PUBLISHED BY UEFA’S FOOTBALL

DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

N O . 5NOVEM B ER 2006

Editorial :Ronaldinho’s Smile

• • •Charter in Full Flight

• • •Regional Workshops

help to Levelthe Grassroots Pitch

• • •A long, hot Summer

of Grassroots Football• • •

Grassroots Football – The Social Benefits

• • •Disability Football – Gathers Momentum

GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL NEWSLETTER

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

ADMINISTRATIONFrank LudolphHélène ForsEvelyn TernesUEFA Language Services

PRODUCTIONAndré VieliDominique MaurerAtema Communication SA Printed by Cavin SA

COVERSummer of Grassroots Football in San Marino.Photo: FA San Marino

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CREATIVITY AND

SKILL ON THE BEACHES

OF BRAZIL.

RONALDINHO:

A SMILE THAT

SYMBOLISES

THE JOY

OF THE GAME.

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The Exporter. Think of Brazil: sun, sea,samba and soccer. Think of Ronaldinho’ssmile – a smile which epitomises theBrazilians’ love of the game and their joyof playing ‘futebol’. Think of the soberingfact for European football that the countrywith the greatest number of representa-tives on matchday one of this season’sUEFA Champions League was Brazil. As reported in a German newspaper, the starting line-ups of the 32 teamsincluded 65 Brazilians, 37 Frenchmen, 24 Portuguese, 22 Italians, and only 12 Germans. Brazil may not have wonthe 2006 World Cup, but undoubtedly it remains the greatest exporter of foot-balling talent on the planet, and with itsnatural environment and its passionatepeople, it is a role model for grassrootsfootball development.

The Game. It was a small beach, withinsight of the more illustrious Ipanema, and it was alive with football action. Theystarted out playing 4 v 4 – small stickswere used for goalposts and the width of the sandy pitch was defined by a wallon one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. The young players from thelocal area wore swimming trunks andplayed in their bare feet. The play wasintense, unbelievably skilful, and some-times truly spectacular. Others arrived, and the match became six-a-side. No team jerseys with names on the backwere required. Each player knew histeam-mates and in which direction hewas playing. This was football for fun – a game belonging to the people, a gamewhich encouraged free expression, self-reliance, and total commitment. The play-ers were fully engaged in the present andtheir young faces radiated happiness.

The Circle. On another section of thesame small beach, cooperation ratherthan competition was the order of theday. Circles were formed and the playerstried to keep the ball in the air for as long as possible. They imposed a one-

touch ruling and the ball moved quicklyback and forth across the circle. Some-times the ball was played with the shoul-der, or with the outside of the foot, orwas deliberately sliced and the receivingplayer was forced to deal with a high tra-jectory, spinning ball. Then, they switchedto two-touch, or free play, and controlbecame the focus as they skilfully con-tributed to the group’s entertainment. Thiswas football for all – a community activitywith social implications. One circle, whichconsisted of six players, included a younggirl, a small boy, and an old man. Theonly requirements to join the circle werea willingness to take part, some technicalability, and a ‘young heart’.

The Variations. The football environmentin Brazil is stimulated and energised by a variety of football disciplines and gamevariations. Futsal has had an enormousimpact and many star Brazilian playersdeveloped their technical dexterity andfast reactions playing the specialisedgame with the small, heavy ball. Signifi-cantly, the 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cupwill be played in Brazil. In addition, organ-ised beach soccer has always been popular and FIFA has scheduled the nexttwo Beach Soccer World Cups for SouthAmerica’s biggest republic (2006 on Rio’s Copacabana and 2007 which hasstill to be allocated). Football everywhere,with all its varieties, is a living philosophyin the country that produced Pelé, Zico,Ronaldo, etc. For the sake of balance,

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

Even in a less delightful setting than the beaches of Brazil, the joy of playing is what matters most.

it has to be added that the top Brazilianclubs are now hyper-active in recruitingand developing many of the young tal-ents who emerge from the grassroots.

The Message. For many reasons (i.e. weather, size of population, etc.),few countries in Europe can replicate theBrazilians’ natural football environment.But lessons can be learned nevertheless.Football associations that are seriousabout the game’s health and growth are duty-bound to promote mass partici-pation and interest. Grassroots footballwhich acts as a vehicle for social inte-gration, health, and happiness is the aim.As a by-product, talents will emerge. In Brazil, a love of the ball, expressionthrough small-sided games, and thesheer joy of playing have been cultivatedto such an extent that football passionand creativity have become part of thenation’s DNA. Europe may have had the top four sides in the 2006 WorldCup, but in a fiercely competitive world,complacency is not an option. Constantdevelopment of the game is imperative,and the foundation of all football growthand advancement lies in the grassroots.Ronaldinho’s smile lost a little of itspower during the 2006 World Cup dueto fatigue, but in recent years, as an FC Barcelona player, he has been thesymbol of Brazilian brilliance on Euro-pean soil, and a reminder that football,at all levels, is a game to be enjoyed and treasured.

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RONALDINHO’S SMILE

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THE UEFA GRASSROOTS WORKING GROUP

AT ITS MEETING IN ROME.

UEFA/FIFA Executive Committee member Viacheslav Koloskov with the participants at the workshop in Oslo.

This is a remarkable fact, bearing inmind that speed has not necessarilybeen a priority. The UEFA GrassrootsCharter is an endorsement programmeaimed at establishing criteria for grass-roots development. Signing the Grass-roots Charter means that a nationalassociation satisfies certain minimumcriteria. Entry is at a basic one-star status and, before the end of the year,further evaluations will start in order

CHARTER IN FULL FLIGHT

WHEN UEFA’S EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE GAVE ENTHUSIASTIC APPROVAL

TO THE CREATION OF A GRASSROOTS CHARTER IN 2004, THE IMMEDIATE TARGET WAS TO HAVE

20 NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS ON BOARD BY THE END OF 2007. CONSIDERING THAT MANY

ASSOCIATION GRASSROOTS PROGRAMMES ARE IN THEIR INFANCY, THE TARGET COULD JUSTIFIABLY

HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED AS AMBITIOUS. BUT THE UEFA GRASSROOTS CHARTER

HAS BEEN GREETED WITH SUCH ENTHUSIASM THAT THE MAGIC NUMBER OF 20 COULD

BE REACHED WELL BEFORE THE PROJECTED DEADLINE.

to see if some of the progressive mem-bers warrant higher status.

Additional stars are allocated on thebasis of specific areas, such as cateringfor girls’ and women’s football; socialprogrammes, such as disability football;and the number of promotional activi-ties or events. As many as seven starscan be earned. But to acquire seven-star status a national association will

need to have an extremely compre-hensive best-practice programme inall grassroot categories.

So where are we now? As you mayrecall, the six ‘founder members’were Denmark, England, Germany,the Netherlands, Norway and Scot-land – which is why they were theassociations to host the regionalworkshops mentioned on the follow-

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UEFA VICE-PRESIDENT

GEOFFREY THOMPSON WITH

THE WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS

IN MARLOW-ON-THAMES

IN ENGLAND.

GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL CONFERENCES

NEXT: The 7th UEFA Grassroots Football Conference will take placein Helsinki from 2 to 6 April 2007.

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ing pages. Others are now set to sign.At their next meeting in November, the working group from UEFA’s Grass-roots Panel will consider applicationsfrom seven other associations whichhave already been visited by grassrootsexperts. As we go to print, a further five applications are being processed.Hence the mood of optimism aboutmeeting the target of 20 membersbefore the December 2007 deadline.In fact, it is not unrealistic to speculatethat the target could be reached by thetime the 7th UEFA Grassroots Confer-ence takes place in Helsinki next April.

It means that, although only a shortperiod of time has elapsed, the UEFAGrassroots Charter system is up andrunning. “The decisive factor here,” says UEFA’s Technical Director, AndyRoxburgh, “has been a full and imme-

diate acceptance of the UEFA Grass-roots Charter and such a degree ofenthusiasm – not only for the charter

but also for grassroots football ingeneral – that the project is runningat a phenomenal pace.”

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The sixth grassroots conferencewas held in Nyon in 2006.

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THE EXCHANGE

OF IDEAS WAS A KEY FEATURE

OF THE WORKSHOPS.UEF

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UEFA/FIFA vice-president Angel Maria Villar Llona with the workshop participants in Kilmarnock in Scotland.

AT THE UEFA GRASSROOTS CONFERENCE STAGED IN GENEVA LAST MARCH,

IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT A SERIES OF SIX REGIONAL GRASSROOTS WORKSHOPS WOULD BE STAGED

WITH THE FUNDAMENTAL AIM OF HELPING NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS TO FAMILIARISE

THEMSELVES WITH THE UEFA GRASSROOTS CHARTER IN THE CONTEXT OF SMALLER GROUPS.

REGIONAL WORKSHOPSHELP TO LEVEL THE

GRASSROOTS PITCH

The programme kicked off in Norway in May, continued in Denmark, Scot-land and England during the summer, and has now been completed withworkshops in the Netherlands and Germany during October. All of UEFA’smember associations have taken partin one of the six events.

The basic objectives have been to out-line and clarify the terms of the UEFAGrassroots Charter, to help associa-tions to apply to become signatories of the charter, and to provide a forumwhere best-practice strategies can be

exchanged. And, of course, at grassrootslevel, ‘best practices’ mean the onesmost suited to individual circumstances.The interchange of experience and datais sure to allow associations to ‘level thegrassroots pitch’ by upgrading overallstandards. All associations welcomed thecharter and many have applied to join it.

Each workshop was opened by a mem-ber of UEFA’s Executive Committee and the standard format included pre-sentations by UEFA staff, by the associa-tion hosting the event, and by each ofthe participating associations, who were

invited to talk about aspects of grass-roots football in their countries. All this was blended in with discussion and feedback sessions.

There have been immediate benefitsfrom the series of workshops – notleast in terms of a coherent grassrootsphilosophy. National associations nowaccept that there is more to grassrootsfootball than the detection and devel-opment of elite talents. At the sametime, more and more are coming to appreciate the wider value of grass-roots football.

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UEFA TREASURER DR MATHIEU SPRENGERS AND

FIFA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER DR MICHEL D’HOOGHE

WITH THE PARTICIPANTS AT THE MEETING IN ZEIST. KN

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UEFA Executive Committee member Marios N. Lefkaritis with the participants at the Copenhagen workshop.

Learning about teamwork.

Associations such as the English andNorwegians have reported enhancedrevenue through sponsorship, TV andattendances. Others, such as Belarusand Bulgaria, have seen how wide-spread participation at grassroots levelreceives plaudits from regional andnational governments, especially in relation to their ‘healthy lifestyle’ agen-das. Others have prompted reductionsin anti-social behaviour (and the com-munity costs required to deal with it).And many associations within what is sometimes a fragmented Europereport that football represents a signifi-cant and positive social force in termsof uniting communities.

The workshops also demonstrated thatgrassroots structures are steadily beingupgraded by, for example, establishinga grassroots committee, appointing adedicated grassroots manager, develop-ing a grassroots strategy, and, then,

formulating a dedicated grassrootsbudget incorporating commercial spon-sors and public funding. With regard to the last item, some associationshave successfully experimented withnon-monetary partnerships with com-mercial concerns and the Ukrainianassociation, for example, has earmarkeda percentage of all transfer fees involv-ing non-locally developed players forgrassroots activities. It was hearteningto hear at the workshops that there isnow widespread participation by formerplayers, celebrities and politicians in the promotion of grassroots activities.

With street football being progressivelyforced into obsolescence, associationsare now active in promoting replace-ments. The spectrum of activities men-tioned in the article on the Summer of Grassroots Football bears witness tothe growth of festivals, soccer schools,tournaments and school projects. Grass-roots football is definitely on the move.

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A LONG, HOT SUMMER

OF GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL

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ONE MIGHT HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN FOR SUSPECTING THAT THE PEAKS OF THE FIFA WORLD CUP

WOULD CAST A SHADOW OVER A LONG, HOT FOOTBALLING SUMMER. FAR FROM IT. WHILE THE TOP

PROFESSIONALS WERE IN ACTION IN GERMANY, UEFA’S PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN ‘THE SUMMER

OF GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL’ FLOURISHED ON PITCHES AND MINI-PITCHES ALL OVER EUROPE.

Originally introduced as a one-off initiative to mark UEFA’s Golden Jubileein 2004, the Summer of GrassrootsFootball has proved to be such aresounding success that it has becomean annual feature. For the third suc-cessive year, UEFA supported grass-roots events by supplying certificates

Having fun playing football in Denmark.

A MINI-PITCH IN ICELAND.

of participation and by offering each national association 100 adidasGrassroots Programme footballs and 150 T-shirts, plus an additional50 footballs for each association’smost valuable grassroots event andanother 50 for the best disabledfootball event.

The Summer of 2004 had beenacclaimed as a winner on the basis of half a million people taking part in grassroots activities. In 2005, thenumber of participants had risen to1.3 million. Even though definitive data have still not been received from all 52 member associations, the summer of 2006 shattered previousrecords by attracting almost 21/4 millionparticipants. In other words, we’re talking about a ‘growth rate’ of 450%since the concept was born in 2004.

Although the figures are hearteninglyin line with UEFA’s ‘football for all’ concept, the statistics are not the onlycompelling evidence. Even moreencouraging was the sheer range ofgrassroots events organised betweenMay and September.

Some need little or no introduction.The summer soccer schools in Den-mark, Norway and Sweden, for exam-ple, attracted almost a quarter of a million participants. Elsewhere, theSummer of Grassroots Football was

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populated by everything from smallregional events to massive nationalcontests. Once again, there was signifi-cant support from sponsors with, forinstance, the McDonald’s Football Cele-bration attracting 85,000 8 to 11-year-olds to Prague just as the World Cupwas kicking-off. It was by no means theonly major event to attract a ‘big crowd’.In the Netherlands, well over 200,000players took part in school and streetsoccer events; in Romania, the NationalSchool Sports Festival allowed 195,000youngsters between 7 and 18 to playsome football; and, in Russia, there was action for 72,000 between 11 and

15 in the ‘Leather Football’ regionalclub tournaments.

Strategies varied. In some cases, people were taken to events. In others,the events went to the people. InCroatia, for example, the emphasis wason local events – 74 of them offeringfootball and/or futsal to players inevery age bracket from kindergarten to veterans. In Armenia, almost 16,000took part in tournaments played under the ‘Football Without Limits’,‘Cup of Hope’ and ‘Fun Football’ banners. In Germany, the focus was also on local events which included

the Daniel Nivel Cup – named in honour of the policeman who wasseriously injured by thugs during the1998 FIFA World Cup. In Italy, whilethe national team was treading thepath to glory, 60,000 ‘Piccoli Amici’from the 6-8 age bracket were enjoy-ing some football of their own. In Finland, ‘All Stars Football Carnivals’ all over the country gave footballingpleasure to 60,000 children from 7-12.

However, for sheer diversity, Turkeyand Ukraine warrant a special men-tion. Thirty events for 12-year-olds to veterans were staged in Adana andit was a similar story in other Turkishcities right the way through the alpha-bet to Van. Regional championships in the Ukraine offered football to120,000 in the 14-17 age bracket andthe same number again in adult cate-gories. But no one was neglected. The ‘Let’s Bring Joy to Children’ eventsin June attracted 50,000 kids, whilethe ‘Have Faith in Yourself ’ tournamentsgave footballing pleasure to amputees,Special Olympics players and thosewith visual or hearing deficiencies.

The Republic of Ireland was also the scenario for a homeless streetleague, a wheelchair competition and an inner city futsal tournament. In Northern Ireland the ‘Girls OnlyRoadshow’ was one of the many,many opportunities offered to girlsand women in a hearteningly largenumber of countries. The vast spec-trum of events organised in Turkeyincluded five-a-side games played at20 venues using futsal rules.

In other words, the 2006 Summer of Grassroots Football offered some-thing to everyone. Taking the top four places at the FIFA World Cup represented a success for Europe. But, at grassroots level, it was also a summer to remember.

A serious tussle in San Marino.

FAIR PLAY IN FINLAND.

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GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL –THE SOCIAL BENEFITS

EXTRACTS FROM AN ESSAY BY PROF. KLAUS-PETER BRINKHOFF

ON THE SOCIAL FUNCTIONS OF FOOTBALL IN CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE

It was stated at the grassroots conference which was held in Nyon earlier in the year that “grassroots football has a vital social role to play interms of reducing anti-social behaviour patterns such as vandalism, drugabuse or the poison-barbed trident of bigotry, sectarianism and racism – or even forming part of rehabilitation programmes in prisons”. This is one of the reasons why international, national and local governments, author-ities, associations and sponsors are increasingly ready and willing to make significant contributions to grassroots football projects.

When it comes to demonstrating the physical benefits to be gained fromfootball – such as tackling the issue of child obesity – it is relatively easy to provide compelling medical evidence. But how does one scientificallydemonstrate the social benefits? What data can be presented whenapproaching potential partners in grassroots projects? These are among the questions raised by Professor Klaus-Peter Brinkhoff in an essay, of which we are highlighting some salient extracts.

Football helps young people to integrate and to keep fit.

FOOTBALL PROVIDES

A WONDERFUL LEARNING

ENVIRONMENT.

In order to critically analyse the initialhypothesis about social support func-tions and the protective forces ofsport, a subtly differentiated analysis is required. … Abundance and sheervariety of options now determine theeveryday experience of a large per-centage of the population. Instead of coping with supply deficiencies,environmental risks and psychological burdens have become major chal-lenges. Modern-day children andteenagers have experienced a rapidchange in the conditions of growing-up – a process which has become farmore accelerated than previous gener-ations have known. … The changedconditions not only offer new oppor-tunities for children and teenagers but also a new variety of burdens andthreats which their parents were notexposed to. Particularly for adoles-cents, there are therefore many newphysical, emotional and social pres-sures, accompanied by fears of failure.

The interaction of these different factors is the main cause of the factthat, despite high living standards andadvanced social safeguarding systems,the percentage of children and teen-agers with social problems, emotionaldisturbances and physical impedi-ments continues to grow. Expansionof marketing pressures and the psy-cho-social costs which teenagers haveto face due to the increasing impor-

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tance of educational qualifications help to explain that earlier maturingentails other potentially damaging sideeffects. That is why chapters could bewritten about:■ Psycho-social burdens associated

with family-related and school-relatedstress

■ Deficiencies in physical and motordevelopment

■ Disorientation and aggressiveness of the youth consumption market

■ Consumption of alcohol and tobacco■ Consumption, mis-use and abuse

of illegal soft and hard drugs■ Social disintegration based on the

disintegration of social relationships■ The social conditions which breed

child and teenage violence■ The social messages transmitted

by sophisticated multi-media■ Ethnic conflicts or political extremism

Symptoms of disturbed youth devel-opment, expressed by social behaviourpatterns or concrete health impair-ments, often correspond with continu-ous pressure situations in the everydaylife of children and teenagers.

Some researchers emphasise thebroadening of horizons and the varietyof options for individual life. Othersemphasise the enormous ‘explosiveforce’ generated by age-specific, collective and social identity issuesand support systems. They highlightdisorientation and uncertainty andfirmly state that social integration can only be guaranteed if there arespecific forms of social support. Initial studies suggest that football is able to render social support in various ways.

No other sport is such a dominantforce in childhood and adolescence.Organised sport, as opposed to otherforms of structured youth work, is alsomore readily accepted by teenagersthan other forms of social support.But what contribution does footballmake when it comes to developingan adolescent into an integratedmember of an adult society?

Mastering the typical adolescent crises and constructing an identity arecore issues. In this respect, an impor-

tant training field for personality andidentity development is provided by the team structure within a foot-ball club. Results of research clearlyindicate that young people in asports organisation can be distin-guished in a positive way fromteenagers who have either left theorganisation or who have neverbeen members. Current researcharrives at the conclusion that adoles-cents in sports clubs bear lighterloads of physical, psychological andsocial stress than their non-sportingclassmates. Participation in a footballclub offers opportunities for positiveexpression and the possibility to dismantle certain negative stresses.Even with regard to psychosomaticcomplaints, they can be positivelydistinguished from their peers.

Trends in family and working condi-tions have increasingly moved youngpeople away from firm social rela-tionships and environments. Engage-ment with a football club counteractsthis trend and has highly positivesocial integration effects. On the onehand, the football club can integratechildren and adolescents into astructured youth culture based onpeer groups. On the other hand, theyouth culture and peer groups pro-vide a better launching pad towardsadult status. Teenagers in a footballclub normally break through the‘ghetto of their peers’ earlier thannon-players and rapidly developadult ethical and moral concepts.

Having said that, there is evidentlygreat scope for a wide field ofresearch activities. Scientific discus-sion concerning the role of sport ingeneral and football, in particularwhen it comes to personal develop-ment, represents a great challengefor future studies, both in terms of theoretical and practical research.

Football has an important role to play in society.

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THE GREAT

FEELING OF BELONGING

TO A TEAM.

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DISABILITY FOOTBALLGATHERS

MOMENTUMTHE DEVELOPMENT OF A TEN-STEP PLAN TO ENHANCE DISABILITY FOOTBALL STRUCTURES;

AND THE DESIGN OF A UEFA GENERIC DISABILITY FOOTBALL E-LEARNING COURSE TO BE POSTED

ON UEFA.COM. THOSE WERE THE TWO MAJOR ITEMS ON THE AGENDA WHEN UEFA’S WORKING GROUP

ON DISABILITY FOOTBALL MET IN THE GERMAN CITY OF LEVERKUSEN IN SEPTEMBER.

The working group, emanating from the UEFA Grassroots Football Panel, discussed a ten-point plan aimed at allowing national associations toadvance the development of disabilityfootball. The importance of the

subject has been underlined by EUestimates that 18% of the continent’spopulation have some form of dis-ability. People with learning difficultiesform the largest group. But the planalso contemplates football for people

classed as deaf or hearing impaired,blind or visually impaired, those suffer-ing from cerebral palsy, and amputees.The ultimate objective is, quite simply,to enable footballers with disabilities to enjoy their football and reach theirfull potential.

The first challenge facing most nationalassociations is that the various cate-gories of disability football often fallunder different administrative andorganisational umbrellas. So the crucialfirst steps are to audit disability footballactivities within the country and todevelop or improve links with disabilitysport organisations, making it clear that the aim is hand-in-hand relation-ships. Communication channels needto be established and regular meetingsare normally productive.

The next steps could be to set up an advisory group – a panel of experts in disability sport able to report andoffer advice to the national associa-tion. Specific target groups, based onnational parameters, can then be pinpointed and, in conjunction withdisability groups, clubs and local

TOURNAMENT

IN GERMANY FOR DISABLED

PLAYERS.

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organisations, festivals can be arrangedbased on 11-a-side or small-sidedgames. These festivals are at their mosteffective when embedded in localclubs, rather than dependent on thenational association.

Further structures can be built on the foundations of the local festivals,such as: local training opportunitiespegged to the festivals; templates to authorise other bodies or clubs todevelop regional and/or national com-petitions from the local festivals, alongwith criteria for their approval by thenational association; and the develop-ment of ‘player pathways’ able to lead talented players into elite regionalor national squads.

But development projects require leaders or coaches – and this is wherethe proposed e-learning course onuefa.com could represent a major stepin the right direction. The plan is to

ciation coaching courses, and to give proper relevance to aspects suchas ‘Ethics and Attitudes’ and ‘Workingwith Young People’.

The proposed course would focus on topics such as:■ Understanding of disabilities■ Impact of disabilities on activity■ Adapting existing practices to the

various forms of disability football■ Maximising opportunities■ Child protection and safety issues■ Realistic goal-setting■ Case studies and problem scenarios■ Action plans for coaches

The course, in its initial stages, wouldbe in English and ‘students’ would beable to enrol via the Training Groundsite on uefa.com. This proposed project will make it easier to compile a database of coaches working in disability football and promoting contacts between them. The inclusionof the disability e-learning course will also enrich the overall content ofthe Training Ground site – and, hopefully, will also enrich disabilityfootball as a whole.

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The UEFA Grassroots Working Group on Disability Football.

have a disability football course on-line by early 2007. The aim is to pro-vide direct assistance in the educa-tion of coaches and leaders, to sup-port UEFA-approved national asso-

SOME 6,000 SPECTATORS WATCHED

THE THIRD-PLACE MATCH BETWEEN GERMANY

AND SOUTH AFRICA IN THE INAS-FID

WORLD CUP IN GERMANY THIS SUMMER.

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EVERY PICTUREGrassroots football is all about joy and enjoyment. That’s why theold saying about pictures beingworth a thousand words is espe-cially appropriate. For the thirdsuccessive year, a UEFA GrassrootsPhotography Competition hasbeen pegged to the UEFA Summerof Grassroots Football project –and the results have been a stun-ning tribute to the pleasures ofplaying football. The sheer varietyof the images does full justice to the variety of grassroots foot-ball itself and captures the spiritof the grassroots game.

The winner receives – in additionto a diploma – a prize of 50 adidasfootballs, while the two best runners-up get 25 footballs each.But sorting out a winner is a toughproposition – and the imagesreceived during the 2006 competi-tion were of such high quality that many of them will be used inUEFA presentations and displays.So, congratulations to everybodywho took part.

➊

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➌

SAN MARINO

FYR MACEDONIA

BELGIUM

st Place

nd

rd Place

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TELLS THE GRASSROOTS STORY

CZECH REPUBLIC

POLAND

TURKEY

DENMARK

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

Union des associationseuropéennes de football