UEFA hosts Turkey-England talks

Representatives of the Turkish Football Association (TFF) and Football Association of England (FA) are meeting with senior UEFA officials in Nyon, Switzerland today to discuss preparations and security measures for the UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifying match between Turkey and England in Istanbul on 11 October.

Series of steps
The talks are the latest in a series of steps that have been taken since the summer in an attempt to avoid trouble at the crucial match, in which England require one point to qualify for next summer's EURO 2004™ finals in Portugal. A win for Turkey will, however, put them into the final tournament, and leave England facing a play-off in November.

Spirit of co-operation
UEFA convened the meeting earlier this month, with the objective being to ensure that the spirit of co-operation between the associations is reinforced in the build-up to the match. European football's governing body wishes to monitor progress and check that preparations for the match are running smoothly.

Safety and security
Senior officials from the two countries' football authorities, as well as Turkish and English police and security officials, are travelling to Nyon for the talks, which will centre on safety, security, policing and ticketing matters. UEFA will be represented by Chief Executive Gerhard Aigner, and communications and public affairs director Mike Lee. The FA chairman Geoffrey Thompson and head of football affairs David Davies are among those invited from England, while Turkey's representatives includes TFF president Haluk Ulusoy and Metin Kazancioğlu, the association's deputy general secretary.

July meeting
UEFA met the English and Turkish associations in Nyon in July, when it was agreed that no tickets would be made available to England supporters for the game. The two countries pledged at the time to work for a "peaceful and enjoyable" football match, and both the Turkish and English police authorities have been setting up a major security operation for the match.