA</strong> ChampionsLeague; and Léon Straessle(Switzerland), Chairman of the <strong>UEFA</strong>Appeals Body from 1988 to 2002.The ruby award, for peoplewho have enjoyed a long career asa top-level official or technician,was presented to Rudolf Bata (CzechLennart JohanssonpresentsGerhard Aignerwith his honorarymembership certificate.<strong>UEFA</strong>Republic), former general secretary ofthe Czechoslovakian and Czech federations,former member of the <strong>UEFA</strong>Control and Discipl<strong>in</strong>ary Body, F<strong>in</strong>anceCommittee and Stadium Committee;Valent<strong>in</strong> Ivanov (Russia), former playerfor Torpedo Moscow, Soviet <strong>in</strong>ternational(59 caps), gold medallist atthe 1956 Olympic Games, coach ofTorpedo Moscow and Razha Casablanca;Joseph<strong>in</strong>e K<strong>in</strong>g (New Zealand),general secretary of the OceanianConfederation from 1987 to 2004,who has always ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>ed excellentrelations with <strong>UEFA</strong>; Edgar Obertüfer(Switzerland), former general secretaryof the Swiss Football Association,member of the <strong>UEFA</strong> Control andDiscipl<strong>in</strong>ary Committee from 1982to 1998 and current Discipl<strong>in</strong>aryInspector; Joseph A. Sacco (Malta),general secretary of the Maltese FootballAssociation from 1983 to 2000and former member of the <strong>UEFA</strong> FairPlay Committee; Torleif Sigurdsson(Faroe Islands), president of the FaroeIslands Football Association from 1981to 2002 and member of the Youthand Amateur Football Panel; GyörgySzilagyi (Hungary), member of various<strong>UEFA</strong> panels and committees s<strong>in</strong>ce1972, an expert <strong>in</strong> the Laws of theGame and fervent advocate of fair play.The <strong>UEFA</strong> emerald Order ofMerit was awarded for the first timeand its first two recipients are JacquesFerran (France), former chief editorof France Football magaz<strong>in</strong>e and, asa journalist for L’Equipe, a pioneer ofthe Champion Clubs’ Cup, for whichhe drafted the rules; and Miljan Miljanic(Serbia and Montenegro), formerplayer and coach of, among others,Red Star Belgrade, Real Madrid, Valenciaand the Yugoslavian nationalteam, former president and currenthonorary president of the YugoslavianFootball Association, director of thefootball coaches’ school of the Serbiaand Montenegro Football Association.04 uefadirect 6.04


... and EgidiusBraun.<strong>UEFA</strong>The <strong>Golden</strong><strong>Jubilee</strong> ceremonywas conductedby Keith Cooper,<strong>Golden</strong> <strong>Jubilee</strong>Coord<strong>in</strong>ator.AFP/PIOBeforethe <strong>Congress</strong>,Lennart Johanssonmet the Presidentof <strong>Cyprus</strong>,TassosPapadopoulos.F<strong>in</strong>ally, the highest dist<strong>in</strong>ctionawarded by <strong>UEFA</strong> is the title of HonoraryMember, as enshr<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> theStatutes. It has only been awarded12 times s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>UEFA</strong> was foundedand only six recipients are still alive(Hans Bangerter, Sandor Barcs,Egidius Braun, Des Casey, NikolayRyashentsev and Lucien Schmidl<strong>in</strong>).The national association representativesadded to this exclusive circle therecently retired Chief Executive of<strong>UEFA</strong>, Gerhard Aigner, whom theygave a lengthy round of applause. Anemotional Gerhard Aigner confessedthat he felt rather strange attend<strong>in</strong>ga major <strong>UEFA</strong> event as a “spectator”for the first time. He also stressed hisbelief that <strong>UEFA</strong> would cont<strong>in</strong>ue todefend the specific values of football.Z<strong>in</strong>ed<strong>in</strong>e Zidane top of the listThe undeniable merit of allthese recipients should not, however,overshadow that of the key peopleof football – the players. The official<strong>UEFA</strong> Internet site, uefa.com, hadlaunched a vast survey amongst itsreaders, ask<strong>in</strong>g them to vote for thebest player of the last 50 years;<strong>in</strong> order not to favour footballers stillplay<strong>in</strong>g, the 250 nom<strong>in</strong>ees wereseparated <strong>in</strong>to decades and each voterhad to choose ten players from eachdecade, i.e. 50 <strong>in</strong> total. Around150,000 people took part and theplayer with most votes was Z<strong>in</strong>ed<strong>in</strong>eZidane (123,582 votes), followedby Franz Beckenbauer (122,569) andJohan Cruyff (119,332).Franz Beckenbauer was <strong>in</strong>Limassol, along with Emilio Butragueno,Sven-Göran Eriksson and Michel Plat<strong>in</strong>i,to answer questions from another formerfootball star, Hansi Müller, who leda discussion cover<strong>in</strong>g some of Europeanfootball’s greatest eras, such as RealMadrid’s dom<strong>in</strong>ation of the early yearsof the Champion Clubs’ Cup, theexploits of Johan Cruyff’s Ajax andDutch national teams, the successenjoyed by Bayern Munich and the WestGerman national side <strong>in</strong> the 1970s,that of the French a decade later andGothenburg’s <strong>UEFA</strong> Cup adventure witha team of amateurs.Expert reviewson the first50 years of <strong>UEFA</strong>:(left to right)Franz Beckenbauer,Emilio Butragueno,Sven-Göran Eriksson,Michel Plat<strong>in</strong>iand Hansi Müller.<strong>UEFA</strong>Follow<strong>in</strong>g the restructur<strong>in</strong>gof <strong>UEFA</strong> <strong>in</strong> 2000, when the numberof committees and committeemembers was scaled down,the Executive Council adopted<strong>in</strong>terim provisions under which,for example, someone who hadbeen a committee member foreight years and a panel memberfor four years. This <strong>in</strong>terim periodis now over: from 20<strong>06</strong>, onlythose who have been committeemembers for 12 years or morewill be <strong>in</strong>vited to jo<strong>in</strong> the Circle.This year, the follow<strong>in</strong>greceived this dist<strong>in</strong>ction <strong>in</strong> recognitionof their 12 years’ service <strong>in</strong>a <strong>UEFA</strong> body:■ Sandor Berzi (Hungary)■ Mehmet S. B<strong>in</strong>net (Turkey)■ Gero Bisanz (Germany)■ Corvel Cristian Bivolaru(Romania)■ Bernard Carrel (Switzerland)■ Cornelis de Bru<strong>in</strong> (Netherlands)■ Goetz Eilers (Germany)■ Jan Ekstrand (Sweden)■ Jean-Pierre Escalettes (France)■ Odd Flattum (Norway)■ Joan Gaspart (Spa<strong>in</strong>)■ Marios N. Lefkaritis (<strong>Cyprus</strong>)■ Eggert Magnusson (Iceland)■ Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder(Germany)■ Kazimierz Oleszek (Poland)■ Thomas Partl (Austria)■ Jan Peeters (Belgium)■ Vladimir Radionov (Russia)■ Mircea Sandu (Romania)■ Horst R. Schmidt (Germany)■ Torleif Sigurdsson(Faroe Islands)■ Stanislaw Speczik (Poland)■ Giangiorgio Spiess(Switzerland)■ Geoffrey Thompson (England)■ Andrzej Wach (Poland)■ Joël Wolff (Luxembourg)05


Lars-ChristerOlssonpresentsthe budgetfor 2004–05.The <strong>Congress</strong> washonoured with the presenceof the FIFA Presidentand representativesof other confederations.Left, Mohamed B<strong>in</strong> Hamman(AFC) and Joseph S. Blatter;right, Mustapha Fahmy (CAF)and Jack Warner(CONCACAF).<strong>XXVIII</strong> <strong>UEFA</strong> <strong>Congress</strong>Stability <strong>in</strong> the Executive CommitteeAFTER THE JUBILEE FESTIVITIES, THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION DELEGATES TURNED THEIR ATTENTION TO THE ORDINARYCONGRESS BUSINESS OF REPORTS, APPROVAL OF ACCOUNTS, THE BUDGET, ELECTIONS AND AMENDMENTS TO THE STATUTES.All 52 <strong>UEFA</strong> member associationswere represented at the generalassembly on 23 April, which the <strong>UEFA</strong>President opened by pay<strong>in</strong>g tributeto the organisation’s late HonoraryPresident, Jacques Georges, and othermembers of the European footballfamily who had passed away s<strong>in</strong>ce thelast <strong>Congress</strong>. He also summed up thema<strong>in</strong> activities of 20<strong>03</strong>, which hedescribed as a “year of consolidationfor European football”. The correspond<strong>in</strong>gactivity reports of the ExecutiveCommittee and Chief Executive wereboth approved by the assembly.Treasurer Mathieu Sprengerswas able to present the delegates witha positive f<strong>in</strong>ancial picture show<strong>in</strong>ga net result of CHF 5.774 million for2002/<strong>03</strong>. But he also stressed that“a vast sum of money is not only anopportunity but also represents a challengeand obligations”. He identifiedthree priorities: help<strong>in</strong>g the nationalassociations to develop football at alllevels and to become more professional,ensur<strong>in</strong>g that the national associationscould take part <strong>in</strong> all <strong>UEFA</strong> competitions,and safeguard<strong>in</strong>g <strong>UEFA</strong>’s future.Regard<strong>in</strong>g the budget for2004/05, Chief Executive Lars-ChristerOlsson po<strong>in</strong>ted out that <strong>UEFA</strong>’s f<strong>in</strong>anceswere less dependent on <strong>UEFA</strong> ChampionsLeague revenue thanks to <strong>in</strong>creasedEuropean Championship revenue.Before actually proceed<strong>in</strong>g withthe elections, the Executive Committeealready knew that its cont<strong>in</strong>uity wasensured s<strong>in</strong>ce there were fewer newcandidates than <strong>in</strong> previous years andthat number had been reducedfurther by the withdrawal of GilbertoMadail (Portugal), while an eighthseat had also become vacantfollow<strong>in</strong>g the appo<strong>in</strong>tment of HenriRoemer (Luxembourg) as <strong>UEFA</strong>special adviser on EU and othermatters and his subsequent departurefrom the Committee.All candidates obta<strong>in</strong>ed anabsolute majority (27 votes) andall members stand<strong>in</strong>g for re-electionwere successful. They are jo<strong>in</strong>edon the Committee by Franco Carraro(Italy), a special adviser to theExecutive Committee until now,who was elected for a four-year term.The members re-elected for fouryearterms are Marios N. Lefkaritis(<strong>Cyprus</strong>), Geoffrey ThompsonThe Executive Committee for the 2004–<strong>06</strong> period: (left to right) (front row) Lars-Christer Olsson,Angel Maria Villar Llona, Senes Erzik, Lennart Johansson, Per Ravn Omdal, Geoffrey Thompson, Mathieu Sprengers; (stand<strong>in</strong>g) Giangiorgio Spiess,Eggert Magnusson, Marios N. Lefkaritis, Viacheslav Koloskov, Joseph Mifsud, Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder, Michel Plat<strong>in</strong>i, Franco Carraro.PHOTOS: <strong>UEFA</strong><strong>06</strong> uefadirect 6.04


PHOTOS: <strong>UEFA</strong>-WOODS(England), Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder(Germany), Mathieu Sprengers (Netherlands),Viacheslav Koloskov (Russia)and Per Ravn Omdal (Norway). It tooka second ballot to separate Mr Omdaland Joseph Mifsud (Malta), who willtake over the seat vacated by HenriRoemer for a two-year term. VlatkoMarkovic (Croatia) was not elected.In a brief meet<strong>in</strong>g the sameafternoon, the Committee confirmedits exist<strong>in</strong>g structure with Senes Erzik(Turkey) as first vice-president, Per RavnOmdal as second vice-president,Angel Maria Villar Llona (Spa<strong>in</strong>) thirdvice-president, Geoffrey Thompsonfourth vice-president and MathieuSprengers as treasurer.The <strong>Congress</strong> also had to electfour <strong>UEFA</strong> representatives for the FIFAExecutive Committee, which it didby acclamation, as only four candidatesrema<strong>in</strong>ed after the withdrawalof Mr Madail. Michel D’Hooghe (Belgium),Senes Erzik, Viacheslav Koloskovand Michel Plat<strong>in</strong>i (France) will thereforeserve on the FIFA Executive Committeefor a further four years each.After the elections, the assemblywas presented with the changesmade by the Executive Committee tothe HatTrick assistance programme(see page 14) and voted on a proposedamendment to the Statutes (article 36,paragraph 4). The revised text wasapproved unanimously. It stipulatesthat “A Committee shall comprisea m<strong>in</strong>imum of 11 and a maximumof 13 members”. This new clause concernsonly those committees whichdo not require experts, which excludesthe Professional Football Committee,the Women’s Football Committee,the Futsal Committee, the RefereesCommittee, the Stadium and SecurityCommittee and the Medical Committee,all of which will cont<strong>in</strong>ue to becomposed of 11 expert members.Enlarg<strong>in</strong>g the other committeeswill allow a wider representation ofmember associations <strong>in</strong> <strong>UEFA</strong> bodies.Two booksfor one jubileeTHE BOOK 25 YEARS OF <strong>UEFA</strong>, PUBLISHED IN 1979, WAS THE ONLY POINT OF REFERENCEFOR ANYONE LOOKING FOR AN OVERVIEW OF THE ORIGINS AND ACTIVITIES OF <strong>UEFA</strong>.With the accelerat<strong>in</strong>g growthof the past few years, the reform ofthe competitions, the creation of newtournaments and a transformed footballenvironment, it was high time thisbook was updated and the <strong>Golden</strong><strong>Jubilee</strong> was the ideal occasion to doso. Back <strong>in</strong> December 1999, the ExecutiveCommittee approved an <strong>in</strong>itialbudget for the creation of a book byRudolph Rothenbühler, a man witha detailed knowledge of <strong>UEFA</strong>, wherehe had worked s<strong>in</strong>ce 1973, first aspress officer and later as personalassistant to the President and then tothe Chief Executive. He had also beenresponsible for the book commemorat<strong>in</strong>gthe Silver <strong>Jubilee</strong>.Assisted by a small editorialcommittee, Rudolph Rothenbühlerquickly prepared a draft, but it verysoon became clear that the subjectmatterwas so vast that it could easilyfill two volumes, the first deal<strong>in</strong>g with<strong>UEFA</strong> itself and the second with itscompetitions.The two volumes, presentedas a boxed set, were unveiled at the<strong>UEFA</strong> <strong>Congress</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Cyprus</strong>. Together,they conta<strong>in</strong> around 700 pages andweigh 6 kg!The first volume, edited byRudolph Rothenbühler and, after hisdeath, by Keith Cooper, beg<strong>in</strong>s byplac<strong>in</strong>g <strong>UEFA</strong> <strong>in</strong> Europe’s political,economic and sociological context ofthe past 50 years, as described byrenowned academics. The focus thenfalls upon the history of <strong>UEFA</strong> itselfand a presentation of the nationalassociations, before specific topicsare covered, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g tactical developments,women’s football, fair playand even an attempt to describe theEuropean player. Chapters on <strong>UEFA</strong>’srelations with television and themedia are also <strong>in</strong>cluded.In the second volume, FritsAhlstrøm asked several journalistswell versed <strong>in</strong>the <strong>UEFA</strong>competitions toretrace the history ofthese competitions from a perspectiveof their choos<strong>in</strong>g. World Cups andOlympic tournaments are not ignored<strong>in</strong> this publication, which is full ofanecdotes and <strong>in</strong>formation often notknown to many. This second book alsodeals with the Laws of the Game,equipment, floodlights, the ball andnumerous other aspects of football.It is also superbly illustrated.The two volumes have beenpublished <strong>in</strong> the three official<strong>UEFA</strong> languages (French, Englishand German).A limited number of copiesof the <strong>UEFA</strong> <strong>Jubilee</strong> books will bemade available for sale later <strong>in</strong> theyear, accord<strong>in</strong>g to demand.Price: 100 euros (plus postage).Requests should be addressed <strong>in</strong>writ<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>UEFA</strong> (attn. <strong>Jubilee</strong> Office),46 route de Genève, P.O. Box,1260 Nyon 2, Switzerland.07


AFP/MIHAILESCUGermany(Philip Lahm,<strong>in</strong> white)are count<strong>in</strong>gon theirlegendaryteam spirit.A. LINGRIAItaly have justbid farewellto Roberto Baggiobut still havesome otherexperienced playersto rely on.Fernando Morientes (<strong>in</strong> white) hopesto repeat his <strong>UEFA</strong> Champions League exploitswith AS Monaco for Spa<strong>in</strong> at EURO 2004.EUROFLASH PRESS2004A royal l<strong>in</strong>e-upTHE 12TH EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL ROUND FROM12 JUNE TO 4 JULY IN PORTUGAL PROMISES TO BE AN EXTREMELYCLOSE-RUN CONTEST. THE FIVE ASSOCIATIONS AT THE TOPOF <strong>UEFA</strong>’S RANKINGS WILL BE THERE, AS WILL ALL THE FORMER WINNERS(IF WE CONSIDER RUSSIA AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC AS THE “HISTORICALDESCENDANTS” OF THE USSR AND CZECHOSLOVAKIA). HALF OF THE TEAMS INVOLVEDHAVE MORE OR LESS DECLARED THAT THEY AIM TO WIN THE EUROPEAN TITLE.EMPICSThierry Henry,an extremely valuableasset for France.Titleholders France, who alsowon the championship <strong>in</strong> 1984, have achance to obliterate the memories oftheir early elim<strong>in</strong>ation fromthe last World Cup f<strong>in</strong>als.They won all their qualifiersand clocked up a series of14 victories, which was <strong>in</strong>terrupted<strong>in</strong> March with a drawaga<strong>in</strong>st the Netherlands. The teamdoes not appear to have a weak po<strong>in</strong>t.Alongside the leaders of the team thatwon the World Cup <strong>in</strong> 1998 and theEuropean Championship <strong>in</strong> 2000 –Zidane, Barthez, Desailly, Thuram, etc.– Jacques Sant<strong>in</strong>i has brought <strong>in</strong> somefresh talent (Boumsong, Sagnol,Silvestre, Pedretti…). Moreover, Henryand Trézeguet are among the beststrikers on the cont<strong>in</strong>ent, and thecoach has exceptional reserves for justabout every position.Germany, three-time w<strong>in</strong>nersof the European Championship (<strong>in</strong>1972, 1980 and 1996) look less wellequipped. After reach<strong>in</strong>g the f<strong>in</strong>alof the last World Cup, the Germansqualified for EURO 2004without turn<strong>in</strong>g any heads.Their subsequent friendly matcheshave done noth<strong>in</strong>g to reassurecoach Rudi Völler, particularly a 3-0defeat aga<strong>in</strong>st France anda 5-1 rout aga<strong>in</strong>st Romania.The team relies heavily onBallack and goalkeeper Kahn.It is solid but lacks genius.What is more, it has beendrawn <strong>in</strong>to a really tough group,with the Netherlands and the CzechRepublic. But as Franz Beckenbauerrem<strong>in</strong>ds us “Germany know how toexcel themselves at major events.”After the 2002 World Cupf<strong>in</strong>als, Italy (who won the EuropeanChampionship back <strong>in</strong> 1968) seemto have advanced on an excellentbasis and to have the means to layclaim to the much coveted Europeancrown. At the back, with goalkeeperBuffon, supported by Nesta andCannavaro, and up front, led byTotti, Del Piero and Vieri, to namebut three, they are among the mostimpressive on the cont<strong>in</strong>ent.Apart from their success <strong>in</strong>1964, Spa<strong>in</strong>, who qualified throughthe play-offs, have often been disap-08 uefadirect 6.04


AFP CONTINENTALThe Netherlandscan counton the experienceof Pierre vanHooijdonkas well as somepromis<strong>in</strong>g youngplayers.EMPICSEngland’sWayne Rooneybreaks awayfrom Sweden’sOlof Mellberg.po<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> f<strong>in</strong>al rounds. Yet they deserveto be among the favourites. They area balanced and talented team, led byRaúl and <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g several players whohave stood out <strong>in</strong> the <strong>UEFA</strong> club competitions<strong>in</strong> recent years, such as Vicente,Valerón, Helguera, Michel Salgado,Baraja and Morientes.Sven-Göran Eriksson could bethe first England coach to w<strong>in</strong> the EuropeanChampionship. Rooney and Owenform a rapid and dangerous frontl<strong>in</strong>e who are quite capable of mak<strong>in</strong>gthe most of the “gems” provided byBeckham. Lampard (who has hada great season with Chelsea) and thedynamic Gerrard complete an impressivemidfield. On the downside,the suspension of central defenderRio Ferd<strong>in</strong>and and the lack of a reliablegoalkeeper could cause problems.The pretendersSemi-f<strong>in</strong>alists last time round,Portugal have their sights set on theirfirst major title. Despite some ratherLive oneuro2004.comThe new face of the officialeuro2004.com site was unveiled on31 March. Offer<strong>in</strong>g eight languages(English, French, German, Spanish,Italian, Portuguese, Russian andJapanese), it plans to provideunprecedented coverage of the event,with live reports <strong>in</strong> text and image,video highlights, expert commentaryand a wealth of <strong>in</strong>formation on theteams, the competition itself and thehost cities. In addition, the use ofmultimedia technology will allowusers to receive <strong>in</strong>formation directlyon their mobile phones.Pavel Nedved, a key componentof the Czech team.disappo<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g friendlies, the l<strong>in</strong>e-upof World Cup w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g coach LuizFelipe Scolari has the potential toachieve that goal. It may be the lastmajor event for “veterans” Figo,Rui Costa, Fernando Couto andRui Jorge, and they will be want<strong>in</strong>gto sh<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> front of their fans. Thenaturalisation of Brazilian Deco providesan additional solution for form<strong>in</strong>ga skilled midfield which couldbest serve striker Pauleta.Defeated <strong>in</strong> the semi-f<strong>in</strong>alson home ground four years ago, theNetherlands, w<strong>in</strong>ners <strong>in</strong> 1988, areback with a spectacular team. VanNistelrooy and Makaay are among themost prolific strikers on the cont<strong>in</strong>ent.The “old guard”, composed ofSeedorf, Davids, Stam and Van deSar, are complemented perfectly bysome extremely talented youngsters(Van der Vaart, Robben and Sneijder).Defeats aga<strong>in</strong>st the Republicof Ireland and Japan have followedan unbroken run of 20 matcheswithout defeat for the Czech Republic,f<strong>in</strong>alists <strong>in</strong> 1996 and descendantsof Czechoslovakia, who won thechampionship <strong>in</strong> 1976. Effective allover the field, Karel Bruckner’s teamhas experienced players like 20<strong>03</strong><strong>Golden</strong> Ball w<strong>in</strong>ner Nedved, Poborskyand Koller, as well as establishedyoungsters of the likes of Rosickyand Cech.EMPICSThe outsidersThe USSR made its mark onthe European Championship with onew<strong>in</strong> (1960) and three f<strong>in</strong>als (1964,1972 and 1988). But the Russian teamwhich succeeded it is not only count<strong>in</strong>gon tradition to sh<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> Portugalunder the leadership of GeorgyYartsev. Although their back l<strong>in</strong>e isnot always flawless (by conced<strong>in</strong>g12 goals, Russia showed the mostbrittle defence of the qualify<strong>in</strong>g competition),their team play is outstand<strong>in</strong>g.And they are attractive up front,with rapid, powerful young strikers ofthe calibre of Boulyk<strong>in</strong> and Kerzhakov.In 1992, Denmark, who were<strong>in</strong>vited to take part at the last m<strong>in</strong>utefollow<strong>in</strong>g the exclusion of Yugoslaviafor political reasons, caused one ofthe biggest surprises <strong>in</strong> the historyof the European Championship byw<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g the title. This time aga<strong>in</strong>,Morten Olsen’s men are not amongthe favourites, but the team is solid,It is the last chance for Luis Figo and Portugal’sold guard to w<strong>in</strong> a major title for their country.FLASH PRESS09


EMPICSCroatia(Josip Simunic,left, andStjepan Tomas)are notshort on skill.FLASH PRESSDenmark(Mart<strong>in</strong>Jorgensen)will be try<strong>in</strong>gto causeanothersurprise.Sweden’s Niklas Skoog up aga<strong>in</strong>st Portugal’sArmando Petit <strong>in</strong> a warm-up match.Dimitar Berbatov, Bulgaria’s lead<strong>in</strong>g light.EMPICSAFP/RIOPAAFP/PETROVAwell balanced and efficient on thecounterattack. Tomasson and Sandare <strong>in</strong> a position to make the difference<strong>in</strong> attack.Sweden f<strong>in</strong>d themselves <strong>in</strong> thesame group as Denmark. With a regularfirst-class formation (Sweden wereseeded <strong>in</strong> the draw for the f<strong>in</strong>al round),they stand out for their solidarity.Their two coaches, Lars Lagerbäck andTommy Söderberg, have announcedthat they are go<strong>in</strong>g to step down afterEURO 2004. A solid defence and thepromised return of Henrik Larsson<strong>in</strong> attack, alongside Ibrahimovic, shouldensure that they do well.Croatia, bronze medallists<strong>in</strong> the 1998 World Cup, have gonethrough a transitional phase follow<strong>in</strong>gthe retirement of their most experiencedplayers, such as Boban,Pros<strong>in</strong>ecki and Suker. Compared with1998, there is perhaps less <strong>in</strong>dividualtalent, but Otto Baric has a team whichis tight <strong>in</strong> defence, with players whoare used to play<strong>in</strong>g at the top,like Simic, Tudor and Robert Kovac.Up front, Prso is often decisive.In pursuit of a featAfter f<strong>in</strong>ish<strong>in</strong>g the 1994World Cup <strong>in</strong> fourth place and tak<strong>in</strong>gpart <strong>in</strong> EURO 96, the only EuropeanChampionship <strong>in</strong> which it has participatedto date, Bulgaria disappearedfrom the front of the <strong>in</strong>ternationalstage. F<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g players up to replac<strong>in</strong>gchampions of the calibre of Stoïchkov,Lechkov and Kostad<strong>in</strong>ov has not beeneasy, but a new generation is readyto take over. Bulgaria were one of thefirst teams to book their berth forPortugal and haveRussia (Roman Sharonov)are dream<strong>in</strong>g of repeat<strong>in</strong>gthe exploits of the USSR.a number of talented youngsters<strong>in</strong> their side, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Stilian, Mart<strong>in</strong>Petrov and Berbatov.In Greece’s only previousappearance <strong>in</strong> a European Championshipf<strong>in</strong>al round, <strong>in</strong> 1980, they wentout on two defeats and a draw.Boosted by f<strong>in</strong>ish<strong>in</strong>g their qualify<strong>in</strong>ggroup <strong>in</strong> first place, ahead of Spa<strong>in</strong>,who they will face aga<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> the f<strong>in</strong>alround, the men of Otto Rehhagel havethe potential to do even better. With aniron defence (four goals conceded <strong>in</strong>the qualifiers) and a run of 15 matcheswithout defeat (broken by the Netherlandson 28 April), they can also relyon the passes of Tsiartas and the goalsof Charisteas to cause a surprise.In their only appearance <strong>in</strong>a European Championship f<strong>in</strong>al roundto date, <strong>in</strong> 1996, Switzerland wenthome with just one po<strong>in</strong>t. This timeround, Köbi Kuhn’s team is made upmostly of players who play <strong>in</strong> majorchampionships abroad. The Swisswon their qualify<strong>in</strong>g group with attractivefootball based on possession.Their strik<strong>in</strong>g trio of the “hardwear<strong>in</strong>g”Chapuisat, Frei and Hakan Yak<strong>in</strong> maybe a threat to many a defence.Latvia, a country with only2.3 million <strong>in</strong>habitants, have qualifiedfor a major <strong>in</strong>ternational tournamentfor the first time <strong>in</strong> their history afterelim<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g Turkey – bronze medallists<strong>in</strong> the last World Cup – <strong>in</strong> theplay-offs. Their trump cards are theirunfalter<strong>in</strong>g solidarity and their prolificscorer Verpakovskis. On paper, Latvia,who will be up aga<strong>in</strong>st Germany, theNetherlands and the Czech Republic,have little chance of gett<strong>in</strong>g pastthe first round. But the fact that theywill be under no pressure could beto their advantage.Emanuele Saraceno10 uefadirect 6.04


FLASH PRESSLatvia(Igors Semjonovs)are mak<strong>in</strong>gtheir debut <strong>in</strong>a EuropeanChampionshipf<strong>in</strong>al round.AFP/MACDOUGALLMany Swiss<strong>in</strong>ternationals playabroad, suchas Johann Lonfat(FC Sochaux).Ten playersto watchHERE IS A SELECTION OF SOME YOUNGPLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR WHO HAVENOT PLAYED IN A EUROPEANCHAMPIONSHIP OR WORLD CUP FINALROUND BEFORE. THEY COULD WELL MAKETHEIR MARK IN PORTUGAL.Dimitar BERBATOV(23/Bulgaria): leader of the Bulgariannew generation, fast and skilful,signed with Bayer Leverkusen <strong>in</strong>January 2000 and is currently theirtop scorer. He is also a prolific scorerat <strong>in</strong>ternational level (more than onegoal per two matches on average).Antonio CASSANO(21/Italy): transferred from Bari toRoma for 30 million euros <strong>in</strong> 2001,Cassano is the most gifted Italianplayer of his generation. This season,he and Totti formed the most efficientstrik<strong>in</strong>g duo <strong>in</strong> the Serie A. In thenational team, he is compet<strong>in</strong>gwith Del Piero for the third attack<strong>in</strong>gposition, beh<strong>in</strong>d the untouchableTotti and Vieri.Alexander FREI(24/Switzerland): a complete, faststriker, a good shooter with an <strong>in</strong>disputableeye for the goal, Frei scored17 times for Rennes <strong>in</strong> the Frenchleague this season (goal tally as at2 May). His national team average isalso impressive: 15 goals <strong>in</strong> 25 matches.Kev<strong>in</strong> KURANYI(22/Germany): a tall and powerfulstriker, he was the revelation of theBundesliga last season, notch<strong>in</strong>gup 15 goals for Stuttgart. Born <strong>in</strong>Brazil of a father of Hungarian orig<strong>in</strong>and a Panamanian mother, he is consideredthe new Kl<strong>in</strong>smann and Bierhoff<strong>in</strong> the German team.Greece are count<strong>in</strong>g on their strength as a team<strong>in</strong> order to put on a good show at EURO 2004.Benoît PEDRETTI(23/France): though France are knownfor their strik<strong>in</strong>g force, the great retriev<strong>in</strong>ghalf-backs have also contributedgreatly to their success, be it Deschamps,Petit or Vieira. Sochaux’s Pedretti, giftedwith a great view of the game and anextremely accurate passer, is of the samecalibre as the aforementioned greats.He will be compet<strong>in</strong>g with Makelele fora first-team place.Dado PRSO(29/Croatia): althoughhe is not quite soyoung, this strong centreforward has onlybeen play<strong>in</strong>g top-levelfootball for a few years.Tra<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> Split, he spenta long time play<strong>in</strong>gamateur football <strong>in</strong>France before catch<strong>in</strong>gthe attention ofMonaco. He has been amajor player <strong>in</strong> Monaco’sexcellent <strong>UEFA</strong> ChampionsLeague run this season.Arjen ROBBEN(20/Netherlands): oneof the great revelationsof the Dutchchampionship<strong>in</strong> the last two seasonswith PSV E<strong>in</strong>dhoven,capable of play<strong>in</strong>g on the w<strong>in</strong>gs,up front or beh<strong>in</strong>d the strikers.He is on his way to Chelsea thissummer.Cristiano RONALDO(19/Portugal): a w<strong>in</strong>ger of extraord<strong>in</strong>arytalent, he has succeeded <strong>in</strong>FLASH PRESSFLASH PRESSmak<strong>in</strong>g his presence felt at ManchesterUnited, who he jo<strong>in</strong>edfrom Sport<strong>in</strong>g Portugal last summer.The national-team “joker”right now, he could be the idealpartner for centre forward Pauleta.Wayne ROONEY(18/England): the youngestplayer to have ever pulled on anEngland shirt (at 17 years and111 days), he is very mature forhis age. With Owen, the Evertonstriker should form one of themost explosive strik<strong>in</strong>g duos ofEURO 2004.Fernando TORRES(20/Spa<strong>in</strong>): Atletico Madrid’syoung prodigy has often beencompared to Raúl. This season hehas broken new ground by mark<strong>in</strong>grepeatedly <strong>in</strong> the Liga. A skilfuland powerful striker, he is compet<strong>in</strong>gwith Morientes for a placealongside his “model”. His goal<strong>in</strong> a friendly aga<strong>in</strong>st Italyon 28 April puts him<strong>in</strong> a good position.Dado Prso:an explosivestriker.E.S.11


???????????????LégendeLégende LégeLégendeLégende LégeLégendeLégende LégeLégendeThe cameracan help toensure thatunsport<strong>in</strong>gbehaviouris punished.EMPICSUnacceptablebehaviourbut no red cardDURING A <strong>UEFA</strong> COMPETITION MATCH BETWEENTEAMS B AND R, PLAYER C RETALIATED AFTER A FOUL BY SLAPPINGTHE OFFENDING OPPONENT IN THE FACE.The referee did not notice the<strong>in</strong>cident. Therefore, from a discipl<strong>in</strong>arypo<strong>in</strong>t of view, one of the questions thatarose was that of decid<strong>in</strong>g under whatconditions unacceptable behaviour by aplayer could be punished if not reportedby the referee.In the 59th m<strong>in</strong>ute of the <strong>UEFA</strong>competition match between teams B andR on 24 February 2004, players C andD challenged each other for the ball.Player D was only able to take the balloff player C by foul<strong>in</strong>g him and <strong>in</strong> theprocess both players ended up on theground. Player C then slapped player D<strong>in</strong> the face with his left hand. Thereferee gave player D a yellow card forthe foul and awarded a free-kick aga<strong>in</strong>stIt is difficultfor the refereeto seeeveryth<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong> situationslike this.EMPICSEMPICS12 uefadirect 6.04


Article 10 (3)Discipl<strong>in</strong>ary action may be takeneven if the referee was not ableto see gross unsport<strong>in</strong>g conductand was therefore unable to takeany factual decision.his team. The referee was not able tosee player C slap his challenger becauseanother two players were <strong>in</strong> the way.The Control and Discipl<strong>in</strong>aryBody suspended player C for two <strong>UEFA</strong>competition matches for assault. Club Rand the player concerned appealedaga<strong>in</strong>st this decision, call<strong>in</strong>g for theban to be lifted or reduced to onematch, claim<strong>in</strong>g that the referee musthave been able to see the <strong>in</strong>cident fromwhere he was stand<strong>in</strong>g. Moreover, theappellant ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>ed that player C’sbehaviour was not an act of assaultbut a defence reaction <strong>in</strong> responseto a dangerous tackle. In his plead<strong>in</strong>g,<strong>UEFA</strong>’s representative (discipl<strong>in</strong>ary<strong>in</strong>spector) concluded that the appealshould be rejected.On 8 March, the Appeals Bodyrejected the appeal on the follow<strong>in</strong>ggrounds.A delicate matterThe purpose of article 10 (3)of the <strong>UEFA</strong> Discipl<strong>in</strong>ary Regulationsis to ensure that a player does notescape discipl<strong>in</strong>e because the refereewas unable to see his grossly unsport<strong>in</strong>gbehaviour. The retroactive punishmentof an offence that was notreported by the referee is a delicatematter and requires careful exam<strong>in</strong>ationof three conditions, all of whichmust be met:– The referee did not see theoffence for a concrete reason. Lack ofconcentration on the part of the refereebecause he was distracted or whateverdoes not count.– The offence must be of agrossly unsport<strong>in</strong>g nature. In otherwords, not every foul that is punishablewith a red card counts <strong>in</strong> this context.The offence must be serious and fail<strong>in</strong>gto punish it would be contrary to thegeneral sense of justice. Assault wouldtherefore fall <strong>in</strong>to this category.BONGARTS– F<strong>in</strong>ally, the fact that thereferee was unable to see the <strong>in</strong>cidentmust be the reason why he did nottake action. In other words, the factthat it was objectively impossible forhim to see the <strong>in</strong>cident prevented himfrom recognis<strong>in</strong>g and act<strong>in</strong>g on thegrossly unsport<strong>in</strong>g offence <strong>in</strong> question.Blatant assaultOn the basis of the videorecord<strong>in</strong>g of the <strong>in</strong>cident, there isno doubt that the referee was unableto see player C slap his challengerbecause another two players were<strong>in</strong> the way. Therefore, the referee wasobjectively not <strong>in</strong> a position to seewhat player C did and to take appropriateaction. From a legal po<strong>in</strong>t of view,player C’s behaviour constituted an actof assault <strong>in</strong> the sense of article 10 (1c)of the <strong>UEFA</strong> Discipl<strong>in</strong>ary Regulations.Accord<strong>in</strong>g to the established case-lawof the <strong>UEFA</strong> discipl<strong>in</strong>ary bodies, assaultencompasses any action which deliberatelydisturbs someone else’s wellbe<strong>in</strong>g.Such acts <strong>in</strong>clude punch<strong>in</strong>g,head-butt<strong>in</strong>g, slapp<strong>in</strong>g, tread<strong>in</strong>g on,kick<strong>in</strong>g, p<strong>in</strong>ch<strong>in</strong>g etc. Assault is alwaysa grossly unsport<strong>in</strong>g act. Consequently,the third condition laid down<strong>in</strong> article 10 (3) of the <strong>UEFA</strong> Discipl<strong>in</strong>aryRegulations is also met. The Controland Discipl<strong>in</strong>ary Body was thereforeright to judge the case.This leaves the question ofwhether the two-match suspensionimposed was proportionate or – as theappellant ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>s – arbitrary. Accord<strong>in</strong>gto article 17 of the Discipl<strong>in</strong>aryRegulations, “the discipl<strong>in</strong>ary bodiesdeterm<strong>in</strong>e the type and extent of thediscipl<strong>in</strong>ary measures to be imposed,accord<strong>in</strong>g to the objective and subjectiveelements, under consideration of<strong>in</strong>crim<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g and exonerat<strong>in</strong>g factors”.And article 10 (1c) lays down a threematchban for assault. As a mitigat<strong>in</strong>gcircumstance, the fact that player Chad been grossly fouled by his victim,player D beforehand and that player Dwas punished with a yellow card mustbe taken <strong>in</strong>to account. The decisiontaken by the Control and Discipl<strong>in</strong>aryBody was therefore commensurateand the appeal consequently rejected.Reportfrom BrusselsThe EuropeanCommission is look<strong>in</strong>g atways to reform EU broadcast<strong>in</strong>glaw, and its conclusionscould have a big impact onthe way sport is shown ontelevision and new media.The so-called ‘TV without frontiers’directive came <strong>in</strong>to be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>1989. It is part of the EU’s efforts tocreate a s<strong>in</strong>gle European market <strong>in</strong>services. One of the ma<strong>in</strong> effects ofthe directive is to “lay down them<strong>in</strong>imum rules needed to guaranteefreedom of transmission <strong>in</strong> broadcast<strong>in</strong>g”.For the world of sport, oneof the directive’s most importantarticles is 3a, which protects theright of each member state to“ensure that broadcasters…do notbroadcast on an exclusive basisevents which are… of major importancefor society.” S<strong>in</strong>ce the directivecame <strong>in</strong>to force, EU countries havedrawn up their own national lists ofevents, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g major sports competitions,which should be madeavailable to all television viewers.Whilst <strong>UEFA</strong> has always been sympatheticto the aims of article 3a, ittakes the view that sports bodiesshould be responsible for the manner<strong>in</strong> which they sell their rights. Inthis context, <strong>UEFA</strong> considers that itis for sports bodies themselves tof<strong>in</strong>d the right balance between ‘free’and pay-television.The pace of technologicalchange means that the EuropeanCommission must now review thedirective and identify those provisionsto be updated. Last year, theCommission launched a consultationexercise, to which <strong>UEFA</strong>responded with a written submis-➜13


➜ sion. This year, consultations willcont<strong>in</strong>ue <strong>in</strong> three specific areas:■ regulation of audiovisualcontent,■ regulation of advertis<strong>in</strong>g,■ right to <strong>in</strong>formation and the rightto short reports.It is the third area that mostconcerns <strong>UEFA</strong>. Until now, the ‘TVwithout frontiers’ directive has not<strong>in</strong>cluded provisions on the rightto make short reports on exclusivecontent. However, some groupsare push<strong>in</strong>g hard for that tochange. News agencies have beenfight<strong>in</strong>g a campaign to w<strong>in</strong> freeaccess to exclusive sports coverage,which would allow them to makeshort news reports. They basetheir demands on the public’sright to <strong>in</strong>formation.<strong>UEFA</strong> fully supports the rightof the public to <strong>in</strong>formation. Thebroadcast<strong>in</strong>g policy of <strong>UEFA</strong> hasconsistently been to ensure thatimportant sport<strong>in</strong>g events, such asthe European Championship andthe <strong>UEFA</strong> Champions League, arelargely available on free television.This policy obviously maximisestheir availability to the public.Nevertheless, <strong>UEFA</strong> alsobelieves, as a matter of pr<strong>in</strong>ciple,that it is important to strike thecorrect balance between the rightto freedom of <strong>in</strong>formation andthe opportunity to commercialisesports rights on an exclusive basis.<strong>UEFA</strong> is assum<strong>in</strong>g, therefore, thatthe Commission will not proposeany amendments that would jeopardisethese accepted practices andprejudice the legitimate <strong>in</strong>terestsof both rights holders and theirlicensees.Towards the end of this year,<strong>UEFA</strong> will take part <strong>in</strong> a focusgroup to discuss these questions.Any subsequent proposal by theEuropean Commission to revisethe ‘TV without frontiers’ directivewill not emerge before 2005,and the Commission may evenconsider alternative, non-legislativemeasures to revise the text.Nonetheless, <strong>UEFA</strong> will rema<strong>in</strong>vigilant and monitor the processclosely.The refereesareready forEURO 2004.Meet<strong>in</strong>gs andother activitiesSolidarity paymentsagreed onMORE THAN TEN YEARS AFTER ITS FIRST AND ONLY MEETING IN CYPRUS,THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE RETURNED TO THE ISLAND FOR ITS THIRD MEETINGOF 2004, WHICH IT HELD IN LIMASSOL ON 21 AND 22 APRIL.On the basis of the reportof a delegation dispatched to Israelto assess the security situation there,the Committee decided to allowIsraeli teams (national and clubteams) to play their home matches<strong>in</strong> their country aga<strong>in</strong>, with immediateeffect, subject to certa<strong>in</strong> conditions,notably that matches mustbe played <strong>in</strong> the Tel Aviv area.The Executive Committeealso agreed on the details of thepayments to be made under theHatTrick assistance programmenext season and the season after.For the 2004/05 f<strong>in</strong>ancialyear, <strong>in</strong> addition to a basic amountof CHF 500,000, each associationwill receive CHF 250,000 to covertheir club licens<strong>in</strong>g runn<strong>in</strong>g costs,provided that the association fulfilsall the obligations imposed on thelicensor.For 2005/<strong>06</strong>, this amountwill be <strong>in</strong>creased to CHF 300,000,but it will be l<strong>in</strong>ked to certa<strong>in</strong> criteria.It will be reduced by CHF 10,000for every miss<strong>in</strong>g club if fewer thanten clubs are subject to the nationallicens<strong>in</strong>g system, and it may bereduced further (by 20% of theamount rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g after any deductionfor fewer than ten clubs) if thelicensor does not meet the requirementsof the “standard” <strong>in</strong> 2004/05.On top of that, paymentswill be made to encourage the associationsto take part <strong>in</strong> all the <strong>UEFA</strong>competitions. For the same two seasons,each association will receiveCHF 300,000 per season if it enters<strong>UEFA</strong>The drawfor this year’s<strong>UEFA</strong> IntertotoCup has beenmade and thematches kickoff on 19 June.the six follow<strong>in</strong>g “non-top” <strong>UEFA</strong>competition for national teams:European Under-17, Under-19 andUnder-21 Championships, EuropeanWomen's Under-19 Championship,European Women's Championshipand European Futsal Championship.There is a scale sett<strong>in</strong>g the reduction<strong>in</strong> the event of not tak<strong>in</strong>g part <strong>in</strong>one or more of these competitions.Furthermore, each association willalso be entitled to an annual sumAFP/RIOPA14 uefadirect 6.04


<strong>UEFA</strong>-WOODSof CHF 25,000 if it takes part <strong>in</strong> the<strong>UEFA</strong> Women’s Cup and to the sameamount aga<strong>in</strong> if it enters the <strong>UEFA</strong>Futsal Cup. These supplements willcome from the <strong>UEFA</strong> ChampionsLeague solidarity fund.Two of these “non-top”competitions, the European Under-17and Under-19 Championships,were on the agenda aga<strong>in</strong> later <strong>in</strong>the meet<strong>in</strong>g, when the Committeewas called upon to approve theirrevised regulations for the 2004/05competitions.In the European Under-21Championship, it was decided toma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> the play-off system <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>gthe group w<strong>in</strong>ners and runnersupfor the 2004–20<strong>06</strong> qualify<strong>in</strong>gcompetition.The regulations of the2004/05 <strong>UEFA</strong> Regions' Cup werealso up for approval, as were therevised booklet “The Duties of the<strong>UEFA</strong> Delegate at all <strong>UEFA</strong> CompetitionMatches” and the amended “<strong>UEFA</strong>Convention on the Mutual Recognitionof Coach<strong>in</strong>g Qualifications”.BONGARTSF<strong>in</strong>ancialsupport isbe<strong>in</strong>g offeredto encourageparticipation<strong>in</strong> the <strong>UEFA</strong>Women’s Cup.Boomerang Interviú w<strong>in</strong> Futsal CupThe <strong>UEFA</strong> Futsal Cup is stay<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Spa<strong>in</strong> but housed <strong>in</strong>a different trophy cab<strong>in</strong>et. Hav<strong>in</strong>g been won by Playasde Castellón <strong>in</strong> the first two seasons, this year it went toBoomerang Interviú FS, who defeated SL Benfica (Portugal)<strong>in</strong> the f<strong>in</strong>al. The Spanish side won the first leg 4-1 at home, whileBenfica won the return leg 4-3 <strong>in</strong> Lisbon.Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g campfor seventeenth teamForty-odd days beforekick-off, the match officialsselected for EURO 2004 headedfor a preparatory workshop <strong>in</strong>Portugal.The referees got togetherat the start of the season and metaga<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> Madrid <strong>in</strong> February for theannual sem<strong>in</strong>ar, so why did they needa third encounter <strong>in</strong> Portugal?The answers are manifoldand compell<strong>in</strong>g. It was a uniqueopportunity for the group of 40match officials to visit the hotel nearEsp<strong>in</strong>ho that will be headquarters for‘the 17th team’ dur<strong>in</strong>g the f<strong>in</strong>al tournament.It gave them a chance todiscuss the guidel<strong>in</strong>es issued by the<strong>UEFA</strong> Referees Committee. It allowedthem to f<strong>in</strong>e-tune some of the issuesraised <strong>in</strong> Madrid. And it gave thema chance to assess their physicalcondition – although, as chairmanVolker Roth po<strong>in</strong>ted out, there areno doubts about fitness at this stageof the season.The importance of the gettogetherwas underl<strong>in</strong>ed when <strong>UEFA</strong>’sChief Executive, Lars-Christer Olsson,jetted directly to Porto from Japanto rem<strong>in</strong>d the match officials thatthe tournament offers a chance toset examples throughout the world;to safeguard the sport<strong>in</strong>g elementsthat are close to <strong>UEFA</strong>’s heart; andto enhance credibility among supporters.As for practical issues, thesessions focused on facets suchas team-work between referees andassistants, consistency <strong>in</strong> punish<strong>in</strong>gheavy challenges and ways to detectand deal with various forms of simulation.Competitions■ In the European Women’sUnder-19 Championship, all the f<strong>in</strong>alistsare now known. Group w<strong>in</strong>nersFrance, Germany, Italy, Norway andSpa<strong>in</strong> have qualified along with thebest two runners-up, Russia andSwitzerland. Hosts F<strong>in</strong>land completethe l<strong>in</strong>e-up for the tournament, whichwill take place from 28 July to 8 August.■ The first leg of the <strong>UEFA</strong>Women’s Cup f<strong>in</strong>al took place <strong>in</strong>Solna (Sweden) on 8 May, oppos<strong>in</strong>gUmea IK and 1.FFC Frankfurt (3-0).The return leg takes places <strong>in</strong> Frankfurton 5 June.GETTY IMAGES15


GERMANYPresentationof the book byRudi Michel(left).Newsfrom member associationsANDORRA5th Francesc VilaMemorialTournamentThe fifth seven-a-side football tournamentdedicated to the memory ofthe former president of the AndorranFootball Association, Francesc Vila, willtake place on 29 and 30 May. S<strong>in</strong>cethis year’s tournament co<strong>in</strong>cides withthe tenth anniversary of the association,we wanted to enlist someprestigious clubs to take part andhave had positive responses fromManchester United, Real Madrid,Barcelona, Valencia, PSV E<strong>in</strong>dhoven,Lazio, Grasshopper, Borussia Dortmund,Atletico de Madrid, RCD Espanyol,SK Slavia Prague, Hajduk Split, AthleticClub de Bilbao and Real Sociedad,to name just some.The tournament will be split<strong>in</strong>to two categories: the under-9s andthe under-11s. In view of the numberof participants, three stadiums will berequired for this year’s matches: EstadiComunal, Escaldes and Aixovall. Thef<strong>in</strong>als on the Sunday will take place atthe Estadi Comunal <strong>in</strong> Andorra la Vella.We hope that this year’sevent will be as successful as previouseditions and attract a wide follow<strong>in</strong>gto watch some top players of the future<strong>in</strong> action.Miquel Angel QuiñonesBONGARTSBELGIUM<strong>UEFA</strong> club licence<strong>in</strong>troducedThis season the <strong>UEFA</strong>licence has been <strong>in</strong>troducedon top of the national licence with whichBelgium already has a certa<strong>in</strong> amount ofexperience. It is <strong>in</strong> fact the fourth yearthat the national licens<strong>in</strong>g system hasbeen <strong>in</strong> place. The licens<strong>in</strong>g committeehas licensed all first* and second divisionclubs for next year.The first years of the nationallicens<strong>in</strong>g scheme have been difficultfor some of our clubs. There have beenthree major casualties, RWDM, Harelbekeand Lommel, while other clubs have<strong>in</strong>curred sport<strong>in</strong>g and f<strong>in</strong>ancial penalties,<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Turnhout, KV Mechelen,Berchem Sport, Eendracht Aalst andFC Liégeois.The URBSFA was certa<strong>in</strong>ly rightto start apply<strong>in</strong>g this clean-up policya few years ago, s<strong>in</strong>ce it has allowedour clubs to prepare for the new economicconstra<strong>in</strong>ts now be<strong>in</strong>g imposedby <strong>UEFA</strong>. Other European countries arealready experienc<strong>in</strong>g or will face problemswhich could be dramatic. Belgiumcan be proud that its licence is bear<strong>in</strong>gfruit. Our clubs are aware of the needto do all they can to put their f<strong>in</strong>ances<strong>in</strong> order. Obviously, f<strong>in</strong>ancial stabilityhas been harder for some to achievethan others, but luckily all of themFAFhave obta<strong>in</strong>ed the national licence theyneed to play <strong>in</strong> the first division*.Others have also applied forthe <strong>UEFA</strong> licence to be eligible to takepart <strong>in</strong> the European competitionsshould they qualify. Those need<strong>in</strong>g a<strong>UEFA</strong> licence for 2004/05 are Anderlecht,Club Brugge, Standard de Liège,KRC Genk, Mouscron, Westerlo, Beverenand Germ<strong>in</strong>al Beerschot Antwerpen.François Vantomme* To date (30 April 2004), allclubs but one have been licensed.The f<strong>in</strong>ancial dossier of the rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g clubis still be<strong>in</strong>g exam<strong>in</strong>ed.BOSNIA ANDHERZEGOVINAHibic leaves andMuharemovicscores a centuryLast month was marked by three importantevents <strong>in</strong> Bosnia and Herzegov<strong>in</strong>anfootball. Firstly, <strong>UEFA</strong> A and B coach<strong>in</strong>glicences were awarded to the firstbatch of graduates, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g somewell-known coaches and players: BlazSliskovic, head coach of the Bosnia andHerzegov<strong>in</strong>a national team, his assistantsVlatko Glavac and Nedzad Kuruzovic;Muhamed Preljevic and MustafaArslanovic (NK D<strong>in</strong>amo, Zagreb),Amar Osim and Husnija Arapovic(NK Celik), Slobodan Karalic (FK Borac,Banja Luka) and Boris Zivkovic, capta<strong>in</strong>of the Croatian national team.Among the successful coacheswas Bahrija Herac, the first womanto obta<strong>in</strong> the B licence. One groupof coaches will soon be embark<strong>in</strong>g onthe Pro licence programme.The Bosnia and Herzegov<strong>in</strong>anational team played their third friendlymatch of the year at the Bil<strong>in</strong>o Poljestadium <strong>in</strong> Zenica and achieved theirsecond w<strong>in</strong>, beat<strong>in</strong>g F<strong>in</strong>land. ZvjezdanMisimovic scored the one and only goalof the match. Player/capta<strong>in</strong> MirsadHibic (31) officially f<strong>in</strong>ished his activeplay<strong>in</strong>g career on this occasion, w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>ghis 37th cap <strong>in</strong> the process. Hereceived his first cap <strong>in</strong> 1993 <strong>in</strong> theMediterranean games <strong>in</strong> Montpellier(France). He started his career withNK Celik <strong>in</strong> Zenica, then cont<strong>in</strong>ued withNK Hajduk <strong>in</strong> Split and after that withSevilla FC. He has spent the last yearplay<strong>in</strong>g with Atletico de Madrid andhad the honour of capta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the team.“This is very hard moment,but I am happy to be say<strong>in</strong>g goodbyenow, <strong>in</strong> front of all my fans, andbecause I am go<strong>in</strong>g out on a w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>gnote. I hope the Bosnia and Herzegov<strong>in</strong>anational team will play animportant role <strong>in</strong> the qualify<strong>in</strong>g competitionfor the 20<strong>06</strong> World Cup<strong>in</strong> Germany,” he said after the match.THE FA16 uefadirect 6.04ANDORRABarcelona’s young playerswon the 20<strong>03</strong> memorial tournament.


ENGLANDSem<strong>in</strong>ar<strong>in</strong> Peru.BOSNIA ANDHERZEGOVINABahrija Heracreceivesher coach<strong>in</strong>glicence.CYPRUSLennartJohanssoncongratulatesMariosN. Lefkaritis.F. KRVAVACCFAHibic played only six m<strong>in</strong>utesof the match. Young Sasa Papax tookhis place for the rest of the game. Dur<strong>in</strong>ga modest ceremony <strong>in</strong> the centre circle,Hibic received gifts from the FF BHZand from F<strong>in</strong>nish capta<strong>in</strong> Jari Litmanen.The third event that markedthe month of April was the 100th goalof Dzelalud<strong>in</strong> Muharemovic <strong>in</strong> the 83rdFK Zeljeznicar vs FK Sarajevo derby.His second goal <strong>in</strong> this match was thedecider (2-1). Muharemovic goes down<strong>in</strong> the history of football <strong>in</strong> Bosnia andHerzegov<strong>in</strong>a and jo<strong>in</strong>s the Club 100.He scored his first goal for FK Zeljeznicar<strong>in</strong> 1994, dur<strong>in</strong>g the first officialchampionship.“I'm delighted to be the first player toscore 100 goals and because my goaldecided this derby,“ he said.Fuad KrvavacCYPRUSFriends throughfootballThe commitment ofMarios N. Lefkaritis to asuccessful <strong>UEFA</strong> <strong>Congress</strong> raised theexpectations placed on the organis<strong>in</strong>gcommittees. All concerned were thereforedelighted to accept the congratulationsof all participants and especially thewords of praise from the <strong>UEFA</strong> president.The magnitude of the event andthe presence of numerous football personalitiesoccupied the local and <strong>in</strong>ternationalmedia extensively for a wholeweek. The President of the Republic of<strong>Cyprus</strong> expressed his <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> the workof the <strong>Congress</strong>, arrang<strong>in</strong>g to meet withthe delegations of <strong>UEFA</strong> and FIFA, accompaniedby the CFA Executive Committee.The <strong>Congress</strong> and festivitiesfor the <strong>Golden</strong> <strong>Jubilee</strong> were hosted by theCFA <strong>in</strong> the town of Limassol, where theCFA organised a youth tournament forboys and girls as well as a game betweenveteran players. The two veteran teamswere named Foe and Feher <strong>in</strong> memoryof the two players who tragicallylost their lives on the field of play. MichelPlat<strong>in</strong>i was present at the games andattracted many onlookers.The CFA is satisfied with theoverall result and the possibility affordedby <strong>UEFA</strong> to prove that small associationscan deliver when called upon. The CFAmotto that “through football we makefriends” has once aga<strong>in</strong> proven right.Kyriacos GeorgallisENGLANDStrengthenedfootball relationsAs the England team gears upfor EURO 2004 <strong>in</strong> Portugal, onthe other side of the world The FA hasalso been <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> preparations foranother cont<strong>in</strong>ental championship.The 41st edition of the CopaAmerica, the world’s oldest <strong>in</strong>ternationaltournament, will be held <strong>in</strong> Peru thisJuly, and the local organisers sought todraw on the experience and knowledgeof English football <strong>in</strong> a four-day workshopat the Peruvian Football Federationheadquarters <strong>in</strong> Lima.The FA’s Senior Media RelationsOfficer Andr<strong>in</strong> Cooper and InternationalRelations Manager Kim Fisher werejo<strong>in</strong>ed by Glen Kirton, TournamentDirector of the very successful EURO 96,and Middlesbrough FC Safety OfficerRon Turnbull to address a total of 37enthusiastic participants compris<strong>in</strong>grepresentatives from the Local Organis<strong>in</strong>gCommittee, the Peruvian FA, regionalassociations, CONMEBOL and the police.The sessions covered all aspectsof tournament organisation, from managementstructures to media operations,from commercial partnerships to VIPmanagement, but it was the harshlessons learnt by the English on safetyand security matters, and the str<strong>in</strong>gentmeasures subsequently put <strong>in</strong> placethat provoked the most discussion.Peru will also host the FIFAUnder-17 World Championship nextyear, and the Copa America provides theideal opportunity for a rehearsal, test<strong>in</strong>gfacilities, <strong>in</strong>frastructure and personnelto meet the requirements of the worldgovern<strong>in</strong>g body.For Tournament Director IrzioP<strong>in</strong>asco, the workshop was an <strong>in</strong>valuable<strong>in</strong>sight <strong>in</strong>to the multi-faceted and complexnature of tournament organisation:“It was a very reward<strong>in</strong>g event from whichwe have ga<strong>in</strong>ed very good ideas that willbe implemented for the Copa America.It also confirmed that we arework<strong>in</strong>g on the right track.”The workshop was thefifth to take place <strong>in</strong> the SouthAmerican region under theframework of the CooperationProgramme signed <strong>in</strong> September20<strong>03</strong> by FA Chairman GeoffreyThompson and CONMEBOL PresidentDr Nicolas Leoz.CONMEBOL Coord<strong>in</strong>atorAlberto Almirall has been greatlyencouraged by the results: “We aredelighted with the workshops thathave been delivered by various FAand English experts <strong>in</strong> Paraguay,Ecuador, Chile and Peru.Thefeedback has been extremelypositive and we would like tocont<strong>in</strong>ue to build andstrengthen football relationsbetween Englandand South America.”For The FA, itwas a chance to share ideas andknowledge <strong>in</strong> an ever-expand<strong>in</strong>g rangeof football sectors. This is the first timeThe FA has been asked to deliver workshopson the themes of Stadium Safetyand Security and Tournament Organisation,and we are pleased that our friends<strong>in</strong> the South American football family areso receptive.Kim FisherFINLANDOlympic Stadiumunder renovationThe F<strong>in</strong>nish nationalteam will beg<strong>in</strong> its 20<strong>06</strong>World Cup qualify<strong>in</strong>g campaign awayfrom its traditional home, as the Hels<strong>in</strong>kiOlympic Stadium is be<strong>in</strong>g renovated forthe 2005 IAAF World Championships.The Olympic Stadium will close its doorsat the same time as the F<strong>in</strong>ns kickoff their first qualify<strong>in</strong>g match. AnttiMuur<strong>in</strong>en’s side will return there <strong>in</strong> June2005 to enterta<strong>in</strong> the Netherlands.Hels<strong>in</strong>ki’s Olympic Stadium willbe gett<strong>in</strong>g a cover on the East stand,thereby doubl<strong>in</strong>g the number of coveredseats. At the same time, the acousticsand floodlight<strong>in</strong>g will be improved, whilethe whole stadium will be brought closerto <strong>in</strong>ternational standards.The World Cup qualify<strong>in</strong>gmatch aga<strong>in</strong>st theNetherlands willbe the firstevent at thePHOTO NEWSBELGIUMA title anda licencefor RSCAnderlecht.17


FINLANDThe Olympicstadiumis go<strong>in</strong>g tobe renovated.GEORGIAA prestigiousname to coachthe national team:Ala<strong>in</strong> Giresse.EMPICSAFP/FISCHERFINLANDF<strong>in</strong>land(AlexeiEremenko,white)hostedCanada atthe Rat<strong>in</strong>astadium.renovated venue, as the constructionwork should be f<strong>in</strong>ished <strong>in</strong> late May 2005.In the meantime, the nationalteam has found a new home <strong>in</strong> Tampere,about 180 kilometres from Hels<strong>in</strong>ki.S<strong>in</strong>ce host<strong>in</strong>g the FIFA Under-17 WorldChampionship <strong>in</strong> 20<strong>03</strong>, the Rat<strong>in</strong>a stadiumhosted Canada last October and willwitness the arrival of Sweden on 28 May.However, the necessary departure fromHels<strong>in</strong>ki is not affect<strong>in</strong>g F<strong>in</strong>land’s game,accord<strong>in</strong>g to Muur<strong>in</strong>en.“Play<strong>in</strong>g at the Rat<strong>in</strong>a stadiumis not only a great experience for thenational team; it also serves F<strong>in</strong>nish football.Tampere has everyth<strong>in</strong>g it takes toarrange an <strong>in</strong>ternational match. Moreover,we can spread top football furtherby play<strong>in</strong>g outside Hels<strong>in</strong>ki,” he says.Sami TeräväFRANCEFair playchallengeThe Centre-Westleague has launchedthe "Esprit Foot Jeunes" Challenge, aproject aimed at youth teams from theregion, reward<strong>in</strong>g clubs for their players'good behaviour.Fair play, respect for opponents,referees and everyone <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> football:this is the pr<strong>in</strong>ciple beh<strong>in</strong>d the new<strong>in</strong>itiative designed to promote sport<strong>in</strong>gbehaviour <strong>in</strong> the Centre-West region.Inspired by the "Esprit Foot" Challengewhich has enjoyed success over the lastdecade or so, "Esprit Foot Jeunes" wasthe idea of the Regional Youth Council,a committee set up with<strong>in</strong> the Centre-West league and composed of leadersaged between 18 and 26.It is aimed at teams <strong>in</strong> three differentcategories: under-18s, under-15sand under-13s. "Our primary objectiveis to try to reduce the number of actsof <strong>in</strong>discipl<strong>in</strong>e," expla<strong>in</strong>ed Sébastien Gay,Deputy General Secretary of the Centre-West league and the driv<strong>in</strong>g force beh<strong>in</strong>dthe Regional Youth Council."We were<strong>in</strong>spired by the "Esprit Foot" Challenge,which has been very successful but whichonly <strong>in</strong>volves the region's senior teams."The project was launched verysmoothly, with the help of League President,Henri Monteil, who is particularly<strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> all coach<strong>in</strong>g-related matters.Various Centre-West committees werealso actively <strong>in</strong>volved, particularly theDiscipl<strong>in</strong>ary Committee, which has beenwork<strong>in</strong>g closely with the Regional YouthCouncil.Three of the 15 people work<strong>in</strong>gon the project are members of the league'sDiscipl<strong>in</strong>ary Committee. Members of theReferees' Committee, Technical Committeeand Youth Committee are also <strong>in</strong>volved.The rewards available are veryattractive for the teams concerned: "Atthe end of the season, we will awardprizes to 18 clubs from the region: sixfrom each category," said Sébastien Gay."There will be f<strong>in</strong>ancial rewards as wellas equipment. Shirts, shorts, parkas,w<strong>in</strong>dcheaters, T-shirts, etc.". In total, theequivalent of more than EUR 10,000 willbe distributed to the best behaved clubs.J. TAMMINENAt the end of the season, a grandceremony will be held at the "TechnopoleEster" <strong>in</strong> Limoges, where the prizes willbe handed out under the watchful eyeof some well-known personalities. "Weare expect<strong>in</strong>g ex- <strong>in</strong>ternational MaximeBossis and national referee Bruno Derriento attend," said a delighted SébastienGay. "There will also be professionalplayers who grew up <strong>in</strong> the region, suchas Nantes' Loïc Guion and Laurent Peyreladefrom Le Mans. We are hop<strong>in</strong>g that200 people will be here."A great even<strong>in</strong>g is <strong>in</strong> store,one which will highlight the effortsmade over many years <strong>in</strong> the Centre-West region to promote fair play.Roman MarthienGEORGIAW<strong>in</strong>d of change. . .At its meet<strong>in</strong>g on 15 April,the executive committeeof the Georgian FFdiscussed different important issues.After a long search and negotiationswith candidates, the Georgiannational team has a new coach <strong>in</strong> theperson of well-known former player Ala<strong>in</strong>Giresse. It is the second time a foreigncoach has been put <strong>in</strong> charge of thenational team s<strong>in</strong>ce the country became an<strong>in</strong>dependent state. The GFF managementis confident that Mr Giresse will fulfil thehopes of Georgian supporters, overcomethe crises and take the national teamthrough to the 20<strong>06</strong> World Cup f<strong>in</strong>als.Important personnel and organisationalchanges have also taken placewith<strong>in</strong> the federation. In particular,follow<strong>in</strong>g the retirement of ValeriCholaria as General Secretary, AndriaAbashidze has been appo<strong>in</strong>ted newChief Executive of the GFF. Despite hisyoung age (27), Mr Abashidze alreadyhas ample experience of work<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>such supervisory positions.The executive committee alsoset the date for the VII GFF Ord<strong>in</strong>ary<strong>Congress</strong>, which will beheld on 17 June.F<strong>in</strong>ally, another importantdecision has been taken, the logo of thefederation has been changed. Thepolitical events at the end of last yearbrought about serious changes <strong>in</strong> theentire country, and the scent of the“Revolution of Roses” <strong>in</strong>fluenced the GFFoffice as well – follow<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>troductionof a new state symbol, the GFF decidedto follow suit and change its logo too.From several proposals submittedto the GFF, the GFF executive committeechose the logo designed by Georgianjournalist Alexander Tonia.So, the changes are important,and we hope that the w<strong>in</strong>d of change willblow some good th<strong>in</strong>gs our way.Bakar Jordania18 uefadirect 6.04


HUNGARYTheassociation’swebsitehas hada facelift.D. AQUILINAMALTANon-national players (Danilo Doncic,<strong>in</strong> blue, from Sliema Wanderers)have helped improve football <strong>in</strong> Malta.GERMANYRemember<strong>in</strong>g the“miracle” of BernOn 4 July 1954, Germanywon the World Cup forthe first time. It rema<strong>in</strong>s an historic event<strong>in</strong> our nation’s football<strong>in</strong>g history.Fifty years after the 3-2 w<strong>in</strong> over Hungary<strong>in</strong> Bern, the DFB therefore organiseddifferent activities to commemorate theanniversary <strong>in</strong> a fitt<strong>in</strong>g manner.The highlight of a series ofjubilee events will be a celebratory afternoonat the Pfalztheater <strong>in</strong> Kaiserslauternon 6 June. Numerous guests from theworlds of sport, politics and society havealready accepted the <strong>in</strong>vitation. FederalPresident Johannes Rau will be the guestspeaker. Among the VIPs <strong>in</strong> attendancewill be Hungarian President Ferec Madl,FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter andthe president of the Hungarian FootballAssociation, Imre Bozoky. In the even<strong>in</strong>gthere will be the jubilee <strong>in</strong>ternationalbetween Germany and Hungary <strong>in</strong>Kaiserslautern, <strong>in</strong> the stadium namedafter the legendary capta<strong>in</strong> of Germany’s1954 World Cup w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g team, FritzWalter.Before that, on 31 May, anexhibition entitled “On the Ball of Time –Germany and the World Cup s<strong>in</strong>ce1954“ will open at the Palat<strong>in</strong>ate historymuseum <strong>in</strong> Spires. The exhibition willcomprise not only football-related documentationbut the game will also berepresented <strong>in</strong> a political, economic,cultural and spirit-of-the-age context.It will run until 17 October.In addition, the official DFB jubileebook was released at the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g ofMarch under the title “Germany the WorldChampions –memories of the 1954miracle of Bern”. The author is RudiMichel, who was one of the four Germanradio reporters at the World Cup f<strong>in</strong>als<strong>in</strong> Switzerland.Niels BarnhoferHUNGARYNew-look websitemlsz.hu has been thename of the officialwebsite of Hungarianfootball for two years now. The associationlaunched the website <strong>in</strong> 2001when the MLSZ celebrated its centenary.However, now the time has come toredesign the site.The new site – which is basedmostly on uefa.com’s structure – tries tosatisfy visitors as much as possible. For<strong>in</strong>stance the site will provide the mediawith full <strong>in</strong>formation about accreditation,press conferences, match statistics andreferee <strong>in</strong>formation. It will also focus onnews of <strong>in</strong>terest to Hungarian footballfans. One of the most popular topicsof the new site is the weekly Mondayround-up of the weekend performanceof the <strong>in</strong>ternationals. The onl<strong>in</strong>e chatroom is also very popular with the fans.Although the senior team ofLothar Matthäus’ is the favourite, thesite also devotes attention to youth developmentand women’s football as wellas provid<strong>in</strong>g news about the Hungarianfutsal team.The new mlsz.hu is multil<strong>in</strong>gualas the site conta<strong>in</strong>s an English sub-siteso that Europe and the rest of the worldcan check on results <strong>in</strong> Hungarypromptly.One of the most impressiveaspects of the official website is thephoto content. Photographer Zoltán Thalyattends every important event andsupplies the site with superb pictures.Márton D<strong>in</strong>nyésISRAELThe return of homematches to Israel<strong>UEFA</strong> has given somemean<strong>in</strong>gful news to footballfans <strong>in</strong> Israel by decid<strong>in</strong>g to return thehome matches of the Israeli clubs andnational teams to Israel.Israel thanks Lennart Johansson,Lars-Christer Olsson and the ExecutiveCommittee for their support and decision.The first home match of ourwomen’s national team <strong>in</strong> the EuropeanWomen's Championship, aga<strong>in</strong>st Estonia,took place on 9 May <strong>in</strong> Tel Aviv (12-1).Adi RosenbergMALTAFac<strong>in</strong>g upto thechallengesIt hascerta<strong>in</strong>ly been a busy2004 so far forMaltese football.WithMalta hav<strong>in</strong>gformally jo<strong>in</strong>edthe EuropeanUnion <strong>in</strong>May, theMalta FAhad to make severalamendmentsto the regulationsregard<strong>in</strong>g players registeredwith its memberclubs, and this <strong>in</strong> conformitywith EU regulations andwith FIFA rules.The ma<strong>in</strong>change was <strong>in</strong>the <strong>in</strong>terpretation and term<strong>in</strong>ology of‘foreign’ players. With effect from 1 July,only players who are not citizens of theother 24 countries (besides Malta) form<strong>in</strong>gthe EU or of those <strong>in</strong> the EuropeanEconomic Area and others who have nofreedom of movement or legal right towork with<strong>in</strong> the Republic of Malta, shallbe considered foreigners for the purposeof register<strong>in</strong>g for clubs as full-time nonamateurplayers.This means that the ‘three foreigners’limit for top clubs is no longerapplicable for citizens of EU and EEAcountries. However, clubs are barred fromsign<strong>in</strong>g players from outside Europe ifthey already have three or more playersfrom the EU and EEA on their books.This and other amendments<strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>ternal regulations cover<strong>in</strong>g awide area of operations, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g competitionrules, has clearly put the Malteseassociation on the right road to facefuture challenges.The Malta FA has worked <strong>in</strong>cessantlythroughout the years to upgradethe game at all levels as well as on the<strong>in</strong>frastructural and adm<strong>in</strong>istrative fronts.The central figure <strong>in</strong> this regard isDr Joseph Mifsud, who has been <strong>in</strong>volved<strong>in</strong> the country’s FA s<strong>in</strong>ce 1982 as vicepresidentand as president s<strong>in</strong>ce 1992.The adm<strong>in</strong>istrative acumenof Dr Mifsud has also been recognisedby <strong>UEFA</strong> and FIFA. A ten-year term as anExecutive member of the Europeanconfederation, extended by another twoyears <strong>in</strong> April at the <strong>XXVIII</strong>Ord<strong>in</strong>ary <strong>UEFA</strong> <strong>Congress</strong><strong>in</strong> <strong>Cyprus</strong>, will make it anun<strong>in</strong>terrupted 12 years <strong>in</strong>the top echelons ofthe European body.That is animpressive stretchby any standard,but more sowhen consider<strong>in</strong>gthatDr Mifsudcomes from asmall country.His services to <strong>UEFA</strong>MALTACleavan Frendo(Pieta Hotspurs)is a home-grownplayer.D. AQUILINA19


AFP/ZBOROWSKIREPUBLICOF IRELANDThe Republic ofIreland (John O’Shea)cont<strong>in</strong>ued theirgood run with adraw aga<strong>in</strong>st Poland.FRFROMANIAD<strong>in</strong>amoBucarest are<strong>in</strong> therunn<strong>in</strong>g forthe domesticchampionshiptitle.on various committees go back more thantwo decades, and this reflects well on theuntir<strong>in</strong>g efforts of this 54-year-old lawyerto face the future challenges of the gameof football, both <strong>in</strong> Malta and worldwide.Alex VellaNETHERLANDSFirst woman coachfor national teamVera Pauw was appo<strong>in</strong>tedhead coach of the nationalwomen’s team <strong>in</strong> April. Pauw (41) succeedsFrans de Kat, who will end his termwith the national side <strong>in</strong> June. She isthe first woman to take the position ashead coach of the national women’s team<strong>in</strong> the Netherlands. Pauw has a longhistory <strong>in</strong> football. She won 87 caps forthe Dutch national team over a periodstretch<strong>in</strong>g from 1983 until 1998. Sheplayed as central defender and evencapta<strong>in</strong>ed the side. In the 1988/89 season,she played professional footballfor Modena <strong>in</strong> Italy, but she returnedto the Netherlands after just one seasonto pursue her <strong>in</strong>ternational career.Vera Pauw studied physicaleducation and was awarded the highestcoach<strong>in</strong>g certificate <strong>in</strong> 1987. She workedfor the Dutch FA from 1986 until 1998on the football development staff.For the last six years she has workedfor the Scottish FA as technical directorof women’s football and national teammanager. The Scots were promoted toNETHERLANDSVera Pauw, newcoach of the Dutchwomen’s team.KNVBdivision one under her guidance. VeraPauw will not start to work <strong>in</strong> the Netherlandsuntil the Scots have f<strong>in</strong>ishedtheir qualify<strong>in</strong>g campaign for the 2005European championship. Meanwhilean <strong>in</strong>terim coach will be <strong>in</strong> charge ofthe Dutch women.Pauw is a member of the FIFATechnical Study Group and attended thelast two FIFA Women’s World Cups <strong>in</strong>that capacity. Last year she was the firstwoman ever to jo<strong>in</strong> Michel Plat<strong>in</strong>i’s FIFATechnical Committee.Her determ<strong>in</strong>ation and dedicationto the cause of women’s footballhave yet to pay off <strong>in</strong> the Netherlands.The Dutch team are still await<strong>in</strong>g theirfirst appearance <strong>in</strong> a major <strong>in</strong>ternationaltournament. However, there is talentloom<strong>in</strong>g on the horizon. The Under-19side were the first ever Dutch women’sside to qualify for the f<strong>in</strong>al round of theEuropean Championship <strong>in</strong> 20<strong>03</strong>. Unfortunatelythey were knocked out of the2004 campaign by European championsFrance <strong>in</strong> April. Still, with boys and girlsplay<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the same leagues up to theage of 18 and the female membershipof KNVB still grow<strong>in</strong>g, Vera Pauw couldbe the first coach to lead the Dutchwomen’s side to the f<strong>in</strong>al round of aEuropean Championship or even the FIFAWorld Cup.Rob de LeedePORTUGALPraise from <strong>UEFA</strong>Portugal’s efforts to organisethe com<strong>in</strong>g EURO 2004tournament have beenpraised once aga<strong>in</strong>, dur<strong>in</strong>g the recent<strong>XXVIII</strong> Ord<strong>in</strong>ary <strong>UEFA</strong> <strong>Congress</strong> <strong>in</strong> Limassol,<strong>Cyprus</strong>. In his clos<strong>in</strong>g speech, the<strong>UEFA</strong> president underl<strong>in</strong>ed the workperformed by the Portuguese FootballFederation and the Portuguese Government,<strong>in</strong> order to stage the best EuropeanChampionship ever.FPF President Gilberto Madaíl,who <strong>in</strong>tended to stand as a candidate<strong>in</strong> the elections for the <strong>UEFA</strong> and FIFAExecutive Committees, decided towithdraw both candidatures, bear<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>m<strong>in</strong>d “the higher <strong>in</strong>terests of Portuguesefootball and the sports-political relationshipbetween the FPF and FIFA and<strong>UEFA</strong>.” Not<strong>in</strong>g the Portuguese official’sdecision, the <strong>UEFA</strong> president issued asupportive statement say<strong>in</strong>g that thedecision "was driven by the need to concentrateon and give priority to the mattersthat have occurred recently <strong>in</strong> Portugal”.The statement further recognisedMadaíl’s “outstand<strong>in</strong>g” role and acknowledgedthat “he has been active onmany fronts over the past few years”,for which reason he “will be offered avery prom<strong>in</strong>ent position with<strong>in</strong> <strong>UEFA</strong><strong>in</strong> order to utilise his talents and vastexperience for the benefit of Europeanfootball <strong>in</strong> future years."A similar position was adoptedby the FIFA president, dur<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>Congress</strong>.Joseph Blatter saw the withdrawalof Gilberto Madaíl as an attitude ofgreatdignity.With EURO 2004 loom<strong>in</strong>g evercloser (12 June to 4 July), these wordsare a great <strong>in</strong>centive for football and forPortugal.João Paulo D<strong>in</strong>izREPUBLICOF IRELANDOnly one defeat<strong>in</strong> 14 matchesFootball supporters <strong>in</strong>the Republic of Ireland had high hopesthat Roy Keane would make a spectacularreturn to the <strong>in</strong>ternational team for thefriendly game aga<strong>in</strong>st Poland <strong>in</strong> Bydgoszczat the end of April.The Manchester United midfielderhad <strong>in</strong>dicated that he planned toput his dramatic withdrawal from the2002 World Cup f<strong>in</strong>als <strong>in</strong> Japan beh<strong>in</strong>dhim and make a return to the <strong>in</strong>ternationalscene.Keane reported to the team hotel<strong>in</strong> Dubl<strong>in</strong> to prepare for the game aga<strong>in</strong>stthe Poles but was forced to withdrawbecause of a hamstr<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>jury susta<strong>in</strong>eddur<strong>in</strong>g a tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g session with the squadon the morn<strong>in</strong>g of their <strong>in</strong>tended departurefor Poland.The player had compla<strong>in</strong>ed of ahamstr<strong>in</strong>g problem follow<strong>in</strong>g ManchesterUnited's English Premiership gameaga<strong>in</strong>st Liverpool the previous weekendand the <strong>in</strong>jury was confirmed follow<strong>in</strong>gthe run-out <strong>in</strong> Dubl<strong>in</strong> under Irish teammanager Brian Kerr.There is now a chance thatKeane may be ready to make his reappearance<strong>in</strong> the Irish team <strong>in</strong> some of thefriendly games that have been arrangedfor the weeks ahead.Ireland have games com<strong>in</strong>g upaga<strong>in</strong>st Romania, Nigeria, Jamaica and theNetherlands before the summer break.For the game aga<strong>in</strong>st the Polesmanager Kerr had a difficult time with anumber of players withdraw<strong>in</strong>g from hissquad for various reasons.From an orig<strong>in</strong>al list of 24players he named for the game, no fewerthan 11 withdrew. So, <strong>in</strong> the circumstances,with his depleted squad,manager Kerr was happy with the factthat the Irish managed a scoreless drawaga<strong>in</strong>st the Poles.There was a further sense ofsatisfaction for him <strong>in</strong> that the resultof the game (0-0) brought Kerr's records<strong>in</strong>ce he took over as manager of the<strong>in</strong>ternational team almost 18 monthsago to just one defeat <strong>in</strong> 14 matches.20 uefadirect 6.04


NZSSLOVENIABorut Semlerwas ableto show offhis talent dur<strong>in</strong>gthe Under-19qualify<strong>in</strong>gtourament.PHOTOS: FFUUKRAINEThe Ukra<strong>in</strong>ianhouse offootball anda co<strong>in</strong> commemorat<strong>in</strong>gthe 20<strong>06</strong> WorldCup f<strong>in</strong>als.Results and records like these areall help<strong>in</strong>g to build up and strengthen theconfidence of the team, which shouldstand them <strong>in</strong> good stead when thequalify<strong>in</strong>g games for the 20<strong>06</strong> World Cupbeg<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> the autumn.Brendan McKennaROMANIAPlaces <strong>in</strong> Europeat stakeIn the race for the 2004title, the two biggestclubs are neck and neck as the championshipreaches its climax. After the23rd match day (out of 30) FC D<strong>in</strong>amoBucarest (now coached by Ioan Andone)are just two po<strong>in</strong>ts ahead of FC SteauaBucarest (coached by Victor Piturca) butthe results of their direct encounters are <strong>in</strong>FC Steaua’s favour, thanks to an away w<strong>in</strong>(1-0 at home and 2-1 on D<strong>in</strong>amo’s turf).At the halfway po<strong>in</strong>t, three teamswere <strong>in</strong> the runn<strong>in</strong>g for the title, but aftera few unexpected defeats, reign<strong>in</strong>g championsFC Rapid Bucarest lost any chanceof reta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g their crown. Rapid, who dispensedwith the services of coach MirceaRednic <strong>in</strong> January, even risk los<strong>in</strong>g their currentthird place to FC Universitatea Craiova,now be<strong>in</strong>g coached successfully by…Mircea Rednic (s<strong>in</strong>ce the 19th match day).Rednic’s replacement at FC Rapid– former <strong>in</strong>ternational and Chelsea playerDan Petrescu – lasted only six match daysbefore hand<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> his notice. FC Rapidbrought <strong>in</strong> Viorel Hizo to help them out oftheir crisis, but success is still elud<strong>in</strong>gthem.On 6 June, the 20<strong>03</strong>/04 cup f<strong>in</strong>alwill be played out between FC D<strong>in</strong>amoBucarest and Otelul Galati (coached by Sor<strong>in</strong>Cartu), who are hop<strong>in</strong>g that FC D<strong>in</strong>amowill w<strong>in</strong> the championship and leave thema place <strong>in</strong> the 2004/05 <strong>UEFA</strong> Cup.The possible comb<strong>in</strong>ationsfor <strong>UEFA</strong> club competition places arenumerous, but it is likely that outgo<strong>in</strong>gchampions FC Rapid Bucarest will notbe <strong>in</strong> the picture.Dan CristeaSLOVENIASuccessful Under-19 qualify<strong>in</strong>gtournamentWhile Slovenia was becom<strong>in</strong>g a fullysigned-up member of the EU (on 1 May),the Football Association of Slovenia wasbusy organis<strong>in</strong>g another <strong>in</strong>ternationaltournament, this time the second-roundqualify<strong>in</strong>g m<strong>in</strong>i-tournament for the2004 European Under-19 Championship.Together with Slovenian football clubsNK CMC Publikum, Nk Rudar Velenje,NK Maribor PL and NK Alum<strong>in</strong>ij Kidricevo,<strong>in</strong> whose stadiums the six tournamentmatches took place, and with the helpof the perfect accommodation facilitiesof the Hotel Sava <strong>in</strong> Rogaska Slat<strong>in</strong>a, whereall the teams stayed, the host associationensured that everyth<strong>in</strong>g ran smoothly.The draw set Slovenia a verydifficult task, putt<strong>in</strong>g them <strong>in</strong> the samegroup as England, Ukra<strong>in</strong>e and Denmark,all of whose teams are highly rated <strong>in</strong> thatage group. However, the young Slovenianswere determ<strong>in</strong>ed to put on good performancesand f<strong>in</strong>ish <strong>in</strong> a good position,although it was clear from the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>gthat their chances of qualify<strong>in</strong>g for thef<strong>in</strong>al tournament were small (only groupw<strong>in</strong>ners would qualify).Th<strong>in</strong>gs got off to a very goodstart. In their very first match, the Slovenianyouth players, under the guidance ofcoach Branko Zupan, showed that theyknew how to play. Aga<strong>in</strong>st the muchrespected England they showed no fear –on the contrary – Bayern striker BorutSemler scored two goals and decidedthe w<strong>in</strong>ner already <strong>in</strong> the first half. Theenthusiastic atmosphere <strong>in</strong> the new stadium<strong>in</strong> Celje rose to an undreamed-of level.Although Slovenia then lost theirsecond match aga<strong>in</strong>st the best team andfuture w<strong>in</strong>ners of the tournament,Ukra<strong>in</strong>e, they managed to f<strong>in</strong>ish <strong>in</strong> secondplace, after a draw aga<strong>in</strong>st Denmark.Irena Ilesic CujovicUKRAINEMedia meet<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong> KievThe first all-Ukra<strong>in</strong>ianmeet<strong>in</strong>g for media andpress officers of the top league professional clubs was organised by theFootball Federation of Ukra<strong>in</strong>e on24/25 April. The two-hour meet<strong>in</strong>gtook place <strong>in</strong> the press centre ofFC Dynamo Kyiv, where the presidentof the FFU, Grigoriy Surkis, addressed75 guests from all regions of our countryand then answered numerous questions.FFU Executive Director OlexandrBandurko, First Vice-President SergiyStorozhenko and the Head of Referees’Committee, Viktor Derdo, took part<strong>in</strong> the forum as well.The participants put flowersat the monument to ValeriyLobanovskyi and on the graveof legendary player and the firstFFU president, Viktor Bannikov.A vist to the children’s/youthfootball school of FC Dynamo Kyiv<strong>in</strong> Koncha-Zaspa was also on theprogramme. The participantssaw the modern artificialm<strong>in</strong>i-pitch and heardabout the Ukra<strong>in</strong>ianfootball centre project. The m<strong>in</strong>i-pitch,which was built with a grant from <strong>UEFA</strong>,was opened by journalists, who took part<strong>in</strong> an exhibition match on it afterwards.At the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of April, theFFU, jo<strong>in</strong>tly with the national bank ofUkra<strong>in</strong>e, issued two co<strong>in</strong>s commemorat<strong>in</strong>gthe 20<strong>06</strong> FIFA World Cup.To mark the anniversary of thedeath of Yuriy Voynov, the FFU, <strong>in</strong> cooperationwith the professional league ofUkra<strong>in</strong>e, unveiled a monument to thelegendary footballer on his grave <strong>in</strong> theBaikove cemetery.On 16 April, a time capsule wasput <strong>in</strong>to the foundations of the Ukra<strong>in</strong>ianhouse of football. The ceremony wasattended by <strong>UEFA</strong> Executive Committeemember Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder, <strong>UEFA</strong>Treasurer Mathieu Sprengers and thehead of <strong>UEFA</strong>’s Assistance Programmes,Andreas Kuhn.Valeriy NykonenkoREPUBLICOF IRELANDA deferred returnto the nationalteam forRoy Keane.EMPICS21


ThomasNordahland NilsLiedholm,two “ItalianSwedes”.LennartJohansson,honorarypresidentof the SvFF.100 years ofSwedish footballFestivities <strong>in</strong> StockholmTHE SWEDISH FA RECENTLY CELEBRATED ITS CENTENARY. THE ACTUALDATE OF ITS FOUNDING IS IN DECEMBER, BUT AS THE ANNUAL MEETINGTOOK PLACE AT THE END OF MARCH, THE FA CHOSE TO HAVE ITS FESTIVITIESON THE SAME DAY.After the morn<strong>in</strong>g’s annualmeet<strong>in</strong>g, the city council hosteda buffet lunch <strong>in</strong> the City Hall ofStockholm. Typical Swedish delicacies- meatballs, smoked salmon,herr<strong>in</strong>g and Jansson’s temptation -were served as clubs, nationalassociations, sponsors and othercompanies had an opportunity topresent their gifts to the centenarian,represented by its president,Lars-Åke Lagrell, and generalsecretary, Sune Hellströmer.In the even<strong>in</strong>g more than900 guests – <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g 150 fromnational associations all over theThe delegationfrom the FA of Azerbaijanpresents its giftto the Swedish FA.world – were <strong>in</strong>vited to a banquet<strong>in</strong> the Blue Hall (where the NobelPrize banquet takes place <strong>in</strong> Decemberevery year) <strong>in</strong> the City Hall.”Those who built up modernfootball are here”, said Lars-ÅkeLagrell <strong>in</strong> his open<strong>in</strong>g speech.Swedish medallists and formerplayers of the year, leaders,districts, clubs and other sportsorganisations were present at thebanquet, as were representativesfrom the government.To have at least one club<strong>in</strong> every village is the goal of theSwedish Football Association, andPHOTOS: BILDBYRÅNPr<strong>in</strong>ce Carl Philipand SvFF presidentLars-Åke Lagrell.as <strong>in</strong>terest of football has beendevelop<strong>in</strong>g and <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> recentyears, that wish is about to cometrue.Swedish football has producedseveral great players to date, anachievement which Mr Lagrell alsomentioned, <strong>in</strong> the context of theimportance of football even <strong>in</strong> smallvillages:“Tomas Brol<strong>in</strong> is not <strong>in</strong> factfrom Parma <strong>in</strong> Italy, but from F<strong>in</strong>flo<strong>in</strong> Sweden”, he said.Dur<strong>in</strong>g the even<strong>in</strong>g, theguests were able to trace the historyof Swedish football through videosof memorable matches and <strong>in</strong>terviewswith legendary players such as NilsLiedholm.Well-known leaders alsosaid a few words about Swedishfootball.FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter,spoke dur<strong>in</strong>g the d<strong>in</strong>ner about Sweden’s<strong>in</strong>ternational success <strong>in</strong> severalchampionships, and Lennart Johansson,the president of <strong>UEFA</strong>, po<strong>in</strong>tedto the fact that Sweden had not onlyhad <strong>in</strong>ternational success on, butalso off, the pitch, with adm<strong>in</strong>istrativework <strong>in</strong> different committees.The Swedish Court wasrepresented by Pr<strong>in</strong>ce Carl Philip,who used to play football <strong>in</strong> hisyounger days. As he made a toastto and saluted the centenarian, healso wished the national teams goodluck <strong>in</strong> the summer’s tournaments.Johanna Lundeberg22 uefadirect 6.04


<strong>UEFA</strong>CommunicationsBirthdays – CalendarBirthdaysHonorary member Hans Bangerter(Switzerland) celebrates his 80th birthdayon 10 June, followed by Kurt Furgler(Switzerland), special adviser to theAssistance Programmes Committee on24 June. Kyros Georgiou (<strong>Cyprus</strong>), memberof the Referee Observers Panel, will be60 on 11 June. Approach<strong>in</strong>g the halfcenturymark is Pavel Mokry (CzechRepublic), member of the Match DelegatesPanel, whose 50 th birthday falls on 15 June.<strong>UEFA</strong> also wishes many happy returns to:● Wilfried Gerhardt (Germany, 1.6)● Ivaylo Ivkov (Bulgaria, 3.6)● George Courtney (England, 4.6)● Rolf Haugen (Norway, 4.6)● Georg-Adolf Schnarr (Germany, 5.6)● Franz Wöhrer (Austria, 5.6)● Ludovico Micallef (Malta, 5.6)● Jaap Uilenberg (Netherlands, 5.6)● Léon Straessle (Switzerland, 6.6)● Michael Joseph Hyland(Republic of Ireland, 6.6)● Francesco Tagliente (Italy, 6.6)● Ryszard Wojcik (Poland, 6.6)● Lars-Åke Bjørck (Sweden, 7.6)● Kenneth J. Hope (Scotland, 7.6)● Michel Sablon (Belgium, 7.6)● Sondre Kaafjord (Norway, 7.6)● Sándor Berzi (Hungary, 7.6)● Engelbert Nelle (Germany, 9.6)● Alun Evans (Wales, 11.6)● Nathan Bartfeld (Moldova, 11.6)● Ala<strong>in</strong> Courtois (Belgium, 12.6)● Tom A. Restall (Malta, 13.6)● Giulio Campanati (Italy, 15.6)● Viacheslav Koloskov (Russia, 15.6)● Sabri Celik (Turkey, 16.6)● Michael Joseph Maessen(Netherlands, 17.6)● Gérard Enault (France, 18.6)● Hannelore Ratzeburg (Germany, 18.6)● Michel Plat<strong>in</strong>i (France, 21.6)● Zoran Cvrk (Croatia, 21.6)● Grigory Fedorov (Belarus, 24.6)● Miroslawa Kulesza (Poland, 24.6)● João Rocha (Portugal, 24.6)● Barry W. Bright (England, 27.6)● Sigurdur Hannesson (Iceland, 27.6)● John Byrne (Republic of Ireland, 27.6)● Anton Parera de Andres (Spa<strong>in</strong>, 29.6)● Ivan Borisov Lekov (Bulgaria, 29.6)Upcom<strong>in</strong>g eventsMEETINGS2.6.2004, BasleDraw for the f<strong>in</strong>al round ofthe 20<strong>03</strong>/04 European Under-19Championship15.6.2004, NyonDraw for the first qualify<strong>in</strong>ground of the 2004/05 <strong>UEFA</strong> Women’sCup24.6.2004, LisbonNational Teams Committee29-30.6.2004, LisbonExecutive Committee30.6.2004, LisbonNational Teams CommitteeCOMPETITIONS27.5-8.6.2004, GermanyF<strong>in</strong>al round of the European Under-21Championship5.6.2004, Frankfurt<strong>UEFA</strong> Women’s Cup:f<strong>in</strong>al (return leg)12.6-4.7.2004, PortugalEURO 200419-20.6.2004<strong>UEFA</strong> Intertoto Cup: firstround (first legs)26-27.6.2004<strong>UEFA</strong> Intertoto Cup: first round(return legs)New publicationPAPA! RACONTE-NOUSLE CHAMPIONNAT D’EUROPEThe imm<strong>in</strong>ence of EURO 2004 has,among other th<strong>in</strong>gs, revived memoriesof previous f<strong>in</strong>als. Such memories arerecounted <strong>in</strong> the bookby Pascal Dachelet(35 euros + p & pfrom the author: 19,rue Chaussée – BE-6141 Forchies-la-Marche /eurofoot@tiscali.be)compris<strong>in</strong>g 652pages and divided<strong>in</strong>to two volumes.The author placeseach tournament <strong>in</strong> the context ofother major sports events, politicalevents and scientific discoveries.A full chapter is devoted to eachcompetition s<strong>in</strong>ce 1960. The bookalso looks forward to EURO 2004and EURO 2008 and concludes witha host of statistical annexes.Announcements■ The Executive Committee hasdecided to change the date of theXXIX <strong>UEFA</strong> <strong>Congress</strong> <strong>in</strong> Estonia from22 March to 21 April 2005.■ On 3 April, Oli Holm was voted<strong>in</strong> as president of the FA of theFaroe Islands. He replaces DanjalAndreasen.■ The Georgian FA has appo<strong>in</strong>tedAndri Abashidze as its new ChiefExecutive.■ Dur<strong>in</strong>g the month of June, uefa.comwill be featur<strong>in</strong>g the nationalassociations of Hungary, Iceland,Republic of Ireland, Israel and Italy<strong>in</strong> turn, as part of its <strong>UEFA</strong> <strong>Jubilee</strong>coverage.we care about footballOfficial publication of theUnion des associationseuropéennes de footballCommunications and Public Affairs DivisionEditor André VieliProduced by Atema Communication SA, CH-1196 GlandPr<strong>in</strong>ted by Cav<strong>in</strong> SA, CH-1422 GrandsonEditorial deadl<strong>in</strong>e: 10 May 2004The views expressed <strong>in</strong> signedarticles are not necessarily theofficial views of <strong>UEFA</strong>.The reproduction of articlesor extracts of any <strong>in</strong>formationpublished <strong>in</strong> uefadirectis authorised, provided thesource is <strong>in</strong>dicated.


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