Sports

UEFA met European fans representatives in Nyon (©UEFA)

UEFA President Michel Platini has requested that national supporter groups take the opportunity to create a coherent pan-European independent organisation in order to improve communication channels with UEFA.

Unique meeting
The UEFA President took the opportunity to encourage this development during the first meeting between European football's governing body and various national supporter groups at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. "I want to hear from you how we can protect the game," Mr Platini said. "You are the base of football. We know that fans are the only ones who show fidelity to a club or team basically from birth to death. There are those who have official roles who come and go, either presidents or coaches or players or whoever, and they sometimes forget the true identity of the club for which they are responsible. They often have different objectives, take what they want from the club and then leave."

European Fan Congress
The national supporter groups intend to hold their first European Fan Congress on 1 June 2008 in London, but the UEFA President stated his desire for the groups to finalise their own solution. "Do everything on your terms and find an independent solution not involving UEFA in order to legitimise yourselves," he advised. "Once this is completed, then we will have the opportunity to discuss matters in more structured and formal terms."

'Bottom up'
The approach was supported by Malcolm Clarke of the UK-based Football Supporters' Federation (140,000 members) who stressed the importance of establishing an organisation that had its roots in a "bottom up" solution rather than something being imposed from above. This "bottom up" approach was also reflected in the report on the study currently being undertaken by Supporters Direct – the study is examining the feasibility of expanding the highly successful UK initiative across Europe.

Challenge
UEFA General Secretary David Taylor also stated that "at UEFA, we insist that all parties seeking participation in the democracy of European football, must themselves present a democratic constitution. We understand that it is difficult for fan groups with various objectives or origins to organise themselves in an international arena. But that is precisely the challenge that faces you, the fan organisations. We seek that representative group to be established."

Broad agenda
The national supporters' groups all took the opportunity to address UEFA directly, making their opinions heard from a wide range of issues from club ownership and the UEFA Club Licensing scheme to ticket distribution and the security issues. "It was nice to get an invitation from UEFA, because it gives us the feeling that we can be a recognised partner and an important part of the game," said Martin Endemann of Bündis Aktiver Fussball-Fans. "But even if it was an honest atmosphere, it can only be the beginning and we are hoping that UEFA takes our requests into account."

UEFA is currently gathering information on all the different supporter organisations across Europe. UEFA would appreciate receiving any information on existing supporter organisations, which can be sent to the following email address: supporters@uefa.ch

©uefa.com 1998-2007. All rights reserved.

Wednesday 12 December 2007

Scottish pride will inspire Barry Ferguson against Lyon (©Getty Images)

Rangers FC captain Barry Ferguson wants to put the disappointment of missing out on UEFA EURO 2008™ behind him by clinching a place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League against Olympique Lyonnais.

Consolation prize
Rangers face the French champions in their climactic Group E match at Ibrox knowing a point will be enough to progress at the expense of Alain Perrin's side – and Ferguson is desperate to join city rivals Celtic FC in the knockout stage. "It was a big disappointment not to reach EURO 2008™ with the Scottish national team," said Ferguson. "Last week Celtic reached the last 16 and obviously we want to do the same. It would be great for Scotland to have two teams in the latter stages of the competition. We know it's a difficult task but I'm sure all the boys are going to be right up for the game."

Juninho threat
If Rangers are to get the required result, the 29-year-old acknowledges they will have to find a way of subduing Lyon playmaker Juninho Pernambucano, who is poised to make his 50th UEFA Champions League appearance. With the Brazilian having registered 15 shots on goal during the campaign so far – one less than the entire Rangers team – Ferguson is in no doubt about the danger ahead. "Juninho's a great player and we all know the threat he poses from set-pieces," he said. "They've got a lot of fantastic players but he's the biggest threat to us. We found that out in the first game in Lyon. He had some fantastic efforts on goal and Allan McGregor made some fantastic saves. Obviously we have to be careful but you can't help giving some fouls away."

Special atmosphere
Asked about comments made by Chelsea FC striker Didier Drogba regarding the advantage offered by the vociferous Ibrox support, Ferguson said the capacity home crowd might well play a part in unsettling the visitors. "I would go along with that," he said. "I've been to a lot of stadiums in many countries and I think there's no better atmosphere than Ibrox on a European night. I think it could unnerve them and I hope it does. The pressure is all on Lyon because they have to come and win. No one gave us a chance at the start of this group, so we can go out and enjoy the occasion and hopefully get the win."

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