Football shares and cares

The curtains have now closed on another club competition season, one which provided fans all over the world with countless unforgettable moments of excitement and joy.

Teams from far and wide battled for the titles throughout an arduous campaign, hoping to emerge victorious. When the dust settled, it was FC Barcelona, Sevilla FC and 1. FFC Frankfurt claiming the trophies in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Women's Champions League respectively.

I congratulate not only the winners of these competitions, but also those who triumphed in our national youth team tournaments, and I take the opportunity to thank everyone who made these events a success.

The three club finals were truly magical and yielded a total of 12 goals, proving that attacking football in Europe is alive and kicking. The atmosphere in the stadiums in Berlin and Warsaw was electric and I am so happy that we were able to share that experience at the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League finals with the hundreds of disadvantaged and vulnerable children who were able to be there thanks to an initiative of the UEFA Foundation for Children. The foundation has only been operating for a few weeks but it is already making a difference, and we truly hope that it can have a real impact on the lives of young people around the globe.

One of the foundation's future initiatives was announced in Paris [recently] and will allow 20,000 disadvantaged children to attend games throughout UEFA EURO 2016 in France. The tournament is less than a year away and I can guarantee that, through a variety of projects, we will showcase UEFA's commitment to social responsibility. We believe it proves how football can be a force for good at a time when the behaviour of some of the game's administrators has tarnished its image. I trust that better days will surely come.