EXCO meeting to decide 2011 final venues

The UEFA Executive Committee will hold its first meeting of the year at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland, on Thursday and Friday.

Decision on final venues
UEFA's executive body, chaired by UEFA President Michel Platini, will be asked to make a decision on the host venues for the 2010/11 finals of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. This is a key item on a busy agenda, which will also require the confirmation of candidates for elections at the XXXIII UEFA Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 25 March.

Hosting rights
Last March, UEFA selected the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid and the Arena Hamburg for hosting duties of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League finals in 2009/10. The UEFA Champions League final will be played on a Saturday for the first time in 2010, while the UEFA Cup has been renamed the UEFA Europa League from next season, to help boost this renowned competition's profile even further.

Financial fair play
The committee will also receive an update on UEFA's efforts to ensure financial fair play in UEFA club competitions. Delegates will hear a report on the early progress of the UEFA Technical Study Group Scheme. The scheme, which was instituted last year and will run until 2012, aims to facilitate the greater exchange of technical know-how and expertise, involving all 53 UEFA member associations. Click here to read about the scheme. Discussions will also focus on the admission of new associations to the UEFA Referees Convention – an accord whose goal is to strengthen referee education standards and organisation throughout Europe. Click here to read about the Convention.