Positive talks with Poland

The world and European football governing bodies, FIFA and UEFA, have held talks with a high-level delegation from the Polish government and the Polish Football Association (PZPN) at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich to discuss the improving state of football matters in the country.

Co-operative spirit
The meeting, initiated at the proposal of Professor Michal Kleiber, adviser to Polish President Lech Kaczyński, was opened by FIFA President Joseph S Blatter and held in an extremely positive and co-operative spirit. Participating in the talks, among others, were FIFA General Secretary Jérôme Valcke, FIFA director of international affairs Jérôme Champagne, UEFA national associations director Jacob Erel and PZPN President Michal Listkiewicz.

Report on progress
The focus of the meeting was to receive a report on the progress made by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), a multi-party commission (with representatives from the Polish government, FIFA and UEFA) that had been established through a landmark agreement between presidents Kaczyński and Blatter in March 2007.

Positive momentum
During the talks, FIFA and UEFA expressed satisfaction with the positive momentum achieved by the commission, especially with respect to the ongoing development of the statutes and electoral calendar of the PZPN.

Welcome results
The participants unanimously agreed that amendments to the statutes must be made to guarantee the fair representation of all stakeholders within the Polish football family and that regional electoral processes must be initiated immediately in order to pave the way for national FA elections in the course of 2008. These results were quite welcome in light of UEFA's decision to award the UEFA EURO 2012™ tournament to Poland and Ukraine.

Continued co-operation
The meeting closed with all parties reaffirming their continued co-operation. FIFA and UEFA will continue to monitor the progress of football matters in Poland in collaboration with Professor Kleiber, chairman of the IEC.