UEFA hits assistance HatTrick

Over four years
Mathieu Sprengers, the UEFA honorary treasurer, announced details of the programme during the XXVII Ordinary UEFA Congress in Rome today, explaining that the €270m sum will cover a four-year period between 1 August next year and 31 July 2008.

UEFA EURO 2004™ revenue
Financial aid, mini-pitches and education are the official goals of the HatTrick scheme, the money for which will come from UEFA's expected income from the UEFA EURO 2004™ competition. UEFA expects to generate around €540m from the event - half of which will go to national associations.

Improving infrastructure
The financial aspects of the scheme are twofold. Starting from 1 August this year, associations will be able to apply for grants of up to €1.7m to help improve their countries' football infrastructure. 

'A huge step forward'
These are one-off payments, meaning each association can receive only one grant, and UEFA already has €74m available to fund them. "This will really make a huge step forward for infrastructure in our national associations," said Sprengers.

Grounds for improvement
Citing the areas the grants will target, Sprengers said: "For stadiums' construction and renovation. Yes for training centres, yes for artificial turf, yes for association premises, yes for long-term development programmes for youth coaches and referees."

Solidarity payments
Financial aid will also come in the form of yearly solidarity payments from 2004 through to 2008: each year each association will receive between €338,000 and €675,000, with a maximum of €2.7m over the four-year period. This is the UEFA Incentive Scheme, which aims to encourage the implementation of the club licensing scheme and participation in youth and women's football competitions.

Mini-pitches
The second part of the scheme is aimed at promoting the playing of football at the broadest possible level by building mini-pitches. This project forms part of UEFA's 50th anniversary programme for next year, to which end UEFA will make a maximum €675,000 available to each association in 2004.

Norwegian example
The aim is to create practice areas, and follows the success of the Norwegian Football Association's scheme, which has yielded a total of 1,000 mini-pitches planned or completed. The objective is to have at least one grassroots pitch in use in each of the 52 countries before the end of 2004. Applying for funds is planned to begin in the second half of this year.

Educational support
Finally to education, and a yearly budget of €3.4m has been set aside to offer specific courses and assistance corresponding to the needs of an association. "There is a need of consolidating in some to improve their own income," Mr Sprengers said. A nine-member board will deal with requests and this will comprise three UEFA Executive Committee members, three experts and three UEFA directors. The chairman and vice-chairman of the board will be EXCO members.

Working with FIFA
Sprengers added that through the HatTrick scheme, UEFA hoped to "come into close contact" with the world governing body FIFA, which has its own GOAL development project and football assistance programmes.