UEFA Congress kicks off
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Article summary
Europe's senior football officials have gathered in the Croatian city of Zagreb for the XXXII Ordinary UEFA Congress.
Article body
Europe's senior football officials are gathering in the Croatian city of Zagreb on Thursday for the XXXII Ordinary UEFA Congress at the city's International Expocentre, Hypo EXPO XXI.
Annual event
Delegates from the 53 UEFA member national associations will meeting for European football's annual parliament, and the agenda is dominated by UEFA's work over the 2006/07 period. Activities within European football's governing body have grown to such an extent that UEFA's ordinary Congresses now take place once a year.
Various reports
Reports will be presented to the Congress by UEFA President Michel Platini and the Executive Committee, as well as by the UEFA committees and administration. A report will also be given on UEFA's finances, including the strategic outlook for the period from 2007/08 to 2012/13.
EURO presentation
Proposals for a new enlarged UEFA European Championship tournament format will also be presented to the association representatives. A feasibility study to look at a proposed 24-team final round was commissioned at the XXXI Ordinary UEFA Congress in Dusseldorf last year, and the latest results of the study will be highlighted in an Executive Committee report. The EURO final rounds have featured 16 teams since the 1996 championship in England.
2008 preparations
Final preparations for UEFA EURO 2008™ are also on the agenda. Last month's final-round draw in Lucerne, Switzerland, heralded the closing phase of planning for the tournament, taking place in Austria and Switzerland between 7 and 29 June. Eight venues – Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Salzburg and Vienna in Austria and the Swiss cities of Basel, Berne, Geneva and Zurich – will host a total of 31 matches this summer.
Executive Committee meeting
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Zagreb was also the setting for the latest meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee. UEFA pledged its full support to help Poland and Ukraine stage a successful EURO final round in 2012, and guidelines were approved on the use of giant screens for live action and replays at the UEFA EURO 2008™ final round.
