UEFA HatTrick award winners

UEFA is recognising the excellent work undertaken by its member national associations with the UEFA HatTrick awards – and the inaugural winners have been announced.

Since 2003, the European governing body's HatTrick programme has assisted national associations across Europe. The objective has been to direct revenue generated by UEFA's major competitions back into football, and encourage associations to upgrade their facilities and develop the game on and off the field.

The HatTrick awards are open to all 53 UEFA member associations, with five categories drawn up: best investment project; best social project; best grassroots project; best women's football development project; and best special project.

Each association is entitled to enter one venture from each of the five areas every year, and projects should fulfil given criteria to be eligible. These include mid to long-term legacy, impact on football's growth in the country and impact on specific social target groups. The UEFA HatTrick Committee has reviewed all the entries for the inaugural awards and voted for the best in each category.

HatTrick Committee chairman Allan Hansen explained that this initiative, actively supported by the entire committee, had two goals: to recognise efforts made by member associations, and to give them greater exposure within and outside the football family.

Mr Hansen said: "The projects submitted in the different categories of the HatTrick awards have enabled us to witness the creativity and efficiency of our member associations, as all were very interesting and innovative."

For the inaugural awards, 31 high-quality applications were made by 23 FAs:

Best investment project
Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Serbia
Best social project
France, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Germany, Republic of Ireland, Latvia, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Switzerland, Ukraine
Best grassroots project
Armenia, England, France, Lithuania, Netherlands, Slovakia
Best women's football development
Austria, Azerbaijan, France, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Switzerland, Turkey
Best special project
Czech Republic, Denmark, Netherlands, Scotland

And the first UEFA HatTrick award winners are:

Best investment project
ITALY: Città Azzurra del Calcio (Azzurri Football City)
• To prepare and involve the nation in welcoming the players and fans of visiting national teams
• To leave a sound legacy for football and for the Italian Football Federation (FIGC)
• To make the general public aware of the game's positive values
• To engage youngsters in social and cultural issues of relevance to the world of football, building an awareness of social responsibility
• To promote sport education and basic technical training
• To document and relate the history of the Italian game through the travelling Museum of Football
• To create a community of fans who can identify with the sport's values through the Vivo Azzurro Card

Best social project
NETHERLANDS: Football For Everyone
Under this campaign, the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) seeks to create an open and safe climate for homosexual footballers to be able to come out to their team-mates, because they feel free and confident enough to be themselves.

Best grassroots project
ARMENIA: Schools Of Sport And Peace
• To promote football and sport in targeted communities (Gndevaz, Saravan and Gorayk)
• To nurture children's and youth development as well as integration through sport and a healthy lifestyle
• To encourage the exchange of interpersonal, cultural and sporting values

Best women's football development project
NORTHERN IRELAND: SCORE Pilot Project
• Education: To provide 50 volunteers with a bursary enabling them to undertake a coach education course
• Development: For each SCORE coach to give 12 coaching sessions within their local schools and local junior club
• Competition: To encourage all women's clubs participating in the SCORE Pilot Project to deliver holiday camps at Easter and during the summer

Best special project
CZECH REPUBLIC: FAČR (Football Association of the Czech Republic) Membership
• Realisation of a unique IT system for player registration and a membership database
• Solidarity of top-division clubs in favour of teams at regional and district levels.
• The distribution of financial resources (to clubs, districts and regions) appears fairer and more effective with FAČR Membership. Compared with 2012, when a total of CZK 36,703,700 (€1,430,975) was distributed, the FAČR intends to share out more than CZK 70,000,000 (€2,729,053) in 2013.
• Creation of a unique system of member cards

The awards will be presented by a UEFA Executive Committee member at the associations' general meetings or another major event selected by the FAs.