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FC Barcelona victorious in the UEFA Champions League
No 58 Fvrier 2007 87 July 2009

03 05 06

Shakhtar Donetsk win the last UEFA Cup final Distribution of club competition revenue

Message of the president

When the party goes without a hitch

IN THIS ISSUE
FC Barcelona triumph in the UEFA Champions League First European title for Shakhtar Donetsk UEFA Champions League revenue The share of the UEFA Cup clubs FCR 2001 Duisburg win the UEFA Womens Cup Germany crowned European U17 champions News from member associations

03 05 06 08 10 11 15

When the action of the teams on the pitch overshadows that of the police behind the scenes, when control of the ball eclipses that of spectators at the turnstiles, when the sun shines, the stadium is full, the crowd bright and cheerful, and the facilities magnificent, you have all the ingredients for a successful celebration. You also need the cast of the show the players and match officials and its directors the coaches to live up to expectations, which are inevitably high where the climax of the European club competition season is concerned. I was really pleased with the UEFA Champions League final in Romes Olympic Stadium in May. The match was action-packed from the start, and it was not long before its first highlight: Samuel Etoos goal, scored at the end of FC Barcelonas first attack following an opening period in which they had been constantly on the back foot. The Catalans then showed that technical brilliance at keeping and moving the ball was a much more elegant and certainly no less efficient way of overpowering an opponent than out-and-out defence. I also liked the positive spirit in which the match was played, the sportsmanship and dignity of the losers, which the winners willingly applauded at the end of the match. I was also impressed by the supporters, who had come to enjoy a great sporting occasion and were not in the least bit hostile. Many high-ranking politicians watched the match from the VIP box. I was proud to be able to show them that football is not about excessive money, violence and other tricks although these phenomena do unfortunately exist. Rather, football is a shared passion, a way of bringing together people from different geographical, cultural and social backgrounds; it is a unifying force in society. I thank everyone who made it possible to provide such a shining example of this by their efforts behind the scenes and on the pitch.

COVER
Carles Puyol shows off the UEFA Champions League trophy after Barcelonas victory against Manchester United.
Photo: PA Wire / PA Images

Michel Platini
UEFA President

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Third

UEFA Champions a r c e l o n a League title for FC B

AS IN 2007 AND 2008, THREE ENGLISH CLUBS QUALIFIED FOR THIS YEARS UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINALS.

In 2007, the fourth semi-finalists, AC Milan, swept all before them and lifted the trophy. Last year, on the other hand, the final was an all-English affair following Manchester United FCs semi-final win over FC Barcelona, their opponents in Rome. Unlike the Catalans, Manchester United had never previously lost a Champion Clubs Cup or Champions League final but neither had reigning champions ever successfully defended their title in the Champions League era. With so many conflicting signs, it was hard to predict the outcome of this seasons final, which was all the more enticing as a result.

Manchester United dominated the early stages, stifling their opponents and exerting enormous pressure on the goal protected by the Catalan keeper. Going completely against the run of play, however, the match took a dramatic turn in the tenth minute, when the Catalans first attack, expertly led by Iniesta, was masterfully finished off by Etoo. A fatal goal This goal knocked the stuffing out of the English team, who were unable to prevent Guardiolas side from playing the type of game they love so much, using their supreme technical ability to deprive their opponents of possession and passing the

ball skilfully while seeking an opening in the opposing defence. Outplayed in the midfield areas, Alex Fergusons team were now virtually incapable of supplying their attackers with decent passes and, after posing a threat in the early part of the game, Cristiano Ronaldo was restricted to a single goalscoring opportunity for the rest of the match. The introduction of two additional strikers had no effect whatsoever. After the English supporters had been made to shudder when Xavis freekick crashed against the Mancunians upright, it was no surprise when the confident Spaniards doubled their advantage with an imperious header by Messi. In threes All good things come in threes for FC Barcelona, who thus lifted the European Cup for the third time. It was
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An unforgettable final
This final will go down in the UEFA Champions League history books not only for the on-field duel between Barcelona and Manchester United, which was fought with respect throughout, but also for the scene set by the crowd, their warmth and enthusiasm, and the initiatives taken by the city of Rome. Held against the historic, incomparable backdrop of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, the Champions Festival attracted thousands of enthusiasts, young and not so young, who queued up to admire and photograph the trophy, participated in the festivities organised to mark the occasion and were fascinated by the exhibition staged at the feet of the Arch of Constantine.

Barcelonas second goal, headed into the net by Messi.

also their third title of the season, having already won the Spanish league and cup. Their next challenge on the international stage is also a three-pronged affair: UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. FC Barcelonas victory was the 12th by a Spanish club in the champions competition (9 for Real Madrid, 3 for Barcelona). Spain previously shared the record with England and Italy, whose clubs have lifted the European Cup 11 times.

FC Barcelona Manchester United FC 2-0 (1-0)

Goals: 1-0 Etoo (10), 2-0 Messi (70) Referee: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland)
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Samuel Etoo beats Patrice Evra to the ball.

The staff of UEFA, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and the local organising committee (LOC) worked hard to ensure that the final was a success, while Rome lived up to its reputation as a hospitable, welcoming city. Access to the packed Olympic Stadium was well organised. For the first time, at the initiative of the FIGC and LOC (coordinated by the exinternational and FIGC vice-president Demetrio Albertini), the traditional match ticket was replaced with a magnetic card which helped to reduce the risk of forgery and made it easier to screen and identify each spectator. The evening fully embodied the principles of fair play and respect, which are close to UEFAs heart, with supporters of both clubs behaving in a friendly, polite manner, applauding the winners and the losers with the same level of enthusiasm and causing no public order problems whatsoever. In partnership with the LOC, the city of Rome and police provided supporters with a marvellous welcome service and public transport system, which helped to prevent any security risks. In brief, an unforgettable evening for the whole of European football. Barbara Moschini

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27 May 2009 Rome Olympic Stadium 62 467 spectators

Leonardo playing in the former stars match at the festival.

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Markus Rosenberg tackles Dmytro Chygrynskiy.

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The winning goal, scored by Jadson.

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An aerial challenge between Naldo, (in white) Werder, and Luiz Adriano.

Last UEFA Cups finalt Tr o p h y s t a y eas

ALTHOUGH IT WAS THE LAST BEFORE THE LAUNCH OF THE UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE, THE 38TH UEFA CUP FINAL WAS NOT WITHOUT ITS FIRSTS.

One such first was known well before the match kicked off: it was the first UEFA Cup final to be played in Turkey. Two others were provided by the winning team: FC Shakhtar Donetsk lifted their first UEFA trophy, while their victory was also the first achieved by a Ukrainian club in a UEFA competition since the country became independent in 1991. Coached by Romanian Mircea Lucescu, the Ukrainians wasted little time in making their intentions clear at the Skr Saraoglu stadium by scoring the opening goal, a superb finish to a perceptively constructed attack, before the half-hour mark. Adeptly switching between short and long-range passing, exploiting the whole width of the pitch and blessed, in particular, with an exciting forward line, the Shakhtar players seemed at that moment to have taken a major step towards victory. German revival However, they were not counting on the unfortunate error committed by the Ukrainian goalkeeper, who was inadvertently beaten by a free kick ten minutes after the opening goal. The equaliser breathed new life into the Germans, whose physical strength enabled them to gradually take control of the match. Nevertheless, Werder Bremen, coached by Thomas Schaaf, were missing their suspended playmaker Diego and lacked the touch of creativity that might have unlocked

the Ukrainian defence, in which goalkeeper Piatov made amends for his mistake with a crucial save near the end of the 90 minutes. Instead, it was Shakhtar and their Brazilians who were inspired. After Luiz Adriano in the first half, Jadson successfully finished off an incisive attack in extra time to decide the contest. Next challenge After CSKA Moskva in 2005 and FC Zenit St. Petersburg last year, the UEFA Cup was, therefore, won once again by a team from the east in an on-pitch demonstration of the rise in power of these clubs, whose chal-

lenge now is to repeat this success in the UEFA Champions League. Both the winners and runnersup in this years final had begun the season in Europes flagship club competition, finishing third in their respective groups. Shakhtar became the fourth club to win the UEFA Cup after dropping out of the UEFA Champions League, following in the footsteps of Galatasaray AS (2000), Feyenoord (2002) and CSKA Moskva (2005). On entering the UEFA Cup, Shakhtar defeated Tottenham Hotspur FC, CSKA Moskva, Olympique de Marseille and FC Dynamo Kyiv, while Bremen eliminated AC Milan, AS Saint-Etienne, Udinese Calcio and Hamburger SV en route to the final.

20 May 2009 Istanbul Skr Saraoglu stadium 37,357 spectators

FC Shakhtar Donetsk Werder Bremen 2-1 (1-1) aet

Goals: 1-0 Luiz Adriano (25), 1-1 Naldo (35), 2-1 Jadson (97). Referee: Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain)

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Distribution of revenue to participating clubs

2008/09 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Group matches Final stages
CLUBS Participation Group match Performance premium participation bonus Market pool Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final TOTAL EUR

Group A
CFR 1907 Cluj Chelsea FC FC Girondins de Bordeaux AS Roma 3 000 000 3 000 000 3 000 000 3 000 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 900 000 2 400 000 1 500 000 2 400 000 1 305 000 15 414 000 10 436 000 16 053 000 2 200 000 2 200 000 2 500 000 3 000 000 7 605 000 30 914 000 17 336 000 26 053 000

Group B
Anorthosis Famagusta FC Panathinaikos FC FC Internazionale Milano Werder Bremen 3 000 000 3 000 000 3 000 000 3 000 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 1 500 000 2 100 000 1 800 000 1 800 000 652 000 8 800 000 18 886 000 15 072 000 2 200 000 2 200 000 7 552 000 18 500 000 28 286 000 22 272 000

Group C
Sporting Clube de Portugal FC Basel 1893 FC Shakhtar Donetsk FC Barcelona 3 000 000 3 000 000 3 000 000 3 000 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 300 000 1 800 000 2 700 000 1 611 000 2 764 000 540 000 8 168 000 2 200 000 2 200 000 2 500 000 3 000 000 7 000 000 11 611 000 8 464 000 7 740 000 30 968 000

Group D
Liverpool FC PSV Eindhoven Club Atletico de Madrid Olympique de Marseille 3 000 000 3 000 000 3 000 000 3 000 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 3 000 000 600 000 2 700 000 900 000 10 070 000 19 556 000 6 001 000 8 028 000 2 200 000 2 200 000 2 500 000 23 170 000 25 556 000 16 301 000 14 328 000

Group E
Aalborg BK Manchester United FC Villarreal CF Celtic FC 3 000 000 3 000 000 3 000 000 3 000 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 1 500 000 2 400 000 2 100 000 1 200 000 5 310 000 18 781 000 9 403 000 6 168 000 2 200 000 2 200 000 2 500 000 2 500 000 3 000 000 4 000 000 12 210 000 38 281 000 21 603 000 12 768 000

Group F
ACF Fiorentina FC Steaua Bucuresti FC Bayern Mnchen Olympique Lyonnais 3 000 000 3 000 000 3 000 000 3 000 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 1 500 000 300 000 3 000 000 2 400 000 9 915 000 1 180 000 21 466 000 13 647 000 2 200 000 2 200 000 2 500 000 16 815 000 6 880 000 34 566 000 23 647 000

Group G
Arsenal FC FC Porto Fenerbahce SK FC Dynamo Kyiv 3 000 000 3 000 000 3 000 000 3 000 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 600 000 1 800 000 11 251 000 1 992 000 8 234 000 489 000 2 200 000 2 200 000 2 500 000 2 500 000 3 000 000 26 751 000 14 492 000 14 234 000 7 689 000

Group H
FC Bate Borisov Juventus FC Zenit St.Petersburg Real Madrid CF 3 000 000 3 000 000 3 000 000 3 000 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 2 400 000 900 000 2 700 000 1 200 000 2 400 000 42 000 11 803 000 1 538 000 10 225 000 2 200 000 2 200 000 6 342 000 22 103 000 8 138 000 20 225 000

Bozzani

TOTAL

96 000 000

76 800 000

57 600 000

274 800 000

35 200 000

20 000 000

12 000 000 11 000 000

583 400 000

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Solidarity payments to the national associations for clubs involved in the UEFA competitions
ASSOCIATIONS AMOUNTS (EUR)
470 330 400 750 500 140 470 640 650 780 420 540 770 560 630 400 400 710 350 570 370 540 470 680 350 400 570 70 640 400 400 400 500 400 350 400 750 680 420 640 420 280 330 240 750 710 570 350 780 560 440 140 400 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000

MORE THAN EUR 580 MILLION WAS DISTRIBUTED TO THE 32 CLUBS THAT PARTICIPATED IN THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DURING THE 2008/09 SEASON. THE CENTRALISED MARKETING OF THE COMPETITION, BASED ON THREE-YEAR CYCLES, AND THE KEY ASPECTS OF THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM WERE THE SAME AS IN THE PREVIOUS TWO SEASONS.

The sums paid to the clubs were again divided into two essentially equal parts: fixed sums based on participation and results; variable amounts dependent on the value of the TV market of the associations represented in the Champions League. The fixed sums were as follows: a participation premium of EUR 3 million for each of the 32 clubs; an additional EUR 400,000 per match played in the group phase, regardless of the result, i.e. EUR 2.4 million per club; EUR 600,000 for each victory in the group matches, i.e. a potential total of EUR 3.6 million, which no club was able to achieve this season; a draw in the group phase was worth EUR 300,000; the clubs that qualified for the first knockout round each received EUR 2.2 million; each quarter-finalist received EUR 2.5 million; the four semi-finalists each received an additional EUR 3 million; for winning the final, FC Barcelona were awarded EUR 7 million; the runners-up, Manchester United FC, received EUR 4 million. These figures do not include income from the sale of match tickets.

In addition to these sums, the clubs receive a share of revenue fixed in accordance with the value of the TV market of the country they represent. If an association has more than one representative, the amount received by each club depends on its position in the national championship in the previous season and the number of matches played in the current seasons Champions League. Payments to eliminated clubs A proportion of the revenue is reserved for solidarity payments awarded to the clubs eliminated in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup qualifying stages. As far as the Champions League is concerned: EUR 160,000 was awarded to each national champion that did not reach the group stage; EUR 100,000 per round was paid to each club participating in the first and/or second qualifying round; there were no payments for the third qualifying round, since the winning clubs qualified for the group stage and its revenue distribution system, while the clubs eliminated at this stage played in the UEFA Cup, where they benefited from solidarity payments from this competition, as well as keeping the sums received for playing in the first two Champions League qualifying rounds.

ALBANIA ANDORRA ARMENIA AUSTRIA AZERBAIJAN BELARUS BELGIUM BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA BULGARIA CROATIA CYPRUS CZECH REPUBLIC DENMARK ENGLAND GERMANY ESTONIA FAROE ISLANDS FINLAND FRANCE GEORGIA GREECE HUNGARY ICELAND ISRAEL ITALY KAZAKHSTAN LATVIA LIECHTENSTEIN LITHUANIA LUXEMBOURG FYR MACEDONIA MALTA MOLDOVA MONTENEGRO NETHERLANDS NORTHERN IRELAND NORWAY POLAND PORTUGAL REPUBLIC OF IRELAND ROMANIA RUSSIA SAN MARINO SCOTLAND SERBIA SLOVAKIA SLOVENIA SPAIN SWEDEN SWITZERLAND TURKEY UKRAINE WALES TOTAL

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EUR 25 880 000

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UEFA Cup Prevenue articipating

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clubs share
THE CENTRALISED MARKETING OF PART OF THE UEFA CUP TV RIGHTS, INTRODUCED FOR THE PAST THREE SEASONS, HAS PROVED SO SUCCESSFUL THAT THE IDEA IS BEING REPEATED AND EVEN EXTENDED IN THE NEW UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE.

onwards, only the clubs who made it to that stage of the competition received a share of the market pool revenue, which was calculated in accordance with the value of the TV market of the associations represented. For associations that were represented by more than one club, each clubs share depended on whether they reached the semi-finals or final. Income from ticket sales is not included in the aforementioned amounts. Solidarity payments Under the solidarity principle, a share of UEFA Champions League revenue was distributed to clubs participating in the UEFA Cup: all clubs that participated in the first and second qualifying rounds and the first main round of the UEFA Cup received EUR 70,000 per round, i.e. a maximum of EUR 210,000; EUR 100,000 was paid to each of the 80 clubs involved in the UEFA Cup first round, corresponding to the equal distribution of the EUR 8 million mentioned at the start of this article.

For the season that recently concluded with the final in Istanbul, more than EUR 33 million was distributed to the clubs involved in the group stage onwards, in addition to EUR 8 million of UEFA Champions League revenue that was distributed among the 80 clubs that made it into the first round of the UEFA Cup. As in the Champions League, the sums received by the clubs are divided into fixed payments based on participation and results, and variable amounts that depend on the value of their TV market. The fixed payments were as follows:
EUR 115,000 bonus for each of the 40 clubs that participated in the group matches (EUR 10,000 more than in 2007/08); EUR 40,000 for each win,

a further EUR 70,000 was paid to the clubs that made it into the round of 16, again with the exception of those that entered from the Champions League; each quarter-finalist received EUR 300,000; each semi-finalist was awarded an additional EUR 600,000; the winners of the final in Istanbul, Shakhtar Donetsk, received EUR 2.5 million; Werder Bremen were awarded EUR 1.5 million for reaching the final. Since the centralised marketing system applied from the quarter-finals

making a potential total of EUR 160,000, which only CSKA Moscow achieved; a draw was worth EUR 20,000;
an additional EUR 70,000 was awarded to each club that qualified for the round of 32, with the exception of those that entered via the UEFA Champions League group matches;
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2 0 0 8 / 0 9 U EFinal stages P FA C U Group matches

CLUBS Fixed amount and Performance solidarity suppl. bonus 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 215 000 80 000 80 000 100 000 80 000 60 000 80 000 20 000 140 000 40 000 120 000 100 000 100 000 120 000 80 000 Round of 32 70 000 70 000 70 000 Round of 16 70 000 70 000 Market pool 1 102 650 4 620 480 Quarterfinals 300 000 300 000 Semifinals Final TOTAL (EUR) 1 837 650 295 000 5 375 480 365 000 275 000 365 000 235 000 495 000 255 000 475 000 385 000 385 000 405 000 295 000 215 000 365 000 385 000 275 000 1 172 160 255 000 275 000 405 000 425 000 215 000 435 000 2 339 850 300 000 600 000 3 714 850 455 000 255 000 365 000 275 000 275 000 475 000 385 000 365 000 255 000 385 000 215 000 365 000 275 000 515 000 221 180 1 102 650 4 654 850 111 180 300 000 300 000 300 000 300 000 600 000 2 500 000 600 000 1 500 000 600 000 3 621 180 1 402 650 7 054 850 1 011 180

Group A
Paris Saint-Germain FC Real Racing Club Manchester City FC FC Twente FC Schalke 04

Group B
Olympiacos CFP SL Benfica FC Metalist Kharkov Hertha BSC Berlin Galatasaray AS 70 000 70 000 70 000 70 000 70 000 70 000 70 000 70 000

Group C
UC Sampdoria VfB Stuttgart Standard de Lige Sevilla FC FK Partizan

Group D
NEC Nijmegen Tottenham Hotspur FC FC Spartak Moskva Udinese Calcio NK Dinamo Zagreb 80 000 100 000 60 000 120 000 40 000 60 000 120 000 140 000 80 000 120 000 100 000 40 000 80 000 60 000 60 000 120 000 100 000 80 000 40 000 100 000 80 000 60 000 160 000 70 000 70 000 70 000 70 000 397 160 300 000

Group E
Portsmouth FC AC Milan VfL Wolfsburg SC Heerenveen SC Braga 70 000 70 000 70 000 70 000 70 000 70 000 70 000 70 000 70 000

Group F
Hamburger SV AFC Ajax SK Slavia Praha Aston Villa FC MSK Zilina

Group G
Club Brugge KV AS Saint-Etienne Valencia CF FC Kbenhavn Rosenborg BK 70 000 70 000 70 000 70 000

Group H
RC Deportivo La Corua Feyenoord KKS Lech Poznan AS Nancy-Lorraine PFC CSKA Moskva 70 000 70 000 70 000 70 000

FC Shakhtar Donetsk* Olympique de Marseille* Werder Bremen* FC Dynamo Kyiv*

*Clubs that crossed over from the UEFA Champions League

TOTAL

8 600 000

3 200 000

1 680 000

700 000

14 550 000

2 400 000

2 400 000

4 000 000

37 530 000
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FCR 2001 Duisburgnfirst i n l a s t U E FA Wo m e s C u p

TWO DAYS AFTER FC SHAKHTAR DONETSK HAD ACHIEVED A UKRAINIAN FIRST IN THE LAST UEFA CUP FINAL, FCR 2001 DUISBURG EARNED THEIR FIRST EUROPEAN SILVERWARE BY WINNING THE LAST UEFA WOMENS CUP IN A FINAL WHICH WILL GO INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS FOR DIFFERENT REASONS.

Not that victory for a German team is unusual, bearing in mind that they have won five of the eight titles disputed. It was the manner of victory which raised eyebrows. Their opponents in the final were Zvezda-2005. Debutants, maybe, but the Russian club from Perm had claimed some illustrious scalps, among them fivetime finalists and two-time champions Ume IK from Sweden. Although they had to play the first leg in Kazan rather than on home artificial turf, nobody expected a 0-6 scoreline which might give the impression that the Womens Cup was easy to win.
16 May in Kazan Tsentralnyi stadium

out losing but, on the day, they didnt express their true selves. We only began to see the real Zvezda when they came to Duisburg for the return match and produced a much better performance. New records The 0-6 was a record in the away leg of any mens or womens European final beating the 0-5 by Ume in Frankfurt in the 2004 Womens Cup and the 1-6 by Juventus in the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain FC in 1997. One goal ahead at half-time in Kazan, Martina Voss reminded her team about the importance of not conceding but stressed that the way to do this was not to sit back. They didnt. Compact defending, fast counterattacking and supremacy in one-to-one duels brought the other five goals. The result was so traumatic that Aleksandr Grigoryan, setting a new

precedent in two-legged finals, stepped down and left sports director Stanislav Kharitonov to lead the Zvezda expedition to Germany for a match which, even though it was too easily labelled a formality, turned out to be a happy one. The Russian visitors worked hard for a 1-1 draw which allowed them to make the long trip home with heads held much higher, while Martina Voss and her players were delighted to lift the trophy at a final which had set an attendance record of 28,112. We have had so many great moments, said Martina Voss, looking back over the campaign. It has been the best team-building event we have ever had; weve had the feeling of being part of something special, playing matches abroad and living a fantastic experience. An improvement Victory guarantees FCR 2001 Duisburg a place in next seasons inaugural UEFA Womens Champions League. The name is definitely an improvement, comments Martina Voss, and the mens Champions League quickly developed a higher value and a better image. Allowing champions and some runners-up to compete is good for the competition and its attractiveness will increase with the name. Whether such a huge crowd can be attracted to a neutral venue for the final is another thing. But thats another exciting adventure to be tested

Zvezda-2005 FCR 2001 Duisburg 0-6 (0-1)

Goals: 1-0 Maes (42), 2-0 Grings (64), 3-0 Bajramaj (70), 4-0 Maes (82), 5-0 Grings (84), 6-0 Grings (90+1). Referee: Claudine Brohet (Belgium) 22 May in Duisburg MSV Arena

FCR 2001 Duisburg Zvezda-2005 1-1 (1-1)

Goals: 0-1 Apanaschenko (17), 1-1 Krahn (45+1). Referee: Jenny Palmqvist (Sweden)

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Martina Voss, a first-team player at her home-town club for a decade and now Duisburgs head coach, shakes her head vigorously. No title on this earth is easy to win. The score is clearly misleading for the simple reason that, on the day, we produced periods of world-class football whereas, in earlier games in competition, our performances would have been rated as good or maybe very good. For Zvezda, it was the other way round because they had gone ten games with-

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Vera Dyatel (23) of Zvezda-05 and Duisburgs Simone Laudehr tussle for the ball.

Alexandra Popp (in red) jumps high, but Dariya Apanaschenko still manages to get the ball.

Turid Knaak tries to avoid a tackle from Alia Lyshafay.

Germany hit two targets

THE FOOTBALLING ANNALS WILL RECORD THE 8TH EUROPEAN UNDER-17 CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS AS FIFTEEN GAMES AND ONE CHAMPION. BUT THE GERMAN HOSTS WERE DETERMINED THAT THE TOURNAMENT WOULD BE MUCH MORE THAN THAT.

Under-17 Championship in Germany

were beaten 2-1 by a superb free kick only three minutes from the end of extra time, the Germans were unarguably the dominant force, winning all their games, scoring almost 40% of the 33 goals and underlining their strength in depth by sharing them among ten players. Six teams for the U-17 World Cup Neutral observers rated Spain as their nearest match, yet the 2007 and 2008 champions went home unbeaten after the group phase. Everyone in football knows there are games when, even if you play for hours, the ball refuses to go into the net. Spain played three in succession and, while a single goal would have taken them to the top of the group, had to settle for a U-17 World Cup place by way of recompense. Two of the eight finalists missed out on this privilege and few would have predicted that England and France would take the wooden spoons the former falling victim to a late goal against Turkey and the latter allowing Italy to come from behind to win 2-1 in the decisive final games. Switzerland, winners of their group, went unrewarded for a stirring second-half comeback against the Dutch while, in the other semi-final, Italy made the Germans work frenetically for two late goals. This was symptomatic of a tournament in which opponents offered resistance but were unable to overcome the hosts who, on and off the pitch, hit all their targets.
Group A 06.05 Spain Italy France Switzerland 09.05 Spain France Italy Switzerland 12.05 Switzerland Spain Italy France Group B 06.05 England Netherlands Germany Turkey 09.05 Germany England Turkey Netherlands 12.05 Turkey England Netherlands Germany

As Theo Zwanziger, president of the German FA, said in his programme notes, the aim was to bring as many children as possible to the event and let them see for themselves how football can bring together people from different social groups; how it stands for peaceful coexistence; and how it helps to promote values such as respect, fair play and consideration for others. Easier said than done, you might think. But the Germans brought all their organisational expertise into play and came up with a gem of a tournament. The footballing objectives were to provide topquality facilities, accommodation, training grounds and stadiums. The social objectives were to involve a whole region and to use the event as a peg for school campaigns, such as the one aimed at building bridges between football and classical music, culminating with a school choir singing the national anthems at the final in Magdeburg. In other words, the tournament was regarded as an investment in the future.

Record crowd In many ways, it was a brave approach. Matches were played at 12 venues in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia which had to be dressed in UEFA Under-17 livery for just one or two matches. Eurosport, who screened nine games, had to erect and dismantle camera platforms. Matches kicked off at school-friendly times aimed at an attendance target of 70,000. A competitionrecord crowd at the 11am final brought the total to 82,000. Ticket prices were certainly no barrier: EUR 2 for schoolchildren (EUR 3 for the final) and a maximum of EUR 8 for adults. Whats more, financial involvement by local authorities meant that ticket prices included transport to and from the stadium. Against this background, the fact that Germany won the Under-17 title for the first time was the icing on the hosts cake. Although the Dutch offered stout resistance in the final and

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Radloff/Bongarts/Getty Images

Sportsfile

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Italys Giacomo Beretta in the semi-final against Germany

The Netherlands Luc Castaignos (in blue) and Switzerlands Frdric Veseli in action in the semi-finals

Osama Rashid (Netherlands) tries to get through two German defenders in the final.

0-0 1-1 0-0 1-3 0-0 2-1 1-1 3-1 4-0 1-2 1-0 0-2

Semi-finals 15.05 Switzerland Netherlands 1-2 Germany Italy 2-0 Final 18.05 Germany Netherlands 2-1
(after extra time / 1-1)

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Meetings and other activities

C h a i r m e n o f t h e U E FA committees appointed
Referees Committee. Chairman: Angel Maria Villar Llona; deputy: Senes Erzik. National Team Competitions Committee. Chairman: Gilberto Madail; deputy: Mircea Sandu. Club Competitions Committee. Chairman: Michael van Praag; deputy: Giancarlo Abete. Youth and Amateur Football Committee. Chairman: Grigoriy Surkis; deputy: Gilberto Madail. Womens Football Committee. Chairman: Mircea Sandu; deputy: Grigoriy Surkis.
AT ITS MEETING IN BUCHAREST ON 12/13 MAY, THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE APPOINTED THE UEFA COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN AND DEPUTIES FOR 200911.

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There will again be 19 committees, not including the two disciplinary bodies, which have a different status under the separation of powers principle and whose members are elected for four years. The 19 committees are each chaired by a member of the UEFA Executive Committee or a European member of the FIFA Executive Committee. National Associations Committee. Chairman: Geoffrey Thompson; deputy: Marios Lefkaritis. Finance Committee. Chairman: Marios Lefkaritis; deputy: Geoffrey Thompson.

Futsal and Beach Soccer Committee. Chairman: Giancarlo Abete; deputy: Allan Hansen. HatTrick Committee. Chairman: Allan Hansen; deputy: Frantisek Laurinec. Development and Technical Assistance Committee. Chairman: Vitaly Mutko; deputy: Theo Zwanziger. Club Licensing Committee. Chairman: Senes Erzik; deputy: Geoffrey Thompson. Stadium and Security Committee. Chairman: Joseph Mifsud; deputy: Michael van Praag. Medical Committee. Chairman: Michel DHooghe; deputy: Abraham Luzon. Players Status, Transfer and Agents and Match Agents Committee. Chairman: Abraham Luzon; deputy: Joseph Mifsud. Legal Committee. Chairman: Theo Zwanziger; deputy: Angel Maria Villar Llona. Marketing Advisory Committee. Chairman: Frantisek Laurinec; deputy: Liutauras Varanavicius. Media Committee. Chairman: Liutauras Varanavicius; deputy: Michel DHooghe. Fair Play and Social Responsibility Committee. Chairman: Senes Erzik; deputy: Franz Beckenbauer. Football Committee. Chairman: Franz Beckenbauer; deputy: Vitaly Mutko. The national associations were invited to nominate candidates for committee membership, to be decided on by the Executive Committee at its meeting in Vilnius in July. Grassroots Day In Bucharest, following the recommendations of the Grassroots Football Panel, the Executive Committee admitted the national associations of Georgia, Romania and Slovakia to the Grassroots Charter

For several years now, grassroots football activities such as this tournament in Istanbul have been organised in conjunction with the UEFA club competition finals.

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Executive Committee meeting and the post-meeting press conference

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Spain (Ignacio Camacho pictured here) have qualified for the European Under-19 Championship final round in Ukraine from 21 July to 2 August. The other finalists are Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey, France, England and the hosts, Ukraine, who qualify automatically. The draw for the final round was made on 12 June (see uefa.com for the results).

at one-star level. Forty associations have now signed the charter. The national associations of Germany, England, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands and Ukraine became the first to be upgraded to six stars. Moldova, Wales and Switzerland were awarded five-star membership, Russia fourstar membership, the Faroe Islands and the Czech Republic three-star membership and Turkey two-star membership. The Executive Committee also approved an annual UEFA Grassroots Day, which is intended to be celebrated during the week of the UEFA Champions League final. On this basis, the first UEFA Grassroots Day will be 19 May 2010. Final rounds and regulations The Executive Committee chose the Romanian Football Association to host the final round of the European Under-19 Championship in 2011, while the corresponding final round of the European Womens Under-19 Championship will be staged by the Italian Football Federation. The regulations of the following competitions were also approved: 2009/10 European Under-17 Championship 2009/10 European Womens Under-17 Championship 2009/10 European Under-19 Championship 2009/10 European Womens Under-19 Championship. For the final rounds of the two Under-19 competitions, the rule on single yellow cards will be identical to that used at EURO 2008, which means that yellow cards which do not result in a suspension will be wiped out at the end of the group phase. Finally, the Executive Committee confirmed its commitment to the principle of all-seater stadiums by rejecting the proposal to allow spectators to stand, under any conditions, at European Under-21 Championship matches.

European Womens Under-19 final round in Belarus

From 13 to 25 July, Belarus is hosting the final round of the 2008/09 European Womens Under-19 Championship. The venues are Minsk and two cities in the same region Borisov and Molodechno. The matches will be played at the Darida and Torpedo stadiums in Minsk, the Gorodskoy stadium in Borisov and the Gorodskoy stadium in Molodechno. The Dinamo stadium in Minsk will be the venue for the final. At the draw held on 12 May in the business centre of the Victoria hotel congress hall, the eight finalist teams were drawn into two groups. The hosts, Belarus, were drawn into Group A with France, Switzerland and Germany, while Group B comprises Sweden, England, Iceland and Norway. The group matches will be played between 13 and 19 July, with the semi-finals on 22 July and the final on 25 July.

Its a great honour for us to host the European Womens Under-19 Championship, as well as a great responsibility. We are determined to do our utmost to justify UEFAs confidence in us and to create the right conditions for the participants and fans. We can prove that womens football is exciting, beautiful and fashionable. Im sure that all the participating teams will demonstrate their best sporting qualities, exciting football, determination and fair play, said the ABFF president, Gennadiy Nevyglas. The development of sport is one of the priorities of Belarusian government policy, aiming to get young people involved in sport and to promote a healthy way of life. For this reason, the government was represented at the draw, with the presidents assistant for sport, Gennadiy Alekseenko, and the minister for sport and tourism, Aleksandr Grygorov, in attendance. Womens football in Belarus might not be as popular as mens but it is hoped that the European Womens Under-19 Championship will increase interest and that more girls will be eager to practise the countrys number one sport as a result. The local organising committee will do all it can to ensure that the participating teams have a pleasant stay and an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful sights of Minsk and the local hospitality. Yulia Zenkovich
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The draw for the European Womens Under-19 final round was conducted by Susanne Erlandsson, vice-chairman of the UEFA Womens Football Committee.

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Children from LAquila, where a powerful earthquake struck in April, were invited to the final in Rome.

The refereeing experiment involving two extra assistant referees monitoring the penalty area is to continue in the UEFA Europa League.
NZS

New era for the club competitions

The long history of the UEFA club competitions entered a new phase at the start of the 2009/10 season, which kicked off with a draw on 22 June. The UEFA Champions League has undergone several significant changes. Although the group stage will continue to involve 32 participants, the qualifying phase has been altered. The number of clubs qualifying automatically has increased from 16 to 22 (the trophy holders and 21 other clubs). The three national associations with the highest UEFA coefficient ranking will each have three automatic places (instead of two), while the associations ranked 4 to 6 will have two places and those ranked 7 to 12 will have one, bringing the total to 22. Qualification for the ten remaining places will take place in two groups:

The champions of the associations ranked 13 and below will play up to three qualifying rounds, starting on 30 June (the round in which they enter depends on the associations ranking), producing a total of ten teams that enter a play-off round played on a home-and-away basis to determine five additional group-stage participants. The best-placed teams (second, third or fourth in the domestic championship) from the highestranked associations will enter the third qualifying round, with play-off matches for the winners to decide the last five group-stage participants. The losing team in each of the third qualifying-round ties will enter the UEFA Europa League playoffs, while the losers of the Champions League play-offs will enter the Europa League group stage directly. Meanwhile, as before, the clubs finishing third in their Champions League group will continue their European campaign in the Europa League round of 32.

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Saturday final Another major change sees the final move from its traditional Wednesday evening slot to a Saturday evening (20.45 CET kick-off), marking the end of a week-long football festival. In another calendar change, the first knockout round matches will be spread over four weeks instead of two, which will enable better TV coverage. Finally, the Champions League play-off matches will be centrally marketed by UEFA.

The changes in UEFAs other club competition are just as far-reaching, starting with a new name as the UEFA Cup is replaced by the UEFA Europa League. These changes are not quite so simple, as they affect not only the format, but also the match calendar and marketing. The main format change concerns the group stage where, rather than 8 groups of 5 teams, there will be 12 groups of 4. The titleholders and the ten clubs eliminated in the Champions League play-off round will qualify automatically for this stage. The other participants will have to navigate their way through up to four qualifying rounds. The top two in each group and the eight teams that finish third in the Champions League groups will contest the round of 32 and the competition will continue on a direct knockout basis until the final, which will be played on a Wednesday evening. As far as the match calendar is concerned, the abolition of the UEFA Intertoto Cup means the first qualifying round matches will take place at the beginning of July, this year on 2 and 9 July. The matches will, in principle, kick off at 19.00 or 21.05 CET on Wednesdays and Thursdays, or just the Thursday in Champions League weeks. Media rights will be marketed centrally from the group stage onwards, and all marketing will be centralised from the round of 32, as in the Champions League.

Five referees in UEFA Europa League

In 2009/10, the UEFA Europa League will serve as a testing ground for teams of five match officials (i.e. with two additional assistants). Following positive feedback from the initial experiments carried out, the International FA Board authorised further trials. At its meeting in the Bahamas, the FIFA Executive Committee accepted the proposal of the UEFA president, Michel Platini, to continue the experiment in the Europa League, from the group stage onwards.

The Netherlands celebrate becoming the first European team to have qualified for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

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Armenia One in three sports lessons in Armenian schools will be dedicated to football.

A S S O C I AT I O N S
FB

FFA

ARMENIA
Football in school
The Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) has always tried to maximise the role of grassroots football in the overall development of football in Armenia. Since 2003 a huge amount of work has been put into grassroots development. In 2009, after numerous meetings and discussions between the ministry of education and science, the ministry of sport and youth affairs and the Football Federation of Armenia, the promotion of grassroots football was given a new boost when an agreement was signed according to which one in three PE lessons at Armenian schools would be dedicated to football from 2009 onwards. In this connection the FFA drew up a timetable of dates in January and February 2009 when special courses would be held to raise the level of football teaching in schools. The FFA held pilot courses at schools in the capital and in ten regions of the country. This skillsboosting initiative involved PE teachers from about 450 schools in Armenia. The FFA produced a special computer program for the teachers, while in March 2009 it also financed the publication of a special education and methodology manual. Also in March, sports equipment was distributed to all 450 schools, also financed by the FFA. If this pilot scheme is a success, we intend to implement the project in all Armenian schools. n Georgi Matevosyan

AUSTRIA
New youth project
Vom Talent zum Nationalspieler (From talented youngster to national team player) is the slogan of a new Projekt12, which aims to support the countrys most promising young male and female players. Since the so-called Austrian Way was introduced around eight years ago, a great deal has been achieved through the countrys youth football development work. Now, through Projekt12, it is time to further develop and enhance the knowledge and experience gained from the internal and external evaluation of the Challenge 08 project. Particularly in a team sport such as football, global trends show that individual work with players is hugely important. Projekt12 is about giving professional individual support to up-and-coming players between the ages of 16 and 21, in order to foster and support their development into key national team players as effectively as possible, says Willi Ruttensteiner, sports director of the Austrian Football Association (FB) and chairman of the Projekt12 technical committee, putting his finger on the

primary objective of the follow-on project to Challenge 08. The top 30 or so male and best 6 female players in the U16 to U21 categories will benefit from particular support in future. Additional programmes that form part of FB training courses are just one example of this support. The most talented players in these age groups will also receive training with Bundesliga clubs and academies on the basis of a high-quality individual coaching model. In addition, the level of individual assistance will be raised in the regional training centres. The FB will continue to cooperate closely with the Bundesliga clubs, as it did in the development stages of Projekt12. The composition of the Projekt12 supervisory board shows that all parties involved are working together for the common good of Austrian football. The board includes no other than the current sports minister, Norbert Darabos, the Bundesliga president, Martin Pucher, and the FB president, Leo Windtner (chairman of the board). To ensure that todays talented youngsters become successful players at the top level of Austrian football in the future, support for Projekt12 is being provided not only by the ministry for sport, but also by numerous successful individuals. n Peter Klinglmller football and were given souvenirs and photos of members of the Azerbaijan national team. During this schools campaign, whose motto is Lets play football and be healthy, AFFA representatives visited different secondary and primary schools in Baku city and presented footballs to the children. The association also organised seminars for teachers on giving football lessons in schools. The AFFA plans to hold similar events in the future. n Elnur Mammadov
Azerbaijan Rustam Rahomiv and Asim Khudiyev visiting schoolchildren.

AZERBAIJAN
Meeting schoolchildren in Baku
The Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA) organises various projects to strengthen and increase the popularity of football throughout the country. As part of one of these, football veteran Rustam Rahomiv and international referee observer Asim Khudiyev visited children at secondary schools in Baku. They talked to the schoolchildren about world football and the history of football in Azerbaijan, and answered questions. The children were shown a promotional video clip about the development of youth emotions and feelings. Im sure that our favourite game will unite active and creative people in what will become the next step for football development in Belarus. The plans became reality. Boys and girls, the young and old everyone was playing football. According to the BFFs calculations, more than 120,000 people were kicking a ball and more than 300,000 spectators were present. If you consider that Belarus has a population of about 9 million, the number that came out to play football that Saturday is impressive. The football pitches of FC Minsk, located close to the headquarters of the BFF, were at the centre of the action. Tournaments for
Belarus The BFF chief executive, Leonid Dmitraniza, presents medals to the tournament winners.

BELARUS
National day of football
For the first time ever, the Belarus Football Federation (BFF) recently organised a day of football. It was planned so that on 16 May there would not be a deserted football ground in the country. Before the event, the BFF president, Gennadiy Nevyglas, said: Its really great that people who play football and love this beautiful game are gathering all together on this day. Sport as a whole, and football in particular, unites people, helps to raise the young generation and gives us precious, unforgettable

BFF

veterans, children, youth teams and disabled people took place throughout the day. Even the stars of Belarusian show business organised a tournament in which they competed against each other. A beach soccer tournament was also organised at Zaslavskoe Pond. The main football action was accompanied by a concert. The football day was crowned by Belarusian championship matches. n Yulia Zenkovich
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Bosnia-Herzegovina Slavija Sarajevo, winners of the domestic cup.

CROATIA
A new competition system
F. Krvavac

BOSNIAHERZEGOVINA
A fight against nationalism and discrimination
A seminar entitled A Fight against Nationalism and Discrimination has taken place in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina. It was organised by the Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation and supported by UEFA, the Football Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FFBHZ) and the Austrian Development Agency. The participants at the seminar were representatives of different football associations in the region and various foundations and organisations that deal with the problems of nationalism and discrimination. A special guest at the seminar was the EU high representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Valentin Inzko. In his speech he pointed out that football can help against discrimination. In bringing people together, football can have a special role. As an example, I would point out the last match between BosniaHerzegovina and Belgium in Zenica, where we could hear the whole stadium, mostly filled with Bosniaks, cheering Nemanja and Miroslav, who, I later found out, was not Bosniak himself. This says plenty about the significance of football, Mr Inzko said. Nemanja Supic is the goalkeeper and Miroslav Blazevic the head coach of the Bosnia-Herzegovina national team. Bogdan Ceko, FFBHZ vice-president, said the value of national team success lay in bringing the nation together. He said that there is no racism in Bosnia-Herzegovina, but unfortunately nationalistic behaviour could still be seen in stadiums across the country. To deal with these problems, the FFBHZ uses a number of tools, but it is unable to act and succeed alone. Clubs, local communities and society as a whole have to join this fight, Mr Ceko said. NK Zrinjski are the new Bosnia-Herzegovina premier league champions, having ended the season five points ahead of runners-up FK Slavija Sarajevo. NK Posusje and NK Orasje have been relegated. For the second season in a row, the best scorer was Darko Spalevic with 17 goals. The winners of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Cup were FK Slavija Sarajevo, who beat FK Sloboda Tuzla in the two-legged final after a penalty shootout. Both matches ended 2-0, first to Sloboda, then Slavija. n Fuad Krvavac

This years Croatian football championship was much more exciting than the last. The champions are NK Dinamo Zagreb, who once again completed a double by also winning the Croatian Cup. Their main rivals in both competitions were HNK Hajduk Split. From next season, the Croatian premier league will feature 16 clubs. The top U17 and U19 leagues will also have 16 clubs, mirroring the existing structure in the second league down. The Croatian school sports association that organises primary and secondary school football championships is extending its activities. With the final rounds under way, it organised panel discussions in the town of Sibenik on the topic of sport against violence, in cooperation

CYPRUS
First UEFA Pro-licence course
The annual awards ceremony on 12 May concluded another football season in Cyprus. During this ceremony, the most outstanding clubs, players and other members of the football family of the season were honoured in the presence of the president of the Republic of Cyprus, Dimitris Christofias. APOP/Kinyras Peyias FC made history on the night of Saturday 16 May by becoming the first club from the Paphos district to win the Coca-Cola Cup after defeating Ael Limassol FC 2-0 at the GSP stadium. Winning this cup also leads them to their first appearance in an official UEFA club competition. Also in May, the Cyprus FA organised its first ever UEFA Pro coaching licence course. At this historic event, some 15 coaches were instructed by both local and international coach instructors and observers. Meanwhile, the Cyprus FA has concluded its football development championships in
Cyprus Some 2,500 players took part in the youth championships.

with the ministry of science, education and sports and the Croatian Football Federation. The aim of the panel discussions was to raise the awareness of young people, athletes and competitors with regard to violence in sport, especially football, to help them understand it as a social danger. The discussions involved 400 boys and girls from all over Croatia. The Croatian Football Federation supports all efforts to accelerate the development of womens football, including the fourth Croatian Festival of Womens Football, held in Lepoglava. This town traditionally provides significant support in the organisation of the event. Under the guidance of the Cross Cultures Project Association, which has extensive experience of organising such activities in the framework of its Open Fun Football Schools project, everything was well prepared and went off smoothly. The event involved 300 girls aged 8 to 13, who were split into 20 teams, with three sides from BosniaHerzegovina and Serbia. During the festival, a regional workshop was held on the topic of the womens football network. It was attended by representatives of several football federations in the region and the Cross Cultures Project Association in Copenhagen. n Ante Pavlovic Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus. An incredible 2,500 youth players, both boys and girls, took part in the competitions. And better late than never the Cyprus FA has had its very own website. Online since 12 May, and currently available only in the local language, the site has a rich menu through which visitors can get solid and reliable information on all areas of football. Special attention is paid to the domestic league and national team, with detailed information available on both. The website can be found at www.cfa.com.cy. n Kyriakos Giorgallis

ENGLAND
Launching the 2018 World Cup bid
The England bid for the 2018 FIFA World Cup was launched at Wembley on 18 May with the backing of HRH Prince William, the prime minister, Gordon Brown, and some of the greatest names in English football. Prince Willams support was delivered via a video message in which he said: Hosting the FIFA World Cup would give the whole nation the opportunity to demonstrate our generous hospitality to teams and fans from all over the world. I believe England has everything needed to stage a truly memorable and fantastic festival of football. David Beckham, who is one of the England 2018 vice-presidents, gave the bid his complete

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Croatia Football festival in Croatia.

France Jean-Pierre Escalettes, FFF president, at the press conference with Frdric Thiriez (left) and Jacques Lambert.

FRANCE
French federation hosts EURO 2016 seminar
Having kicked off their tour of EURO 2016 candidate cities, Jean-Pierre Escalettes, president of the French Football Federation (FFF), and Frdric Thiriez, president of the Professional Football League (LFP), hosted a seminar in May for representatives of the cities and clubs hoping to stage EURO 2016 matches. During this working meeting, chaired by Jacques Lambert, the FFF director general, the FFF and LFP teams explained the key elements of UEFAs bid requirements before answering questions from the representatives of the candidate cities and clubs.

Issues connected with stadiums, transport, welcome structures, promotion and environmental and social projects were discussed in an effort to help all the candidates make the best possible use of their bid preparation time, which ends on 15 February 2010, the deadline for the submission of dossiers to UEFA. The seminar was rounded off with a press conference in the FFF auditorium, attended by all the partners involved in this major project. Jean-Pierre Escalettes and Frdric Thiriez are continuing their tour of the various candidate cities. After visiting Lille on Friday 15 May, they moved on to Toulouse (8 June), Lyon and Saint-Etienne (10 June), Nice (11 June), Bordeaux (15 June), Marseille (17 June) and Strasbourg (19 June). The next stop will be Nantes on 9 July. Nancy, Metz, Rennes, Montpellier, Lens, Saint-Denis and Paris are also on their itinerary for the next few weeks. n Guillaume Bigot titles and FC WIT Georgia now have two. FC Sioni Bolnisi and FC Olimpi Rustavi have each won just once so far. FC Dinamo Tbilisi are this years runnersup. FC Olimpi Rustavi took third place. FC Gagra, FC Spartaki Tskhinvali and FC Borjomi have been relegated. In the last round, a championship record was broken as FC Dinamo Tbilisi won 12-0 against FC Borjomi. The previous record was set in 1995 when FC Dinamo Tbilisi beat FC Duruji Kvareli 11-0. The top scorer of the championship, with 20 goals to his name, is FC Zestaponi striker Nika Gelashvili. FC Dinamo Tbilisi will play in the Georgian Cup final for the tenth time (eight previous wins and one defeat) against cup final debutants FC Olimpi Rustavi. n Lasha Goduadze will engage the whole country and deliver positive change for football in England and across the world. We are determined that England 2018 will assist the development of football globally and meet FIFAs aspiration that the World Cup leaves a legacy of positive change, Lord Triesman said. Members of the England womens national team staff have recently returned from Chile where they delivered a womens football course. Brent Hills, assistant womens national coach, Keith Rees, womens senior goalkeeping coach, and Naomi Datson, U19s exercise scientist, delivered a one-week course in May. The course covered a range of topics within womens football, including long-term player development, goalkeeping, nutrition and fitness. The course, which took place at the Chilean FA headquarters in Santiago, was attended by almost 90 delegates, including club managers, national coaches, womens football development officers and players. This is the fourth course the FA has organised in South America this year in partnership with CONMEBOL. n Jennie Hambleton
DFB

FFF

Germany The DFB president, Theo Zwanziger, with Maria Boehmer, minister of state, at the campaign launch.

GEORGIA
FC WIT Georgia are champions once again
FC WIT Georgia have won the 20th edition of the Georgian championship. They are champions for the second time, after a first victory in 2004. FC WIT Georgia is the third club in Georgia to have won multiple national championship titles after FC Dinamo Tbilisi and FC Torpedo Kutaisi. FC Dinamo Tbilisi have been champions 13 times (initially under the name Iberia Tbilisi), FC Torpedo Kutaisi have won three support alongside the Manchester United FC and England striker Wayne Rooney and members of the 1966 World Cup-winning squad, including Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters and Peter Bonetti. The ceremony was kicked off by Lord Triesman, chairman of the Football Association and the bid committee, with a speech that underlined how hosting the FIFA World Cup would unite the world. We believe that England can stage a wonderful event that
England David Beckham and Wayne Rooney lend support to the English bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

GERMANY
Mitspielen kickt! on 661 DFB mini-pitches
Football is fun, its life. We want to use football to make society more tolerant, said Theo Zwanziger, president of the German Football Association (DFB), at the official launch of Mitspielen kickt!, a country-wide activity programme, at the Vineta primary school in Berlin on 28 April. The special campaign ran until the end of May under the motto Integration fngt bei mir an (Integration starts with me). And the results speak for themselves, with 661 schools and sports clubs organising an activity day on their respective DFB mini-pitch. Mitspielen kickt! took place all over Germany and was particularly popular among children and teenagers and their families and friends. Where possible, the local football club and migrant organisations were also invited, as well as local media. The DFB sent out handbooks as a point of reference and provided access to relevant materials. An incredibly large number of people got involved and made the activity programme a great success. We are delighted by the response, with well over 600 events, said the DFB director Willi Hink. By constructing 1,000 mini-pitches with a budget of EUR 25 million, the DFB has created a unique infrastructure for children and young people. Every local football community now has at least one mini-pitch, which can be used in future to communicate important football development topics in cooperation with the DFB and thus involve people directly at grassroots level. Three further activity days will be organised on minipitches throughout Germany between now and 2011. n Stephan Brause
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Mathias Imre, mlsz.hu

Hungary Michel Platini and Joseph S. Blatter present UEFA and FIFA pennants to the president of the Hungarian FA, Istvan Kisteleki.

ICELAND
New top division sponsor
After a long winter, the summer has finally arrived in Iceland, the first sign of which is the start of the domestic football season. The top mens and womens divisions have a new sponsor and, with it, a new name. After five successful years in partnership with the national bank of Iceland, the top divisions for both men and women are now called Pepsi-deildin. Olgerdin, the distributor of Pepsi in Iceland, sees this partnership as a great opportunity for its product. Likewise, the Pepsi-deildin teams are looking forward to this new relationship, as Pepsi is well known for its support and enthusiasm for football worldwide. The prize money remains the same for the men and women. The current mens champions, FH, are expected to hold onto their title according the yearly poll among captains and coaches. After losing their first game, the titleholders won four in a row, putting them in second place. In a surprising twist, newcomers Stjarnan are at the top after five games. According to the poll, they were expected to be trailing in last place but instead they have raised some eyebrows with their start to the season. In the womens Pepsi-deildin, the titleholders, Valur, were also tipped to retain their title but they face stiff competition from Breidablik. After four games, Valur and Breidablik look very strong, but as in the mens game, Stjarnan have surprised many by winning their first five matches. n Thorvaldur Ingimundarson

HUNGARY
New technical centre opens
The new technical centre of the Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) was opened on 2 May in the suburb of Budapest Telki. The modern complex contains four normal-sized football pitches, a futsal hall, a beach soccer pitch and a nice four-star hotel with a gym and spa. It will serve all of Hungarys national squads as well as being the new home of Erwin Koemans team, who are currently second in their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying group. It is also available to visiting clubs. The project was sponsored by UEFA and FIFA via their HatTrick and Goal projects, with a bank loan to cover the balance. UEFA alone donated EUR 2.5 million.

ISRAEL
Open day of football and fun
The Israel Football Association (IFA) opened the gates of the Ramat Gan stadium to the public for a day of football and fun for the whole family, attended by 5,000 fans. The focal point of the day was the youth cup finals, in which teams in five different age groups (10-14) competed for the childrens cup. This was the first time they had played at the national stadium, on exactly the same pitch used by the Israeli national football team and well supported by the crowd that came to cheer them on. As part of the IFAs battle against violence and racism on football pitches, fans of Maccabi Haifa and Beitar Jerusalem played a special game during the open day, just three days before the two teams met for the Israeli Cup final. The Maccabi Beer Sheva and Sakhnin womens teams also played a friendly match. There were prizes for sports competitions held on the stadium pitch, in which everyone was invited to participate, including youngsters trying to beat former Israeli international goalkeepers with kicks from the penalty spot. During the day there was also a match between local TV stars and the Israeli national team coaches, all of whom were once players on the national side. The many children at the open day had a great time being guided through the Israeli national teams dressing room, which had been set up as it would be for a match. The large number of parents and children at the national stadium enjoyed a variety of additional attractions, including a ball-control competition, football computer games in the VIP boxes and a childrens inflatables and games area. n Nimrod Suzin

Istvn Kisteleki, MLSZ president, has great reason to be proud of this amazing technical centre as he was the main initiator of the project. Although we have opened the complex, we have not finished yet. We have not reached the goal but we have created a place that will help us to achieve it, said Mr Kisteleki, who took over at the head of the MLSZ in 2006. I hope that thanks to the new investments we will be a valuable member of the European football family in the decades to come. I know that the Under-19 team has already qualified for the U-20 World Cup and I am sure that this centre will help the talented Hungarians to improve their skills, said Michel Platini at the spectacular opening ceremony. Together with the FIFA president, Joseph S. Blatter, the UEFA president stayed overnight in Budapest to attend the MLSZ congress the following day. This place is magnificent, Mr Platini told the Hungarian association. It is really a great result for the FA to have built such an amazing facility. While in Budapest, Mr Blatter announced that FIFA had established a Ferenc Pusks award for top goalscorers. n Mrton Dinnys

Israel An unforgettable day for the young footballers.

KAZAKHSTAN
Anatoliy Ionkin has passed away
On 13 May, Anatoliy Mikhailovich Ionkin, a legendary Kazakhstan footballer and vicepresident of the Football Federation of Kazakhstan (FFK), died in his home town of Uralsk. When local club Akzhaiyk Uralsk hosted Gefest from Karaganda in the first division championship, Anatoliy took part in the football season opening ceremony, went up to the stands and in the seventh minute of the game felt unwell. The famous Kairat Almaty goalscorer died of a heart attack. Anatoliy will be remembered as one of the best forwards in the history of football in Kazakhstan. His career began in his home town with Uraletc, who played in the second division of the USSR championship. In his first season, in 1968, the 17-year-old prodigy set a record with 22 goals scored. In the next two seasons he scored another 31. He spent the 1971 season

with Spartak Semipalatinsk, where he continued to delight his fans with his effective play. He scored 22 goals that season, after which he was invited to play for the leading team of the time Almaty Kairat. Between 1972 and 1978, Anatoliy represented Almaty in 70 premier league matches (25 goals) and 70 first division games (35 goals). In 1975 he became the best goalscorer of the first division. His playing career finished in 1978 with Aktyubinetc, for whom he played three matches. Overall, in the various Soviet divisions he played in, Anatoliy scored 142 goals. Kazakhstan At the end of his playing career Anatoliy Ionkin. he turned to coaching, working at different clubs and as head coach of the Kazakhstan national futsal team. In subsequent years he worked as a director of the FFK competitions department and headed the FFK futsal department. From 21 March 2008 he was a vice-president of the FKK. Anatoliy will be remembered by his colleagues as a kind, receptive man who doted on his family. We will miss his ideas and purposeful attitude in work and his kindness, reciprocation and sense of humour in daily life. On 15 May, Anatoliy was buried in his home town of Uralsk. n Aleksandr Keplin

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Liechtenstein The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon,and Chistian Wenaweser in their Liechtenstein kits.

Latvia Beach soccer creates a holiday atmosphere.

LATVIA
Beach soccer kicks off
Warm summer weather is perfect for spending time at Latvias 530km-long white sand seashore. So, the Latvian Football federation (LFF), in cooperation with local communities and the Latvian Beach Soccer Association (LBSA), is organising the Jurmala Beach Soccer Cup on Saturdays and the Latvian Beach Soccer Championship for professional teams. This year, the organisation of the Latvian Beach Soccer Championship is itself more professional, thanks to the LBSA president and lawyer, Aivars Bergers, who has enhanced the

LITHUANIA
Tournament for childrens homes
The traditional football tournament dedicated to youngsters from Lithuanian childrens homes was really special and rather unusual this year. The honorary patron of the Explore the World of Football tournament was the captain of the Lithuanian national team, Tomas Danilevicius, who gave a special welcome to all the participants and helped to award prizes. The final matches were held at the S. Darius and S. Girenas national stadium, giving the children an opportunity to play football on the same pitch used by the professionals. This year there were 200 young participants from 15 childrens homes. Some had been involved in the tournament for the last four years and others were newcomers. As usual, all participants were split into teams representing the different national teams of the world. For the fourth time in succession, the winners of the tournament were the children from Alytus, representing the Andorran national team this year. This years tournament was unusual for other reasons. Before the event, the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) had asked for the support of the government, the Kaunas city authorities and other institutions. On behalf of the Lithuanian Football Federation, I would like to thank all who responded to our request. For these two days we are happy to be united on the football pitch with a common focus. Football and winning are not the main thing: there are lot of things which are more important, such as friendship, positive emotions and, especially, the fact that we are here all together thats a victory for all of us, said the LFFs general secretary, Julius Kvedaras. A Lithuanian parliament team, FK Seimas, played a special match against a specially selected team of tournament participants, the socalled national team of the childrens homes, with guest star and Lithuanian international

regulations to include provisions on player applications, transfer periods and more. Mr Bergers and his company, Inko Brokeri, are also the general sponsors of the national beach soccer team. The LFF has obtained 50% of the Staicele youth football centre, situated 130km from Riga. The training centre offers up to 245 places to under-14-year-olds, with three football pitches and other facilities in the beautiful countryside. The other 50% belongs to the town of Staicele. Its a perfect place for youth tournaments. We organise training camps for 8 to 10-year-olds in June and the national youth teams arrive immediately afterwards. This is our first real football base, says Janis Mezeckis, LFF general secretary. In other news, the associations digitalisation process is moving forward and an LFF strategy and hierarchy has been outlined by the association executives to clarify their short and long-term goals and priorities. n Martins Hartmanis

LIECHTENSTEIN
UN Secretary-General plays in attack for Team Liechtenstein
Liechtensteins ambassador to the United Nations in New York, Christian Wenaweser, and his Chilean counterpart organised a charity football match on 25 April to help children in areas affected by conflict. Team Liechtenstein v Team Chile saw UN ambassadors from all over the world on opposing sides. The most prominent player was UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who played the second half in Liechtenstein colours. This rather unusual international match was the idea of the Secretary-Generals special representative for children and armed conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy. The proceeds from the match were donated to the Play31 initiative. Play31 is devoted to implementing Article 31 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which stipulates that every child has the right to play. It particularly helps children growing up in communities affected by conflict. Together with partner organisations in various parts of the world, it distributes footballs and organises tournaments in order to bring together local communities torn apart by conflict. The Liechtenstein Football Federation was delighted that, in the colours of its national football team, the unifying power of football could once again be used to benefit a good cause. n Judith Frommelt George Leekens (Belgium) and domestic candidates Cede Janevski, Mirsad Jonuz and Vujadin Stanojkovic. After a few meetings between the FFM president, Haralampie Hadzi-Risteski, and the candidates, the FFM executive committee decided to give an opportunity to Mirsad Jonuz, then head coach of the Macedonian Under-21 side. He will now take charge of the senior team for their final four FIFA 2010 World Cup qualifying matches. I know that everybody wants to be a national head coach. I have a very heavy task to bring back the atmosphere among the players and together we must try to get on track our chances for second place in the group, announced Jonuz at his first press conference. n Zoran Nikolovski
FYR Macedonia Mirsad Jonuz, new national coach.
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Lithuania The childrens home tournament participants.

Saulius Mikoliunas. The match finished with a great 4-0 victory for the childrens team. After special tribute was paid to all the tournament participants, the 2008/09 Lithuanian Cup final was held on the same pitch. Twenty-two selected children were given the opportunity to accompany the players of FK Tauras (Taurage) and FK Suduva (Marijampole) onto the pitch for the final, which ended in a 1-0 victory for FK Suduva. n Vaiva Zizaite

FYR MACEDONIA
Mirsad Jonuz is new head coach
May was an action-packed month for the Football Association of FYR Macedonia (FFM). Ahead of two very important 2010 World Cup qualifiers against Norway and Iceland, the association had to sign a new head coach for its national team following the departure of Srecko Katanec. Lot of names were published in the national media as candidates for the prestigious position, including Oleg Blokhin (Ukraine), Zija Dogan (Turkey), Branko Ivankovic (Croatia),

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Malta Hibernians are champions for the first time since 2002.

Moldova FC Sheriffs sixth domestic cup victory.

MOLDOVA MALTA
Exciting finale to league title race
The Malta BOV Premier League champions of 2008/09 are Hibernians FC. They pipped last seasons champions, Valletta FC, in the final match of a competition which had a nail-biting ending. The two teams had set the pace since the start of the league trek, with Hibernians leading the pack and Valletta, from the capital city, remaining unbeaten for some time, keeping within striking distance of the leaders. After the first phase of the ten-team competition, when the points were halved and the top six contestants were poised to vie for the title, these two contenders maintained their early pace, although at one point Hibernians moved six points clear. Both teams then faltered slightly with only a few matches to go before the end of the race, with Valletta two points behind and needing to win the showdown. In a close tussle which attracted a very good crowd at the Ta Qali national stadium, both sides set their sights on a triumphant outcome to a competition which had the top-end teams playing a total of 28 matches. Valletta were seeking to retain the title and clinch a landmark 20th championship crown, while Hibernians were after their 10th league success, having last won the competition in 2002. As it turned out, the verdict went Hibernians way after a goalless draw amid the joy of their boisterous supporters, who went on to celebrate their teams success well into the night. Undoubtedly, it was the most exciting finish to the title race in recent years and a good advertisement for the game in Malta. n Alex Vella

FC Sheriff wins Moldova Cup

The Moldova Orange Cup final on 23 May opposed the two best clubs of the season league champions FC Sheriff Tiraspol and second-placed FC Dacia Chisinau. After a hardfought match, Sheriff came out on top with a final score of 2-0. The goals were scored by two Burkina Faso internationals Benjamin Balima in the 48th minute and Florent Rouamba in the 87th. At the official ceremony after the match, the Sheriff captain, Vazha Tarkhnishvili, received the trophy from the FA of Moldova president, Pavel Cebanu. This was the sixth time that Sheriff had won the domestic cup competition in seven attempts. It was Dacias second cup final but they have yet to run out victorious.

2008/09 was a very successful season for Sheriff. The team, led by Belarusian coach Leonid Koutchouk, won the 17th edition of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Baltic States Cup that took place from 17 to 25 January in Moscow. On 25 April, four rounds before the end of the Moldovan championship, they secured victory in the top domestic league for the ninth time in a row. And now another success, with victory in the Moldova Cup final. All the thoughts of Sheriffs players and technical staff are now focused on the UEFA Champions League. Our main goal is to reach the group stage of the UEFA Champions League or to qualify for the UEFA Europa League. I am confident that this objective is achievable for our club, said the Sheriff midfielder Alexandru Suvorov. n Victor Daghi

NORTHERN IRELAND
Girls football keeps its sponsor
Girls football has received a major boost with the announcement that Dale Farm has agreed to sponsor the Irish Football Association (IFA) grassroots girls development programme for a second season. Over the past 12 months Dale Farm has facilitated the improvement and expansion of this grassroots programme throughout Northern Ireland. The programme, which has been an enormous success, has enabled the IFA to reach out to more girls across the country and to boost the profile of girls football in order to generate more interest and teams within the womens leagues such as the Dale Farm national schoolgirls leagues. Dale Farm is Northern Irelands leading dairy processing business and they are extremely Pel is simply one of footballs true greats. I had the honour of playing against him on two occasions, once at an international friendly, Italy v Brazil, in May 1963 and again, later that same year, in the first leg of the European/South American Cup final in Milan. His technique,
Republic of Ireland Pel and Giovanni Trapattoni at a match between AC Milan and FC Santos in the European/South American Cup.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Trapattoni and Pel team up for childrens hospitals
The Republic of Irelands football manager, Giovanni Trapattoni, recently launched an Evening with Pel as part of a major fundraising drive for The Childrens Medical & Research Foundation, Our Ladys Childrens Hospital, Crumlin in Dublin, and the Little Prince Childrens Hospital in Curitiba, Brazil. Speaking at Our Ladys Childrens Hospital, Crumlin, the Republic of Ireland manager expressed his delight at the forthcoming Evening with Pel, to be held in Dublin on 26 November. Pel, the all-time leading scorer of the Brazilian football team, is the only footballer to be a part of three World Cup-winning teams.

proud of their involvement in the development of girls and womens football, as Brian Beattie, head of marketing at Dale Farm, said: We are delighted to once again be partnering the Irish Football Association. A worrying statistic is that 80% of girls drop out of all sports after 14 years of age. Through working closely with the Irish FA and creating opportunities for girls to become involved in football at a young age, we hope they will carry on playing the sport throughout their teenage years and beyond. Alfie Wylie, national womens coach at the IFA, added: Girls football is becoming increasingly popular in Northern Ireland and around the world. Having a big local sponsor really helps the girls acquire the support and training they need to be able to reach across those stepping stones from their humble grassroots beginnings to the international arena. n Sueann Harrison vision and creative fantasy earned him the well deserved Footballer of the Century honour from FIFA, while to fans he was known as O Rei, the king. Personally I think part of the reason fans gave him this highest accolade is the fair play, warmth and charisma that Pel has always shown in life, both on and off the field. Meanwhile, the 2009/10 Setanta Sports Cup, Irelands cross-border cup competition, will kick off during the last weekend in August and run until May 2010, taking in a break between November and February. Nine clubs will compete in the 2009/10 Setanta Sports Cup, having been divided into three groups of three. The group winners and best runner-up will qualify for the semifinals, which will be played over two legs.

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Northern Ireland Girls football retains the support of its sponsor.

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Slovakia Croatia and Italy met in the final of the international Slovakia Cup.

Sweden More official beach soccer tournaments in Sweden

SLOVAKIA
Slovakia Cup for youth players
The last week of April was dedicated to youth football, as the Slovak Football Association (SFZ) organised the Slovakia Cup, a traditional international tournament for players aged under 18. This year, the SFZ hosted seven top-class teams from Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Turkey and Ukraine in the 19th edition of the competition. The tournament was played in two groups of four, from Monday to Friday in the west of Slovakia, under the auspices of the Slovak Olympic Committees fair play club. The tight five-day programme was very tough on the young players, so the teams were forced to field and try out every player in their squads. That was also

the goal: to provide a platform for Under-18 teams to gain international experience before this autumns qualifiers for European Under-19 Championship. The competition culminated on Friday 1 May, when the final and matches for seventh to third place were held. The home team was not as successful as in previous years, when Slovakia would play for one of the first three places this year, under coach Andrejko, they came last, in eighth place. The final was played in Puchov, where Italy and Croatia gave the spectators a fabulous show. At the final whistle, the score was 1-1 so, according to the rules of the tournament, kicks from the penalty mark had to be taken. Six shots were needed from both sides to produce a final result of 2-1 to the Italians. The penalty shootout was a great showcase for the goalkeepers, Sepe of Italy and Krklec of Croatia. No doubt we will be seeing more of them both in the near future. Their performance was amazing. We hope that next years jubilee the 20th edition of the Slovakia Cup will be at least as successful (from an organisational point of view) and we look forward to hosting all the participants, old and new. n Janka Perackova

SWEDEN
Sweden warming to beach soccer
The Swedish FA has named Vetlanda United as an official partner of beach soccer in Sweden. Beach soccer has not previously had any official status within the FA. Vetlanda United has arranged tournaments for years in accordance with the official FIFA rules, which made them a natural partner for cooperation, says Krister Malmsten, chief lawyer of the Swedish FA. The cooperation will promote beach soccer in Sweden as a third member of the family alongside football and futsal. More tournaments will be played according to official rules this summer. FIFA has complimented us on the fact that weve focused on both men and women with our tournaments, says Patrick Blomstrm of Vetlanda United. In other news, construction of the Swedbank Arena, Swedens new national stadium, is due to start soon. Its progress can be followed live via webcams on the project website, www.arenastaden.se. n Andreas Nilsson the final against Turkey, scoring in the each half thanks to Ivan Dragicevic and Lazar Markovic. This was the first ever Serbian triumph in the tournament, with Ukraine having three victories to their name (2003, 2005, 2006), Turkey two (2004, 2007), and Poland and Italy one (2002 and 2008 respectively). The Lithuanian Lukas Lidakevicius was named best goalkeeper of the memorial tournament, Illya Glushitsky of Ukraine was singled out as best defender, tournament champion Jevrem Kosnic took the prize for best midfielder, and Artun Akgakin from Turkey was the most impressive of the strikers. Eight years have passed since we lost Viktor Bannikov, a wonderful player, experienced football organiser and great man, but our hearts still hurt, said the general secretary of the Ukrainian FA, Oleksandr Bandurko. Everyone must remember how much effort and energy he put into the development of the game in our country. He was a very responsible and competent, wise and sympathetic person. We all knew him as a great authority in this field who loved to share his great experience with the next generation. And his memory will live forever with us. n Bogdan Buga

SWITZERLAND
Womens football day in Huttwil
Around 200 people responded to the invitation of Ralph Zloczower, outgoing president of the Swiss Football Association (SFV), and gathered at the Credit Suisse Football Academy in Huttwil. Guests from the worlds of politics, business and sport watched a training session for young female players under the tutelage of SFV coaches in Huttwil, listened to a panel discussion with former national team players Helga Lthi-Moser and Prisca Steinegger and finished by sharing their memories in a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere. Womens football has become increasingly popular in Switzerland since Zloczower became president in 2001. Around 22,000 female players are now registered with the SFV and the three national teams A, U19 and U17 are making steady progress. For the fifth time The 2009/10 Setanta Sports Cup will be officially launched in Dublin on 25 June, when the draw for the competition will be held. Five clubs from the League of Ireland have qualified for the 2009/10 Setanta Sports Cup, while four clubs from the Irish Football Associations JJB Sports Premiership will also be entered into the draw. The full list of clubs that have qualified for the 2009/10 Setanta Sports Cup is as follows: League of Ireland: Bohemian FC, Cork City FC, Derry City FC, Saint Patricks Athletic FC, Sligo Rovers FC. JJB Sports Premiership: Cliftonville FC, Coleraine FC, Glentoran FC, Linfield FC. n Fran Whearty
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Switzerland The captain of the Swiss womens team, Maria Brunner, with the Under-17 and Under-19 captains, presents a gift to the president of the Swiss FA, Ralph Zloczower.

since 2002, for example, the womens U19 national team recently qualified for the final round of their European Championship, involving the eight strongest national sides in Europe. n Pierre Benoit

UKRAINE
In memory of Viktor Bannikov
The Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU) has successfully held its eighth international memorial tournament for the first FFU president, Viktor Bannikov. The tournament in Kiev was won by Serbias Under-16 team, who defeated Turkey 2-0 in the final. The hosts had to content themselves with third place, beating Poland on penalties (1-1, pen. 4-3). The competition also featured Russia, Italy, Belarus and Lithuania. This was the third consecutive year in which the Ukrainian team were denied the opportunity to lift the trophy. In the group decider they were robbed of the final berth by a last minute goal by Serbias Matija Nastasic. That game ended 2-2 and Serbia continued in good style in

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Ukraine Serbias first trophy in the Viktor Bannikov memorial tournament.

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Romanian Football Federation Centenary celebrations

IT WAS 100 YEARS AGO THAT THE FIRST ORGANISED FORM OF ROMANIAN FOOTBALL CAME INTO BEING, UNDER THE ASSOCIATION OF ROMANIAN ATHLETIC SOCIETIES. SINCE THEN, THE ROMANIAN FA HAS HAD SEVERAL NAMES AND LIVED THROUGH SEVERAL POLITICAL REGIMES. IT BECAME AFFILIATED TO FIFA IN 1923 AND TO UEFA IN 1954.

training centre, at Buftea, not far from Mogosoaia and Bucharest. In was in this historical context, as well as in view of the honour bestowed on it by UEFA, which has decided that Bucharest will be the venue for the final round of the European Under-19 Championship in 2011 and for the 2012 UEFA Europa League final (having already hosted the final round of the European Under-21 Championship in Bucharest in 1998), that the Romanian FA celebrated its centenary from 11 to 13 May. Celebration The celebrations got under way on 11 May, when the association held its annual general meeting at its headquarters. At the end of the meeting, 150 former or current players, coaches, referees, club chairmen, football journalists and other football officials received special awards. During the following two days, the UEFA Executive Committee met in Bucharest for the first time ever. The meeting was followed by a press conference given by the UEFA president, Michel Platini. As the committee decided, among other things, on the host cities for EURO 2012, the press conference was also attended by many journalists from the two host countries. On the evening of 12 May, the parliament building in Bucharest was the venue for a grand gala dinner, which was attended by approximately 600 guests. These were not only people who have written the past and present history of Romanian football, but also important guests from abroad. The UEFA president and the members of the UEFA Executive Committee, the FIFA general secretary, Jrme Valcke, as well as the presidents and general secretaries of almost all of Europes national football associations, enjoyed an unforgettable evening, marked not only by the traditional speeches, but also by unique artistic moments, such as performances by the Marius Urzica gymnastic band, the Dan Puric pantomime band and Gheorghe Zamfir, one of the biggest artists in Romanian history. The entertainment ended with a spectacular laser show which was designed to symbolise football and football players. Paul-Daniel Zaharia

Prior to 1990, the Romanian national team took part in the 1924 Olympic Tournament and also in the first FIFA World Cups (1930, 1934 and 1938), but despite its many talents only managed to qualify for the 1970 World Cup and for the European Championship final rounds in 1972 and 1984. At club level, meanwhile, Steaua Bucharest won the European Champion Clubs Cup in 1986 and the UEFA Super Cup in 1987, as well as reaching the European Cup final in 1989 and the semi-finals in 1988, while Universitatea Craiova reached the UEFA Cup semi-finals in 1983 and Dinamo Bucharest made it into the last four of European Champion Clubs Cup in 1984. Massive boom After 1990, the activities of the football association experienced a massive

boom. In 1990 it had just a few offices and a small number of employees. Since August 2002, however, it has had ultramodern headquarters and now employs a staff of more than 120 to handle its wide range of activities. More recently, another jewel has been built the national training centre in Mogosoaia which has hosted several international youth and womens competitions. The national team qualified for the 1990, 1994 and 1998 World Cups, as well as EURO 96, 2000 and 2008. What is more, several projects have been initiated by the football association and have been or are being accomplished thanks to financial support and assistance from UEFA and FIFA, such as the HatTrick projects, which will enable us to build another

Mircea Sandu, president of the Romanian Football Federation, presents a gift to the UEFA president.

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Michel Platini, Mircea Sandu and Jrme Valcke cut the birthday cake.
Niculae Profir

Guests at the gala evening were entertained with artistic performances such as a laser show and a concert by Gheorghe Zamfir and his orchestra.

Communications Birthdays Calendar

Birthdays
John Edward Martin (England), referee observer, will be 70 on 18 July. On 22 July, Borys Voskresenskiy (Ukraine), member of the Stadium Construction and Management Panel, reaches the same milestone. UEFA also wishes many happy returns to: Erkki Poroila (Finland, 1.7) Frdric Thiriez (France, 1.7) Ton Verhagen (Netherlands, 1.7) Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium, 1.7) Domingos Gomes Dias (Portugal, 3.7) Antonio Matarrese (Italy, 4.7) Roland Ospelt (Liechtenstein, 4.7) Neale Barry (England, 4.7) Martin Maleck (Switzerland, 8.7) Yordan Letchkov (Bulgaria, 9.7) Murad Mammadov (Azerbaijan, 10.7) Nina Hedlund (Norway, 11.7) Ilija Stoilov (FYR Macedonia, 11.7) Sergio Zuccolini (Italy, 11.7) Gnter Benk (Austria, 12.7) Carlo Tavecchio (Italy, 13.7) Alex Horne (England, 13.7) Sndor Puhl (Hungary, 14.7) Vladimir Petr (Slovakia, 15.7) Ben Veenbrink (Netherlands, 15.7) Johannes Malka (Germany, 16.7) Ernst Nigg (Liechtenstein, 16.7) Lars Lagerbck (Sweden, 16.7) Jiri Ulrich (Czech Republic, 16.7) Dominique Boisnard (France, 16.7) Giuseppe Mifsud-Bonnici (Malta, 17.7) Vicente Muoz Castello (Spain, 19.7) Paolo Pecorari (Italy, 19.7) Alfredo Trentalange (Italy, 19.7) Derek ONeill (Republic of Ireland, 19.7) Ernest Walker (Scotland, 20.7) Vladimir Radionov (Russia, 21.7) Jaroslav Dudl (Czech Republic, 21.7) Michel Wuilleret (Switzerland, 22.7) Balazs Makray (Hungary, 22.7) Bontcho Todorov (Bulgaria, 23.7) Pavel Malovic (Slovakia, 23.7) Haralampie Hadzi-Risteski (FYR Macedonia, 24.7) Mario Gallavotti (Italy, 25.7) Ferenc Ragadics (Hungary, 25.7) Arno P. Sargsyan (Armenia, 25.7) Alfred Ludwig (Austria, 26.7) Adilbek Dzhaksybekov (Kazakhstan, 26.7) David I. Bowen (Northern Ireland, 26.7) Jeff Davis (England, 27.7) Bjrn Ahlberg (Sweden, 28.7) Stefan Tivold (Slovenia, 28.7) Joo Leal (Portugal, 30.7) Des Casey (Republic of Ireland, 31.7) Tugomir Frajman (Slovenia, 31.7) Jol Wolff (Luxembourg, 31.7) Cenk Cem (Turkey, 31.7)

Notices
The term of office of the president of the Lithuanian Football Federation, Liutauras Varanavicius, member of the UEFA Executive Committee, has been extended until 2012. On 14 May, Eduard Prodani was appointed general secretary of the Albanian Football Association. On 26 May, Ahmet Gverner became general secretary of the Turkish Football Federation.

Forthcoming events Meetings

1/2.7.2009, Vilnius Executive Committee 2.7.2009, Nyon Draw for the 2009/10 UEFA Futsal Cup 17.7.2009, Nyon Draws for the third qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League

Competitions
1.7.2009 UEFA Champions League: first qualifying round (first legs) 2.7.2009 UEFA Europa League: first qualifying round (first legs) 7/8.7.2009 UEFA Champions League: first qualifying round (return legs) 9.7.2009 UEFA Europa League: first qualifying round (return legs) 1325.7.2009, Belarus Final round of the European Women's Under-19 Championship 14/15.7.2009 UEFA Champions League: second qualifying round (first legs) 16.7.2009 UEFA Europa League: second qualifying round (first legs) 21/22.7.2009 UEFA Champions League: second qualifying round (return legs) 21.72.8.2009, Ukraine Final round of the European Under-19 Championship 23.7.2009 UEFA Europa League: second qualifying round (return legs) 28/29.7.2009 UEFA Champions League: third qualifying round (first legs) 30.7.2009 UEFA Europa League: third qualifying round (return legs) 30.7-4.8.2009 UEFA Womens Champions League: qualifying round

Match agents
A new UEFA match agent licence has been granted to: Thibaud Sarrazin-Boespflug Prolongation 29, Bd Saint-Jacques 75014 Paris France Mob: +33 6 60 54 60 60 Fax: +33 1 45 88 84 10 [email protected]

Suspension upheld
On 27 May, the UEFA Appeals Body rejected the appeal of FK Pobeda (FYR Macedonia) and upheld the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Bodys decision to suspend the club from all UEFA competitions for eight years from 2009/10 for having breached Article 5 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations by fixing the results of their UEFA Champions League qualifying matches against FC Pyunik on 13 and 21 July 2004. The clubs president, Aleksandar Zabrcanec, and player Nikolce Zdraveski were also banned for life from exercising any football-related activity.

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