More time for fan feedback

The deadline for football fans and other stakeholders to provide input to the high-level, independent review of European football has been extended to Thursday 23 March.

Arnaut chairman
The review is being chaired by José Luis Arnaut, a former senior minister within the Portuguese government, and was officially launched by Arnault, United Kingdom sports minister Richard Caborn and UEFA Chief Executive Lars-Christer Olsson. The review also has a special website - www.independentfootballreview.com - where football fans and interested bodies are invited to make their contributions to the debate.

Important contributions
As part of the review process, contributions from stakeholders, including the fans, are of vital importance. Input should be emailed to comments@independentfootballreview.com before 23 March while registration applications for the public hearing to take place in Brussels on 29 March should be sent to consultation@independentfootballreview.com.

Nice Declaration
This review will focus in particular on how the European football authorities, European Union (EU) institutions and member states can best implement the 2000 Nice Declaration on the specific characteristics of sport at a European and national level. In the declaration, European governments call on European Union member nations to take account of sport's social, educational and cultural functions.

Variety of issues
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.

Special website
World football's governing body FIFA and European sports ministers will be involved in an advisory role. Conclusions and recommendations will be presented to UEFA, the European Commission and sports ministers across Europe, with a report scheduled for issue at the beginning of June.