Futsal final round in Italy The return of the Italian clubs 06 Youth ...

no 10 – january 2003 

1.03 

Futsal final round 

in Italy 03 

The return 

of the Italian clubs 06 

Youth 

competitions 10 

More 

doping controls 14 12

COVER 

Internazionale FC, two-time winners 

of the Champion Clubs’ Cup 

in the sixties, symbolise the new 

ambitions of the Italian clubs. 

PHOTO: RICHIARDI 

IN THIS ISSUE 

Futsal final round in Italy 03 

Review of the first phase 

of the UEFA Champions League 06 

Reactions to the EURO 2008 decision 09 

Youth draws 10 

Finnish football 

on the up and up 13 

UEFA activities 14 

News from 

member associations 17 

Announcements 23 

The Meridian Cup 

is a valuable 

experience 

for the young 

participants from 

both continents. 

STUDIO CORCELLI 

editorial 

a mutually enriching experience 

The Meridian Cup is doubtless the most spectacular feature 

of the co-operation arrangement between UEFA and the CAF, set up in 1997 – 

naturally enough, as the events that take place on the field of play have a much 

greater appeal than the work done behind the scenes. 

The Meridian Cup certainly has sporting interest: 

it provides a useful point of comparison between the youth 

football played on two continents, and provides a basis for evaluating 

the physical, tactical and technical development of each. 

Nevertheless, in these meetings, the competitive element 

is not the first priority. The main point is that it 

is a unique experience for these young players 

who, for a few days, have the opportunity 

to mingle not only with footballers of 

their own age from other countries, 

as they do in all the final rounds of 

continental competitions, but also 

with youngsters from other continents, 

a mutually enriching 

experience for all concerned. 

This time spent together is above 

all an opportunity to experience other cultures, 

other customs, and it should help to foster 

mutual understanding among these 

young people from different parts of the world. 

In this way, the Meridian Cup also makes a contribution to the fight 

against racism. 

This year, it also forms a new and important part of the co-operation 

which UEFA established a few years ago with the International Committee of 

the Red Cross, to which the 2003 Meridian Cup is in fact dedicated. 

It also proves that the co-operation between UEFA and CAF is not 

all one way, as the European youth players come home with greater cultural 

awareness and no doubt also valuable lessons for their footballing careers. 

At other levels, too, the co-operation is a two-way street. By making their 

knowledge available to their African partners, the Europeans also further their 

own development, as, in order to progress, it is necessary to confront ever 

more formidable opponents. 

And, at the end of the day, the sport of football itself also benefits 

from this co-operation. 

Gerhard Aigner 

Chief Executive 

we care about football 

02 uefadirect 1.03

European 

Futsal Championship 

Spain to defend title in Italy 

Czech Republic vs. Russian 

in the 2001 European Championship. 

first tournament 

in 1996 

UEFA 

HOLDERS SPAIN WERE GIVEN AN INTRIGUING DRAW 

FOR THE 2003 EUROPEAN FUTSAL CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS 

BEING PLAYED IN ITALY IN FEBRUARY. 

The Spanish, seeds in 

it is not good to be too confident at 

Group B, were drawn with Ukraine, this stage. The Czechs and Slovenians 

did not come here to 

the team they defeated 2-1 in 

the 2001 final in Moscow. Javier 

make up the numbers”. 

Lozano’s men will also have 

Italy were the seeds 

to face Portugal, one of the 

in Group A and they will have 

top teams in European Futsal, 

to take on the might of Russia. 

and Belgium. 

The Russians won the inaugural 

Spain is a reference in Futsal, UEFA event in 1999, defeating host 

but coach Javier Lozano said his nation Spain on penalties. The other 

side would not be taking anything for two teams will be Slovenia and the 

granted. “Group B is a very hard Czech Republic, and they will face 

group”, he said. “I think the tournament 

will be full of surprises, and progress beyond the group 

a stern challenge if they are to 

stage. 

Before launching the 

European Futsal Championship 

in February 1998, 

UEFA held a European Futsal 

Tournament in January 1996. 

Hosted by Spain, it 

involved the six teams that 

had qualified for the 

World Championship also 

held in Spain in December 

that year. 

The tournament was a kind 

of dress rehearsal for the 

World Championship. 

Spain beat Russia 5-3 in the 

final, while Belgium took 

third place ahead of Italy.

Petr Fousek, 

Chairman 

of the Futsal 

Committee, 

took charge of 

the draw 

in Naples. 

UEFA 

UEFA 

Portugal – 

Futsal on fire 

The main goal of the Portuguese 

national team for the European Futsal 

Championship to be played in Italy is to 

reach the final. Team captain André, 

who is expected to earn his fiftieth cap 

in Portugal’s first match in the tournament, 

is spurring his team to aim for 

this target. 

Since Portugal came away from 

the 2000 World Cup in Guatemala with 

a bronze medal, the development of 

Futsal in Portugal has been tremendous 

and the Portuguese FA has established 

the Futsal national team as one of its 

priorities for 2003, along with the 

Under-17 side and, of course, the senior 

national team, who are preparing for 

EURO 2004. The number of Futsal 

players registered with the Portuguese 

FA already exceeds 15,000 and is growing. 

Futsal is in the front line of public 

interest in Portugal, and all eyes are focussed 

on the European Championship. 

The draw took place 

on 10 December at the Palazzo 

Reale in Naples. The final 

tournament will take place in 

Caserta and Aversa, in Campagna, 

from 17 to 24 February. 

Each team will play the 

other three sides in their group 

once, with the teams finishing 

the group stage in first 

and second place qualifying 

for the semi-finals. 

If more than one 

team has the same number 

of points at the end of 

the group matches, they will 

be placed in accordance with the 

following criteria, listed in order: 

most points in matches among 

the teams concerned; best goal 

difference in matches among the 

teams concerned; most goals 

scored in matches among 

the teams concerned; 

best goal difference in all 

group matches; most 

goals scored in all group 

matches; points/matches 

quotient in qualifying 

matches; best goal difference 

in qualifying matches; 

goals/matches quotient in 

qualifying matches; and 

finally, fair-play rating 

in the competition itself. 

If the teams still cannot 

be separated, the 

qualifying team will be determined 

by the drawing of lots. 

In the semi-finals, there 

will be no extra time if the scores 

are level at the end of normal time 

(2 x 20 minutes). The winners 

will be determined by a penalty 

m a t c h s c h e d u l e 

In the view of André, “It will be 

a very difficult competition, even more 

difficult than the European Championship 

in Granada. Spain, Ukraine, Italy 

and Russia are the favourites to win, 

but Portugal are right up there too. 

We have a young team with great talent 

and a strong will to do well. Futsal is a 

major sport in Portugal today, and when 

I look back to the beginning of my 

career, I see a world of difference. Today 

people talk to us on the street, we have 

live coverage on TV and even a new 

image brand for the national team”. 

The Portuguese FA has indeed presented 

a new logo and motto for Futsal. 

They were unveiled during the European 

Championship qualifying tournament 

played in Tavira in November. 

The motto “Ataque contra ataque” 

means “attack against attack”, in other 

words, the use of speed and continuous 

pursuit of the goal. The new Futsal 

mascot is called “Bujas”, referring 

to the very powerful shots that one can 

see in every Futsal match. 

José Carlos Freitas 

FPF 

Date Venue Match Group 

17 February Caserta Belgium – Ukraine B 

Caserta Czech Republic – Russia A 

Aversa Italy – Slovenia A 

Aversa Spain – Portugal B 

18 February Caserta Slovenia – Russia A 

Caserta Portugal – Ukraine B 

Aversa Spain – Belgium B 

Aversa Italy – Czech Republic A 

20 February Caserta Russia – Italy A 

Aversa Slovenia – Czech Republic A 

Caserta Ukraine – Spain B 

Aversa Portugal – Belgium B 

Semi-finals 

22 February Caserta A1 – B2 

Caserta B1 – A2 

24 February Caserta 

Final 

04 uefadirect 1.03

The 

Palamaggio 

Hall in Caserta 

hall and 

the Palazzetto 

dello Sport 

in Aversa. 

Spain vs. Russia 

in 2001. 

UEFA 

UEFA 

UEFA 

shoot-out. However, in the final, 

extra time will be played according 

to the same principle as in UEFA’s 

normal 11-a-side competitions: 

if one team is ahead at the end of 

the first five-minute period of extra 

time, the match will finish. If the 

scores are still level, a second 

five-minute period will be played. 

If the teams are still level, the new 

European champions will be 

determined by a penalty shoot-out. 

a first for Slovenia 

Of the eight teams to have qualified for the final round 

in February, Slovenia are the only ones to be appearing in their firstever 

finals. Three teams have qualified for all three finals: Spain, 

winners in 2001 and runners-up in 1999, Russia, champions 

in 1999, and Italy. Belgium, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Ukraine 

(runners-up in 2001) have all qualified twice. 

Petr Fousek, Chairman 

of the UEFA Futsal Committee, is 

already looking forward to the 

tournament. “There are no weak 

teams in the finals, so anything 

can happen”, he said. “Spain 

and Italy are favourites, but there 

are some dark horses.” 

Petr Fousek also pointed 

out that the finals, which will wrap up 

the third edition of the prestigious 

UEFA competition, will be the first to 

be played at two venues. Caserta 

has the bigger hall, while Aversa 

boasts a smaller but more modern 

arena. This should attract even 

more spectators, and interest is 

expected to be high among Italian 

fans. “I am sure the organisation 

will be on a par with the quality of 

the teams and that it will live up to 

expectations”, he added. 

The qualifying round, 

which was staged in seven groups 

of four teams, involved 28 teams. 

This was a new record, since the 

first qualifying tournament involved 

only 25 teams and the second 26. 

Each of the seven groupwinners 

qualified in fine style, 

winning all three of their games. 

Title-holders Spain. 

Including this year’s tournament, 12 national associations 

have been represented in the finals, each of which have involved 

eight teams. In addition to this year’s eight finalists, the other 

previous qualifiers are Croatia and the Netherlands (both in 1999 

and 2001), Yugoslavia (1999) and Poland (2001). 

Most of these associations have also played in the four 

editions of the World Futsal Championship. The most recent, held 

in Guatemala in 2000, was won by Spain, who were runners-up 

in 1996 and finished third in 1992. The Spaniards have played in all 

four tournaments, as have the Netherlands, who were runners-up 

in 1989. Belgium, Italy and Russia have all taken part three times, 

with Russia winning bronze in 1996. Croatia, Poland, Portugal 

and Ukraine have each played in one World Championship. Portugal 

finished third in 2000. Of the European countries that have played 

in the World Championship, only Denmark and Hungary have 

never qualified for the European Championship finals. However, 

these countries only competed in the very first World Championship 

in 1989, when the participants were invited by FIFA. 

UEFA

BONGARTS 

For the first 

time since 1997, 

Bayern Munich 

will not be in 

the quarter-finals, 

having been 

knocked out 

in the first group 

stage. 

A. LINGRIA 

Spain and Italy 

(Juventus vs. FC Basel, 

the first Swiss club 

to qualify for the second 

group stage) have each 

achieved the unprecedented 

feat of fielding 

four clubs in the second 

group stage. 

UEFA Champions 

League 

the Italians are back! 

THE FIRST PART OF THE 2002/03 EDITION OF THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 

WAS CHARACTERISED BY THE RE-EMERGENCE OF THE ITALIAN TEAMS, AS WELL AS 

FC BARCELONA’S INCREDIBLE RECORD, CONFIRMATION THAT MANCHESTER UNITED 

ARE STILL A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH, UNEXPECTED PROBLEMS FOR REAL 

MADRID, THE REVIVAL OF AJAX AND THE ELIMINATION OF THE FRENCH CLUBS. HERE 

IS A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS AT THE MID-WINTER BREAK... 

SABATTINI 

AC Milan 

(Paolo Maldini) 

are taking 

part in their 

seventh 

UEFA Champions 

League. 

Since the UEFA Champions 

League was increased to 32 clubs, 

only one Italian team has managed to 

reach the quarter-finals: S.S. Lazio 

during the 1999/2000 season. 

Although it is still early 

days, it looks like being a 

completely different story this 

season, for a number of 

reasons. Four Italian teams 

are still involved in the second phase 

(never before have more than two 

Italian clubs progressed this far). 

Two top their respective groups and 

one are sitting in second place. 

AS Roma are the only team slow out 

of the blocks, although they still have 

every chance of qualifying for the 

next round. So what is the explanation 

for this change in fortunes? 

Top teams involved 

Football has always been 

cyclical. Thanks to its financial and 

sporting structure, Italian football 

is clearly part of the European elite. 

It was bound to make a comeback 

sooner or later. Moreover, this year is 

the first time that Italy’s three most 

successful clubs – Juventus, AC Milan 

and Internazionale – have all qualified 

for UEFA’s flagship competition at 

the same time. They are also currently 

leading the way in their 

national championship. 

Certain psychological 

factors also come into play. 

Both in terms of club competitions 

and the national team, 

Italy are emerging from a disappointing 

few seasons. It is absolutely 

essential for the major Italian clubs 

to be in contention for the top European 

honours again. Juventus and 

AC Milan, for example, make no 

secret of the fact that success in the 

UEFA Champions League is their 

primary objective. 

There are also technical 

reasons for the turnaround in Italian 

fortunes. Internazionale, Juventus 

and particularly Milan all strengthened 

their squads significantly in the 

summer. Following the arrival of top 

players such as Crespo and 

06 uefadirect 1.03

???????????? 

EMPICS 

Despite their 

victory in Tokyo, 

Real Madrid 

are struggling 

to regain 

their excellent 

form of 

last season. 

EMPICS 

AC Milan’s 

1989/90 team, 

with its Dutch 

trio of Gullit, 

van Basten 

and Rijkaard. 

Cannavaro (Inter), Di Vaio and Camoranesi 

(Juventus), Rivaldo, Nesta, 

Seedorf and Tomasson (AC Milan), 

these clubs are now even more competitive 

than before. 

There may also be a tactical 

explanation. Most Italian clubs 

have now realised that attack is the 

best form of defence. They have probably 

been inspired by the repeated 

success enjoyed in recent years 

by Spanish clubs with their open, 

attacking style. 

Majestic Milan 

This new mentality has 

mainly been pioneered by AC Milan, 

who broke with the defensive traditions 

of Italian football back in the 

late 80s and early 90s with Arrigo 

Sacchi in the dugout and the Dutch 

trio of van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaard 

on the pitch. At present, the gamble 

of trying to win matches by playing 

attractive football is certainly paying 

off. Milan qualified for the second 

stage with two matches to spare 

and could even repeat the feat and 

reach the quarter-finals by seeing 

off Lokomotiv Moscow when the 

competition resumes. So far, Carlo 

Ancelotti’s men have beaten Bayern 

Munich twice and won at La Coruña 

and Dortmund, as well as beating 

Real Madrid. Quite impressive! 

Internazionale are not quite 

as attractive in terms of their team 

play, but Cuper’s men never admit 

defeat and their attacking stars 

(especially Crespo) are more than 

capable of scoring decisive goals 

at any moment. Juventus’ most dangerous 

weapons are the compactness 

and physical strength of various 

components of the team. The 

round), no Spanish teams are 

“Bianconeri” began very well, even looking likely to qualify for the 

though their most prolific striker, quarter-finals at this stage. The rather 

David Trezeguet, top scorer in Italy mixed results of the holders, Real 

last season, was not available until Madrid, who have gone six matches 

December. AS Roma, suffering from without a win, appear surprising 

the fact that some of their most at first sight, but not all the Spanish 

experienced players are getting older club’s stars have been on top form 

and lagging behind in the championship 

race, are the only Italian club Ronaldo). In particular, they have 

(particularly recent signing 

to disappoint so far. Fabio Capello’s failed to strengthen their defence, 

men will be playing for European where Hierro is not getting 

survival when they face Valencia twice any younger (and has the physical 

in February. 

ailments to prove it). 

One team that have confirmed 

their place among the elite in 

Ten out of ten for Barcelona 

The Italian resurgence 

the first part of this season’s UEFA 

has gone hand in hand with a decline Champions League are Manchester 

in Spanish fortunes. Apart from United, who are on course to qualify 

FC Barcelona, struggling in the “Liga” for the quarter-finals for a record 

but with ten consecutive victories seventh successive year. There is no 

in Europe (including the preliminary doubt that the prospect of contest- 

An unbroken winning run for FC Barcelona (Carles Puyol) in this season’s UEFA Champions League. 

BONGARTS

A return to 

the limelight for 

AFC Ajax. 

Abubakari Yakubu 

(left) and 

Richard Witschge 

surround 

Romain Antonio 

Cassano. 

FLASH PRESS 

For the last seven years, 

Manchester United (David Beckham) 

have always still been 

in contention at this stage 

of the competition. 

ing the final on their home 

ground is an added incentive for 

the “Red Devils”. 

Another noteworthy 

development is the re-emergence 

of Ajax, four-times winners of the 

competition, who have risen 

from the ashes after a difficult few 

years. Without the financial means 

EMPICS 

of the continent’s largest clubs, 

Ronald Koeman has built a young, 

multi-ethnic team capable of playing 

some sparkling football. 

Finally, it is the first time 

that no French team have made it 

through to the second phase of the 

UEFA Champions League. Admittedly, 

the best French players 

are playing abroad, but the decision 

to increase the number of teams 

in the top division of the domestic 

championship to 20 has certainly 

not helped the French in their 

preparations for European ties. 

Emanuele Saraceno 

UEFA Cup 

a cosmopolitan competition 

While seven national associations are represented 

in the UEFA Champions League, the last 16 in the UEFA Cup 

include clubs from 12 different associations. The straight 

knock-out system clearly creates more opportunities 

for shock results. It is no coincidence that, since 1999, 

the UEFA Cup has been won by clubs from four different countries (Italy, 

Turkey, England and the Netherlands). 

The club that has caused the greatest stir in the first part of the 

season are Wisla Kraków. Not only is it eleven years since a Polish club 

remained in the UEFA Cup after the mid-winter break, but Henryk 

Kasperczak’s men have allowed themselves the luxury of eliminating 

two “big names” of European football, AC Parma and Schalke 04, former 

winners of the competition. Turkish club Denizlispor also deserve 

a mention, having beaten French champions Lyon in their first-ever 

season in European competition. 

However, despite the numerous surprises, two clear 

favourites remain. Liverpool, a prestigious catch from the 

UEFA Champions League, will have their work cut out in the last 

16 against AJ Auxerre, who also dropped out of the UEFA 

Champions League after the first group stage. Lazio also appear 

to be very strong, provided their financial difficulties do not 

affect their team’s performance on the pitch. 

E.S. 

Wisla Kraków’s 

Kalu Uche 

is head over heels 

about his 

team’s qualification 

for the fourth 

round of 

the UEFA Cup. 

EMPICS 

08 uefadirect 1.03

The 

Ernst-Happel 

stadium 

will host the 

EURO 2008 

final… 

...and the 

Sankt Jakob- 

Park one 

of the 

semi-finals. 

EMPICS 

EMPICS 

EMPICS 

EURO 2008 

jubilation in Austria and Switzerland 

“SERVUS AND GRÜEZI (AUSTRIAN AND SWISS-GERMAN DIALECT FOR “HELLO”) – 

WE DID IT!”, WAS THE HEADLINE IN THE “KRONEN-ZEITUNG”, AUSTRIA’S TOP-SELLING 

NEWSPAPER. AND IN “BLICK”, ITS SWISS COUNTERPART, THE EXCITEMENT 

WAS JUST AS OBVIOUS: “YESSS! WE’VE GOT IT!” 

The reaction of the press 

the day after EURO 2008 was 

awarded to the two Alpine neighbours 

was immense in both countries. 

“We’re in seventh heaven!” revealed 

the “Salzburger Nachrichten”. “Jubilation 

after Hitchcock-style dénouement”, 

exulted the “Neue Luzerner 

Zeitung”. Even “Die Presse” gave 

free rein to its emotions: “Hurrah, 

Austria and Switzerland to host 

the 2008 European Football Championships”. 

There was huge excitement 

in both countries. Even a few days 

later, the press was still celebrating 

the historic success. Yet even 

amidst all the commotion, the candidature 

team remained true to 

its motto: “Football’s best – close 

to you!”. 

“We are grateful to UEFA 

for having confidence in us. 

We really appreciate it and will do 

our very best to be an able, reliable 

partner over the next six years”, 

vowed the two presidents of the 

two football associations, Friedrich 

Stickler (ÖFB – Austria) and Ralph 

Zloczower (SFV – Switzerland). 

Work has to start right 

away if that promise is to be fulfilled. 

At the end of January 2003, 

the two associations and UEFA 

will embark on initial talks concerning 

the organisational structure of 

EURO 2008. 

Both associations remain 

extremely grateful to everyone who 

supported the Austrian/Swiss bid: 

the people of both countries, 

politicians, businesses and the 

media. Particular thanks go to all the 

bid sponsors: Credit Suisse and the 

other partners all made a tremendous 

contribution. 

“We would also like to thank 

the other candidates”, said Stickler 

and Zloczower. “Everyone did their 

best in what was a fair and open 

contest. But there could only be one 

winner. We are sure that the large 

number of candidates means that 

an even wider public are now aware 

of the importance of the European 

Championships.” 

Irrespective of the final result, 

the seven candidates have therefore 

achieved an important goal for UEFA: 

to promote European football. 

Both associations are also 

conscious of this enormous task. 

“EURO 2008 is extremely important 

for both countries: for our football, 

our sport, for Austria 

and Switzerland in 

general”, said Stickler. 

“We are ready to 

work with UEFA to 

create the organisational 

structure for 

the 2008 finals and 

to put every possible 

effort into preparations 

for the 

tournament”, added 

Zloczower. 

Bernd Fisa 

Head of Communications 

for the Austrian/Swiss bid 

for EURO 2008 

EURO 

2004 

Now that the EURO 2008 hosts 

have been designated, attention has 

reverted to the current championships, 

where the EURO 2004 qualifiers, 

which stopped for a winter 

break, will be resuming in February. 

For some teams, the next matches 

are already decisive. 

Next matches 

12.02.2003 

Yugoslavia – Azerbaijan 

29.03.2003 

Cyprus – Israel 

France – Malta 

Bosnia & Herzegovina – Luxembourg 

Romania – Denmark 

Belarus – Moldova 

Netherlands – Czech Republic 

Poland – Hungary 

Germany – Lithuania 

Scotland – Iceland 

Armenia – Northern Ireland 

Ukraine – Spain 

Liechtenstein – England 

FYR Macedonia – Slovakia 

Croatia – Belgium 

Italy – Finland 

Wales – Azerbaijan 

Georgia – Republic of Ireland 

Albania – Russia 

Ralph Zloczower (left) and Friedrich Stickler on hearing 

the Executive Committee’s decision. 

LAFARGUE

UEFA-HIGUERAS 

The Youth 

and Amateur 

Football 

Committee. 

UEFA-HIGUERAS 

Committee 

Chairman 

Jim Boyce (centre) 

with UEFA 

Technical Director 

Andy Roxburgh 

and 

Niki Zimling. 

UEFA youth 

competitions 

final rounds in France 

and Switzerland 

ON 13 DECEMBER, THE HOUSE OF EUROPEAN FOOTBALL IN NYON 

HOSTED THE DRAWS FOR THE FIRST QUALIFYING ROUNDS 

UEFA-HIGUERAS 

OF THE TWO UEFA MEN’S YOUTH COMPETITIONS, THE EUROPEAN UNDER-17 

AND UNDER-19 CHAMPIONSHIPS. 

Jim Boyce presents the fair play trophy 

for the 2001/02 competition to Niki Zimling, 

captain of the Danish Under-17 team. 

Switzerland (in red) won the 2002 

final against France. 

UEFA-KJAERBYE 

The third European Under-17 

Championship will take place in 

2003/04, the second time the competition 

will have ended with 

a final round of eight teams 

rather than 16. The finals will 

be played in spring 2004 in 

France, whose team is 

consequently exempted from 

the qualifying stage. 

All 52 UEFA member 

associations have entered the competition. 

Forty-eight of them will participate 

in the first qualifying phase. 

Three others – Spain, England and 

Poland – have qualified automatically 

for the second stage because 

of their coefficient, calculated on 

the basis of their results from the 

past three seasons. 

The draw created 

12 groups of four teams, 

who will all face each other 

once in a mini-tournament 

format. The top two in each 

group (i.e. 24 teams) and 

the best third-placed team from the 

12 groups will qualify for the second 

qualifying stage, for which the 

28 teams will be split into seven 

groups of four. The winners of each 

group will join France in the finals. 

t h e q u a l i f y i n g g r o u p s 

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6 

Germany 

Portugal 

Sweden 

Slovenia 

Croatia 

Finland 

Northern Ireland 

Malta 

Scotland 

Hungary 

Norway 

San Marino 

Israel 

Italy 

Luxembourg 

FYR Macedonia 

Denmark 

Romania 

Cyprus 

Andorra 

Belgium 

Czech Republic 

Bosnia & Herzegovina 

Liechtenstein 

Group 7 Group 8 Group 9 Group 10 Group 11 Group 12 

Yugoslavia 

Netherlands 

Armenia 

Bulgaria 

Greece 

Slovakia 

Latvia 

Faroe Islands 

Republic of Ireland 

Switzerland 

Austria 

Belarus 

Russia 

Iceland 

Lithuania 

Albania 

Georgia 

Turkey 

Wales 

Azerbaijan 

Ukraine 

Moldova 

Estonia 

Kazakhstan 

The first European Under-17 Championship was won by Switzerland 

in 2002. The second is already under way and is about to enter the 

second qualifying stage. The finals will take place in Portugal in May 2003. 

10 uefadirect 1.03

UEFA-HIGUERAS 

Left to right: 

Spanish Football 

Federation 

President 

Angel Maria 

Villar Llona, 

Maurice Burlaz, 

Jim Boyce 

and Juan 

Espino Navia 

(from the Spanish 

Federation) 

with the Maurice 

Burlaz Trophy 

awarded to 

the national 

association 

which obtained 

the best results 

in the youth 

competitions 

during the 

last two years. 

UEFA-HIGUERAS 

Xavier Chen, 

captain of 

the Belgian 

Under-19 team, 

received the 

fair play trophy 

from Jim Boyce 

and then gave 

him a hand 

with the draw. 

World Youth 

Championship 

places at stake 

for Under-19s 

drawn into 12 groups of four on 

13 December. 

Here also, each team will face 

the other three once and the top two 

in each group will qualify, along with 

the best third-placed team. From 

the qualifying 

groups 

UEFA-HIGUERAS 

All UEFA member associations 

will also be participating 

in the third European Under-19 

Championship, which will 

conclude in Switzerland 

in the year of UEFA’s Golden 

Jubilee. 

The format of the competition 

is the same as that 

of the Under-17 tournament. 

Switzerland, who will host the 

the second group stage (as with the 

Under-17s, the groups will not be 

drawn, but formed in accordance with 

the regulations), only the group winners 

will go through to join 

Switzerland in the finals. 

The participants in 

the finals will also have the 

chance to secure a ticket for 

the FIFA World Youth Championship 

(U-20), which will 

Group 1 Group 2 

Romania 

Poland 

Northern Ireland Norway 

Slovenia 

Latvia 

Hungary 

Cyprus 


Belgium 

Denmark 

Italy 

Germany 

Georgia 

Malta 

Estonia 

Luxembourg 

finals, qualify automatically. Three 

other countries, selected on the 

basis of their results in the three 

seasons from 1999 to 2002, will 

enter the fray at the second qualifying 

stage. They are Spain, the 

Czech Republic and Slovakia. The 

remaining 48 associations were 

take place in 2005. UEFA will allocate 

its six places to the four semi-finalists 

and the third-placed teams in the 

group phase. 

Spain won the first European 

Under-19 Championship last year. 

The second edition will conclude in 

Liechtenstein later this year. 


Croatia 

Lithuania 

Finland 

Republic of Ireland 

Albania 

San Marino 

Azerbaijan 

Bulgaria 


Portugal 

England 

Greece 

Russia 

DIGSPORT 

Wales 

Belarus 

Liechtenstein 

Andorra 


Austria 

Israel 

Yugoslavia 

Netherlands 

Sweden 

Moldova 

Kazakhstan 

Iceland 


Ukraine 

Scotland 

France 

FYR Macedonia 

The Under-19 trophy 

is in the hands 

of Spain, following their 

victory over Germany. 

Armenia 

Bosnia & Herzegovina 

Faroe Islands 

Turkey

A first 

evaluation 

at the 

headquarters 

of the Cape 

Verde FA. 

The UEFA 

Administration’s 

football team 

has contributed 

to the co-operation 

by offering kit to a 

rehabilitation 

centre. 

UEFA 

UEFA 

Meridian Project 

awaiting 

new partners 

ONE ASPECT OF THE MERIDIAN PROJECT IS THE DIRECT AID PROVIDED 

OVER A TWO-YEAR PERIOD BY UEFA TO TWO NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS SELECTED 

Meridian Project Manager Mohamed Taa (left) 

and Cape Verde FA President Mario Mendes 

Dos Reis Semedo with the material supplied 

as part of the aid programme. 

UEFA 

BY THE AFRICAN FOOTBALL CONFEDERATION (CAF). 

The end of the third direct aid programme is approaching. 

Namibia and Chad (1997-98), Eritrea and Niger (1999-2000) and São Tomé 

e Principe and Somalia (2001-02) have been the beneficiaries of the aid 

so far, although Somalia was replaced by Cape Verde in the latest programme 

because of its political situation. 

In mid-December, a UEFA delegation travelled 

to Cape Verde to carry out an initial assessment and make 

preparations for the final stage of direct co-operation. 

As far as equipment is concerned, an air-conditioned 

minibus is to be donated to the Cape Verde FA and used 

to transport its teams. 

Since training is an important aspect of the 

Afro-European co-operation programme, a course will be 

held in Praia from 10 to 14 March, focusing on three 

subjects: youth coaching, medicine and administration. 

Prior to that, the Meridian Project Board 

will meet in Cairo on 24 January, not just to review 

the collaboration between UEFA and the CAF and take 

stock of the last two years of direct aid, but also to 

launch the new programme with two new partners who 

will be chosen at that meeting. 

Meanwhile, the most spectacular part of 

the project, the Meridian Cup, involving eight under- 

17 teams from both continents, will be contested 

in Egypt from 25 January to 1 February. 

This year’s competition marks a new departure in 

the collaboration between UEFA and the Red Cross, 

since the event will be dedicated to the ICRC. 

12 uefadirect 1.03

EMPICS 

Sami Hyypiä 

(left) has 

established 

himself 

as a pillar 

of Liverpool’s 

defence. 

BILDBYRÅN 

The trophy 

of the 

European 

Women's 

Under-19 

Championship, 

which Finland 

will be hosting 


BILDBYRÅN 

More 

and more girls 

are playing 

football. 

football’s 

fast growth in Finland 

JARI LITMANEN LIFTING THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TROPHY WITH 

AJAX AMSTERDAM IN 1995, SAMI HYYPIÄ’S TRANSFER TO LIVERPOOL FC IN 1999, 

LAUNCHING THE ALL-STARS PROGRAMME IN 2000, AND EXCELLENT HOME 

PERFORMANCES BY THE FINNISH SENIOR NATIONAL TEAM IN WORLD CUP QUALIFYING 

MATCHES IN 2001: THE RECIPE FOR FOOTBALL’S GROWTH IN A COLD COUNTRY 

OF FIVE MILLION INHABITANTS? 

Whatever the reasons behind 

the growing popularity of “the most 

beautiful game” in Finland, the fact is 

that football is closing the gap with 

other sports at a rate of knots – if the 

number of licensed players is anything 

to go by. Since the mid-1990s and 

Litmanen’s glory days with Ajax, the 

number of children (between 3 and 18 

years of age) playing football has risen 

from 157,000 to 261,000 in 2002, 

according to Finland’s Gallup, an independent 

research company. About 

112,500 of today’s players are 

licensed, compared to 76,000 in 1995. 

All-Stars programme: 

a key to growth? 

The All-Star programme has 

lowered the age limit for playing football 

in a club. Children can now try 

organised football for a month without 

paying the insurance and licence 

fees. Combined with the fact that children’s 

sports activities in general 

have been expanding in Finland these 

past four years, football has become 

a part of many families’ lives. And it is 

not only the children who are enthusiastic; 

parents and adults have also 

found their way into the football family. 

Between 1995 and 2002, the number of 

different voluntary football officials 

has increased from 60,000 to 79,000. 

One of the main goals of 

the All-Stars programme has been to 

prevent the drop-out phenomenon in 

football. In three years, the drop-out 

rate has dropped from 29 to 24.6 percent. 

This has been achieved by cutting 

the competitive edge at youth level. 

Guaranteeing players a full half on the 

field, along with different levels of 

leagues, have proved to be effective 

ways of retaining participants in the 

football family. 

Women’s football: 

prospects and challenges 

Just as Litmanen has been a 

pivotal figure in the pioneering work of 

Finnish football, a similar effect can 

be seen in the women’s game too. 

HJK Helsinki qualified for the semifinals 

of the first UEFA Women’s 

Cup, after dominating the league 

for several years. Similar new challenges, 

such as hosting the 

Women’s Under-19 European Championship 

tournament in 2004, are 

producing the right atmosphere for 

growth. As proof, Finland’s Gallup 

revealed that some 15,300 girls 

would like to join a football club. This 

would almost double the number of 

licensed girl players. 

The challenge of the Football 

Association of Finland is to offer 

enough all players – boys and girls 

alike – enough opportunties to continue 

playing according to their 

own desires, abilities and wishes. 

Clearly, the right direction has 

already been taken. But there is still 

work to be done, according to FAF’s 

Girls’ Football Project Manager, 

Elina Savolainen: “There is clearly a 

demand for girls’ football, for 

example. But at this point we do not 

offer enough choices to get all 

potential players into the football 

family. This is something we need to 

work on and develop”. 

Sami Terävä 

The success 

of Jari Litmanen 

has triggered 

a boom 

in football 

in Finland. 

EMPICS

BONGARTS 

Doping 

controls 

are also 

conducted 

in the 

youth 

competitions. 

UEFA 

During the Under-17 minitournament 

in Greece, the officials 

(delegates and referees) made 

the most of a day off to visit 

Olympia, where they 

had a run around the remains 

of the hippodrome. 

EMPICS 

The UEFA flag 

will be in the spotlight 

in 2004, when 

the organisation 

celebrates its 

Golden Jubilee. 

meetings and activities 

m o r e d o p i n g t e s t s 

At its meeting in Nyon 

on 12 and 13 December, the 

Executive Committee decided to 

increase the number of doping 

tests carried out in UEFA competitions. 

Introduced by UEFA in 

1980 during the European Championship 

finals in Italy, doping tests 

were stepped up in 1994. Between 

1994/95 and the end of the 2001/02 

season, 2,236 players were tested 

in 559 UEFA competition matches. 

In recent years, more than 300 

players have been tested each season, 

with the European Championship 

finals contributing to a high 

of 460 tests in 1999/2000. 

Even though only a tiny 

minority of tests have been positive, 

the Executive Committee, with the 

backing of the UEFA Elite Coaches 

Forum, decided to increase 

the number of urine tests for the 

2003/04 season by 31%. The 

increase will mean that testing can 

be extended to competitions in 

which there has so far been little or 

no testing, such as youth and 

women’s competitions. The Executive 

Committee expects this 

measure to have a preventative and 

educational impact. 

■ At its final meeting of 

last year, the Executive Committee 

also discussed the conduct of 

players and coaches in the major 

international competitions – conduct 

which too often reflects a lack 

of discipline and respect. Matches 

in these competitions, broadcast 

to a huge TV audience, have an 

enormous impact and disrespectful 

BONGARTS 

Scenes like 

this should 

no longer be 

seen at football 

matches. 

behaviour at this level can have 

a negative influence on amateur and 

youth football. The Executive 

Committee therefore decided to set 

up a working group to analyse 

and evaluate regular occurrences 

such as: 

– players or coaches 

shouting without restriction at the 

referee, assistant referees or fourth 

official; 

– individual or groups 

of players harassing the referee 

after a decision, sometimes even 

jostling him; 

– coaches turning to the 

public to encourage protest; 

– players or coaches 

showing disrespect by voice or 

gesture after a decision; 

– players manipulating the 

ball after the whistle of the referee; 

– players celebrating 

a goal by leaving the field of play 

and pulling their shirts off; 

– players approaching 

an opponent in a threatening or 

aggressive manner when the game 

has been stopped; 

– players not respecting the 

instructions of the referee; 

– players guilty of blatant 

simulation; 

– players claiming a red or 

yellow card for an opponent; 

– players holding or pushing 

in the penalty area before a corner 

kick or free kick; 

14 uefadirect 1.03

The UEFA 

Champions 

League 

proved to be 

a commercial 

success again 

in 2001/02. 

Former 

Manchester United 

star Denis Law 

helped launch 

the logo for the 

2003 final. 

EMPICS 

EMPICS 

– players encroaching in 

the penalty area before the penalty 

taker has touched the ball. 

■ With regard to artificial 

pitches and UEFA’s plans to promote 

them in Europe by subsidising 

their installation, the Executive 

Committee chose five associations 

to receive such support as part 

of a pilot scheme: Russia (Lushniki 

stadium, Moscow), Austria (Salzburg 

stadium), Turkey (Denizlispor 

stadium), Sweden (Örebro SK 

stadium) and the Netherlands 

(AZ Alkmaar stadium). The Executive 

Committee would like to add 

to the list a stadium from one 

of the “major” associations in order 

to broaden the scope of the pilot 

scheme’s results. 

in brief 

More than 

CHF 227,000 

for UEFA Champions 

League clubs 

The balance sheet for 

the 2001/02 UEFA Champions 

League shows a profit of 

CHF 7,277,000. 

As last year, this sum has 

been distributed equally amongst the 

32 participating clubs. Each club 

has therefore received an additional 

bonus of CHF 227,406. 

■ Over recent years, the 

UEFA Champions League final has become 

such an important occasion that 

it is now preceded by various special 

events, such as the trophy hand-over, 

and the competition logo is adapted 

for each final. On 4 December, this 

year’s design was officially 

launched in Manchester, 

where the final 

will take place on 28 

May this year. 

Confederations Cup 

draw 

The draw for the 4th 

FIFA Confederations Cup will take 

place at the Stade de France in 

Paris on 12 February. 

Two of the eight teams 

involved in this FIFA competition are 

European: hosts 

and European 

champions 

The Executive Committee: 

– awarded the hosting of the 2004/05 European Under-17 

Championship final round to Italy; 

– awarded the hosting of the 2004/05 European Under-19 

Championship final round to Northern Ireland; 

– discussed the question of appropriate representation 

of national associations within the Executive Committee and agreed 

to submit a proposal on this subject to the next Congress; 

– moved the 2004 Ordinary Congress, to be held in Cyprus, 

to 22 and 23 April; 

– decided to replace the current UEFA Intertoto Cup trophies with 

UEFA shields bearing the competition logo; it also amended the trophy 

presentation procedure in order to add prestige to the event and, at the same, 

to the competition as a whole; 

– approved the regulations for the 2003-05 European Women’s 

Championship; 

– noted the main aspects of UEFA’s 50th anniversary celebrations 

in 2004, for which UEFA has appointed Keith Cooper, former FIFA Director 

of Communications, as co-ordinator; 

– added two meetings to its 2003 schedule, which now comprises 

meetings on 5/6 February (Athens), 25, 26 and 27 March (Rome), 

22 May, 9/10 July, 17/18 September, 5/6 November and 10/11 December. 

Fulham’s 

Junichi Inamoto 

holds up the UEFA 

Intertoto Cup trophy, 

now to be replaced 

by a shield. 

EMPICS

It is time 

for the associations 

to get their entries in 

for the UEFA 

Intertoto Cup. 

EMPICS/BUZZI 

AC Perugia vs. VfB 

Stuttgart in July 2002. 

France, holders of the trophy following 

their victory in 2001; and Turkey, 

bronze medallists at the 2002 World 

Cup. The line-up also comprises Brazil, 

the current world champions, and 

the various confederation champions: 

Colombia, Cameroon, the United 

States, Japan and New Zealand. 

The eight teams will be drawn 

into two groups, although France 

and Brazil will be the seeds in each 

group and neither group shall include 

more than one team from the same 

confederation. 

The group matches will be 

held in Paris (Stade de France), Lyon 

and St-Etienne from 18 to 23 June. 

Paris and Lyon will host the semi-finals 

on 26 June. The final will take place 

at the Stade de France on Sunday 

29 June, with the third place match 

in St-Etienne the previous day. 

Obituary 

Sir Bert Millichip 

(England) 

died on 18 December. 

He was 88. 

Sir Bert had been an honorary member of UEFA 

since the London Congress in June 1996 and had been involved 

in UEFA activities since 1979, when he joined a UEFA study 

group on doping. 

From 1982 to 1998, he served on the European Championship 

Committee. In 1988, at the Munich Congress, he was 

elected to the Executive Committee, on which he subsequently 

officiated as vice-president from 1990 to 1996. After retiring from 

the Committee, he continued to serve it as a special adviser 

for a further two years. Sir Bert was also a former chairman of the 

Futsal, Referees and Juridical Committees. 

He was Chairman of The Football Association in England 

from 1981 to 1996 and knighted in 1991. 

EMPICS 

France will be 

defending 

their title in the 

Confederations Cup. 

FLASH PRESS 

Entries for the UEFA Intertoto Cup 

The ninth edition of the UEFA Intertoto 

Cup will be held this year. It will 

take the same structure as last year, 

i.e. five rounds with staggered entry 

of teams into the competition. 

Matches will begin on 21 and 22 June. National 

associations must enter by 28 February, indicating the 

number of places they would like. Places will be allocated 

in accordance with the national association rankings calculated 

by UEFA on the basis of clubs’ results over the 

last five seasons. 

New UEFT general secretary 

Following the death of Lothar Meurer, the figurehead 

of the Union of European Football Coaches (UEFT) 

for many years, Karlheinz Raviol, of Karlsruhe, has taken 

over as general secretary of the organisation whose 

membership, since it was founded in 1980, has grown 

from eight to 35 national associations. 

16 uefadirect 1.03

ENGLAND 

A planning 

workshop 

for more than 

40 African 

coaches. 

BELARUS 

The footballers 

of Belarus 

have got 

their first 

covered 

stadium. 

news 

from member associations 

BELARUS 

A first 

indoor arena 

Until recently, playing 

football on a green 

pitch in wintertime was just a dream for 

Belorussian footballers. However, this wish 

was granted last December and footballlovers 

in our country received a cherished 

Christmas present. 

In September 2001, the president 

of the Republic of Belarus signed a protocol 

for the planning in 2001 and construction 

in 2002 of the first indoor football arena in 

Belarus. The whole of the country was 

behind this objective. The constructors got 

to work immediately, and the completion of 

the construction on time grew into a question 

of state prestige. The site chosen for 

the arena is not far from Minsk city centre, 

near the Olympic youth school. 

Obviously, the Belarus Football 

Federation could not stay out of this 

project. On 14 December 2001, the BFF 

Executive Committee decided to take part 

in the construction of the arena by investing 

in 27.5% of the shares. On the basis of 

the signed documents, the BFF committed 

itself to securing the credit line for the purchase 

of the artificial turf, information 

screen, training equipment, floodlighting 

and sound equipment, as well as their 

installation according to international standards. 

The 15,500 square-metre site is a 

complex with infrastructure that corresponds 

to the latest international requirements. 

The pride of the arena is a full-size football 

pitch (105 x 68) laid with up-to-the-minute, 

third-generation artificial turf. Four dressing 

rooms, two saunas with mini swimming 

pools and massage room, players’ 

warm-up (633.5m 2 ) and fitness (663.5 m 2 ) 

areas will be at the disposal of the sportsmen 

and women. It is also planned to install 

3,000 seats for spectators and to build a 

parking area for visitors’ cars. 

On 26 December, the president 

of the Republic of Belarus, Alexander 

Lukashenko, attended the official opening 

ceremony. He highlighted the uniqueness 

of the new sports complex and promised 

that, in future, such projects would have 

the strongest financial backing of the state. 

It was not only significant that the construction 

was completed in the record time 

(nine months), but also that the parties 

involved fulfilled their obligations to the 

very end, despite the very difficult financial 

situation in the country. 

The advantages of the indoor 

arena in Minsk have already been appreciated 

by the international football 

organisations. 

Sviatoslav Kiselev 

TheFA 

BELGIUM 

Referees sponsored 

In accordance with the FIFA 

circular of 14 December 2001 

allowing football associations to 

seek a sponsor in order to develop refereeing, 

the National Referees’ Committee, abiding by 

strict ethical rules, has consulted the market 

and reached an agreement with the Fulgor 

company. 

An Italian company specialising in 

household electrical appliances, Fulgor Elettrodomestici 

owns several large European 

subsidiaries in France, Spain and the Benelux 

countries. It has chosen sport, particularly football, 

as a medium for enhancing its profile in 

the Benelux countries. Fulgor has decided to link 

its own image with that of refereeing in Belgium, 

which shares its values of honesty, precision, 

efficiency, quality, fairness and excellence. 

A renewable 18-month contract came 

into force on 1 January 2003. Referees and 

assistant referees officiating in divisions 1 

and 2, i.e. 144 officials in all, will wear the Fulgor 

logo on their shirts. 

In agreement with the officials concerned, 

all of the revenue generated by the 

sponsorship will go towards the recruitment 

and training of referees and their assistants at 

national and local levels. 

The Belgian Football Association 

and the various referees’ committees are confident 

that this partnership will be beneficial 

to everyone concerned. 

François Vantomme 

ENGLAND The young generation was not forgotten, receiving kit and material. 

BOSNIA 

& HERZEGOVINA 

Leotar win Hase 

memorial tournament 

The 10 th Asim Ferhatovic Hase Memorial 

Futsal Tournament took place recently at the 

Mirza Delibasic Hall in Skenderija. This tournament 

was first played during the most 

difficult times for football in Bosnia & 

Herzegovina, in 1993, in occupied Sarajevo, 

and is dedicated to Asim Ferhatovic Hase 

(1933–1987), a footballing legend in Bosnia 

& Herzegovina, as well as of football in 

former Yugoslavia. He played for FK Sarajevo 

and for a short time, in 1966, for Turkish club 

Fenerbahce FC. For FK Sarajevo (from 1951 

to 1966) he played in 424 games and 

scored 198 goals. 

Eight clubs from the territory of former 

Yugoslavia took part in the tenth memorial 

tournament, showing that Asim Ferhatovic 

Hase was a favourite wherever he performed. 

The tournament is now a permanent fixture in 

the official calendar of the Football Federation 

of Bosnia & Herzegovina. Apart from 

FK Sarajevo, the teams that took part in this 

tournament were NK Rijeka (Croatia), a selection 

of Vojvodina, a selection of Belgrade, Avaz 

international stars, FK Leotar from Trebinje, 

B&H Premier League champions FK Velez from 

Mostar and tournament organisers FK Vratnik, 

the team from the part of town where Asim 

spent most of his time. 

The name of this legendary footballer 

gathered old friends whom war had 

separated not so long ago. And the players 

did their best to display great football to the 

spectators. The winners of the tournament 

were FK Leotar, who beat rivals Sarajevo 4-3 

in a dramatic final. FK Leotar captain 

Sinisa Mulina was named the player most 

reminiscent of Asim Ferhatovic Hase in terms 

BFF 

TheFA

URBSFA 

BELGIUM 

A contract 

from which 

Belgian 

refereeing 

as a whole 

should 

benefit. 

ARCHIVE FFBHZ 

BOSNIA 

& HERZEGOVINA 

Asim 

Ferhatovic Hase. 

FK Leotar: 

winners of the 

Asim Ferhatovic 

Hase tournament. 

F. KRVAVAC 

of his playing style, while Belgrade went 

away with the fair play trophy. All the teams 

were delighted with the organisation and 

hospitality of Sarajevo. 

Fuad Krvavac 

CROATIA 

Celebration 

and elections 

On 22 December, the 

Croatian Football Association 

celebrated its ninetieth anniversary. 

UEFA President Lennart Johansson sent a 

video message, while FIFA President Joseph 

S. Blatter sent a letter of congratulations to 

the General Assembly. Both messages were 

warmly welcomed. An impressive gathering 

of football officials, players and experts 

from all generations recalled the milestones 

of the development of Croatian football. 

The major successes were highlighted, as 

was the historical development of Croatian 

football, which has always mirrored the 

political and economic circumstances. 

Croatian football has given European football 

numerous great players, coaches and 

referees. We are also very proud of the success 

achieved by NK Dinamo Zagreb when 

they won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1967, 

and especially of the bronze medal won by 

the national team at the 1998 World Cup, 

as well as of Davor Suker, the top scorer in 

the same competition. Yugoslavia’s gold 

medal in the 1987 U-20 Youth Championship 

in Chile was won mainly with the help 

of Croatian players, led by head coach Mirko 

Jozic. Robert Prosinecki and Zvonimir Boban 

were named best players of the tournament 

into the bargain. 

As a special contribution to the 

celebration, a seven-hour film about Croatian 

football was produced. It constitutes a 

very worthy historical record of the most 

important events and personalities of Croatian 

football. 

CROATIA 

Vlatko 

Markovic 

has been 

voted back in 

as president. 

HNS 

An elective General Assembly was 

held the same afternoon, and Vlatko Markovic 

was re-elected president of the Croatian Football 

Association. Markovic, a former international, 

great coach and member of the UEFA 

Committee for Technical Development, gained 

significant support. For the next four-year 

mandate, the Executive Committee will consist 

of 17 members, including three newcomers. 

The Committee’s duties and obligations will 

also continue from where they left off. Apart 

from the success of the national teams, special 

emphasis will be placed on work with 

youth players and revitalising coaching staff. 

A new competition system for the youth categories 

has already been approved, and the 

Football Academy of the CFA, which acts in 

line with and with the support of UEFA, 

is already producing good results. Most of the 

Academy’s intake comprises former internationals, 

from whom we are also expecting 

great things in the field of coaching. 

Our joint candidature with the FA 

of Bosnia & Herzegovina to host EURO 2008 

was a very useful exercise. During this procedure, 

the host cities were also familiarised 

with the UEFA club licensing system and are 

willing to help the clubs fulfil their obligations 

in this respect. 

Zorislav Srebric 

ENGLAND 

A workshop in Lagos 

Over 40 senior African coaches 

travelled to Lagos in December 

for a four-day FA-CAF Strategic 

Planning Workshop, directed by FA national 

coaches, Martin Hunter and Paul Bracewell. 

The interactive classroom sessions 

covered a range of technical issues such as 

player development at both elite and grassroots 

level, talent identification, strategic planning 

within international football, the design 

and implementation of coaching programmes 

and evaluation of coaching performance. 

One practical session was also held at the 

Lagos National Stadium. 

“Our approach was to show the 

participants what we have done in England 

and hope that sections of the workshop and 

presentations gave the coaches and technical 

directors fresh ideas to be able to use in 

their own countries”, explained The FA’s 

Martin Hunter, whose career at The FA has 

seen him coaching England teams from U-16 

to U-20 level. 

“The workshop has proved 

extremely successful in terms of bringing 

together so many experienced professionals 

from around the continent to exchange 

ideas on technical matters”, explained Kim 

Fisher, The FA’s International Relations Officer. 

“It is the result of an agreement 

The FA has with CAF through its International 

Development Programme which 

underlines our commitment to working with 

our African colleagues to develop the game 

of football at all levels.” 

A number of leading lights 

of African football attended the workshop, 

including the national team coaches of 

Zambia (Patrick Phiri) and Nigeria (Christian 

Chukwu). 

“This workshop will help our 

football in many ways. It is a valuable 

refresher course. Myself and Chukwu 

have learnt a lot. I think there should be 

regional workshops across Africa to teach 

other colleagues who are not here”, 

commented Coach Kashimawo Laloko from 

the Nigerian FA. 

The FA and workshop participants 

also made goodwill visits to the British Council’s 

Community Action Through Sports 

(CATS) project, part-funded by The Football 

Association and the Damilola Taylor Football 

Academy, where kit and equipment was 

donated to the boys and girls. 

Kim Fisher 

FRANCE 

Refereeing 

weekend 

a success 

Considering it was 

something of an experiment, it proved to be 

a masterstroke: the inaugural refereeing 

weekend held in autumn 2002 by the French 

Football Federation achieved all its objectives, 

generating enormous interest across the 

country. 

“Nobody could have imagined 

that so many activities could take place 

at the same time in order to promote refereeing. 

I had said that if each district recruited 

one candidate, the event would have been 

a success. The fact that 1,400 signed up is 

fantastic”, said former international referee 

Michel Vautrot, who now heads up the National 

Refereeing Technical Directorate (DTNA). 

On Saturday 19 and Sunday 

20 October, more than 2,000 people descended 

on 225 sites spread across 98 districts all 

over France to try their hand at refereeing. 

Afterwards, 1,400 of them filled in a registration 

form and have since been attending 

referee training courses. “It’s brilliant”, said 

Rémi Harrel, member of the DTNA. “The event 

had three main aims: to promote refereeing 

by presenting a new image; to equip all 

regional and departmental refereeing committees 

with modern training materials in 

order to attract youngsters; and to increase 

our numbers and raise public awareness. 

All of these goals were met, far beyond our 

expectations.” 

The event would not have been 

such a success without the widespread 

co-operation of the French refereeing fraternity 

and the considerable help of a commercial 

sponsor (the “But” chain store). “We must 

congratulate everyone involved”, said the 

former international referee. “To see Gilles 

Veissière giving a theory test to eleven-yearold 

kids was great. Our sponsor also played 

a major role by buying the equipment, transporting 

it to all the districts and leagues, 

and running an impressive PR campaign. 

A Brazilian television channel, TV Globo, 

came to Vincennes to film a report and told 

us that they had never seen such a largescale 

operation anywhere in the world”, 

pointed out Rémi Harrel. 

The event is set to be repeated this 

coming autumn. 

Ségolène Valentin 

18 uefadirect 1.03

FLASH PRESS 

FRANCE 

Gilles Veissière 

took part 

in the 

refereeing 

weekend. 

EMPICS 

SCOTLAND 

Hampden Park 

hosted 

the UEFA 

Champions 

League final 


MLSZ 

HUNGARY 

Imre Bozóky, 

a president 

full of hope. 

GERMANY 

DFB youth players 

sparkle 

“I am sure that we will 

discover more talented players 

like Benjamin Lauth and Kevin Kuranyi in 

the future”, concluded Michael Skibbe at the 

end of an extremely successful year for the 

youth sector of the German Football Association 

(DFB). The DFB youth co-ordinator was not 

just talking about the fact that the German 

teams had reached the final of the European 

Under-19 Championships and the quarterfinals 

at Under-17 level; his words were a testimony 

to the successful development of young 

German players in general. This is the result 

of many years’ work and significant changes 

made in the recent past on the initiative of 

DFB President Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder. 

Looking back at 2002, Michael Skibbe emphasised 

that “co-operation with the Bundesliga 

clubs is proving very successful” and has 

also been suitably praised by prominent figures 

such as Bayern Munich manager Uli Hoeness. 

The reasons for this include a dramatic 

improvement in the youth infrastructure 

through the introduction of youth academies 

in the professional clubs. “In recent years, 

we have witnessed a rapid increase in the 

number of talented German players coming 

through in the top divisions, despite the very 

high and still rising proportion of foreigners 

in those leagues”, said Michael Skibbe. 

This trend should now be supported through 

further measures. In the summer, for example, 

work began to establish the 390 centres forming 

part of the DFB’s youth development programme, 

the brainchild of Gerhard Mayer- 

Vorfelder. At the Extraordinary General 

Assembly in May 2002, conditions were 

adopted for the use of young players in the 

lower divisions. And next season, a three-way 

Under-19 Bundesliga will be introduced. All of 

which leads Michael Skibbe to conclude that 

“The future of German football is looking 

healthy”. 

Niels Barnhofer 

HUNGARY 

The projects go on 

Although Hungary and the 

Hungarian football family 

made serious efforts to succeed 

with their bid to host EURO 2008, our 

dream was not to be. Despite our initial sadness, 

the MLSZ (Hungarian FA) knows that this 

work was not futile. Many people got to know 

the plans of the MLSZ and most of those 

intentions will be brought to fruition regardless 

of the decision of UEFA’s Executive 

Committee. MLSZ President Imre Bozóky 

expressed his gratitude to all his colleagues 

and partners in the Hungarian bid. “It was 

with a heavy heart that myself and other 

representatives of the Hungary bid learnt in 

Geneva that we had not been chosen”, he 

said. But, as he went on to say, “The strength 

of our message was widely appreciated and 

our efforts to convince people that it is time 

for this region of Central and Eastern 

Europe to be taken seriously are starting to 

pay off. More importantly, we have shown 

that we are very capable of undertaking 

major projects, particularly when it comes 

to servicing the needs of European football”. 

The experiences of this candidature 

inspire us, the members of the Hungarian 

football family, to work harder, and we will not 

forget the fair play spirit mentioned by 

Bozóky: “We will not step back from this 

achievement and relax, but will now work 

with even greater enthusiasm to achieve our 

goals. I would like to congratulate the winners 

on their victory and to say to all those 

that we have met during the course of this 

bidding process that, if we do not see you in 

Hungary before, then we shall look forward 

to seeing you in Austria and Switzerland in 

2008, when we believe that Hungary will be 

in the spotlight anyway, not as hosts, but as 

worthy competitors, thanks to the performances 

of our national team”. 

The board of the MLSZ, which is 

keen for the country to pursue the plans of 

the bid, also shares this hope. As a first step 

in that direction, a great national stadium with 

an equally great capacity has to be built, an 

arena that is an ideal venue for a UEFA Champions 

League or UEFA Cup final. 

Márton Dinnyés/György Szöllösi 

ITALY 

New anti-doping 

measures 

The Italian Football Federation 

(FIGC) has decided to introduce 

new tests in the fight against doping: from 

the start of the second half of the current 

season, blood and urine tests will be carried 

out on a trial basis in Series A and B. These 

tests will be officially introduced during the 

2003/04 season. 

Chaired by Giuseppe Capua, 

the FIGC Anti-doping Commission has been 

working on these plans for a while. The whole 

area of drug testing is co-ordinated by Innocenzo 

Mazzini, FIGC Vice-President. The first 

task was to ensure the backing of the Footballers’ 

Association and the Sports Medicine 

Federation. Through their representatives, the 

Italian players immediately accepted the proposals. 

“We want to guarantee the quality 

and reliability of these tests, which is why 

we are setting up teams of doctors to be 

responsible for taking all the samples 

throughout Italy”, explained 

Giuseppe Capua. 

HUNGARY 

The future 

Ferenc Puskás 

stadium. 

The tests will be performed during 

the week and without warning, with teams 

and players selected at random. The aim is to 

make drug testing more effective and detailed, 

bearing in mind issues connected to the protection 

of players and the confidentiality of 

samples in order to safeguard footballers and 

their clubs. 

“In the fight against doping”, 

said Innocenzo Mazzini, “the FIGC is already 

performing well in terms of the quality 

and number of tests, and the results are 

encouraging”. During the 2000/01 season, 

5,200 tests were carried out in the top three 

divisions and, in all, there were only four 

“non-negative” results compared to eleven in 

the previous season. However, in order to make 

the fight against doping even more effective, 

the FIGC has decided to go one step further 

by introducing blood and urine tests throughout 

the professional game. 

Antonello Valentini 

KAZAKHSTAN 

Visit of the 

UEFA President 

In November, UEFA President 

Lennart Johansson honoured us with an official 

visit. Last season, Kazakhstan clubs made 

their debut in the UEFA competitions. This 

year, the national youth teams will be competing 

in the qualifying rounds of the European 

Under-19 and Under-17 Championships, and 

the national women’s team will start taking 

part in the UEFA competitions as well. All 

these activities will benefit Kazakhstan footballers’ 

skills. 

In Almaty, the UEFA delegation met 

with Oralbai Abdykarimov, Kazakhstan Republic 

Senate Chairman, as well as Victor Khrapunov, 

Almaty City Mayor. On the last day of the 

delegation’s visit, a reception was hosted by 

the president of the Football Union of Kazakhstan, 

Rakhat Aliyev. It provided the UEFA 

President with an opportunity to meet Kazakhstan 

football representatives. The president 

of the National Olympic Committee also presented 

the UEFA President with the Golden 

Olympic Award of the Republic of Kazakhstan. 

Mr Johansson said, “The main goal 

of our visit was to study the football situation 

in Kazakhstan, to listen to your opinions 

and to familiarise ourselves with your problems. 

We have been able to assure you that 

MLSZ

EMPICS 

ITALY 

Brescia vs. 

Juventus: 

all professional 

footballers in Italy 

can be subjected 

to urine 

and blood tests. 

FUK 

KAZAKHSTAN 

A top 

Olympic award 

for the 

UEFA President. 

EMPICS 

LATVIA 

FC Skonto, domestic 

champions in 2002, 

will be taking part 

in the 2003/04 

UEFA club competitions 

(FC Skonto in their UEFA 

Champions League third 

qualifying round match 

against Chelsea in 1999). 

Kazakhstan is a full member of UEFA, 

with the same rights and obligations as 

all other member associations. Your country 

has a good football past and now you are 

in the process of rebuilding Kazakhstan 

football. To do so, it is vital to pay close 

attention to young talent”. 

Russian football expert Leonid 

Pakhomov has been appointed new national 

head coach of the Republic of Kazakhstan. 

Mr Pakhomov brings with him vast experience 

as a youth and national coach in the 

USSR. He is also the first foreign coach to 

train the senior national team of the Republic 

of Kazakhstan. His first aim is to take the 

Kazakhstan through to the 2006 World Cup 

Finals. Mr Pakhomov’s first match in charge 

will be away to Malta on 12 February. 

Remaining in the coaching 

sector, courses for the head coaches of 

the Kazakhstan Super League teams were 

held in Almaty from 23 to 27 December. 

The Football Union of Kazakhstan hopes 

that the new knowledge gained by the 

coaches will help raise the standard of 

Kazakhstan football. 

Alexander Keplin 

LATVIA 

A record 

for Skonto FC 

On 22 November, 

the regular Congress of 

the Latvian Football Association was held 

in Riga. Delegates considered the report 

of the Board on its work during the period 

1998-2002 and proceeded with elections. 

The president of the association, Guntis 

Indriksons, was re-elected for a further fouryear 

term, as was General Secretary Janis 

Mezeckis, who has held this position since 

1993. The association also distributed 

and presented its plan of action, defining 

its main strategies and tasks for the 

near future. 

Last year was a historic one for 

Latvian football, as for the first time in its 

history, the national team finished the year 

as leaders of their EURO 2004 qualifying 

group thanks to two away wins over Poland and 

San Marino, and a home draw against Sweden. 

This bodes extremely well for an exciting 

and crowd-pulling season for the national team 

in 2003. The popularity of football in Latvia 

still depends exceedingly on the results of the 

national team, in the face of high competition 

from other sports. 

Skonto FC continued their domination 

of the Latvian Championship (Virsliga) by 

winning the title for the twelfth year in a row. 

No other club in Europe has surpassed this 

achievement. For the second consecutive 

season, Skonto FC clinched the title on the 

last day, keeping the intrigue intense until the 

very end. As last year, FK Ventspils had led 

the championship for almost the whole season. 

Juris Laizans, Latvian international 

and CSKA Moscow player, was named Player of 

the Year. This talented 23-year-old midfielder 

scored three goals for the national team, including 

the winner in Poland, and won a runnersup 

medal in the Russian Premier League. 

For the first time in the history of 

Latvian football, the national Under-19 team 

have overcome the first qualifying hurdle 

on the way to the European Championship 

final round. The mini-tournament, which was 

won by the Netherlands, was hosted by the 

Latvian FA in Riga. 

Kristaps Lizinskis 

LIECHTENSTEIN 

New Board members 

At the Extraordinary General 

Assembly of the Liechtenstein 

Football Association (LFV) held in 

Ruggell on 29 October, two new 

members were elected to the 

Executive Board. Oliver Gerstgrasser became 

General Secretary and Rolf Eggenberg was 

elected Treasurer. The other LFV Executive 

Board members are Dr Markus Wanger, 

President, Fredi Hilti, Vice-President, Bruno 

Caldonazzi, Co-ordinator and Manfred Beck, 

Youth Co-ordinator. The new Board appointed 

Roland Ospelt as the new LFV Managing 

Director. Mr Ospelt took up his position on 

1 January. 

LATVIA 

Juris Laizans, Latvian Player 

of the Year for 2002. 

EMPICS 

We would also like to thank the 

outgoing members, Markus Schaper and Roland 

Beck, for their services to the LFV Board. 

Roland Ospelt 

MALTA 

Year ended with a win 

The year 2002 ended on a 

positive note for Sigi Held’s 

national side, with a splendid 

victory over a strong selection from the 

Balearic Islands at the Son Moix Stadium in 

Majorca. Two ably executed second-half goals 

by substitutes Adrian Mifsud and Noel Turner 

put a damper on the home side’s Yuletide 

celebrations. 

One hopes that this victory will be a 

good omen for this year. 

“2002 was a year of ups and downs, 

but with more ups than downs for Maltese 

football”, remarked Malta FA President, Joseph 

Mifsud, during his end-of-year address to the 

Council. 

The national side’s next assignment 

is a friendly match against Kazakhstan at the 

national stadium in February, which will be 

followed by the remaining encounters in the 

EURO 2004 qualifiers, including a difficult away 

match against the current in-form European 

champions France in Lens. 

On the domestic front, Sliema Wanderers 

FC beat their ‘Old Firm’ rivals Floriana 

thanks to a last-gasp winner by substitute 

Rupert Mangion to extend their lead at the top 

of the Maltese Premier League. As the year 

closed, they stood four clear points ahead of 

both nearest contenders, Valletta and 

Birkirkara. 

Louis Micallef 

NETHERLANDS 

Volunteers 

in the spotlight 

Over the last three years, KNVB 

have used the home matches of 

the senior national team as special occasions 

to honour the tens of thousands of volunteers 

who support Dutch football at all levels right 

across the country. 

For each international match, a 

particular theme or a specific role within the 

world of football is chosen. Clubs around the 

country can nominate a candidate for the team 

of eleven volunteers who are eventually invited 

to attend the match as VIP guests of the 

football association. 

For the next match of the Dutch 

team, a friendly versus Argentina on 12 February 

in the Amsterdam ArenA, eleven volunteers 

working in the area of football for the handicapped 

will be invited. Due to the growing 

success of the initiative, dozens of volunteers 

had already been nominated by the end of 

December 2002. 

Since the introduction of “Volunteers 

meet Volunteers”, as the action is appropriately 

called, KNVB have hosted teams of club webmasters, 

tournament secretaries, groundsmen, 

tea ladies, bar staff, laundry women, treasurers, 

referee hosts and various other groups of football 

club volunteers. These teams of volunteers 

20 uefadirect 1.03

PZPN 

POLAND 

Pawel Janas, 

the new 

national 

coach. 

FFU 

UKRAINE 

Promoting 

football 

in schools 

by giving 

a prize 

for the best 

lessons. 

FFU 

UKRAINE 

A conference 

on the 

development 

of football 

in Ukraine 

was held 

in mid- 

December. 

are addressed by the FA’s president, get 

a tour around the stadium where the match is 

being played and enjoy a good meal together 

before they watch the game from the best 

seats in the stadium. 

The initiative has produced very 

positive reports in local and regional newspapers, 

and dozens of grateful letters from 

volunteers who were picked for this once-in-alifetime 

VIP treatment. 

Rob de Leede 

NORTHERN 

IRELAND 

Appointment of Youth 

Development Officers 

IFA General Secretary David Bowen stated 

that the IFA’s “Football For All” campaign has 

been significantly strengthened by the appointment 

of Youth Development Officers at over 

20 football clubs across Northern Ireland. 

He explained, “The Youth Development 

Officers will play an important role in supporting 

our Football For All campaign 

throughout Northern Ireland, from grassroots 

level to senior football. Their jobs will 

involve making the clubs more inclusive, 

promoting positive community relations, 

special needs football, women’s football and 

the participation of ethnic minorities”. 

IFA Community Relations Officer 

Michael Boyd added, “In January and February 

of next year, our new Youth Development 

Officers will be going through extensive community 

relations training, looking specifically 

at issues concerning sectarianism, 

racism, promoting women’s and special 

needs football. We are bringing in experts to 

train our Youth Development Officers in 

community relations so they can promote 

our Football For All policy throughout Northern 

Ireland. With the support of the Sports 

Council, Community Relations Council, UEFA, 

clubs and supporter groups, we are hopeful 

that our Football For All programme will go 

from strength to strength in the coming 

months and years”. 

IFA President Jim Boyce stated, 

“We are committed 100% to tackling the evil 

of sectarianism in Northern Ireland football 

through our Football For All programme, 

and the Youth Development Officers will play 

a key role in this”. 

Michael Boyd 

POLAND 

Hopes placed 

in huntsman 

Pawel Janas has been 

appointed as the new Polish 

national team coach. “Following the sudden 

resignation of Zbigniew Boniek, we had 

to search for a new coach. We have put our 

money on Janas, who was an excellent 

player (53 caps for Poland and a bronze 

medal in the 1982 World Cup, among other 

honours). Now he is an equally good 

coach (two Polish championship titles and 

a UEFA Champions League quarter-final with 

Legia Warsaw) and... a huntsman. I believe 

his greatest achievement will be to take 

Poland to the European Championship 

Finals”, said Polish FA President Michal 

Listkiewicz. 

In club football, meanwhile, Wisla 

Krakow’s amazing run in the current UEFA Cup 

continues. After a splendid victory over Schalke 

04, the club was named UEFA Team of the 

Week. We are now looking forward impatiently 

to the encounters with Lazio in February. 

It was a good year for Polish youth 

football. The number of school teams grew by 

almost 40 percent. It is also very encouraging 

that more and more girls in our country are 

taking up football. 

Michal Kocieba 

REPUBLIC 

OF IRELAND 

Searching for 

a new coach 

The Football Association 

of Ireland are in the process of seeking a new 

senior team manager, following the resignation 

of Mick McCarthy in early November. The former 

Irish international defender decided to 

stand down as he felt the performances of the 

Irish team were being affected by criticism following 

defeats by Russia and Switzerland in the 

first two qualifying matches for EURO 2004. 

McCarthy was manager for six and a 

half years, during which time he was in charge 

for 68 matches, winning 29, drawing 19 and 

losing 20. He succeeded Jack Charlton in 1996. 

The Football Association are pursuing 

a meticulous process to find the most suitable 

replacement for McCarthy, and have appointed 

former Northern Ireland international Bryan 

Hamilton to assist them in their efforts to ‘find 

the right man’. Hamilton has been in contact 

with a number of possible candidates over the 

past few weeks and hopes to be able to draw 

up a short list without any unnecessary delay. 

These candidates will then by 

interviewed by three members of the 

Officer Board of the Association. 

The hope is that the new manager 

will be known by 1 February. 

The Republic of Ireland have 

a friendly match arranged with Scotland 

at Hampden Park on 12 February, and 

the FAI would like to have the new man in 

place in time for that match. 

Since Mick McCarthy resigned, 

the Republic have played one match, a scoreless 

friendly against Greece in Athens in 

mid-November. For that particular game, the 

Irish Under-21 manager Don Givens took charge 

of the squad, but he has indicated that he is 

not interested in taking on the role of senior 

manager on a full-time basis, preferring to 

remain working with the youth group. 

The Republic’s next match in the 

EURO 2004 qualifiers will be against Georgia in 

Tbilisi at the end of March. It will be followed 

four days later by a game against Albania in 

Tirana. These two matches will be vital 

to the Republic’s chances of qualifying 

for EURO 2004 in Portugal. 

Brendan McKenna 

SCOTLAND 

A major contribution 

to youth football 

The Scottish FA has made a 

major contribution to youth 

football development by giving grants worth 

over £750,000 (1.125 million Euros) to 

clubs around Scotland. 

With many clubs making a significant 

effort to develop footballing talent, the Scottish 

FA has a long-standing commitment to supporting 

them in this vitally important area, and 

over £5 million (7.5 million Euros) has been 

paid to clubs in recent years. 

David Taylor, Chief Executive, 

said, “I am delighted that we are again able 

to make a Youth Development Award payment 

to clubs which have a viable youth programme. 

The money comes from the income 

which we generated from our business operations 

during the past year, and it is of 

course entirely right that this is ploughed 

right back into important football activities”. 

The highest award of £21,000 

(31,500 Euros) went to 22 clubs, who were 

assessed as having a high-quality youth development 

programme. 

Meanwhile, the Scottish FA marked 

the 130 th anniversary of the first-ever international 

match by placing a commemorative 

plaque at Hamilton Crescent, the Glasgow 

sports ground which staged the Scotland vs. 

MALTA 

Maltese player 

Chucks Nwoko 

in the friendly 

match against 

the Balearic 

Islands. 

D. AQUILINA

SLOVENIA 

The seminar 

participants 

from 

Slovenia… 

YOUGOSLAVIA 

…and from 

Yugoslavia. 

NZS 

FSJ 

England match on 30 November 1872. SFA 

President Jack McGinn presented the plaque to 

the chairman of the West of Scotland Cricket 

Club, who still play at the ground. 

Another famous Scottish ground is 

also in the spotlight, as this year will see the 

centenary of Hampden Park, which was built in 

1903 by Queen’s Park FC. Various events are 

planned at the stadium to mark the hundredth 

birthday of one of the world’s greatest 

football grounds. 

Andy Mitchell 

SLOVENIA 

Licensing 

Seminar 

in Slovenia 

The Football Association of Slovenia hosted 

a UEFA club licensing seminar in January. 

The licensing system is a project designed 

essentially to improve organisation in football, 

and has been formed in close co-operation with 

UEFA, the licensing process is intended to be 

set up at European and national levels. Slovenia 

was chosen as one of the pilot associations 

and thus became a mentor for representatives 

of the football associations of Armenia, 

Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Bulgaria. 

During the two-day seminar, representatives of 

the Football Association of Slovenia and UEFA 

presented the licensing system within the scope 

of UEFA and the FAS, experiences regarding 

the functioning of the European project and the 

licensing regulations in Slovenia. 

Presentations were made by Marcel 

Benz, UEFA’s project leader; Marko Ilesic, FAS 

Vice-President; Dane Jost, FAS General Secretary; 

Ales Zavrl, head of the FAS Licensing 

Project; Sinisa Mitrovic, financial expert; Brane 

Florjanic, President of the First League Clubs’ 

Association; and representatives of two Slovenian 

clubs. The major topics presented were the 

objectives of partnership concept, the Slovenian 

REPUBLIC 

OF IRELAND 

Mick 

McCarthy 

was 

in charge 

of the Irish 

national team 

for more 

than six years. 

EMPICS 

licensing system, infrastructural and financial 

problems as major issues in ‘transition’ countries, 

club perspectives of the licensing system, 

the licensing system from the perspective of 

the partner associations, project update, solving 

problems and planning the next steps. 

The seminar for the representatives 

of four partner associations was part of regular 

training by UEFA at European level for the 

representatives of national football associations 

which will run and implement the licensing of 

football clubs. The organisation of the seminar 

in Slovenia is undoubtedly recognition by UEFA 

and a welcome experience for the future work. 

Irena Ilesic 

UKRAINE 

State care for football 

In the middle of December, 

the conference to review the 

implementation of the Complex 

programme for football development from 1997 

to 2002 was held. The further development of 

Ukrainian football was also under consideration. 

The Complex programme, which 

defined the strategy and tactics for football 

development in this country for the six years, 

came about as a result of the state policy 

introduced at the time to overcome the crisis 

in Ukrainian football. 

Today it is clear this work was 

not futile, since the programme gave a powerful 

incentive to different organisations interested 

in the development of football, especially in 

the regions. 

The conference participants acknowledged 

the FFU efforts to implement the Complex 

Programme as having promoted the development 

of football in this country and gained 

prestige for Ukrainian football in Europe. 

Conceptual approaches for drawing up a new 

Complex Programme for the next five-year 

period were developed. 

At its meeting in Copenhagen, 

the UEFA Executive Committee approved the 

recommendation of the Jira Project Panel to 

recognise FFU coach licences. From now on, 

coaches with licences issued by the FFU are 

entitled to work as assistant coaches in professional 

European clubs and as coaches to amateur 

and youth teams. 

On the initiative of the Football Federation 

of Ukraine and the Ministry of Science and 

Education, the final round of an all-Ukrainian 

competition for the best football lessons in 

schools has been held. For a year, experts from 

the FFU and Ministry of Science and Education 

inspected PE teachers. 

At the end of December, the ten best 

PE teachers gathered in Kyiv for the final stage 

of the competition. 

Valeriy Nykonenko 

WALES 

A new calendar? 

The year 2002 was truly amazing 

for Welsh football, seeing the 

national team making unprecedented 

progress through the FIFA rankings. 

After three matches in the EURO 2004 Qualifying 

Group 9, Wales are on maximum points. 

This success was reflected when 

tickets for the next group match versus 

Azerbaijan on 29 March went on sale on 

16 December – all tickets for the 72,500 

capacity Millennium Stadium were sold out 

within 24 hours. 

Having qualified for the second 

stage of their UEFA Championship, the Wales 

Under-17 squad will be preparing in a training 

camp from 12 to 15 January, which will 

be followed by two friendly matches against 

Scotland in February. This will hopefully 

ensure that they are “spot on” for their difficult 

matches in the mini-tournament to be 

held in Spain from the 2 to 8 March, when, 

apart from the hosts, they will face Bulgaria 

and France. 

On the domestic front, there is 

currently a great deal of debate as to 

whether Wales should follow the Republic 

of Ireland and opt for summer football in 

the domestic championship. There are 

strong arguments on both sides, and a 

working party has been set up by the 

National League Board, who will consider 

the matter and report back by the end 

of the current season. 

John Deakin 

YUGOSLAVIA 

Club licensing 

presentation 

On 29 November, 

the Yugoslav Football 

Association organised a presentation on 

the “Organisation, Content and Implementation 

of a Licensing System for National First 

Division Clubs”. The presentation was held 

in the Belgrade and the presidents and 

general secretaries of the First Division clubs 

(18) were present, as were leading members 

of the YFA and other eminent guests 

from the worlds of football and sport 

in general. 

The presentation was opened by 

YFA President Dragan Stojkovic, who underlined 

the great importance of the whole 

project and UEFA’s wish to pursue the further 

development of European football 

through the licensing system. The realisation 

of this complex project requires the 

commitment of the whole football organisation, 

“but if the job is done in the right 

way, the way UEFA asks for it to be done, 

it will be an important step towards 

improving football in Yugoslavia”, stressed 

Mr Stojkovic. He asked the clubs presidents 

to be co-operative and serious in meeting 

the criteria laid down in the national licensing 

regulations. 

A ten-minute UEFA film on the 

subject was also shown at the presentation, 

which was also attended by media representatives. 

Leaders from the BC EXCEL 

Company (consultants and auditors), with 

which the YFA has concluded a contract 

for the realisation of the project, presented 

the most important aspects and deadlines. 

The presentation received wide 

media coverage and aroused great 

interest among all football and sports 

organisations in the country. 

Nebojsa Ivkovic 

22 uefadirect 1.03

EMPICS 

communications 

birthdays – calendar 

Birthdays 

Rinus Michels (Netherlands) vice-chairman 

of the Technical Development Committee, 

celebrates his 75th birthday on 9 February; 

Ralph Zloczower (Switzerland), member of the 

Professional Football Committee, turns 70 on 

21 February; and Antonio Ferreira de Sequeira 

(Portugal), member of the Fair Play and Ethics 

Panel, will be 60 on 11 February. On 5 February, 

Vaclav Krondl (Czech Republic), member 

of the Referee Inspectors Panel, reaches the 

half-century mark. He is joined at that milestone 

by Janis Mezeckis (Latvia), vice-chairman 

of the Assistance Programmes Committee, 

on 19 February, Adriatik Gjashta (Albania), 

member of the Youth and Amateur Football 

Panel, on 20 February, and Wladyslaw Puchalski 

(Poland), member of the Marketing, TV 

and New Technologies Panel, on 26 February. 

UEFA also wishes many happy returns of 

the day to: 

● Volker Roth (Germany, 1.2) 

● Karen Espelund (Norway, 1.2) 

● Leonardus van der Kroft (Netherlands, 2.2) 

● Alfred W. Grey (England, 2.2) 

● Trygve Bornø (Norway, 2.2) 

● Steen Dahrup (Denmark, 3.2) 

● Pascal Fratellia (France, 3.2) 

● Dusko Grabovac (Croatia, 7.2) 

● Erich Rutemöller (Germany, 8.2) 

● Yusuf Namoglu (Turkey, 8.2) 

● Fino Fini (Italy, 9.2) 

● Donald McVicar (Scotland, 9.2) 

● Vladimir Modelevski (Russia, 9.2) 

● Nuno Cristóvão (Portugal, 10.2) 

● William McDougall (Scotland, 11.2) 

● Efstratios Papaefstratiou (Greece, 12.2) 

● Nicolae Pantea (Romania, 12.2) 

● John Blankenstein (Netherlands, 12.2) 

● Oleksandr Bandurko (Ukraine, 13.2) 

● Heinz-Herbert Kreh (Germany, 14.2) 

● Dieter Pauly (Germany, 14.2) 

● Marinus Engelsman (Netherlands, 14.2) 

● Manuel Lopez Fernandez (Spain, 14.2) 

● Georges Konrath (France, 15.2) 

● John McBeth (Scotland, 15.2) 

● Susanne Erlandsson (Sweden, 15.2) 

● Svitlana Shkil (Ukraine, 15.2) 

● Fritz Scherer (Germany, 16.2) 

● Adalbert Kassai (Romania, 16.2) 

● Jozef Venglos (Slovakia, 18.2) 

● Borislav Alexandrov (Bulgaria, 18.2) 

● Georgios Girtzikis (Greece, 18.2) 

● Flemming Serritslev (Denmark, 18.2) 

● Patrick Kelly (Rep. of Ireland, 18.2) 

● Pertti Alaja (Finland, 18.2) 

● Antonello Valentini (Italy, 18.2) 

● Antonio Violante (Portugal, 18.2) 

● Mihail Anghel (Moldova, 19.2) 

● Richard Murray (England, 19.2) 

● Jaroslav Vacek (Czech Republic, 19.2) 

● Roger Mitchell (Scotland, 19.2) 

● Lars Arnesson (Sweden, 20.2) 

● Eggert Magnusson (Iceland, 20.2) 

● Lidia Borska (Poland, 21.2) 

● Vladimir Sajn (Slovenia, 22.2) 

● Ana Caetano (Portugal, 22.2) 

● Boris Nemec (Croatia, 23.2) 

● Rick Parry (England, 23.2) 

● Niamh O’Donoghue (Rep. of Ireland, 23.2) 

● Peter Jones (England, 24.2) 

● Petr Dolezal (Czech Republic, 24.2) 

● Egidius Braun (Germany, 27.2) 

● Maurizio Mattei (Italy, 27.2) 

● Alfonso Moreno Gonzalez (Spain, 27.2) 

● Allan Hansen (Denmark, 27.2) 

● Mikael Salzer (Sweden, 27.2) 

● Giorgio Marchetti (Italy, 27.2) 

● Zorislav Srebric (Croatia, 28.2) 

● Aron Schmidhuber (Germany, 28.2) 

● Gerhard Zvolánek (Slovakia, 28.2) 

Upcoming events 

MEETINGS 

5-6.2.2003, Athens 

Executive Committee 

6.2.2003, Nyon 

Licensed Match Agents Panel 

10-14.2.2003, Portugal 

UEFA Coach Educators Course 

11-12.2.2003, Nyon 

European Club Forum 

12.2.2003, Paris 

Draw for the FIFA Confederations Cup 

COMPETITIONS 

17-24.2.2003, Italy 

Final round of the 3rd UEFA European Futsal 

Championship 

18-19.2.2003 

UEFA Champions League: second group stage 

(match day 3) 

20.2.2003 

UEFA Cup: 4th round (first leg) 

25-26.2.2003 

UEFA Champions League: second group stage 

(match day 4) 

27.2.2003 

UEFA Cup: 4th round (return leg) 

New publications 

La préparation physique 

en Football 

Published by Chiron 

(25 rue Monge, FR-75005 Paris), 

this work by Gilles Cometti, 

director of the Performance 

Appraisal Centre and senior 

lecturer at the University 

of Burgundy, is based on the 

observation that intense, 

rapid exertion by players 

account for only five percent of playing time 

but is often decisive to the result. Given 

that it is therefore more important to improve 

speed rather than endurance, this illustrated 

book shows how this can be achieved. It can 

be purchased for EUR 20. 

Ferdighetsutvikling i fotball 

Published by the Norwegian FA, this book on 

the subject of coaching is the work of experts 

Aksel Bergo, Pal Arne Johansen, Øyvind Larsen 

and Andreas Morisbak. 

Announcements 

● The African Football Confederation (CAF) 

has moved into his new headquarters at 

the following address: 

PO Box 23, 3, Abdel Khalek Sarwat Street, 

El Hay El Motamayez, 6th October City, 

Egypt. Tel:+202 837 1000 

Fax: +202 837 0006. 

● On 14 December, Haralampie Hadziristeski 

was elected as its new president of the 

FA of FYR Macedonia at an extraordinary 

assembly of the association. 

● The Football Association has appointed 

two acting chief executives: David Davies 

and Nic Coward. 

● The 2003/04 season will be Bradford City 

AFC’s centenary season and Shaun Harvey, 

Managing Director of the club, is hoping to 

make contact with as many other clubs 

within UEFA as possible who are also celebrating 

their centenary in 2003/04. 

It is hoped that the club could organise a 

pre-season four-club tournament at Bradford 

during July/August 2003. Any clubs who 

are celebrating their one hundredth 

anniversary are invited to contact Shaun 

Harvey, Managing Director, by email at 

bradfordcityfc@compuserve.com or by 

fax: +44 1274 706 806. 

Match Agents 

Antonio Rosellini (Italy) and Mikael Linder 

(Sweden) have each renewed their match 

agent’s licence for five years. 

In contrast, Petar Nikolic (Yugoslavia) 

has given up his licence and is therefore no 

longer on UEFA’s list of match agents. 

we care about football 

Official publication of the 

Union des associations 

européennes de football 

Communications and Public Affairs Division 

Editor André Vieli 

Produced by Atema Communication SA, CH-1196 Gland 

Printed by Cavin SA, CH-1422 Grandson 

Editorial deadline: 17 January 2003 

The views expressed in signed 

articles are not necessarily the 

official views of UEFA. 

The reproduction of articles 

or extracts of any information 

published in uefadirect 

is authorised, provided the 

source is indicated.

UEFA 

Route de Genève 46 

CH-1260 Nyon 

Suisse 

Téléphone +41 22 994 44 44 

Téléfax +41 22 994 44 88 

uefa.com 

Union des associations 

européennes de football

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