PUBLISHED BY UEFA’S FOOTBALL

DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

N O . 6J U LY 2007

Editorial : What is Grassroots

Football?• • •

When the PeakSupports the Base

• • •The Grassroots

Challenge• • •

The Helsinki Experience• • •

Spreading Ukrainian Grassroots

• • •UEFA’s Grassroots

Compass• • •

The Young Champions

GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL NEWSLETTER

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I M P R E S S U MEDITORIAL GROUPAndy RoxburghGraham TurnerFrits Ahlstrøm

ADMINISTRATIONFrank LudolphHélène ForsUEFA Language Services

PRODUCTIONAndré VieliDominique MaurerAtema Communication SA Printed by Cavin SA

COVERBy getting involved in grassroots football, clubs like Rangers are doing their bit for the community.Photo: Rangers FC/PA Photos

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MORE AND MORE GIRLS

ARE TAKING UP FOOTBALL.

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It was on the first day of the 7th UEFA Grassroots Conference in Helsinkiwhen a businessman, who had obvi-ously seen our event signage, got intothe hotel lift and asked me a simplequestion: “What exactly is grassrootsfootball?”

For those of us who work in footballdevelopment, this is a fundamentalquestion which requires careful cons-ideration and an answer with moredepth than an elevator sound bite. In defining grassroots football, we needto state its purpose, identify its cate-gories, recognise its values and under-stand its relationship with the top level. Before we can design our wayforward, there must be a commonunderstanding about the role of grass-roots football and its importance to the game as a whole.

Basically, football has three layers: the professional game with its stars, the top-class youth level with its risingtalents, and the non-elite grassrootscompetitions and activities. Football inthe latter category, as we know, is notplayed for monetary gain, but for thepure pleasure of taking part. For some,grassroots football is a series of recre-ational fun activities which operate on a casual, friendly basis. For others, it is school or club-based football, andinvolves regular training and organisedmatch schedules. For a limited number,it means being selected in their forma-tive years to take part in a structureddevelopment programme which couldeventually lead to a football career.

If the latter are children, then they are classed as grassroots players, evenif they are associated with a profes-sional club.

Grassroots football comes in a variety of packages and categories. Vast num-bers play on a regular basis with theiramateur clubs (adults, teenagers or children), while others take part in foot-ball for schools, companies or veterans.Indoor futsal, beach soccer and small-sided games for leisure also have big followings. But it is not just aboutthe football, about the winning and losing. The grassroots game has beenextremely valuable in encouragingsocial integration, creating a sense ofcommunity, supporting health educa-tion, and providing help for disad-vantaged groups. Association-led/sup-ported disability football, which offersplaying opportunities to a variety ofyoung people with either physical orlearning difficulties, has developed andexpanded enormously in recent years.When we talk about football for all, we mean it.

The game in general, and this includesprofessional football, undoubtedly ben-efits from investing in the

E D I T O R I A LBY ANDY ROXBURGH,UEFA TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

grassroots because it is the source of future fans, referees, administrators,‘football mothers’, officials and spon-sors – not to mention players. It istherefore incumbent on UEFA, theassociations and the clubs to encour-age mass participation and to keeppeople in the game for as long aspossible. It may be fun football formany, but it is a serious businesswhich can enrich the lives of people,contribute to a better society, andincrease the game’s popularity.

The businessman in Helsinki asked a simple question: “What exactly isgrassroots football?” It is a questionwhich those involved in the develop-ment of the game need to answerwith clarity and passion. We need tohave a common understanding aboutits purpose, categories, values, andimportance. Marcello Lippi, Italy’sWorld Cup winning coach, whenasked about grassroots football, said:“Children’s lives are far more compli-cated than ours were. Of course, theyplay a lot less football than we did.”Our task in football development is to change that, and we can start by asking the question: What exactly is grassroots football?

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WHAT ISGRASSROOTS FOOTBALL?

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There are heartening signs that peopleat the sharp end of the pyramid are,indeed, realising the importance of sup-porting the base. The public perceptionof elite professional clubs may be thatthey pull out the wallet to cream offthe best young talents developed byclubs from the lower strata of the pyramid. Yet the fact is that more andmore elite clubs are now taking a directinterest in grassroots football. The event in Helsinki highlighted the initiative currently being taken by two clubswhich started the 2006/07 season in

WHEN THE PEAKSUPPORTS THE BASE

DURING THE EXTRAORDINARY CONGRESS IN ZURICH AT THE END OF MAY,

UEFA’S PRESIDENT, MICHEL PLATINI, TRACED HIS OWN DEVELOPMENT THROUGH AMATEUR FOOTBALL

TO TOP CLUBS AND THE NATIONAL TEAM. HE CALLED IT A “VIRTUOUS PYRAMID IN WHICH

AMATEUR CLUBS WHICH DEVELOP PLAYERS PERFORM AN ESSENTIAL ROLE AT THE GRASSROOTS

FOR THE WELL-BEING OF THE REST OF THE STRUCTURE”, AND SAID THAT

“IT IS HIGH TIME THE ENTIRE FOOTBALL FAMILY UNITED TO DEFEND A EUROPEAN SPORTS MODEL

BASED ON SOLIDARITY BETWEEN THE FOUNDATIONS AND THE SUMMIT.”

the UEFA Champions League but are at the same time investing in the grass-roots end of the game: Werder Bremenof Germany and the Italian champions,FC Internazionale Milano.

Their approaches are different but thephilosophy is essentially the same. AsWerder Bremen’s Klaus-Dieter Fischerexplained, “Almost half of our fans areplaying or have played grassroots foot-ball and over half of them belong toone of the 26,000 clubs which are cur-rently operating in Germany. It’s a factthat, in 2005, only 12 of the Germanplayers in the Bundesliga had beguntheir careers with a professional club.

“The rest had started at one of those26,000 amateur clubs. It means thatprofessional football is unimaginablewithout thriving grassroots structuresand we realise that, if professional football strays too far away from thegrassroots, the number of spectatorsand the interest in professional foot-ball will both start to sink. So, by help-ing grassroots football, we are indi-rectly helping ourselves to establish and maintain our fan base.”

But let’s pause for a moment to focuson the man who took the stage inHelsinki. Because his role is fundamen-

tal to the structure built up by theGerman club four years ago, when‘Werder Bremen’ formally split intotwo entities: a non-profit organisationcalled SV Werder Bremen von 1899e.V. and a business company calledWerder Bremen GmbH & Co KG aA.The non-profit organisation is the100% owner of the shares in thebusiness company, with Klaus-DieterFischer as president. He is also managing director of the businesscompany’s Young Talent Institutionand can therefore act as a vital linkbetween the professional and non-professional sectors of the club.

Normally, the Grassroots Newsletterwould not delve into such administra-tive detail. But, in this area, it illus-trates the importance of building themarriage between pro and grassrootsfootball on solid legal and fiscal foun-dations.

In sporting terms, the structure trans-lates into the senior team, an U23team and 11 youth teams (U11 toU19) under the umbrella of the busi-ness company, with four senior teamsand 23 junior teams (U7 to U19)affiliated to the non-profit organisation.But the club maintains that the SV in the non-profit organisation’s name

ROBERTO SAMADEN,

FC INTERNAZIONALE MILAN’S

GRASSROOTS MANAGER.

FC Internazionale: active not only in the UEFAChampions League but also in grassroots football.

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doesn’t only stand for Sport-Verein(sports club) but also for Soziale Verantwortung (social responsibility).Hence the focus on the principles offair play and campaigns against racismand violence which are interwoven with the club’s grassroots activities. It is also worth mentioning that WerderBremen’s credo also embraces a clearcode of ethics related to the scoutingand recruitment of young talent.

The vehicle for the club’s commitmentto social causes is solid partnershipswith about a hundred schools and ahundred clubs within a 150km radiusof from Bremen. No fewer than 1,200 tickets are made available foreach first-team match at the Weser Stadion and these are often used asincentives – for example, participants in ‘schools without racism’ projects are prioritised when tickets are distrib-uted. School projects are not limited to sport but also embrace sectors likeeconomy and art, while the breadth of the grassroots base has encouragedfood and healthy-living companies tosponsor sports activities.

In footballing terms, the club’s commit-ment has included the construction ofa street-soccer pitch near the stadium,and close relationships based on visits

by players and coaches to clubs andschools and ‘return fixtures’ with cluband school coaches attending trainingsessions of Werder Bremen’s youth and senior teams. The club also sup-ports a junior tournament in the cityand various fundraising charity events,in addition to eight one-day further-education courses for teachers, coachesand managers per year.

As Roberto Samaden explained in Hel- sinki, the approach of FC Inter-nazionale Milano is somewhat dif-ferent. Roberto is the club’s grassrootsmanager and has coached Inter’s U13side since 1990. He is also manager of their ‘Inter Campus Italia’ project.

Like Werder Bremen’s grassrootsinvolvement, Inter’s project was initiallyfocused on the city and its surround-ings. Four training centres were set up in Milan, with 20 specialist coachesleading teenagers through two weeklytraining sessions and competitive funtournaments, such as ‘mini-champions’based on 3v3, 4v4 and 5v5 games. As at Bremen, tickets are made avail-able for home games at San Siro.

At the same time, 250 amateur clubsorganise events on the ‘Inter SoccerSchool’ model, including fun days for

the 6-8 age group and, importantly,monthly update meetings for the trainers who run them. Developingand re-educating youth coaches hasalso been one of the lynch pins of the ‘Inter Campus Italia’ project whichwas launched in 1996 in cooperationwith 22 affiliated clubs. Today, thereare 61 in all regions of Italy and 3,584players now take part in an annualseven-a-side competition, with qualify-ing rounds played all over Italy and the finals in Milan.

It is worth pointing out that the ‘InterCampus’ concept has been introducedin 16 foreign countries with the aim of using football as an instrument to help needy children in the 8-12 agegroup. But that’s another story…

Back home in Italy, Inter – apart fromoffering online courses – invite 40trainers from amateur clubs to takepart in 90-hour re-education coursesfeaturing top coaches from Europe’stop clubs. In the last two years, about100 coaches from affiliated clubs have been taken to visit AFC Ajax andFC Barcelona. Over the last ten years,the track record of Inter Campus Italia makes impressive reading: over200,000 children have visited the stadium, 10,000 have attended sum-mer camps, over 5,000 coaches have attended re-education courses,Inter’s youth coaches have made over5,500 visits to affiliated clubs, andInter’s youth teams have played over500 friendlies against teams from affiliated clubs. As a direct result, over40% of the youth players currently on Inter’s books have emanated from the affiliated clubs.

The message delivered loud and clearfrom Bremen and Milan is that the top professional clubs can, these days,find sound sporting and social reasonsfor injecting resources into grassrootsfootball – not only in terms of devel-oping players but also in terms of nur-turing new generations of supporterswho, literally and figuratively, will keepthe ball rolling.

KLAUS-DIETER FISCHER PLAYS A KEY

LIAISON ROLE BETWEEN THE PROFESSIONAL AND

AMATEUR SECTORS AT WERDER BREMEN.

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Tickets for Werder

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football.

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IN 2004, UEFA’S EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE APPROVED THE GRASSROOTS CHARTER

CONCEPT, ITS DETAILS AND ITS GUIDELINES. IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH THIS PARTICULAR

UEFA ENDORSEMENT SCHEME, SIX PILOT ASSOCIATIONS (DENMARK, ENGLAND,

GERMANY, NETHERLANDS, NORWAY AND SCOTLAND) WERE INVITED TO SATISFY THE BASIC CRITERIA,

AND THIS WAS COMPLETED EARLY IN FEBRUARY 2006.

THE GRASSROOTSCHALLENGE

During the same year, regional courseswere held for all member associationsto increase everyone’s understanding of the Grassroots Charter criteria, toimprove awareness of the applicationprocess, to share best practice in rela-tion to the charter, and to help eachassociation develop an action plan forapplication submission. In addition, the aims of the charter were explained,and these are to set standards, raise

the quality, share ideas, increase thenumbers participating, and receiverecognition from UEFA for achievementsin the area of grassroots football.

By the end of May 2007, the associa-tions had surpassed our expectations,with 21 approved memberships and ten others actively involved in the evalu-ation process. The six pilot countrieswere joined by new members Belgium,

Croatia, Finland, FYR Macedonia,France, Greece, Malta, Northern Ireland,Republic of Ireland, Russia, Spain,Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales.In satisfying the charter’s basic criteria,these associations proved that they had the necessary grassroots structure,complied with UEFA’s philosophy, andprovided a number of services/trainingprogrammes for grassroots players and coaches. All 21 associations were

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PER RAVN OMDAL, A MEMBER

OF THE UEFA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND A FERVENT

SUPPORTER OF GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL.

The main aim

of the UEFA

Grassroots Charter

is to encourage

greater

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accorded a one-star status within theUEFA scheme.

But this was only the first step. In order to provide special recognition andto encourage grassroots action in cer-tain areas, the UEFA Executive Commit-tee sanctioned the introduction of astar system. Associations can gain addi-tional stars if they satisfy UEFA’s criteriaregarding the number of social/dis-ability activities on offer, achieve a cer-tain level of registered players, have aminimum number of girls and womenparticipating, and stage promotionalactivities which result in a defined level of growth in participation. Thepilot associations (Denmark, England,Germany, Netherlands, Norway andScotland) were evaluated for theseadditional stars. Five out of six wereapproved at the five-star level, whileDenmark was recognised as a four-star member (in Denmark, disability

football is controlled by a governmentagency and therefore the social/dis-ability award was not available to theassociation at this stage). Other asso-ciations who have been approved at abasic level are now applying for addi-tional stars and the evaluation processis moving forward at a hectic pace.

In the near future, we will also intro-duce a sixth star (the applicants willneed the previous five stars, plus spe-cial investment, advanced training programmes, an excellent infrastructure,and additional educational/promotionalactivities to qualify). A seventh star will follow for those who set the bench-mark in grassroots development (theprevious six stars will be necessary, plus an advanced, comprehensivegrassroots programme in terms of qual-ity and quantity). A re-evaluation sys-tem will be put in place soon to makesure that standards are maintained,

THE UEFA GRASSROOTS CHARTER

SUPPORTS THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS WITH THEIR

GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL ACTIVITIES.

and if possible improved. This will operate on a three-year cycle for eachassociation in membership.

As honorary president of the NorwegianFA, a member of UEFA’s Executive Com-mittee, and a guru of grassroots foot-ball, Per Ravn Omdal fully supports theprogramme. He says: “The UEFA Grass-roots Charter is an excellent tool forencouraging the national associations to expand their grassroots activities.”

When it comes to watering the grass-roots, those with the watering cans in their hands (i.e. the associations’ officials and grassroots managers) need all the help they can get, and UEFA is committed to providing support fortheir demanding work and recognitionfor their achievements in this vital area of football development.

AANNDDYY RROOXXBBUURRGGHH

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A practical session

during the UEFA Grassroots

Conference in Helsinki.

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The conference in Helsinki was cer-tainly a special occasion. It formed partof the Football Association of Finland’scentenary celebrations and, apart fromenjoying their impeccable hospitality, it was heartening that the hosts raisedthe curtain on their second century by focusing on the grassroots. One ofthe factors which also contributed tothe success of the conference was thesheer diversity of a programme whichcovered practical sessions, discussionforums and presentations on themesranging from disability football to grass-roots football for girls, skill developmentand the potential contributions to be

made by sponsors, vividly illustrated by Eric Vlieg of UEFA’s long-standingpartner, adidas. England’s Jeff Davis –focusing on disability football – andGermany’s Willi Hink also underlinedthe fact that, apart from allowing asmany people as possible to play football for fun, the grassroots gamealso has an important role to play within society as a whole. The range of topics during the event left a richlegacy in terms of ideas, debatingpoints, methodology and, equallyimportantly, the interchange of expe-rience and information during informaltalks. After all, the success of the

conference must ultimately be meas-ured by the energy it generated and theideas that the participants took homefrom Helsinki as long-lasting souvenirs.

On the opening day, the hosts were first out of the blocks, led by Timo Huttunen and Jarmo Matikainen, grass-roots director and technical director ofthe Finnish FA. They led the conferenceinto one of the core issues: teamworkbetween clubs and national associa-tions in grassroots development pro-grammes. On previous pages, there is a brief review of how elite professionalclubs – FC Internazionale Milano andWerder Bremen – are investing in grass-roots projects. But, in Finland and inmany other member countries, parame-ters are very different from the prevail-ing conditions in Germany and Italy.

With 112,572 registered players – onefifth of them female – Finland is not on a par with the European giants. But the way they have structured theirgrassroots programme could undoubt-edly be an inspiration for associations of similar proportions.

Grassroots development is one of thetwo main target areas for an action plancovering the 2007-09 period with thedeclared aims of achieving a one-thirdincrease in the number of registeredplayers (and increasing the female com-

IT WAS ENCOURAGING TO HEAR SO MANY VOICES CLAIMING THAT THE SEVENTH

UEFA GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL CONFERENCE WAS THE BEST OF THEM ALL. THE AIM, OF COURSE,

IS TO BUILD ON THE PAST AND TO MAKE EACH AND EVERY UEFA EVENT ‘THE BEST EVER’,

SO IT WAS SATISFYING THAT A BASIC OBJECTIVE HAD BEEN ACHIEVED. YET THE TRULY IMPORTANT

THING IS TO ANALYSE WHY THE EVENT WAS SUCCESSFUL AND WHAT CAN BE ADDED

TO THE INGREDIENTS TO ENSURE THAT THE NEXT ONE IS ALSO A ‘BEST EVER’.

THE HELSINKIEXPERIENCE

ASSOCIATIONS REPRESENTATIVES

AT THE CONFERENCE IN HELSINKI.

The conference included practical sessions like this one, run by Charlie Cook (ex Chelsea FC).

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ponent to 30%), to involve another10,000 volunteers to bring the total to 100,000, and to increase the num-ber of full-size artificial turf pitches (with heating systems) from 30 to 100.

The foundations on which the Finns are building date back to 1999, whentheir ‘All Stars’ programme for childrenand young people was launched – followed by the ‘Football for Everyone’campaign aimed at adult grassrootsplayers. The national association hasstructured the programme in 12 dis-tricts within which the FA has appointeda management team and within whichcollaboration between those teams andlocal clubs is absolutely fundamental.

Hence the creation of the “All StarsQuality Club” concept, the aim being to strengthen development by award-ing clubs “All Stars Quality” status if the criteria established by the nationalassociation have been fulfilled. By April,43 clubs had acquired their qualityendorsement, with another 30 in theapplication pipeline. The scheme entailsregular monitoring, two plenary meet-ings per year, and the implementa-tion of new activities and ideas. Thisevidently requires a commitment by

the national association in terms ofresources and finance. It also dovetailswith one of the most frequently ex-pressed concerns to emerge from thediscussion sessions in Helsinki: Withmore and more associations makinghighly positive reports about spirallingnumbers of new grassroots players,how best to cope with the numbers?How best to guarantee maximum playing opportunities? And how best toprovide sufficient quantity and quality in terms of coaches and leaders?

Participants at the conference recog-nised that many national associationsrequire assistance in designing andservicing quality grassroots programmes.Many could also do with some adviceon how to gain sponsors, how to establish partnerships with communi-ties and with governmental authorities,how to devise programmes that will be attractive to whole families, how toupgrade playing installations to keeppace with demand, and how to marrygrassroots programmes with social integration schemes. Significantly, oneof the answers to questions about what more can be done by UEFA tostimulate and support grassroots programmes was a call for assistance

in establishing specific training for grassroots managers.

The participants in Helsinki agreed that one of the fundamental moves isto appoint managers dedicated exclu-sively to the grassroots sector – which is exactly what the Finns have done. As Timo Huttunen reported, the criteriafor obtaining “All Stars Quality” statusinclude a UEFA B Licence for the personresponsible and a player/coach ratiowhich does not exceed 10:1. Grassrootsprogrammes are interlocked with talentdetection via a scheme which, as amark of respect for the national team’scolours, has been called the “Blue &White Way”. In point of fact, the schemesets out to upgrade levels of coachingas well as playing with the declaredobjective of “helping, educating andsupporting players and coaches to reachtheir personal goals”.

In more concrete terms, a practical session at the Finnair Stadium illustratedhow Marko Viitainen, the Finnish FA’syouth football manager, and TaneliHaara, district youth manager, set aboutthe task of upgrading skills at the FA’sSchool of Technique within a plan thatalso includes a project to nurture themost promising players in the 16-19age bracket in 26 talent academies. At the same time, promising youngcoaches are given opportunities tobecome involved in Finland’s nationalyouth teams, alongside the more experienced campaigners.

This transition from grassroots to eliteyouth and professional levels was thecentral theme of an interview sessioninvolving the current head coach of Finland’s senior team, Roy Hodgson,and UEFA’s grassroots ambassador,Hansi Müller. Their exchange of viewsprompted participants to suggest thatUEFA should increase the number of grassroots ambassadors so that it becomes easier for national asso-ciations to count on their services and to have a ‘big name’ to transmit, on home territory, some of the key features from the Helsinki experience.

JARMO MATIKAINEN, TECHNICAL

DIRECTOR OF THE FINNISH FA.

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A ball – the focus

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SPREADING UKRAINIAN GRASSROOTS

THE PARTICIPANTS IN HELSINKI MAY REMEMBER THE MOMENT WHEN

GRIGORIY SURKIS WALKED ON TO THE STAGE WITH HIS CURRICULUM VITAE PROJECTED

ON TO THE GIANT SCREEN BEHIND HIM. IT READ LIKE THIS:

■ UEFA Executive Committee member■ President of the Football Federation of Ukraine■ Member of UEFA’s Executive Committee Football Development Working Group■ Member of the Ukrainian parliament (as from 1998)■ Former club president of FC Dynamo Kyiv■ Ukraine’s ambassador to the Council of Europe for Sport■ Graduate of the food industry’s technological institute in Kiev■ Member of FIFA’s Associations Committee

A match during the Summer of Grassroots Football Programme in Ukraine.

Regular readers of the GrassrootsNewsletter may recall that the Ukraini-ans have played a leading role interms of organising events within theframework and the spirit of UEFA’s‘Summers of Grassroots Football’. But there’s more to the Ukrainians’development programmes than that.Much more. And the most strikingaspect is the efforts currently beinginvested in establishing grassroots football in Ukrainian schools.

For the sake of comparison with other national associations (such asthe Finnish FA mentioned on previouspages), it is worth pointing out thatthe FFU has three-quarters of a millionregistered players in all categories –the vast majority of them aged 18 orless. But the four-year comprehensivefootball development programmeapproved by the government in 2004 set about broadening the baseof the footballing pyramid, adoptingthe simple philosophy of offeringequal access to everybody – men and women – and embarking on serious training and licensing projectsfor coaches and leaders.

Given the country’s geography, theorganisational chart is, of necessity, a complex one, with the FFU’s grass-roots committee and committee forfootball development in the regions at the hub of the wheel to coordinate

FFU

At that moment, the audience mighthave been forgiven for asking them-selves how on earth Grigoriy Surkisfinds time to care about grassrootsfootball. But a more considered eval-uation of his CV reveals that he has

exactly the right blend of qualifica-tions and roles to draw all the grass-roots strings together. And that isexactly what he and the UkrainianFootball Federation (FFU) have beendoing in recent years.

GRIGORIY SURKIS HAS ALL

THE QUALIFICATIONS NEEDED TO TAKE

CARE OF GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL.

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the work done by 27 regional asso-ciations and 643 local or district asso-ciations. The Ukrainian system is com-petition-based, with 6,529 amateurteams taking part in regional competi-tions. The pyramid has been rationallyconstructed, with youth leagues sittingon top of the broad grassroots base,followed by elite youth developmentconducted at five regional centres.In Helsinki, Grigoriy Surkis was – rightly– proud to show images of the spe-cialised youth training complex whichbears the name of Viktor Bannikov and of the Gorenychi training village in the Kiev region. The image on thescreen behind him showed 14 full-sizepitches…

The provision of training and playingfacilities has been the cornerstone ofanother FFU special project: the OurFuture programme. In 2004, UEFA’sjubilee gift of one million Swiss francsfor mini-pitch construction was com-bined with FFU funds to build 400mini-pitches measuring 24 x 15 m. In2005, the FFU funded the constructionof a further 181, and, last year, funds

from footballing and governmentalsources were invested in the construc-tion of 213 larger pitches measuring 42 x 22 m.

At the same time, gargantuan effortshave been made to promote the values of grassroots football at schoollevel. Class time devoted to football has now been implanted in 18,500schools – 92 per cent of the total number of schools in the country. Tomake this possible without draining the schools’ budgetary resources, onemillion footballs were distributed free of charge to schools between 2002and 2006. And, of course, you can’t‘teach football’ to children withoutteaching the teachers. Training courses,clinics and re-education seminars have been attended by 26,000 physi-cal education teachers (out of thecountry’s total ‘workforce’ of 32,000).

This has been backed up by 50,000Football at School manuals, distributedto teachers and pupils in addition to six million copybooks for studentsbetween grades 1 and 11. Computer

training programmes have also beendistributed to teachers, coaches andleaders, while school football has alsobeen promoted via articles and regu-lar columns in the mass media, plusspecialised ‘spots’ on national radioprogrammes. There is also a com-petitive element, with schools, theirpupils and their teachers invited toenter the annual Football Class of theYear contest. And it is a staggeringfact that 650,000 children have takenpart in the annual Leather Ball clubcompetitions for boys and girls in the11-13 age group while, last summer,the annual Let’s Give Joy to Childrenfootball festival for schoolchildrenfrom small towns and villages wascontested by 400,000 participantsfrom 30,000 rural school teams.

The figures add up to compelling evidence of how the combinedefforts of national associations andgovernmental bodies (with some-body like Grigoriy Surkis to bring theparties together) can lay solid foun-dations for the footballers and thefootball supporters of the future.

Grassroots football also includes disability football.

FFU

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A GRASSROOTS

MATCH

IN UKRAINE.

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ÖFB

UEFA’s GRASSROOTSCOMPASS

A PHILOSOPHY IS LIKE A COMPASS – IT POINTS US IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

FABIO CAPELLO, THE COACHING MAESTRO OF REAL MADRID, CERTAINLY KNOWS THE WAY WHEN

IT COMES TO CHILDREN’S FOOTBALL. “CHILDREN SHOULD FOCUS ON FUN AND IMPROVING

THEIR TECHNIQUE,” HE SAYS WITH CONVICTION. LIKEWISE, UEFA HAS A CLEAR VISION

ABOUT GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL. OUR BELIEFS, PRINCIPLES AND VALUES UNDERPIN ALL THAT

WE DO IN THIS IMPORTANT AREA OF ACTIVITY.

Grassroots football for us is aboutenjoyment. This translates into enthu-siasm, serious fun (i.e. training andlearning), satisfaction, appreciation, harmonious relationships, positive self-esteem. The joy, however, should not come from short-term gratification(i.e. extrinsic rewards in the form of

cups and medals), but rather througha long-term love of the game, a senseof belonging and a knowledge thatyou are improving. Simplicity and live-liness add to the enjoyment becausethese are the qualities which give the game its mass appeal. We mustencourage dynamic movement and

provide appropriate conditions forlearning the basics. It has been saidthat today’s child is a creature thatstands halfway between an adult and a TV set. We would prefer thatthey ran (with a ball) between twogoalposts!

All UEFA’s grassroots programmesadvocate a game which is open toeveryone and is available everywhere.We oppose all forms of racism and discrimination, and see our footballclubs as places which provide opportu-nities for social integration, personalitydevelopment and health management.For us, the game can flourish on roof-tops, beaches, streets halls as well as on grass pitches. Variety of playingforms and venues are all part of thekaleidoscope that is grassroots football.

Fair play is a core value in the grass-roots game. Negative behaviour, suchas cheating, violence, intimidation or verbal abuse, spoils the game for everyone. We need to encouragerespect for opponents, team-mates, referees, coaches, the Laws and thegame itself. Even in children’s football

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A competitive spirit, but without forgetting respect for fair play.

UEFA’S TECHNICAL DIRECTOR,

ANDY ROXBURGH, SPEAKING AT THE

HELSINKI CONFERENCE.

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there can be negative influences in the form of obsessive coaches, aggres-sive parents and overpowering refer-ees, and this is unacceptable. Thegame belongs to the participants – to the pitch people.

When we say that players come first in grassroots football, it means thatthey need playing time, encourage-ment and support in their personaldevelopment. Above all, the playersmust be safe, and great care must be taken with goal frames (especiallyof the portable type), equipment, and training methods. And, whenyoungsters are involved, child protec-tion becomes important.

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Of course, we mustn’t lose sight of the game and its sporting values.Teamwork, skill development, gameappreciation, self-expression, decision-making, concentration and a willing-ness to compete are fundamental forthe grassroots player. It is also impor-tant to become self-reliant, to acquiregood habits, and to have a positiveattitude. We should remind ourselvesthat those who cannot express them-selves through play (this is not limitedto football) are often the ones withemotional difficulties in life itself.

At UEFA’s 7th Grassroots Conferencein Helsinki, I put three questions to the delegates in relation to football

philosophy: What do we believe in?What do we value? And what do we see ahead? I proceeded to offera personal response as follows: “I believe in the power of football tomake a difference in people’s lives. I value the game for its simplicity, its passion, and its creativity. And I see football’s popularity increasingand its social impact expanding.”

Together UEFA and its member asso-ciations are developing a commongrassroots football philosophy – itwill be the compass that points us inthe right direction.

AANNDDYY RROOXXBBUURRGGHH

GRASSROOTS

FOOTBALL CAN BE PLAYED

ANYWHERE.

Football does

not discriminate, but

gives everyone the same

opportunities.

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GRASSROOTS ACTIVITIES BEFORE THE

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL BETWEEN AC MILAN

AND LIVERPOOL FC IN ATHENS.

AMONG THE PROPOSALS MADE DURING THE CONFERENCE IN HELSINKI WAS

THAT OF PEGGING MORE GRASSROOTS EVENTS TO MAJOR FIXTURES IN THE PROFESSIONAL GAME.

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT UEFA HAS WHOLEHEARTEDLY SUPPORTED IN RECENT

YEARS – AS THOSE WHO WERE IN ATHENS AND GLASGOW FOR THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

AND UEFA CUP FINALS WILL TESTIFY.

THE YOUNGCHAMPIONS

In fact the City of Glasgow has beenone of the innovative forces in com-bining the grassroots with the pinnacle of the pro game. When the UEFAChampions League went to Scotlandfor the 2002 final, the GlasgowSchools’ Football Association (GSFA)had the great idea of mirroring theUEFA Champions League in a tourna-ment for 13-year-old boys. “Glasgow’sChampions” was the umbrella namegiven to a number of competitionsplayed during the run-up to the bigmatch at Hampden. All areas of thecommunity were involved: girls, boys,youths, adults and disabled persons.

The “Thirteens” competition mirroredUEFA’s format, with 27 schools startinggroup stages played throughout theautumn, winter and spring, followed byquarter-finals, semi-finals and a grandfinale at Ibrox stadium, courtesy ofRangers FC, during the week leading upto the UEFA Champions League final.

The event in Glasgow also sparked offthe Starball Match. It was the perfectway of expressing the city’s passion forfootball. No fewer than 700 playerstook part in a 24-hour five-a-side matchcontested by two teams on a pitch set up in George Square using UEFA

Champions League advertising boardsto give it the look and feel of ‘the realthing’. They were the only ‘barriers’ tobe seen, as the event was open to allage groups. The only concession to‘generation gaps’ was that the youngestcompetitors put their boots on duringdaylight hours while the more seniorplayers were in the limelight during thehours of darkness. Hampden Roar 210– Clydeside United 212 was the resulton the scoreboard when the curtaincame down and when FC BayernMünchen appeared in George Squareon their way to the cup handover cere-mony at the City Hall. It had been sosuccessful that the idea has been per-petuated at UEFA Champions Leaguefinals ever since. In Athens, it wasplayed in Syntagma Square with three-a-side teams competing for the trophy.

In the meantime, the success of theevent had prompted adidas to team up with UEFA in the creation of a UEFA Young Champions tournamentaimed specifically at grassroots playersbetween the ages of 9 and 14. Theancient Kallimarmaro Olympic stadiumprovided a magnificent setting for theevent and it speaks volumes for adidas’commitment to the grassroots causethat, even though none of their brand-ing was permitted in the ancient U

EFA

The Kallimarmaro Olympic stadium hosted the young champions before the UEFA Champions League final.

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monument, they enthusiastically put their shoulders to the wheel along-side UEFA and the local organisers inAthens. Girls and boys from 34 teamstook part and the behaviour of parents,coaches and spectators contributed to a thoroughly enjoyable celebration of grassroots football.

The same could be said about theevents in Glasgow a week earlier. Onthe eve of the all-Spanish UEFA Cupfinal at Hampden, UEFA’s president,Michel Platini, kicked off the finals ofthe UEFA Grassroots Festival at the

Glasgow Green Football Centre. Aseries of qualifying tournaments stagedover a period of five months hadreduced a starting field of 13,000 to a few hundred. But they represented all sections of the community, giventhat, as Graham Diamond – the Scot-tish national association’s link with Glasgow City Council – explained, “Wehave involved all sectors of the com-munity in this grassroots tournament:boys, girls, veterans, people with disabil-ity and ethnic minorities. Sadly, theydon’t have opportunities to play footballin the streets, like my generation had,

so things now have to be organisedand structured.”

But grassroots events are not beingpegged exclusively to UEFA’s big clubfinals. Johannes Axster, co-founder of Streetfootballworld, and SimonGroscurth were at the conference inHelsinki to present the EURO Schools2008 project which, as the namestrongly hints, is being linked to next year’s EURO 2008. But that’sanother ongoing grassroots storywhich we’ll track in future issues ofthis newsletter…

THE UEFA PRESIDENT,

MICHEL PLATINI, PAID A VISIT TO THE

GRASSROOTS FESTIVAL IN GLASGOW.

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UEFARoute de Genève 46CH-1260 NyonSwitzerlandPhone +41 848 00 27 27Fax +41 22 707 27 34uefa.com

Union des associationseuropéennes de football