Official Newsletter for the UEFA European Football Championship™

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m Publication Euro 2008 SAHeadquartersRoute de St-Cergue 9CH-1260 Nyon 1SwitzerlandT: +41 (0) 848 00 2008F: +41 (0) 848 01 2008

Editor Frits Ahlstrøm

Project Co-ordinator Liselotte Kallen

Writers Wolfgang Eichler / Graham Turner

Translation UEFA Language Services

Design The Works Ltd. / Leeds (England)

Layout/Setting team2graphics / Helsingør (Denmark)

Printing ATAR Roto Press SA / Vernier (Switzerland)

It is an honour. To represent your country at a EURO or a World Cup is themaximum you can achieve as a player. Every time I go to play with thenational team, it is as if it was the first time.

I go with a lot of desire to representmy country; to hear the nationalanthem; and to give everything Ican. There are thousands andthousands of players who wouldlove to be there and it is always aspecial moment. It is never low-key or routine – always special.

Raúl González BlancoSpain

Image: Matthew Ashton / Empics

Euro 2008 SA Tournament Office Austria Sommerhaidenweg 100 A A-1190 Wien AustriaT: +43 (0) 1 729 2008 13 F: +43 (0) 1 729 2008 10

Euro 2008 SA Tournament Office Switzerland Nussbaumstrasse 21 P.O. Box 186 CH-3000 Bern SwitzerlandT: +41 (0) 848 00 2008 F: +41 (0) 22 707 21 66

Front Cover: Austrian and Swiss football fans look forward to UEFA EURO 2008™. Images: GEPA Pictures / Bongarts

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ts Two countries - one event 06Ralph Zloczower and Friedrich Stickler practise a verbal one-two

Pot Luck in Montreux 12The Qualifying Draw for UEFA EURO 2008™

A Uniform Approach 15Presentation of the official uniforms for UEFA EURO 2008™

TV- A Different Picture 18Interview with the Director of Marketing & Media Rights

Amazing similarities 20Interviews with Stéphane Chapuisat and Andreas Herzog

Reaching for the Sky 24Interview with the Head of TV Production

UMMM … 27UEFA Marketing & Media Management

Christian & Christian 30Two careers that could hardly be more different

The EURO legends 38Lev Yashin: The Black Panther

We cordially invite you Inside EURO 2008™.This is the first issue of a regular publicationwhich will appear with growing frequencyas the warm-up for the final tournament in Austria and Switzerland increases inintensity.

The title reflects the philosophy behind thepublication. The objective is not to produce a glossy,coffee-table magazine but something which, in spirit,is more akin to a Newsletter. The aim is to offer readersInside information about preparations for UEFA EURO2008™ and to help everybody to feel part of theevent.

As a publication, we want it to be as ‘busy’ as we are.The simplistic view is that organising the final tourna-ment of the European Football Championship boilsdown to staging 31 matches. In a way, it’s true. Butsuccessfully staging those games of football requiresimmense quantities of planning and preparation,much of it in areas that are a long way from the foot-ball pitch. The sheer scope of activities is staggering.And the pages of this publication will, we hope,reflect the full range of preparation work. In otherwords, on one page we might find information aboutgovernmental issues, such as security, or the day-to-day details, like providing catering for volunteers,that are also important ingredients in the recipe forsuccess.

That is why we have prepared a series of lists, sectorby sector, showing what we aim to do or, rather, whatwe have to do. It doesn’t matter whether we callthem To Do Lists, Task Lists, Action Lists or Check Lists.What matters is being able to give the reader a clearpicture of the projects we are working on, clarifyingprogress or status and ticking-off jobs when they havebeen done.

The Lists will give you clearer ideas about the magni-tude of the project and the sheer amount of work tobe done. So much that we don’t intend to featureeach and every project in each and every issue of

Inside EURO 2008™. In other words, we will feature the sectors where there is something to report. In thisfirst issue, we are not featuring some projects but, foryour information, the Lists are shown on these twopages, purely to give you an idea of what is on themenu and the boxes we hope to be able to tick off in the near future.

The thing about Action Lists, of course, is that they areimpersonal. So, in this publication, our aim is also tobring them to life by presenting some of the keyplayers. And we must never forget, no matter howdeeply involved we become in administrative issues,that we are talking about football and about a com-petition that is fast approaching its golden jubilee. Sothe events on the pitch – in the past and in thepresent – will not be ignored. We hope we manageto find the right balance and offer you a publicationthat is easy and interesting to read, gives you asmuch information as possible, makes you feel part ofthe EURO 2008™ experience and helps you to shareour aim of making the tournament in Austria andSwitzerland the best-ever.

Welcome Inside!

Martin KallenChief Operating Officer

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Promotion

Tournament Logistics

Safety / Security

Venues / Stadiums

Cities

Partners

Projects

Events

Products

Teams / Referees / Officials

Fans / Supporters

Volunteers

Milestones

Accommodation / Hotels

Organisation

Finances

Hospitality

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Martin Kallen is ready to kick-off the final preparation for UEFA EURO 2008™.

They both stand at the helm oftheir national football associations,their respective countries’ largestsports federations by far. They both stood shoulder to shoulderthroughout the bidding process.Now both SFV president RalphZloczower and his Austriancounterpart Friedrich Stickler areliving out the slogan “twocountries, one event”. INSIDE in-vited them both to answer a fewquestions.

What do you remember of 12 December 2002, the day whenAustria and Switzerland wereasked to host UEFA EURO 2008™ in Geneva?

Stickler: The previous day, we had submitted together our finalpresentation, and then on theThursday we awaited the result in the Intercontinental Hotel inGeneva. The decision was meantto be taken by 11 a.m. at thelatest. But it was 2 p.m. before

So said the presidents…

Ralph Zloczower and Friedrich Sticklerpractise a verbalone-two

one event

UEFA President Lennart Johansson announces the hosts of the Final Tournament of the European Football Championship in 2008.

Image: Martial Trezzini / Keystone

Two countries-

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the UEFA Executive Committee actually decidedwhich of the seven candidates had won. From 8 a.m. onwards, we waited, moving back and forthbetween the lobby and the café. Every half-hour, weheard a different rumour about why we would notwin. I was tired and worn out long before LennartJohansson stepped onto the stage. But when hepulled out of the envelope the piece of paper onwhich the words “Austria & Switzerland” were written, all our worries were forgotten. It was an unbelievablemoment, simply brilliant. We were all in tears, huggingeach other, our Swiss colleagues, Vice-ChancellorSusanne Riess-Passer, general secretary AlfredLudwig, project leader Wolfgang Gramann and me.A few hours later, on the fully booked Austrian Airlinesflight back to Vienna, Ms Riess-Passer started singingthe Austrian national anthem. And (almost) all thepassengers stood up and joined in. That was withoutdoubt the best flight I have ever experienced.

Zloczower: I can remember those hours like a filmplayed in slow motion. I was extremely happy andproud. We had achieved our greatest objective andI was very grateful to everyone who had supportedus. And of course, to those who had taken thedecision. I still think it was a minor miracle that wewere awarded UEFA EURO 2008™, despite havingmuch smaller stadiums than some of the other

candidates. By way of comparison, by far thesmallest World Cup stadium in Germany holds morethan 37,000 spectators. Of course, on that Thursday, I cast my mind back to 1971, when as Swiss CurlingFederation president I achieved what appeared tobe the impossible goal of bringing the 1974 WorldChampionship to Switzerland, an event which turnedout to be a magnificent success. The Swiss team wasonly one stone away from reaching the final. Even so, the arena was totally sold out with around 16,000spectators. Maybe that's a good omen for UEFAEURO 2008™.

In your opinion, what is unique about a European Championship final round?

Zloczower: The quality of play at the last EuropeanChampionship finals was extremely high. In addition,there is the fact that Greece, a so-called smallernation, won in Portugal. That should encourage usSwiss.

Stickler: If I tell an American that, at the EuropeanChampionship, measured according to the TVviewing figures, we organise the equivalent of 31 Super Bowls in three weeks, they are amazed and incredulous, even though the figures are easy to prove.

The Austrians and Swiss celebrate UEFA’s decision.

Image: Lafargue Photos Sports

The European Championship finals in Portugal tookon an unbelievable new dimension, with more than28,000 hours of TV coverage and a cumulative totalof 8 billion viewers. In all the main European markets,the viewing figures were significantly higher than forthe Olympic Summer Games. This all goes to showwhat kind of event is coming to Switzerland andAustria. Neither country has ever hosted anything so big.

What can Switzerland and Austria offer their guests and football fans?

Stickler: Both countries stand for a healthy world,excellent food, wonderful lakes and beautifulmountain panoramas, as well as short distancesbetween the main cities.

Zloczower: We want to organise an event that isperfect in every respect – if possible, with goodweather too. Every visitor should and will be able toenjoy the high living standards that we are known for. Anyone who saw the positive atmosphere inBerne for the international matches against Franceand Turkey will know that we can look forward to a very lively and enjoyable tournament.

What spin-offs can the two countries expect from UEFA EURO 2008™ and what benefits do your associations hope to gain?

Zloczower: A study by Rütter & Partner, a socio-economics research institute, has shown that thedirect and indirect economic impact will beconsiderable. Turnovers totalling around CHF 544million (EUR 350 million) and gross revenue of CHF 316 million (EUR 200 million) are expected. Thesefigures compare with turnover of CHF 11 million (EUR 7 million) for the Engadin Ski Marathon and CHF 7million (EUR 4.5 million) for the Lauberhorn skiingevent, for example. As far as the SFV is concerned,we are convinced that the organisation of UEFAEURO 2008™ will bring us closer to our goal ofenhancing the value of football both on the pitchand in terms of sponsorship, marketing and finance.

Stickler: In Austria, we are expecting a net product ofaround EUR 400 million (CHF 620 million), additionalconsumer spending of EUR 260 million (CHF 400million) and employment equivalent to around 8,600man-years. The association is investing approximatelyEUR 4 million (CHF 6 million) per year in youthdevelopment, which should begin to pay off in theshorter or longer term. The potential impact ofimproved stadium infrastructure is currently demon-strated by the example of Salzburg. The club hasbeen playing in front of a full house for months. Ofcourse, this is also related to the new main sponsorand the signing of new players. But if the fans didn’t

Milestones

17.12.2004 Foundation of Euro 2008 SA

27.01.2005First meeting of Board ofAdministration

18.03.2005Inauguration of Headquarters in Nyon

07.04.2005Inauguration of new TournamentOffice in Switzerland

27.05.2005The Swiss Football Associationlaunches the media campaign“Play Football, Switzerland”

07.06.2005Launch of UEFA EURO 2008™Logo in Vienna

01.07.2005Official opening of the Euro 2008 SA Headquarters in Nyon

30.07.2005Opening of Stade de SuisseWankdorf in Berne

22.08.2005Launch of www.euro2008.com

11.09.20051000 Days to Go

Friedrich Stickler and Ralph Zloczower congratulate each other after their successful bid.

Image: Lafargue Photos Sports

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feel comfortable, they would not keep coming back.We are hoping that the other EURO 2008 stadiums will experience a similar upturn in interest.

What can the Austrians learn from the Swiss and vice versa?

Stickler: Apart from the sporting aspects, trust-worthiness and an ability to work effectively inpartnership – these are qualities which I have learnedto appreciate in our cooperation with the SFV andthe Swiss organisers. I am feeling very positive andcannot imagine we will have any real problems in the future.

Zloczower: I can endorse that completely. To behonest, I never thought everything would go sosmoothly.

When was the last time you went on holiday to the other country?

Zloczower: Let me think, it was in 1971. We were inFuschl and at the Salzburg festival. It really was verynice. It's definitely time we went back to Austria.

Two presidents: Friedrich Stickler and Ralph Zloczower… but football unites them.

Stickler: I was in Interlaken in early summer 2005, whenI enjoyed my most recent victory as a footballer. I was a guest player for the National Assembly in anarrow 3-2 win over the Swiss Parliament. It was agreat occasion, but the less said about the quality of the play, the better.

Finally, one more football-related question: would you say you were a fan of a particular team?

Stickler: I have always loved our national team and,since childhood, I have been an admirer of RealMadrid. Although I have to confess that the last timeReal played Barcelona – and I was there in thestadium – Ronaldinho and co played much better.My love for Real began to dwindle slightly thatevening …

Zloczower: First and foremost, I am a supporter of theSwiss national team and all the Swiss youth teams.However, I can and will never deny my Young Boys past.

Image: Lafargue Photos Sports

Logo: Inspiration

MountainsContour

MountainsAustria & Switzerland

DirectAction &Movement

CaringInvolving &Inviting

Mountains

Welcoming. The love for nature and football is symbolised by the mountains embracing the football.

The mountains stunning backdrop are central to the host nations, Austria and Switzerland

Typography

The word EURO is rendered inshades of red and symbolises the unification of both Austria and Swizterland in staging this great event.

The host country names are set in a confident and contemporary type face, with a rounded friendly feel.

Ball

Inspired by the pure and rugged surroundings. The football is sculpted from stone and features the green forests and valleys of both countries.

The pattern is based on contour maps of the Alps.

The UEFA Arch:

The mark of top European football.

Colours

Red and white are the national flag colours of both host countries.

The green core of the ball reflects the importance of nature in the region.

Logo Evolution

Mountains, movement and emotion. Thosethree elements provided the inspiration for theofficial UEFA EURO 2008™ logo and design,launched at the Hofburg in Vienna on 7 June2005 – exactly three years before the openingmatch to be played in Basle.

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Action Training Fans VictoryGoal

Passion Friendship

No fewer than 69 reporters were inthe Austrian capital to cover thefirst major UEFA EURO 2008™ eventand twenty minutes of live TVcoverage attracted an audienceof over 4 million viewers.

The launch ceremony kicked off at 18.00 and during the evening –and for the following three days –the logo was projected on to theentrance of the Museumsquartierbuilding so that the public couldtake a good look. And the designreally deserves a good look, as

there’s more to it than initiallymeets the eye. The mountainpeaks and the stylised football are the most striking elements but English & Pockett, the groupchosen from a short-list of eightcandidates to produce the de-sign, have created a busy, all-action feel by incorporating agalaxy of sub-elements inspired bycontour maps of the Austrian andSwiss mountains.

The design is flexible enough to beadapted to all the requirements

and the visual identity is based on six individual and collectiveicons including three-dimensionalperspectives. Ten different colourpalettes have also been used sothat the design can be adaptedto all sorts of environments andfeatured on all manner of graphic material ranging from, for example, Countdown Clocks,stadium signage and press con-ference backdrops to muchsmaller items such as hospitalitymenus and, of course, matchtickets.

England v Germany? Portugal v Spain? Greece vTurkey? France v Italy? Answers to that sort ofquestion will be forthcoming when the purely foot-balling side of UEFA EURO 2008™ kicks off at middayon Friday 27 January 2006, with the Swiss lakesideresort of Montreux hosting the draw for the qualifyinground.

With Austria and Switzerland qualified as hosts, 14places are up for grabs. So the remaining 50 of UEFA’s member associations will be drawn into sevengroups, with the winner and runner-up of each groupearning a place in the final tournament. One of theseven groups will contain eight teams; the othersseven. It means that each nation will play either 12 or 14 qualifying matches but there will be no need for play-offs.

One of the features of the draw will be the presenceof Kazakhstan who, having joined UEFA in 2002, will be making a much-awaited debut in the EuropeanFootball Championship.

Kazakhstan will be one of the 50 contestants to bedistributed among seven pots according to coeffi-cients based on qualifying matches for UEFA EURO2004™ and the FIFA World Cup 2006. This means thatPortugal and Germany, the two hosts, are ‘judged’on a single qualifying record and, having taken 18points from their eight qualifiers en route to Portugal,the Germans miss out on the ‘top pot’. They wouldhave edged in, had Greece not been automatically

given top spot in Pot 1 as the reigning Europeanchampions. On coefficient, Otto Rehhagel’s sideoccupies 14th position and would have scraped intoPot 2.

In a draw where the possibilities – and the specula-tion – seem infinite, the only sure-fire certainty is thatnations in the same pot cannot meet each other(with the exception of Pot 7 where two will be drawninto the same group). It means that all the potentialpairings listed on the first line are possible and it alsomeans that, with Russia, Denmark and Bulgaria in Pot3 and Latvia in Pot 4, a single group could contain no fewer than four of the teams who were in Portugalfor the 2004 finals …

Pot Luck in Montreux

Draws

Press Conferences

Workshops

Sponsors

Broadcasters

Security

Fan Park(s)

Sponsor Activities

EURO 2008 Activities

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POT 1

GreeceNetherlandsPortugalEnglandCzech RepublicFranceSweden

POT 2

GermanyCroatiaItalyTurkeyPolandSpainRomania

POT 3

Serbia & MontenegroRussiaDenmarkNorwayBulgariaUkraineSlovakia

POT 4

Bosnia-HerzegovinaRepublic of IrelandBelgiumLatviaIsraelScotlandSlovenia

POT 5

HungaryFinlandEstoniaWalesLithuaniaAlbaniaIceland

POT 6

GeorgiaFYR MacedoniaBelarusArmeniaNorthern IrelandCyprusMoldova

POT 7

LiechtensteinAzerbaijanAndorraMaltaFaroe IslandsKazakhstanLuxembourgSan Marino

The stage for the Draw in Montreux has been designed by Belgium-based company Heuvelman NV.

Some 700 guests are expected to attend theDraw, in addition to representatives from the50 national associations who are going intothe hat and special guests from the two hostnations and the eight venues.

Some 500 media representatives areexpected to cover the event and a specificprogramme has been designed for thosealso wishing to report on the draw for thequalifying phase of the 2006/07 UEFA Under-21 Championship which takes place on thesame day, at 10.00 in the Montreux Palace.

Some of the media might welcome a look atthe HD-1 Outside Broadcast Van which will bemaking its debut at a major sports event inMontreux. The HD-1 is a state-of-the-art OBVan specially designed for transmissions inHigh Definition (HDTV). It was developed andbuilt in close co-operation with Sony in

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n Swiss TV (SRG) will be UEFA’s ‘Host Broad-caster’ at the Draw, with well-known pre-senter Jacques Deschenaux acting as Master of Ceremonies. Ralph Zloczower andFriedrich Stickler will join Lennart Johanssonand Lars-Christer Olsson on stage. TheQualifying Draw will start at 12.00 and last for30 minutes, with well over 40 countriesbroadcasting the Draw live from Montreux.

England for ‘tpc’ – a production subsidiary ofSwiss network SRG. It tips the scales at 36 tons;measures 13.6 metres in length; expands to amaximum width of 4.6 metres and needs 4metres of headroom. It accommodates up to22 production staff; is designed to cope with24 HDC-1500 Sony system cameras and hasbeen built to cope with both Standard andHigh Definition transmissions. After its sportingdebut in Montreux, the HD-1 will head for theWinter Olympics in Turin.

Sporting preparations are equally importantand, when the qualifying draw takes place in Montreux, the Austrian national team areaway for a training camp in Dubai. The ten-day get-together (from 19 to 28 January)marked the debut of Josef Hickersberger ashead coach – or rather, his second debut, ashe had a first spell in charge of the nationalteam leading up to the World Cup campaignin Italy in 1990. Josef Hickersberger was cap-ped 39 times by Austria, scoring 5 goals, andplayed at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina.As coach, his record was 10 wins, 7 drawsand 12 defeats. For his second spell, he has recruited former international AndreasHerzog to be a part of his managerial teamand, on the pitch, Josef Hickersberger’sdebut will be in a friendly against Canada at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna on 1March.

Jacques Deschenaux, Master of Ceremonies at the Qualifying Draw.

Image: Martial Trezzini / Keystone

Image: Montreux-Vevey Tourisme

For half an hour, football fans all aroundEurope focus on Montreux, the resort on theshore of Lake Geneva.

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A Uniform Approach

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The official uniforms.

Seeing is believing. The big draw in Montreux at the end of theJanuary will be a Première for the new uniforms designed forUEFA EURO 2008™. Twenty dif-ferent companies – from Austria,Switzerland and other Europeancountries – were approachedduring 2005 and, from a short-list of three, the proposal from IsildaPelicano was unanimously se-lected.

Pat yourself on the head if thename rings a bell. Isilda Pelicanowas also selected to design, pro-duce and distribute the uniformsfor the 2004 final tournamentplayed in her native Portugal. “Tobe honest,” comments Isilda, “we

feel honoured to be chosen againbecause, in a way, it’s an acknow-ledgement that our work at EURO2004 was successful and our aimnow is to make sure people areequally happy about what we dofor 2008.”

“Our experience in 2004 was anadvantage,” she adds, “becausewe can now build on the sameconcept. For the event in Portugalwe worked on the basis that theoverall identity should be ‘uniform’but with slight variations. Forexample, the Board and Com-mittee members wore dark brownjackets; other staff had a slightlylighter brown; and the matchofficials had a slightly more sporty

The presentation of the official uniforms took place at the Estádio Municipal de Braga, one of the venues for the Final Tournament in Portugal in 2004.

Image: Euro 2008 SA

Isilda Pelicano has, every six monthssince 1991, been producing col-lections under her own name. Bornin 1949 in Alfaiates (Guarda), IsildaPelicano graduated in fashiondesign from IADE, the Institute forVisual Arts and Design. She hastaken part in various competitionsand fashion shows, such as‘Filmoda’ and ‘Portugal Fashion’. In1991 she won the ‘Smirnoff FashionAward’.

Her experience in the area ofuniforms has grown since creating adepartment within her own com-pany solely dedicated to designingthem. Projects include designs forthe Gregorian Choir in Lisbon,Citizens Advice Bureau and Portu-gal Telecom for Expo ’98 before shewas selected to design and pro-duce the ‘playing kit’ for everyoneinvolved in UEFA EURO 2004™.

Isilda Pelicano has created the official uniforms for UEFA EURO 2008™,supported by Luís Pereira.

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look with stripes. For 2008, the ideais to have the same grey suit for allthe, let’s say, administrative staff.The Board and Committee mem-bers will be distinguished by awhite shirt, while the rest of the staffwill wear a sort of ‘mature pink’,slightly magenta shirt. The matchofficials will also wear that shirt butwill have a slightly lighter grey suit.In all cases, the lining of the jacketwill be red.”

Isilda Pelicano and her CreativeDirector Luís Pereira were keen toincorporate red into the design, as it is the common denominatorbetween Austrian and Swiss na-tional colours. So watch out for theties and the belts – and the girls’

scarves, which will be red-and-white. Shirts will be 100% cottonand the suits 100% wool. “We haveexcellent fabrics in Portugal, butthe silk ties and scarves will comefrom Italy.”

Reception staff such as hostessesin hospitality areas, airports etc. willbe wearing a more fashionable,informal uniform based on adenim feel with grey and red onceagain the dominant colours. “I’dbetter explain that,” says Isilda.“When we say ‘more fashionable’it’s because they don’t have to be as formal as the main uniforms,which have to be smart but, at thesame time, express the moreclassical identity of an organisa-

tion and a competition that hasbeen in existence for half acentury. So our aim is to find the right balance between thefashionable and the classical. Wewant the fabric and the cut to bejust right and, in a tournamentwhere people might be in uniformfor a whole month, we want it to be comfortable and we wanteverybody to put on clothes thatthey enjoy wearing.”

The tie for male reception staff.

Image: Euro 2008 SA

Image: Euro 2008 SA

The scarf for a female hostess.

TV-A Different Picture

There have been major changeswith regard to the sale of TV rights.Can you explain them?

For the last 44 years, UEFA hasawarded the TV rights for broad-casts within Europe to the EBU,who bought them on behalf oftheir members and then took careof the production and distributionof images during the final tour-nament. So it was a major decisionto break such a long-standingtradition.

What were the reasons underlyingthe change of policy?

The short answer is that UEFA iskeen to make even more im-provements on the broadcastingfront. In the past, the arrangementhas been, basically, for UEFA toorganise the event and for the EBU to take care of TV matters. The aim is now to bring the two components closer together andfor UEFA to be in a position toexercise better control and makesure the final tournament is pro-jected in the best possible way.That is extremely important toUEFA, as we’re talking about anevent that has become a majorglobal property.

This is relevant for both the distri-bution and the production of thematches. In this respect UEFA hasdecided to internalise the hostbroadcasting function for UEFAEURO 2008™ in order to ensure thebest coverage of the competition.

The TV audience increased by 20%if we compare 2004 with 2000 andwe feel that those figures cangrow further. The figures for 2004narrowed the gap compared tothe World Cup and we have tobear in mind that the 2006 finals inGermany will be the last to bestaged in Europe for a long while.So the European Championshipwill become the major footballingevent in our continent.

So, instead of signing a ‘blanketagreement’ with the EBU, how are the TV rights for EURO 2008™ being sold?

At the end of 2004, we openedthe tendering process for thebroadcast rights in Europe and, onthe basis of the offers, UEFA optedto appoint Sportfive to act as itsagency for the management ofthe sales process of the rights on a market-by-market basis. Wehave already met broadcasters in several countries, starting withGreece, as the defending cham-pion and with the Host CountriesSwitzerland and Austria. But, ba-sically, we’re talking about athree-year project.

How is it compatible for Sportfiveto conduct the sales of TV rightsand for UEFA to ‘exercise bettercontrol’?

That’s easy to answer. UEFA andSportfive define the sales strategytogether prior to Sportfive tacklingthe markets. UEFA has then tooverview all the proposals thatcome through Sportfive. Theagency comes back to us withvarious options and UEFA takes the final decisions on a market-by-market basis. We have alsostipulated certain conditions sothat we retain our tradition ofoffering the European FootballChampionship to the widest pos-sible public – but without shuttingthe door on pay-platforms.

Can you give more details about that?

Yes. We are insisting that some of the 31 games are screened on a free-to-air basis, including the opening game, the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the finalplus, where appropriate, all thematches played by the nationalteam of the country concerned.

What about coverage outsideEurope?

We haven’t forgotten that, I canpromise you! The extra-Europeanfigures increased dramatically in2004 and our aim is to maintainthat growth. I can’t give you muchhard information at the momentbecause the tendering process willget under way in 2006.

UEFA has decided to focus on TV coverage of EURO2008™ from a different angle. Philippe Le Floc’h, UEFA’sDirector of Marketing & Media Rights, gives an overviewof the new approach to an event which has become one of the hottest TV properties in the world.

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Are there any other majornovelties?

The Internet! All the games at UEFAEURO 2008™ will be available on Internet via the websites of theTV broadcasters. This is beingintroduced in the UEFA ChampionsLeague as from the 2006/07season but it will be the first timethis has ever happened at theEuropean Championship. All in all,we’re travelling along a lot of newroads and the journey should bereally exciting.

In addition and as alreadymentioned, UEFA will directly con-trol the host broadcasting of theevent. All matches will be pro-duced in HDTV and the latestinnovations in terms of productionof football games will be used(spidercam …) to offer the fans themost exciting experience possible.

Philippe Le Floc’h, UEFA’s Director of Marketing & Media Rights.

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Andi Herzog and Stéphane Chapuisat will conduct the draw for the qualifying competition in Montreux on 27 January

The similarities between their careers are amazing:both played 103 times for their respective countriesand both achieved their greatest successes withGerman clubs. And both are considered to be theultimate model sportsmen in their home countries:Austria’s Andreas Herzog and Switzerland’s StéphaneChapuisat.

Together, they will conduct the draw for the qualifyinggroups at the Montreux Congress Center on 27January 2006. Herzog and Chapuisat will be neutralon this occasion, since Austria and Switzerland havequalified automatically as the host nations of UEFAEURO 2008.

INSIDE put some questions to these two star players.

Amazing similaritiesStéphane Chapuisat

Nationality: SwissDate of Birth: 28 June 1969

Career – as a playerMalley (1985-87) FC Lausanne-Sport (1987-91) Bayer 05Uerdingen (1990-91) BV Borussia Dortmund (1991-99)Grasshopper-Club (1999-02) Young Boys Bern (2002-05) FC Lausanne-Sport (since 01.07.2005)

HonoursUEFA Champions League Winner 1997European / South American Cup Winner 1997German Championship Winner 1995, 1996226 appearances / 106 goals in the Bundesliga293 appearances / 139 goals in the Swiss League64 appearances / 22 goals in UEFA Club Competitions103 internationals / 21 goals for SwitzerlandPlayer of the year in Switzerland 1992, 1993, 1994, 2001

Andreas Herzog is watching Rune Bratseth, his Norwegianteam-mate at Werder Bremen, who has just beaten thechallenge from the Borussia Dortmund players Michael Zorc,Knut Reinhardt and Stéphane Chapuisat during a GermanCup match on 7 November 1992.

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Austrian Andi Herzog is an ambassador for the ÖFB and EURO 2008. Your role is not yet quite so clear, is it?

“At the moment, I am still concentrating on myplaying career at Lausanne-Sport. But I am alwaysavailable for PR appearances related to EURO 2008,such as the draw, which Andi and I will be con-ducting.”

Do you already have a firm idea of what you will do when you stop playing?

“There are a few possibilities. I would like to work withstrikers, possibly with youngsters as well. But I have notdecided anything more concrete than that.”

What tips can someone like you give to young players?

“The main thing I can teach them is my attitude tofootball. My desire in every training session, my will to win, maybe also some of my technical skills …”

What is your fondest memory as a national team member?

“The 4-1 win over Romania in our first World Cup in1994. By winning that game, we progressed as rankoutsiders to the last 16.”

To what extent do you identify with the 2008 European Championship on home soil?

“Having a tournament right on our doorstep is thebest thing that could happen to Swiss football. TheWorld Cup in Germany is coming just at the right timefor our young players. It will give them experiencewithout the same level of pressure they will be underin front of their home crowds in two years’ time.”

What should the team be aiming for?

“Only Köbi Kuhn can really answer that. I wouldsay that reaching the second phase is more than realistic. It’s always great to watch the lads. And it will become even more enjoyable by 2008.”

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It’s great to watch the lads

Image: Philippe Woods / UEFA

Image: FOTO-NET

Stéphane Chapuisat still likes to be in the front seat.

Andi, you have been appointed as Austria’s ambassador for EURO 2008. What exactly is your role?

“My job is to get people excited about the Euro-pean Championship finals and, in particular, theAustrian team. For me, the event in Montreux is a kind of international starting signal. So far, I havemainly been involved in events for up-and-comingplayers, watching talented youngsters and meetingsponsors.”

Recently you were also involved with the national team in a kind of “Bierhoff” role as team manager. Was that a one-off?

“That was born of necessity. Hans Krankl resigned as team coach and his appointed successor, JosefHickersberger, was not yet available. So the ÖFBroped in a three-man team for the final two WorldCup qualifiers: two coaches plus myself as a kind ofmediator. My main job was to look after the youngplayers and to answer the awkward questions in thepress conferences. As a former team captain, it isperhaps a bit easier to deal with such questions, sincethe media are sometimes a bit gentler. A few weekslater, Hickersberger asked me whether I wanted tostay on to look after the team …”

… and do you?

“Yes, I would like to coach the team myself one day.At the moment, I am taking my coach’s licence

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Image: Helmut Fohringer / GEPA Pictures

Andreas Herzog and Austrian national team coachJosef Hickersberger.

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and learning why a muscle over-acidifies and otherexciting things. I was extremely honoured by Hickers-berger’s offer. He was the team coach when I mademy debut for Austria against Greece in 1988. He alsopicked me for the 1990 World Cup finals in Italy. I can’timagine a better teacher.”

What are your links with Stéphane Chapuisat?

“I still have nightmares about him … When he playedfor Dortmund against Werder, we almost always lostand he was usually the best player on the pitch.Once, in a sold-out Westfalenstadion, he nutmeggedme twice in the space of a few seconds and I was soashamed I wanted the ground to swallow me up. Butseriously, you have to take your hat off to someonelike Stéphane because he was and still is a reallegend. It is impressive that he is still playing in thesecond division for his home club in order to givesomething back in return for what the club did for him when he was young.”

What happened when you played against Switzerland for the national team?

“I played against the Swiss three times in all, winningonce and losing twice. I particularly remember thematch in St. Gallen on 10 March 1999: we won 4-2and I scored two goals. Raphael Wicky told me a fewyears later that the Swiss coach, Gilbert Gress, hadsaid in the dressing room: “Johann must take care ofHerzog”. But the starting eleven included two mid-fielders called Johann (Vogel and Lonfat) and bothleft it to the other to pick me up. I’ve never askedwhether it was true, but it’s a funny story.”

What can we expect from Austria at UEFA EURO 2008?

“We have to remain realistic. It will be the first time wehave participated in the European Championshipfinal round. Our objective must be to progress to thesecond stage. The potential of some of our youngplayers gives us hope. But we don’t yet have anyplayers with international reputations such as JohannVogel, Philippe Senderos or Alexander Frei. However,that should not discourage us, but spur us on. As ayoung player, you couldn’t wish for anything greaterto aim at than performing at a European Champion-ship right on your doorstep.”

Andreas Herzog

Nationality: AustrianDate of Birth: 10.09.1968

Career – as a playerSK Rapid Wien (1986-87) First Vienna FC (1988) SK Rapid Wien (1988-92) Werder Bremen (1992-95) FC Bayern München (1995-96) Werder Bremen (1996-2001) SK Rapid Wien (2002-03) Los Angeles Galaxy (2004)

HonoursUEFA Cup Winner 1996German Championship Winner 1993German Cup Winner 1994, 1999269 appearances / 59 goals in the Bundesliga181 appearances / 47 goals in the Austrian League63 appearances / 16 goals in UEFA club competitions103 internationals / 26 goals for AustriaPlayer of the Year in Austria in 1992

Image: FOTO-NET

Andreas Herzog received special permission from FIFA to appear with number 100 on his shirt inhis centenary match for Austria against Norway on 20 November 2002 in Vienna.

Broadcaster – UEFA will be dealing directly with the TV and radio networks who acquire the rights to thefinal tournament. An International Broadcast Centrewill be set up in Vienna, where some 10,000m2 will be made available to broadcasters.

“This is an extremely important aspect,” AlexandreFourtoy insists. “We really aim to create a close bondwith our broadcaster partners and to offer them thebest possible service. Having UEFA as ‘sole contact’ inoperations can be a great benefit for them. And, inthis respect, being physically close to UEFA’s HQ andour friends at Euro 2008 SA in the preparation phase is a great advantage when it comes to dealing withour partners with one voice and one philosophy.”

Another ‘first’ is that images will not only appear on TVscreens. “The other challenge is to provide a multi-platform TV production, ranging from offering the

public a ‘cinema experience’ via HDTV,to mobile-phone screens via live internetbroadcasts and, of course, classic TV.Technology will serve the content and wewill use innovations to create a uniqueexperience and enhance the serviceand quality we offer our partners. Forinstance, at the qualifying draw we willdeliver ‘video edits’ through the internet

that broadcasters will be able to download any-where and inject into news programmes.”

UEFA’s new policy means that the appointment ofHost Broadcasters will be highly relevant. “Our aim isto work together to make UEFA EURO 2008™ thebest,” says Alexandre Fourtoy. “Teamwork and rela-tionships will be very important and we are delightedwith the co-operation from SRG SSR Idée Suisse inacting as our executive producer for the draw inMontreux. Our philosophy in defining Host Broad-casting plans is to make the most of what each doesbest. Local knowledge is a great asset and so is astrong presence of host countries’ broadcasters touse in conjunction with the needs of an internationalproduction. We’re aiming for the best in order to offerthe fans the most exciting experience possible.”

Reaching for the SkyFor the first time in the history of the European FootballChampionship, UEFA is taking a hands-on approachto all broadcasting matters related to the final tourna-ment. This means taking responsibility for ‘host broad-casting’; producing the international signal from theeight venues; and for servicing the BroadcasterPartners who will be coming from all over the world to Austria and Switzerland. The man in charge is the Chief Executive of UEFA Media Technologies,Alexandre Fourtoy, aided and abetted by BernardRoss, as Head of TV Production.

“We have three clear objectives,” Alexandre Fourtoycomments. “First of all, we want to ensure the verybest coverage of the tournament, delivering optimalimages that will convey the beauty of the compe-tition using the most advanced technology and thelatest camera innovations. High Definition is a majorbenefit for viewers and the whole event will be

produced in HDTV, starting with the qualifying draw in Montreux. A second important goal is making ourBroadcaster Partners feel involved in the result,bringing them into the definition of the productionand providing a service on site that is tailored to theirneeds. The depth of UEFA’s involvement during thebuild-up allows for a lot of creativity and flexibility inthe Broadcaster Partners’ management of the event.Our other goal is to dovetail all the developments we are conducting at UEFA Media Technologies todeliver new features in host broadcasting, such asusing Internet to deliver television or new ranges ofstatistical back-up services thanks to our editorialteam and our web platforms.”

The new set-up means that, instead of going througha ‘middle-man’ – in the past, the EBU and a Host

We really aim to create a close bond with ourbroadcaster partners and to offer them thebest possible service. Having UEFA as ‘solecontact’ in operations can be a great benefitfor them.

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Alexandre Fourtoy, the Chief Executive of UEFA Media Technologies.

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The Swiss banking organisation UBS jumpedaboard the good ship UEFA EURO 2008™ in December. It was a significant milestone, as UBS thus became the first of the eightpartners who will be entitled to wear theNational Supporter badge. As explainedelsewhere in this issue, there are berths forfour National Supporters in each of the twohost countries and UBS takes pole position onthe Swiss grid. It represents a ‘happy mar-riage’ for UEFA, as UBS has been a corporatebanking partner of the organisation since itwas founded over half a century ago. Bothorganisations have grown since then and,these days, UBS has offices in 50 countrieswith over 70,000 people employed in theirbusiness networks. Shares are listed on theStock Exchanges in Switzerland, New Yorkand Japan. Becoming the ‘official bank’ ofUEFA EURO 2008™ gives UBS the right to usebrands, logos and so on in their promotionalprojects and to design hospitality packagesfor customers and staff. Precise plans will beoutlined in future issues so, for the moment,we’ll just say ‘welcome on board’.

Talking about money, a recent report issuedby Rütter & Partner in Switzerland and an IHSstudy in Austria estimate a turnover of around€363m in Switzerland (generated by stadiumwork, tourism or the telecommunications andmedia / advertising sectors, for example) witha gross value-added figure of around €210m.There is also an employment creation factorequivalent to 3,790 full-time jobs. In Austria,turnover is assessed at some €384m with agross value figure of €260m. At the sametime, the Swiss government has estimatedthat the planning and staging of the eventwill incur additional costs of around €117m.

Another survey carried out in Switzerlandreveals that the co-hosts have an extremelypositive attitude towards UEFA EURO 2008™.The survey was carried out by Berne Universityon behalf of the Swiss Federal Office for Sportand was based on 1,000 households. Nofewer than 87% claim to have a positive viewof the tournament; and 86% think that it willbe a sporting success and offer Switzerland a great chance to promote a positive imagein other countries.

Just before Christmas, UEFA staged an OpenHouse at its headquarters in Nyon, aimed atestablishing relationships with the business-orientated media and acquainting themwith UEFA’s new approach to the staging ofmajor events. The media representativeswere welcomed by UEFA’s CEO Lars-ChristerOlsson and the overviews of the new projectswere presented by Philippe Margraff, COO of UEFA Marketing & Media Management,Andreas Kuhn, head of UEFA’s assistanceprogrammes and the COO of Euro 2008 SA,Martin Kallen. The Open House was also theperfect setting for The Coca-Cola Companyto announce the renewal of its partnershipwith UEFA through to 2009 – which meansthey will, once again, be among the prime-movers at UEFA EURO 2008™. Coca-Cola joinCarlsberg, JVC, MasterCard and McDonald’sas partners in UEFA’s EUROTOP programme(explained elsewhere in this issue) and theannouncement means they will extend arelationship with UEFA that dates back to1988. The company’s involvement with inter-national football goes back more than 70years, during which Coca-Cola have pro-moted football in over 100 countries. InEurope, recent projects have included sup-port for grassroots football in Austria, Den-mark, England, Finland, Italy, Norway, Poland,Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden andSwitzerland.

On the Open House day at UEFA, the Coca-ColaCompany was announced as a UEFA EURO2008™ sponsor. The line-up behind the shirt ofGreece’s EURO 2004 defender Ioannis Goumas(from left to right): Lars-Christer Olsson, PhilippeMargraff, Chris Burggraeve (European MarketingDirector) and Steve Harrold (Managing DirectorAlpine Region).

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At UEFA EURO 2004™, we had a chance to getacquainted with MOC (UEFA’s Marketing OperationsCentre). As we warm up for UEFA EURO 2008™, wenow have the opportunity to meet UMMM, alias UEFA Marketing & Media Management.

The UMMM team currently consists of 23 people,headed by Philippe Margraff as COO and backedby Tyson Henly (Head of Marketing Services),Sébastien Leclerc (Head of Marketing Operations),Alan Ridley (Head of Sales & Event Promotion),Graham Bartlett (Head of Licensing & Business Affairs)and Tatiana Oberson (TV Rights Servicing Manager).

Marketing Services are responsible for the mana-gement of sponsor contracts and act as the keyinterface, working with them to develop effectivemarketing programmes. Marketing Operations workclosely with UEFA Events and Euro 2008 SA to ensuresponsors rights are delivered. This goes from the moretraditional rights such as perimeter boards and ticketsto more sophisticated elements such as exclusive

Player Escort programmes or Man of the Matchawards. The Sales & Event Promotion team areresponsible for sales of sponsorship packages, as wellas promotion. Following the success of the Fan Park atUEFA EURO 2004™, fan-focused activities in the hostcities of UEFA EURO 2008™ will form an important partof this programme. Licensing & Business Affairs areresponsible for the development and implementationof a successful licensing programme to extend thereach and impact of the event to as wide anaudience as possible. In addition to that, the TV RightsServicing unit is responsible for the servicing of therights holding broadcasters. This consists of ensuringthat the contractual obligations are met by bothparties (i.e. match tickets, delivery of commercialobligations in relation to Commercial Airtime andBroadcast Sponsorship, marks approval etc.).

Image: Shamir Yanay Photography

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Philippe Margraff, Chief Operation Officer of UEFA Marketing & Media Management.

But, if you head for the UMMM offices, don’t expectto hear them talking exclusively about UEFA EURO2008™. You’re quite likely to catch them referring toEUROTOP – a term you might also have seen in UEFAmedia releases. It raises an obvious question:

What is EUROTOP?

The answer is that UMMM has broader responsibilitiesfor the marketing and commercial delivery of allUEFA’s professional national team competitions: UEFAEURO 2008™, UEFA Women’s Championship (2009),UEFA Under-21 Championship (2006, 2007, 2009) andthe UEFA Futsal Championship (2007, 2009) – sevenmajor events in a four-year period collectively knownas the UEFA EUROTOP Programme.

It means that UMMM takes care of sponsorship salesfor the whole EUROTOP programme and the indivi-

dual events within it. So a full licensing programme is being developed and, in addition, UMMM willimplement an Event Promotion Programme to helpdevelop the profile of all events.

Who is on board?

UEFA has selected six blue-chip companies fromdifferent fields who, through the EUROTOP program-me, will have a much deeper working relationshipwith UEFA than ever before, with an on-goingassociation to top-class European national teamfootball, including the flagship UEFA EURO 2008™.UEFA on the other hand will benefit from themarketing power of these partners to promote theevents to an extremely broad audience.

UEFA’s integrated programme, incorporating TV,marketing, event promotion and new media, com-bined with unique delivery through Euro 2008 SAmeans UEFA offers the most sophisticated and com-prehensive sponsorship programme on the market.

As we go to print, Carlsberg, Coca-Cola, JVC,MasterCard and McDonald’s have been formallyannounced as UEFA EUROTOP partners with a furtherannouncement to be made in the very near future.

In addition, UMMM has already concluded anagreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products forthe overall EUROTOP licensing programme, meaningbranded products for fans to buy in advance and on site. A new emphasis will also be put on extendingthe licensing programme into key retailers through-out Europe and, as they did four years ago, WarnerBros. will be responsible for the development of theUEFA EURO 2008™ mascot.

For UEFA EURO 2008™, the six EUROTOP partners, willbe joined by four specific event sponsors and amaximum of four ‘National Supporters’ from Switzer-land and Austria respectively – which brings us to the next question:

Development and

management of:

Official Mascot

Host City Fan Activities

Trophy Tour

Official Song

Partner Marketing

Programmes

Sponsor Recognition

Programme

Official Licensed Product

Range

Sponsor Hospitality

Event Promotion

TASK LISTPROMOTIONAL TOOLS

The Hall of Fame, featuring the great names in the EuropeanChampionship, was a part of the Fan Park in Portugal.

Image: Fabio Bozzani

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What is a National Supporter?

The National Supporter is a sponsor who has rights in Austria or Switzerland only. These companies areimportant in supporting the running and promotion of the event in the host markets, either through theservices they offer or promotional support. There areonly four National Supporter packages available inAustria and the same number in Switzerland, creatingan exclusive group of companies in each market.UBS, one of the world’s leading and reputablefinancial firms, is already announced as the first SwissNational Supporter

How does this compare with other events?

UEFA’s approved marketing strategy is “less is more”,working with fewer sponsors than other events, al-lowing UEFA to reduce clutter and provide greatervalue to sponsors. In return, UEFA can developdeeper relationships with the sponsors ensuringgreater support and promotion of the events. Tocompare, at UEFA EURO 2004™, there were 11 globalsponsors plus six in the host market. At the FIFA WorldCup 2006 there are 15 sponsors with global rights plus six in the host market, and the Summer Olympics2008 will feature 12 global sponsors and a further 16 in China.

What exactly is UMMM ‘selling’?

All sponsors are sold category exclusivity in theirrespective fields and industries. By managing thesales process internally, UMMM is able to develop

and provide tailor-made packages for each sponsorthat most effectively meet their business needs andalso offer a level of account-handling that allows theprogramme and the rights to develop in a mannerthat benefits both UEFA and the sponsors. There isdirect two-way dialogue between sponsors andUEFA, which helps all the team-members to developand dove-tail exciting programmes that will attainboth their and UEFA’s objectives.

Appointment and

servicing of:

EUROTOP Partners

Official Sponsors

National Supporters

Licensing Agent

Official Licensees

Superlicensees

Official Retailers

Servicing of:

Television Broadcasters

Wireless Operators and

other New Media

Applications

(Marketing Rights)

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The adidas challenge: to shoot the ball across the water into the goal was a very popular activity in the Fan Park in Lisbon.

Image: Fabio Bozzani

They are in charge of the tournament offices inVienna and Berne, are members of the Euro 2008 SAManagement Board and, as such, are particularlyresponsible for national issues. In short, tournamentdirectors Christian Schmölzer and Christian Mutschlerare responsible for all Austrian and Swiss interestsrelated to UEFA EURO 2008™.

Long road of suffering with a happy ending

Christian Schmölzer will never forget 25 June 1988. The man from Carinthia had just celebrated his 20thbirthday with his closest friends, as well as his transferto second division club Kremser SC. The talented SC Spittal/Drau goalkeeper had been part of theAustrian Under-21 squad for some time. Krems had

just won the Cup and craved promotion to the firstdivision as soon as possible. They thought theMöllbrücke-born goalkeeper could help them getthere. Schmölzer had saved a penalty from a certainMatthias Sammer in an Under-18 international againstthe DDR and was already talking about a career withthe national team and playing abroad.

The four friends were on their way home from neigh-bouring Spittal/Drau to Pusanitz, with Schmölzer in thepassenger seat, when the VW came off the road ona left-hand bend and plunged several metres on to a river bed. Apart from a few grazes, the accident did not seem too serious. “At the beginning, I onlynoticed a slight pain and thought to myself that I’dbe fit in time for the start of the season”.

Yet the apparently innocuous shoulder injury turnedinto an almost endless tale of woe. For more than a year, Christian Schmölzer could not move his rightarm because of nerve damage. He could not evenconsider playing competitive sport for almost threeyears. His contract with Krems was cancelled bymutual agreement.

However, his career did not end. Insummer 1994, Christian Schmölzer finallymade his first division debut. For fiveconsecutive seasons, he was part of theFK Austria Wien squad, playing a total of2,832 minutes in 59 Austrian Bundesligamatches. His record in the top division: 16wins, 8 draws, 9 defeats and 34 goalsconceded. Not bad for a player who lostthree of his best years.

“In retrospect, I could have achievedmore”, he says. “But at the time I was no longerthinking only of football. I was studying economicsand for a long time I had been nurturing plans otherthan just goalkeeping and playing abroad.”

Christian &ChristianTwo careers that could hardly be more different …

“I see EURO 2008 as the next step in thedevelopment of European football, bringingsustained progress to the organizational andsporting infrastructure in both countries. As a former professional football player, I amgrateful to have the possibility to contributeto this.”

Christian Schmölzer

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Schmölzer spent one season as goalkeeping coachfor FK Austria Wien, before concentrating on hisstudies and final examinations. In March 2001, onlytwo months after completing his degree course, hetook up the post of assistant to the Bundesligapresident and a year later was promoted to deputypresident and head of marketing. “In that period, Ibecame familiar with almost every facet of footballadministration. It was certainly not a disadvantage tohave spent five years in goal for FK Austria Wien.”

In January 2004, he was invited by Alfred Ludwig toleave the Bundesliga in order to help organise theEURO 2008 tournament. At EURO 2004 in Portugal, the 37-year old was employed in the OperationsCentre in Lisbon and alongside the match organisersat several stadiums. On 1 October 2004, he finallyassumed the post of Tournament Director.

As Tournament Director for Austria, he is now mainlyresponsible not just for public appearances, but forcooperation with the authorities and stadiums and for implementing the volunteer training programme.“We will be taking on more than 1,000 volunteers inAustria alone for roles in fields such as hospitality,match organisation, media and VIP services. Thesepeople need to be properly recruited and trained.”

From Finance Manager to Tournament Director

Christian Mutschler, who runs the office in Berne,came into football in a rather roundabout way. Bornand bred in Basle, Mutschler’s training as a bank clerk

took him to Zurich for a few years. There he took hisfirst steps on the career ladder as a company admini-strator and business consultant. Until Stefan Musfeld,President of the St. Jakob-Arena cooperative, tookhim back to Basle as director of Basel United Stadion-Management AG.

“The stadium was complete and they needed some-one to run the business side,” says Mutschler, whotook on the role. Within three years, Basel Unitedachieved an impressive annual turnover of CHF 15million and Christian Mutschler was slowly but surelyconverted from a golf enthusiast into a football fan.

“As stadium CEO for a club like FCB, you can’t help being drawn in by the excitement”, remembersChristian Mutschler. Especially when one big event is followed by the next: first the official stadiumopening and, the next year, the European Under-21Championship.

“For me, that was my first foretaste of a major eventsuch as EURO 2008. The stadium was sold out threetimes in two weeks. Even the UEFA officials had neverexperienced anything like it in Under-21 tournaments.The whole of Switzerland was wild with excitement.” Afew months later, FC Basel embarked on their UEFAChampions League adventure, beating Liverpool FCfor a place in the second round. A fairy tale whichMutschler experienced at first hand.“The experienceswith the European Under-21 Championship helpedme in my dealings with UEFA. I knew most of thepeople and the most important requirements.”

Christian Mutschler’s links with the SFV and UEFAhelped him with his next career move. In May 2003,he was appointed Tournament Director for Switzer-land. “I am therefore the longest-serving member ofstaff for UEFA EURO 2008”, he says.

Euro 2008 SA was officially founded ayear later, in December 2004. The tourna-ment office in Berne, which was openedimmediately, now has six members ofstaff. Its responsibilities are virtuallyidentical to those of the Vienna office.One thing has barely changed sinceMutschler’s time as CEO for the stadium

in Basle: “It used to be: Have you got any ChampionsLeague tickets? Now they’re asking for tickets for theEURO 2008 opening match,” he says. The answer hasalways been the same: “I’m afraid not.”

Ticket sales for UEFA EURO 2008™ begin in early 2007, with all tickets being sold via the Internet.

“My personal aim for EURO 2008 is to helpSwitzerland to present itself as an innovativeand competitive leading country in Europe.”

Christian Mutschler

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Christian Mutschler and Christian Schmölzer.

The UEFA EURO 2008™ Ticketing strategy hasbeen approved by the Board of Admini-stration and ten companies have showninterest in becoming the IT ticketing supplier.The tender process is on track and anannouncement could be made as early asFebruary.

In Zürich, the ground-breaking ceremony atthe Letzigrund stadium took place on 15November, with city president Elmar Leder-gerber joining Swiss Tournament DirectorChristian Mutschler on site. Completion of the30,000-capacity Wörthersee Stadion (namedafter the warmest Alpine lake in Europe,where the water is reputed to be so clear andclean that you can drink it with no qualms) is scheduled for late Summer 2007. If all goesto plan, this earlier completion date will allowthe 2007 edition of the Golden LeagueMeeting – track and field athletics – to bestaged at the Letzigrund to give the newstadium its first taste of an international sportsevent.

Representatives of UEFA’s Stadia & SecurityCommittee have made another visit to theErnst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna to assess therefurbishing work already completed. Theproject is on schedule and the main con-struction work will be finalised this Spring.

Construction work in Salzburg and Innsbruck is under way, with main construction workscheduled to be finished by the Autumn andthe ancillary work completed by Spring 2007.In Salzburg and Innsbruck, the grounds willremain fully operational for the clubs whoplay there.

UEFA EURO 2008™’s AccommodationAgency (Kuoni Travel Ltd) is already at workon securing hotel rooms. Meetings withrepresentatives of the hotel industry in eachof the eight venues have been arranged, the first of them taking place as long ago as28 October, when 90 hotel representativesgot together in Vienna. Since then, ChristophSpeich, the head of the agency, and the rest of his team have been introduced torepresentatives of hotels and tourist boards(about 40 on average) in the other sevencities.

‘Media Visits’ in the eight UEFA EURO 2008™venues have been going on since the be-ginning of November. The initial objective is to acquaint Tournament Directors and mediareporters with each other and to establishchannels of information about the tourna-ment.

There have been regular meetings withrepresentatives of the eight Host Cities anddiscussions have been highly positive. Thenext step in establishing optimal workingrelationships aimed at promoting the eventand the cities is to finalise a Host City Charterand to conduct formal Charter-signing cere-monies in the early part of 2006.

Following the success of the Fan Park at UEFAEURO 2004™, fan-focused activities in thehost cities of UEFA EURO 2008™ will form animportant part of promotion programmes.

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Image: FOTO-NET

Elmar Ledergerber, Lord Mayor of Zürich, assisted by city councilors Kathrin Martelli (left)and Monika Weber as well as youth players from FC Zürich, performed the ground-breaking ceremony at the new Letzigrund on 15 November 2005.

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Accommodation Agency

UEFA: headquarters etc

Teams

Referees

Media

Supporters

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a detailed briefing of exactly whatwill be required and, as a Swiss-based agency with an office inVienna, Kuoni are ideally placedto fulfil those requirements. Kuonihave already conducted an initialCity Tour, meeting and briefingtourist boards, hotels and repre-sentatives from the host cities,starting in Vienna on 28 October.

In principle, the AccommodationAgency’s prime target groups donot include the supporters whomight wish to follow their nationalteam to Austria or Switzerland –but it doesn’t mean they will beunwilling to lend a hand if asked.

This is another important area, as it means a lot toeverybody who visits Austria and Switzerland. Manysupporters will want to make their own arrangementswithin the framework of the options offered to them. Butarrangements for the people most closely associatedwith staging the event must also be made – and this iswhere the official Accommodation Agency comes in.They will be making sure that the hotels offered to theteams, officials, media, organisers and so on haveexactly the right qualities.

Martin Kallen and Rolf Schafroth, the Chief Executive Officer of Kuoni Incoming Europe.

Image: Marc Amiguet

The travel professional

Interview with Kuoni Group CEO Armin Meier

Euro 2008 SA has entrusted the company KuoniReisen Holding AG with the task of arrangingaccommodation for the tournament. The Zurich-based company will provide more than 100,000 hotelrooms for the participating teams, commercialpartners, media representatives, UEFA staff and thetournament’s organising team in the early summer of2008. INSIDE put some questions to Armin Meier, CEOof the Kuoni Group.

What are the difficulties or challenges in providing more than 100,000 hotel rooms for a major event?

“On the one hand, the logistics of booking so manyrooms in the shortest possible time. We know most ofthe basic requirements of the people concerned –teams, media, officials and organisers, etc. But therewill be amendments and alterations literally right untilthe very last minute. That means we need to remaindynamic and flexible, something which will not beeasy as we get closer to summer 2008. However, wehave the necessary know-how and equipment,including specialist software, etc. On the other hand,we have to ensure that the price structure does not fall apart completely. The Olympic Games inAthens and, to some extent, EURO 2004 in Portugal,attracted some criticism in this area. Sharp priceincreases and minimum stays of five days were notunusual. People who stayed for fewer nights had topay for the privilege – these are situations that wedefinitely want to avoid in 2008.”

What can be done to avoid these problems?

“Firstly, you need to book very early. We want to haveour bookings sorted out in the next few months, by

spring 2006 at the latest. Secondly, we will be workingmainly with long-standing partners who will be keento protect our ongoing relationship. We are keen tobook rooms for as many tourists as possible in Switzer-land and Austria in the years to come. Portugal is stillbenefiting from EURO 2004 by continuing to attractincreasing numbers of tourists. That must also be ourobjective. The discussions we have had so far withhoteliers and tourism experts have shown us that weare not the only ones with this aim in mind. An eventsuch as the European Championship attracts atten-tion which, in the end, benefits the whole industry.There could be no better occasion than EURO 2008for demonstrating our capacity for responding tomodern trends – and doing so with a smile.”

How expensive will EURO 2008 be? Can you say yet what the price structure will be?

“We will have to expect high season prices. But I think that’s understandable and nobody will have a problem with it. However, there shouldn’t be anysurcharges on top of that – that is our hope.”

Is there a sufficient number of good quality rooms in all eight host cities?

“In Berne and Klagenfurt, there could be some slightbottlenecks as far as the number of four- and five-starhotels is concerned. But if we allow for reasonablejourney times of up to 90 minutes, we won’t have anyproblems. Many supporters will bring their families andstay on for a few days’ holiday after the matches.And not every family will be looking for four- or five-star accommodation. We expect to be able to meetthe needs of all these groups.”

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The participating teams areusually very demanding. Whatkind of accommodation doworld-class footballers need andwhich hotels can provide it?

“National football teams and theirentourage need at least 60 rooms,decent health facilities, including a swimming pool and jacuzzi, and a football pitch suitable forhigh-level training in the imme-diate vicinity. We cannot forgetthe security aspect either. Someteams, such as Sweden and Italy,like to be near a city, while others,such as the Germans, prefer to bemore remote. Generally speaking,most coaches are more interestedin the quality of the training pitchthan the rooms. In cooperationwith the organisers, we will beincluding around 40 Swiss andAustrian hotels in a sort of cata-logue. The teams themselves willmake the final decision.”

Out of interest, do you consideryourself to be a football fan?

“I am a classic armchair footballer.I don’t play myself, but I likewatching good matches on thetelevision and sometimes live in thestadium.”

Looking ahead to the day of the final of UEFA EURO 2008, 29 June 2008, where do you think you will be?

“As Group CEO, I can arrangemeetings when I want them. I willhave work to do in Vienna the day after the final, on the Monday.And I will have to travel over theweekend… hopefully with a ticketfor the final in my pocket.”

Armin Meier, Chief Executive Officer of the Kuoni Group.

Image: Kuoni

The twelve final tournaments in the European Football Championship havebeen rich in drama, joy, anecdotes, heroes and tales of the unexpected– none of which can be properly reflected by statistics alone. As we warmup for the thirteenth finals, INSIDE EURO 2008™ plans to recall the previousfinals one by one but, instead of offering a factual review, to focus on aplayer who made an impact on the competition. In 1960, it was the Sovietgoalkeeper Lev Yashin who emerged as a decisive figure. The players wechoose – and it’s not exactly a piece of cake to select only a dozen fromthe hundreds of stars who have shone on the European stage – are notnecessarily the Players of the Tournament. They have been selected onthe basis of the impact they made and their role in setting new milestonesin European and world soccer.

The EURO legends: Lev Yashin

The Black Panther

The first-ever UEFA European Football Championshipfinals were remarkable for two reasons: the SovietUnion were champions for the first and last time; andthe man hailed as the hero of the tournament was,unusually, a goalkeeper. Lev Yashin went on to be-come, three years later, the only guardian of the netto be named European Footballer of the Year.

In that year, he had won a standing ovation bykeeping a clean sheet for the Rest of the World teamduring the 45 minutes he played against England at

Wembley on one of the rare occasions where hedidn’t wear the all-black strip that had earned himthe nickname of Black Spider in Russia and BlackPanther in the rest of the world. His wife Valentina,listening to a radio commentary of the Wembleygame in a Moscow taxi, was amazed when the drivershouted “we won!” “How can you say that whenEngland won 2-0?” she asked. The taxi-driver, un-aware of the identity of his passenger, simply said“with Yashin in goal, they couldn’t score against us”.

The finals in 1960 allowed Lev Yashin to win acclaimon the international stage after winning four Sovietchampionship titles with FC Dinamo Moskva duringthe 1950s. Admittedly, he had earned a gold medalat the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne but, in that era,critics were reluctant to applaud the ‘amateurs’ fromthe Soviet bloc. The real tests were against the realpros from the West. In Paris, Lev Yashin passed the testwith flying colours, repelling everything the Czechscould launch at him during the semi-finals andproducing a string of saves that earned extra-timeagainst the prolific Yugoslavs and allowing ViktorPonedelnik to clinch the title in extra-time. “That goalin the 113th minute,” Ponedelnik recalls, “was themost important of my whole career. It was a sort ofclimax, a star moment in my life. But I have to givecredit to the cross by our left-winger Mikhail Meshki of Georgia. Alas, the Soviet Union is no more and myteam-mate’s country is a foreign one now.”

Lev Yashin warms-up on the way to the pitch for the first final in 1960.

Image: L’Equipe Presse Sports

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After the semi-final in Marseille, French fans invadedthe pitch to carry Lev Yashin on their shoulders off thefield. In the process, he lost the famous cap whichmeant so much to him. The police advertised the losson TV, radio and in the newspapers and, on the nextday, it was returned.

Yashin was 30 at the time and it had taken him two-thirds of that time to realise that his spidery limbsmight be best exploited between the posts on afootball field. Classed as ‘ungainly’ and nicknamed‘Eiffel Tower’ by the French because of his un-common height, he had valiantly tried his hand atrunning, high-jumping, shot-putting, discus-throwing,fencing, boxing, diving, wrestling, skating, basketball,water-polo and ice hockey, with only whiff of successcoming in the latter. In fact his first appearances forDinamo were in the youth section of the ice-hockeyteam.

“In the winter of 1943, when I was just 14,” he onceexplained in a rare interview, “I went to work at theaircraft factory where my mother and father hadjobs. Times were hard and I had to forget aboutfootball, even though it was my favourite sport. Istarted as an apprentice and then became a fitter.When the War was almost over, I got into the factory’syouth football team. I wanted to be a forward be-cause I always dreamed about scoring goals.” Hestarted as left-winger but was then pushed pro-gressively back through the ranks until there was noplace to go except in goal. That was how footballacquired one of the best goalkeepers the sport hasever known.

He remembers being inspired by the performance of Dinamo’s legendary keeper Alexei ‘Tiger’ Khomichwhile listening to radio commentary of a 3-3 drawwith Chelsea in London in 1945 and set aboutstudying his idol’s modus operandi. In fact, Yashin’sdebut came in 1951 when Valentin Beskov pickedhim while Khomich was injured. “He had spent fouryears in the reserves,” his wife remembers, “and thenin a game against Traktor, the ball was kicked fromone of the pitch to the other – and he let it in! Thatmeant another two years in the reserves!” The 1960final was one of 78 internationals that also includedthe 1964 final in Madrid – where he, Ponedelnik andValentin Ivanov were the only survivors from 1960 – the 1962 FIFA World Cup, when he bravely soldiered

on despite suffering concussion twice, and the 1966FIFA World Cup, where the Soviets were beaten byPortugal in the bronze-medal play-off.

“I was lucky and honoured to play alongside thegreatest goalkeeper of them all,” says Viktor Pone-delnik. “That unforgettable game at Wembley tocommemorate 100 years of English football was hismoment of stardom but it shouldn’t eclipse anendless list of superb performances for Dinamo andfor the national team. In everyday life he was a veryfriendly and modest man, always ready to help andsupport – especially the young players and especiallyin the most difficult situations. He remains in ourmemory not only as the No. 1 goalie but, first andforemost, as a great human being.”

In a Soviet era when collective virtues were extolledand ‘star systems’ frowned upon, Lev Yashin re-mained humble, gentlemanly and rather timid – even though he was named Goalkeeper of theCentury and later had a special statue erected atthe entrance to the Dinamo Centralnyi Stadium.Valentina reveals that his only display of vanity wasthe occasional “what a husband you have!”, towhich she would retort “stop showing off!” His pre-match routine, before joining the squad to preparefor the game, was to go fishing. “If he caughtsomething, he thought everything would be all right,”Valentina remembers. “If not, he was really con-cerned!” He certainly wasn’t a ‘big fish’ in financialterms. Lev accepted that fame and fortune didn’t go hand-in-hand. At his peak, he was paid around200 roubles per month (about €150) and much of his career was rewarded by the salary of a sergeantin the KGB – Dinamo’s patrons – and a grant as astudent or professor of physical education. In 1971,stars from all over the world travelled to the LeninStadium for a testimonial watched by over 100,000Muscovites ready to bid farewell to their idol with astanding ovation. Lev Yashin, the hero of Europe’s firstchampions yet never to make a debut in UEFA’s clubcompetions, celebrated his retirement by buying acar of his own for the first time.

Lev Yashin makes a save in the 1960 final against Yugoslavia.

Image: L’Equipe Presse Sports

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Lev Yashin

Born on 22.10.1929 in MoscowDied on 20.03.1990Nationality: RussianNicknames: Black Spider / Eiffel Tower / Black Panther

Clubs:Tushino Moskva (1944-47)FC Dinamo Moskva (1947-70)

79 internationals for the SovietUnion (72 goals conceded)326 league matches for FC DinamoMoskva107 international clubappearances

World Goalkeeper of the Century(2000)European Goalkeeper of theCentury (2000)European Player of the Year (1963)European Championship Winner(1960)Olympic Gold Medal Winner (1956)Soviet Championship Winner (1954,1955, 1957, 1959, 1963)Soviet Cup Winner (1953, 1967,1970)

Igor Netto, the Soviet Union captain, lifts the trophy;and Lev Yashin takes it back to the dressing-room.

Image: L’Equipe Presse Sports

Safety and Security add up to abig issue involving state and localauthorities. The public is keen toknow all about safety and securityarrangements – which is why this is one of the subjects that tradi-tionally fills a lot of newspapercolumns and air-time. The ultimateaim is to reassure supporters thatthe event is a safe one – not onlywhen they come to the stadiumbut throughout their stay. Work iswell under way in both Austria andSwitzerland, with both countrieshaving already put their signaturesto a joint security concept at ameeting in Berne attended bySwitzerland’s president, SamuelSchmid and Austria’s FederalMinister for the Interior, Liese Pro-kop. The ‘canton’ arrangement inSwitzerland means that goodteamwork is essential and some200 experts from federal, cantonaland local authorities are alreadyinvolved in the country’s safetyand security project. At the mo-ment, there’s a nice feeling thatarrangements in this sector areprogressing quickly along the righttrack.

Anyone who thinks that UEFA EURO2008™ is just a question of staging31 matches should have a look at the chart listing the number of specific projects related to theorganisation of the tournament.Even discounting the projects de-dicated to internal affairs, thereare 31 of them. INSIDE will try tocover them regularly, as and whenthere is something to report. Butone of the projects that arouse the greatest public and mediainterest is the subject of ticketingprocedures – and, on this front,things are definitely on the move.Although the exact cost of ticketshas yet to be confirmed, manybasic elements have alreadybeen established in a ticketingstrategy which aims to maximiseattendances using a fair and trans-parent system which offers valuefor money and a safe environmentto the spectators.

Anyone who has been to a finaltournament will have noticed howmuch the volunteers add to theoccasion and the importance ofthe roles they play. The VolunteerProgramme got under way in No-vember 2005 with the appoint-ment of a Project Manager. Theimmediate objective is to draw up a detailed concept by Spring2006 based on consultation withmanagers in different areas toascertain exactly which skills andqualities will be required and howmany roles the volunteers will beexpected to play. The exactrequirements in terms of numberswill be finalised in late 2006, with a view to communicating withpotential volunteers during 2007and beginning intensive recruit-ment and training programmes inlate 2007. German and French will,of course, be the ‘host languages’but a command of English – theofficial language at such a majorinternational event – will beamong the basic requirements.Other language skills will, ob-viously, be a great asset when itcomes to assigning volunteers tojobs related to the qualified teams.Volunteers will play important rolesin areas such as transportationwhile, in terms of sheer numbers, alarge percentage will be de-ployed in the stadia and in MediaCentres. All in all, some 2,500volunteers will be invited to join theparty and make sure the finaltournament ticks over nicely.

Safety / Security

Projects

Volunteers

Austria’s Federal Minister for theInterior, Liese Prokop and FriedrichStickler presented the Austrian partof the security concept, following a meeting between Liese Prokopand Switzerland’s president SamuelSchmid in Berne where they signed a joint security policy.

Image: Euro 2008 SA

Ceremonies

Official Uniforms

Ticketing

Signage

Design

Accreditation

Team Buses

IBC *

Media Centres

TV Production

Charities

Lotteries

* International Broadcast Centre

TASK LISTPROJECTS

Recruitment

Tasks

Programme / Training

Courses

Profiles of Volunteers

TASK LISTVOLUNTEERS

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The organisation of Euro 2008 SA is taking shape andthe headquarters building at Le Martinet has nowbeen completed – with the welcome news for visitorsthat there is now access via a proper reception areaon the ground floor instead of the tortuous routethrough the underground car park which was theway in while construction work was still going on.

The gross office space is 2,785m2 with six of the eightfloors earmarked for Euro 2008 SA. The staff level hasnow risen to 35 and we’ll be logging the milestones asthe staff in Nyon, Berne and Vienna (approximately25 persons in each of the latter) grows so that thepublic can see exactly how much work it takes toorganise an event of this magnitude.

Ultimately, some 410 positions will need to be filled –but this doesn’t mean a squad of 410 staff members.Exact roles are being reviewed with a view toavoiding duplication in Austria and Switzerland andthe aim is to streamline the operation so that theworkforce can carry out their tasks in the mostefficient, cost-effective ways possible. Anotherobjective is to maximise the use of internal resourcesas the event comes closer, so a single person mightplay two or even three roles. During the final phase ofpreparation, a realistic figure for the number of staffwould be around 300.

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Le Martinet in Nyon, the Euro 2008 SA Headquarterslocated next to the railway station.

The Euro 2008 SA Headquarters was officiallyopened on 1 July 2005 by (front left) Friedrich Stickler, Lars-Christer Olsson andRalph Zloczower.

Image: Euro 2008 SA

The Tournament Office in Vienna.

The Tournament Office in Berne.

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