FA president interview: Ivan Simič (Slovenia)

Football Association of Slovenia (NZS) president Ivan Simič tells UEFA.com about his goal to raise the number of registered players in his country and his hopes for the national team.

UEFA.com: What is your association doing to contribute to the campaign against racism and intolerance?

Ivan Simič: First of all, I'd like to say that racism is not widespread in Slovenia. We aim to teach youngsters that we are all equal. We try to support this by promoting different kinds of inclusive footballing activities. The last campaign we had was called 'show racism the red card' and I think we are actively working on these issues. We are really involved in educating children from that point of view.

UEFA.com: Can you tell us about the grassroots activities taking place in your association?

Simič: The grassroots programme is one of the activities started by UEFA, and we have tackled this project in an systematic manner. We have appointed someone specifically to look after it and he oversees everything from the bottom up – from grassroots activities held at a local level. We have organised a vast amount of tournaments for children in an attempt to have as many schools as possible joining our project. We have also organised tournaments for disabled children and are trying to get as many women involved in the game as possible. Our ambition is to work with children everyday, so that's why we have also launched a project called 'I love playing football'.

UEFA.com: The objective of UEFA's HatTrick programme is to provide support for Europe’s national associations. How has your association benefited from this assistance?

Simič: Help from HatTrick has boosted the development of our infrastructure. With the assistance of the first HatTrick programme we have built ten large and 40 small football pitches. The second contribution from HatTrick allowed us to construct eight large and 30 small pitches. Without the assistance of these two programmes we would definitely not have been able to attain such infrastructure redevelopment in a country with only 2 million inhabitants, 31,000 registered players and 257 clubs. These programmes are very important, and we would like to compliment UEFA for the implementation of this project.

UEFA.com: How do you promote the idea of Respect in your association?

Simič: Respect is a very positive slogan, mainly because football can play a major role in uniting people – promoting equality between players as well as between the other people involved. From the very beginning we have to educate and teach children to show respect. We organise a special fair play activity on an annual basis, while all year round our aim is to not discriminate, rather stimulating people to show respect to others, opponents, referees and all those who work in football. Particular attention is also paid to supporter/player relations.

UEFA.com: What are your association's plans and objectives for the future?

Simič: One of our biggest projects is to increase the number of registered players. In the last year we have increased that number from 25,000 to 31,000 – our goal is raise it to 40,000 by 2012. This may be a small number in comparison with other countries, but Slovenia has only 2 million inhabitants. We would also like to reorganise our national association under more modern guidelines and deepen the already well-established connections with UEFA, FIFA and the football associations in Europe and rest of the world.

UEFA.com: You were appointed in February 2009. How have you found the experience so far?

Simič: I have to say that it's been a tremendous experience. I succeeded Rudolf Zavrl who was the president for 20 years, and I learned a lot from him. He really left a big impact as in his era all the greatest successes of the Slovenian national team took place – such as qualification for EURO 2000 and the World Cup two years later. It is going to be difficult to surpass those achievements, but I have faith in my team and colleagues. I believe that with the help of our supporters we can again achieve or even go beyond these already extraordinary results, and that we can leave the national association in a good condition for my successor.