'Vitally important' review

UEFA Chief Executive Lars-Christer Olsson said the independent review of European football currently in progress could be crucial in defining the development of the game on this continent.

Arnaut in the chair
The review is being chaired by José Luis Arnaut, a former senior minister within the Portuguese government, and was officially launched last month. The review also has a special website - www.independentfootballreview.com - in which football fans and interested bodies are entitled to make their contributions to the debate. A report is due in the early summer.

Vitally important
"The review, launched at the initiative of the United Kingdom while it still occupied the presidency of the European Union and supported by the football authorities, may not have the media profile or emotional impact of big matches," Mr Olsson said in the latest edition of the official UEFA publication uefadirect, "but it may prove vitally important for the future of European football.

Broad consultation
"The independent review aims to look at the whole current situation of European football on the basis of a broad consultation in which all stakeholders, supporters included, can express their views," the CEO continued. "The review should then make it possible to determine the best means for managing European football in the spirit of the Nice Declaration of December 2000, which recognises the specific characteristics of sport.

Warm welcome
"The politicians and the football authorities have gone their separate ways for so long that it would be impossible not to give this joint initiative the warm welcome it deserves," Mr Olsson explained. "It also comes at a good time, since many rules which have been in force for a long time have been challenged and sport is making an appearance in the courts far too often, a place where it certainly does not belong.

Clear foundation
"If the independent review helps to give a clear and universally recognised foundation back to sport, it will certainly prove to be one of the key features of this year, both for football and for sport in general."

Public hearing
Football fans and stakeholders will be given the opportunity to make their views known on the future of European football at the independent review's public hearing in Brussels on Wednesday. Arnaut travelled to Budapest last week to present a progress report on the review to the UEFA Executive Committee, and to hold talks with football politicians and stakeholders.

Central role
In the review, legal, political and financial experts will report, among other things, on the central role of the football authorities to govern football in harmony with the EU institutions and member states; ownership/control and management of clubs; and levels of expenditure on players, considering the financial stability or instability and concentration of wealth among clubs at both international and national level.

Agents' activities
The review will also examine how the football authorities oversee the activities of agents in player contract and transfer activities; revenue distribution within European football; how the game can be protected against match-fixing and corruption, and the role of the EU institutions, member states and football authorities in supporting and encouraging investment in football.