FIFA 1904 April 2018 by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)

A MU

C L, ND ÖZ I I TO A F O OL TS LI S N N , N Y A A PL E Z M GRI

SIC M A O F W E ST R O ’ S L E NG E O R ’S S V E T Y LE

BEST STAD

IUM CHAN

TS FOOTBALL ST ARS ON RECO

T H E SO U N D

OF FOOTBA

H TH E R

D L U O C E L R L E A H B T T “ O IC ” O F BE NOOUT MUMASZZOTTI WITH EROS RA

ENGLISH EDITION

Y TH M

RD SLEEVES

OT O F FO

DJ A B R A LO K ’ S R Z I LI A EC I P N WO E FO R R LD A CU P SO

FIFA.COM/MAGAZINE

BALL

APRIL 2018

FIFA Medical Network

Learn | Research | Prevent | Engage The FIFA Medical Network is a free online course and

Visit a single page, study individual modules or complete

global online medical network designed to help anyone learn

the entire course. There are also regular news stories, blogs,

how to diagnose and manage common football-related injuries

webinars and a chat forum where you can â&#x20AC;&#x153;learn, research,

and illnesses. The course comprises 42 modules on different

prevent and engageâ&#x20AC;? in football medicine with other users.

football medicine topics, including sudden cardiac arrest,

anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears and injury prevention.

football medicine community.

No pre-existing sports medicine knowledge is required.

fifamedicinediploma.com

LETTER FROM A FIFA LEGEND

Dear readers of FIFA 1904,

munication and teamwork. This made me a better player, but more importantly, a better

I grew up at a time in the United States when

person.

soccer was not very popular. My first professional player I saw up close was Clyde “The

I grew up in a family that encouraged and

Glide” Watson, a player for the Detroit Ex-

supported me being creative and artistic. My

press. My first FIFA men’s World Cup I watched

mother was a writer and my father was a

was 1986. I fell in love with Diego Maradona.

professor, and they both recognised the need to have a proper balance between education,

When I was a kid, I moved between Detroit,

the arts and sports. Music has always been as

Michigan and Athens, Greece. In Athens, I was

important to me as soccer. While I don’t play

the American redhead kid who didn’t speak

soccer anymore, music remains a huge part of

Greek trying to get into the game down on

my life. I continue to write, record and per-

the corner. Eventually they let me play. I dis-

form. I have a new album coming out in May

covered the game in Greece but I developed in

2018 … hopefully all three of my fans will

the US. Eventually I went to Rutgers University,

enjoy it!

which was a very important part of my development as a player and a person. I never

Former players have a unique platform, voice

thought it would lead me to play in a World

and responsibility to also demand more trans-

Cup. Success is not just about talent and hard

parency, inclusion and positive change. As FIFA

work. Everyone needs a little bit of luck and

Legends, we must recognise that we have a

timing.

responsibility to provide young players with guidance and confidence to achieve their

To this day, my best friends are the ones I met

dreams, on and off the field.

playing soccer. We learned valuable lessons about life through the game. We were taught

Yours in football,

about friendship, competition, fair play, com-

Alexi Lalas FIFA 1904 /

CONTENTS

8 Eros Ramazzotti may hail from Rome, but he is a huge Juventus fan – and he is sure that the Azzurri will bounce back. We met the legendary musician for a chat.

THE SOUND OF FOOTBALL

16 Which songs do Griezmann, Özil, Shaqiri and co. listen to for motivation? Six international stars share their playlists with us.

26 English music director Ivor Bolton on what football and music have in common, his first football match as a kid at Blackburn Rovers, and his fascination with Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger.

20 Pelé, Johan Cruyff and Kevin Keegan have all released singles. A selection of some iconic record sleeves.

30 “You only sing when you’re winning”: Hanspeter Kuenzler on some classic terrace chants.

34 Which song could carry the Seleção to World Cup glory in Russia? Brazilian DJ Alok reveals all.

36 What happens when players listen to the same beats? A field test. 34

COVER PICTURE

Our cover features Italian music star Eros Ramazzotti. Photo: Toni Thorimbert 2

/ FIFA 1904

imago, HO, Fernando Mazza, Ben Wright

4 THE MONTH IN PICTURES Fans lay flowers for Davide Astori, who passed away in March – Hobro IK fans enjoy the game from a jacuzzi.

FOOTBALL IN PICTURES

24 SNAPSHOT American pop star Taylor Swift and the USA women’s world champions.

38 FIRST LOVE Vacheron, Mexico

47 PANINI The brand-new World Cup sticker album has arrived!

54 THEN AND NOW From London to Décines-Charpieu.

58 PHOTO ARCHIVE A 20-year-old Diego Maradona listening to some records. 58

THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL

Reuters, Keystone, imago, Getty Images, Sergey Maximishin / FIFA,

41 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE “Football took a major step 42 FIFA NEWS AND THE FIFA/COCA-COLA MEN’S AND forward by deciding to adopt the use of video assistant WOMEN’S WORLD RANKINGS referees – and by doing so already in this year’s FIFA World Cup,” says Gianni Infantino. “Supporting fairer results is a 48 NEWS FROM FIFA MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS matter of respect towards the work of football professionals and the passion of millions of fans, that is to say towards 56 A FIFA LEGEND’S CAREER Hidetoshi Nakata the very heart of the game.” 61 CARTOON Mordillo

62 INNOVATIONS From savage beginnings to the rules of modern-day football.

63 FANS Are there any Russians who don’t know that the World Cup is heading their way?

64 PUBLICATION DETAILS/COMING UP

FIFA 1904 /

THE MONTH IN PICTURES

Ciao Davide The captain of Fiorentina, Davide Astori, recently died of a sudden cardiac arrest in his hotel the night before a Serie A match. Many fans came to pay tribute to him, laying flowers and Fiorentina scarves in front of the stadium (7 March 2018). Photo: Filippo Monteforet/AFP

/ FIFA 1904

FIFA 1904 /

THE MONTH IN PICTURES

Very special VIP seats These fans of Hobro IK were the lucky winners of a competition for the best seats in the house, the DS Arena, to watch an Alka-Superliga match at home against FC Copenhagen on 28 February 2018. Photo: Lars Ronbog / FrontZoneSport via Getty Images

/ FIFA 1904

FIFA 1904 /

Eros Ramazzotti, 54 “I have a lot of friends in the game, which is great recognition and an honour for me.”

Bryan Adams (3)

THE SOUND OF FOOTBALL

“ITALY WILL BE BACK”

Eros Ramazzotti has been one of the biggest names in music for the past 30 years. The 55-year-old Roman, who now lives in Milan, is a massive football fan – and he believes in the Italian national team. Eros Ramazzotti talked to Giovanni Marti.

FIFA 1904 /

THE SOUND OF FOOTBALL

You must be particularly happy that your club, Juventus, are doing so well in Serie A and the Champions League. It’s wonderful. But I did also watch our draw with one of the newly promoted teams, SPAL Ferrara. Results like that can happen, and for good reason too. Juve are currently doing well in a number of competitions, so that means that they sometimes have to play every third day. It’s pretty obvious that the players may sometimes be physically as well as mentally tired. That’s normal. Players aren’t robots, after all. In your song ‘Polaroid’, you sing about playing football as a kid in Rome. Was that how your love of football came about? Of course! In the late 1960s, football was the sport that everyone could play. It was the people’s game. You didn’t have to be rich. All 10

/ FIFA 1904

And yet crazy transfer fees are the norm in football these days. What is working class about that? Professional football is something entirely different though, it’s a different world. I always say: anyone can play football. No matter where you are, no matter how. Whether you are rich or poor, young or old. Football is for everyone. Football belongs to everyone. You’re a massive Juventus fan, even though you were born and raised in Rome. Why didn’t you support AS Roma or Lazio? My dad and uncle were big Juventus fans. As a little boy, I didn’t have a lot of choice! They succeeded in infecting me with their passion for Juventus. The surprising thing is not that I, as a Roman, supported a club from Turin, but rather that Juventus, at the time, were not very successful and were not winning title after title. So I wasn’t a glory-hunter! And yet ... ... they are still, to this day, my club. Back then, we didn’t have any real stars, we weren’t that strong.

How much time does that leave for your other big passion, football? Oh, I always have time for football! There’s no two ways about it. I try and watch as many games as I can.

“PAULO DYBALA IS MY ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE”

Does that mean you are working on a new album? I am working on a new project, yes. But I don’t want to say too much just yet. I’m still from the old school. There’s a long way to go yet. Everything has to be right, for me especially. That is why I always take my time and look at even the finest of details until everything is perfetto.

that you needed was a ball, or something like a ball. Even one of those plastic balls that seemed to fly away as soon as you touched it. It was always so much fun, whether we played on the streets or on a patch of grass somewhere. It was different if you wanted to play tennis, for example. We would have needed money for a net, for racquets. For me, football was and still is a working-class sport. If you grow up with those ideals, then you will always have a passion for football.

Angelo Deligio / Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images

Eros, you have come straight from the studio. What are you currently working on? At the moment, the temperature in northern Italy is either just above zero, or well below zero. Those fluctuations are really affecting me. But otherwise, I am well. I get the energy I need from making music and from my family. Music is not just a source of energy for me though; it really does shape my state of mind.

1984 Ramazzotti putting his skills on show during a photo shoot in Italy just a few months before his first album Cuori agitati hit the shelves.

How do you follow them? What are Juventus matches like for you? It’s always a mixture of emotions. You cheer, you cry, you get frustrated or you simply give a little sign of recognition. Who is – or was – your favourite player? Diego Armando Maradona, Pelé, Michel Platini, Zinédine Zidane, Alessandro Del Piero, to name but a few. And from the current players? Paulo Dybala is my absolute favourite and almost my protégé! I’ve been following and supporting him ever since he was at Palermo. I also like Gonzalo Higuaín. He’s also a fantastic player. It’s no secret that footballers also know your songs and that some of them are known to sing along to them in the car... Over the past four years or so, Paulo and I have spoken a lot on the phone. So before he became the player that he now is. I told him exactly what he needed to do to move from Palermo to Turin, to Juventus. He took some of my advice on board, and that delighted me. Music, your music, brings players and fans from different places together. Absolutely, yes. You can build bridges with music. You connect people, and there are no rivals or opponents. I have many friends at Fiorentina, Inter, AC Milan, Roma, and at many other places in the world of football. That is of course great recognition for me, and I am honoured and delighted by that. I do get some abuse though! Some people say that the only problem with me is that I’m a Juventus fan. I can live with that! How hard will it be to watch a World Cup without Italy? It’s a horrible feeling. I go along to the stadium to support the national team for once, and they go and lose to Sweden. It’s hard to imagine a World Cup without Italy. Just think FIFA 1904 /

THE SOUND OF FOOTBALL

Where do you stand on video assistant referees? I am a fan. If we use it quickly and correctly, football can only benefit. The game will be more honest and more just. Technology lets us look at everything and then decide. Sometimes it maybe takes a little too long to review incidents, but video assistant referees are most definitely a big help for referees. How do you see football developing? Is it becoming faster and more and more athletic and technical? 12

/ FIFA 1904

“I PROBABLY LIKE ENGLISH FOOTBALL MOST OF ALL” You weren’t exactly a bad player yourself when you were younger. Did you always know that you wanted to be a musician rather than a footballer? I played football, watched football, loved football. Above all, I lived through a time when Italian teams were only allowed to field two foreign players at a time. I loved playing football with my friends on the streets or on a pitch somewhere, but I also played in charity games for a team made up of Italian musi cians and singers, the Nazionale italiana cantanti. But life as a footballer would maybe have been too hard for me. Guitars and music were simply far more of a pull than training twice day on a football pitch. Do you often find yourself talking about football as well as about your music, no matter where you are? Yes, very often in fact. If I’m in Madrid or Barcelona for a concert, for example, or maybe in Germany or somewhere else entire ly, we always end up chatting about football. I love, for example, how Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid play the game. They are all very strong teams and I enjoy watching them. But I probably like English

Getting back to Barcelona for a minute: the last time you were there you met Lionel Messi and the rest of the Barça squad, didn’t you? You even had a kickabout with Messi. Yes, that was amazing. Leo is simply a foot ball genius with incredible ability. He is also a wonderful person. He came right up to me and greeted me with great warmth. It was a wonderful sign of friendship and recognition, from a footballer to a musician. Barça’s training ground is sensational too. I saw their academy, where young footballers are pre pared for professional careers but also for life in the game. Incredible and so professional. It was a fantastic reception, and I was very pleased. Lionel Messi, who sings Eros Ramazzotti songs... Well, if you are asking me to name a football er who also sings well, then I would have to say Kevin Prince Boateng. What is your fondest football memory? The 1982 World Cup in Spain, when Italy won the World Cup for the third time. I often find myself watching re runs of our 3 1 win over West Germany in the final. That game never fails to get me emotional. -

So what is the problem with Italian football? The Germans have shown us the way. Just look at all of the successful work that they have done in football down the years. It begins with the kids. They are brilliant when it comes to training children. They bring through their own players who can then go from strength to strength in their various national teams. There’s hardly any youth football in Italy anymore. People focus on other areas. The result is that around 80% of Serie A players do not have an Italian passport now. When it comes to strengthening our national team, we don’t have centre backs, we don’t have lethal finishers, we don’t have midfield playmakers. If you neglect all of those areas, then you will not have the players and you will not be successful.

football most of all, particularly the Premier League. I try and watch as many games as I can.

Many pundits have said that missing out on the World Cup may be a blessing in disguise. Now, finally, the real problems in Italian football have come to the fore. It is not just in football that Italy has problems. We have more than a thousand of them! Not qualifying for the World Cup has maybe made everything even clearer. We still have the same problems. But that’s an entirely different story.

It is not becoming more technical, but it’s becoming more athletic. Teams are playing more and more tactically too. Sometimes, teams that play the most beautiful and technical brand of football are not always the most successful. Napoli are definitely playing the best football in Italy, but they have been knocked out of all of the cups. They only have the league title to play for. And for that you need a very big squad. Two teams, almost. Otherwise you won’t finish the season.

about a World Cup without Brazil or Argen tina. Impossible. But we will be back. I have absolutely no doubt about that.

So where were you on that fateful day, 11 July 1982, when Paolo Rossi, Marco Tardelli and Alessandro Altobelli fired the Azzurri to glory? At home in Rome. Our celebrations after the final whistle were rather like the carnival parade of samba schools in Rio de Janeiro! Unforgettable. So there could be no football without music? No, no chance. Just look at the players as they get off the team bus before a match and

Ramazzotti the songwriter â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ultimately, it is all about the emotions that music generates in players.â&#x20AC;?

FIFA PARTNER

make their way towards the dressing room. They all wear headphones and listen to music. Every player has his own taste in music, but ultimately it is all about the emotions that music generates, and about the music that gets players in the right frame of mind for the game.

Eros Ramazzotti Born in CinecittĂ , Rome on 28 October 1963, Eros Ramazzotti is married to Marica Pellegrinelli, with whom he has a daughter, Raffaela Maria, and a son, Gabrio Tullio. He also has another daughter, Aurora, from his previous marriage to Michelle Hunziker. He has sold more than 50 million albums around the world. He was a key player in the Nazionale italiana cantanti, a team of Italian musicians and singers, scoring 127 goals in 222 games as a striker. From 1992 to 2004, he was also the president of the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s holding society.

FIFA 1904 /

THE SOUND OF FOOTBALL

PLAY The eyes look straight ahead, the walk is measured and the mind is clearly focused: players making their way into the stadium from the team bus only have one thing on their mind

Adele or Bob Marley, Tarkan or Drake – musical tastes may vary among top footballers, but on matchday, they all agree on one thing: their playlist of choice should be the perfect preparation for the game ahead. By Annette Braun

– the impending match. More often than not, they will also be sporting the obligatory colourful headphones or a set of dangling earphones, listening to their favourite sounds. Music is import ant to footballers – it is their constant companion

and puts them in the right frame of mind for the forthcoming 90 minutes, with everything that entails. But what exactly are the songs that put players in the mood to do battle on the pitch and gain that -

all important win? Six of the stars who are highly likely to feature in Russia this summer have given FIFA 1904 exclusive access to their current favourite tunes. Some of the songs appear more than once – and rap music seems to be particularly popular before the players step out onto the pitch...

/ FIFA 1904

“I LISTEN TO THIS SONG ON THE WAY TO THE STADIUM.” “THIS ONE’S A FAVOURITE IN OUR DRESSING ROOM AT THE MOMENT.” “THIS ONE I HAVE TO HEAR BEFORE I GO INTO THE TUNNEL.” “THE LATEST SONG BY MY FAVOURITE ARTIST.” “A SONG THAT I LOVE TO LISTEN TO ON THE WAY TO TRAINING.”

THE SOUND OF FOOTBALL

“THIS SONG GETS ME GOING BEFORE A MATCH.”

FIFA 1904 /

THE SOUND OF FOOTBALL

GIVE US A TUNE!

There are world-famous musicians who have dipped into the world of football such as Elton John, Rod Stewart and Eros Ramazzotti. And there are world-famous footballers who have dabbled in music such as Pelé, Johan Cruyff and Kevin Keegan, to name but a few, whose faces have adorned their record covers. The company “World Football Collection” has made a selection from their wonderful collection of record covers featuring football players available to us. Enjoy!

/ FIFA 1904

ONE MOMENT

Songs of celebration American singer Taylor Swift (holding the Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s World Cup aloft) on stage at her concert in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with members of the winning US team (10 July 2015). Photo: Kevin Mazur/LP5/WireImage

/ FIFA 1904

FIFA 1904 /

THE SOUND OF FOOTBALL

Setting the tone Maestro Ivor Bolton – whose hands are pictured here – sees a lot of beauty in football.

“ARSÈNE WENGER WAS A REVELATION TO ME” Ivor Bolton is the music director of the Teatro Real opera house in Madrid. The Englishman is also a lifelong football fan, so we asked him what music and football have in common.

Ben Wright

Ivor Bolton talked to Perikles Monioudis.

FIFA 1904 /

THE SOUND OF FOOTBALL

Did you play football? My Saturday mornings were filled with piano lessons and practice. I had a very distinguished piano teacher, he was Russian-trained. After that, my father and I usually went to the ground. But yes, I played football. I played at the local grammar school but I wasn’t good enough to make it into the school team. One of my fellow pupils played for England’s youth team. I was way out of that league, but I was an enthusiastic left-back. Playing the piano means following rhythm, it means emotion, precision, virtuosity. Did you find any of these on the pitch? When I was living in London many years later I became a fan of Arsenal. I was a fan before, I guess. But when Arsène Wenger arrived, it was a revelation to me. His style of football includes precision, formation … structure. That was analogous to me. The players were constantly fluid and finding spaces. There is something beautiful in this kind of football. As a football career was not an option, when did a musical career materialise for you? I sang in the local cathedral choir – the chorus tradition is very strong where I come from. It wasn’t one of the famous choirs, just one we sang in after school, and six days a week. We practised on Friday evenings, Saturday mornings, had two services on Sunday, Monday was free. So that was quite a lot of hours in the week, a real routine, a commitment. You had to give up a lot of hours, just like the boys and 28

/ FIFA 1904

girls in a football team. Then it became a question of whether I wanted to take it further, even to a professional level. You had the courage to do so. Yes, I applied to Cambridge University and was successful. I had a lot of interest in mathematics, but I couldn’t apply to Cambridge or Oxford on that basis. I was keen on music at that point anyway. Cambridge is by far the best university for music in England. It’s not only the teachers; the level and commitment of your contemporaries is also very high. You suddenly come across, say, 30 people in the same year who all are extremely talented. So it raises your game. You have to improve, otherwise you have no future in this profession. So there was no time for me to even follow football in those years. You are now the music director of the Teatro Real in Madrid. But how important is football to you today? I watch it and I draw great pleasure from it. Arsenal are still there but I can barely find the time to see them live. In fact, we live in Barcelona and we have season tickets for them. They’re a wonderful thing to watch. In Madrid, I have the privilege of being invited to watch Real Madrid from time to time. I did take up playing again, at least minimally, when I was working in Munich at the Bayerische Staatsoper. That’s also where I was invited to play for the Bayerische Staatsoper side in the Deutsche Theaterliga. We had a training session on the night Bayern Munich played Manchester United in the Champions League final … the one when United stole the game [laughs]. That was in 1999, two goals for Manchester United in the last couple of minutes of the game. Yes, it left my German colleagues stunned. The barbeque after the training session was ruined. Why do you live in Barcelona today? Because of Barça?

Not quite [laughs]. The reason is that my wife is a musicologist, an expert in Spanish renaissance music, and she was invited to be a professor here. She does a lot of research here; she was a professor at Cambridge University before. She said, “would you mind living in Spain?” and I answered, “no, not at all”. Two years later the Teatro Real in Madrid offered me a job as the music director. These are two completely unconnected events. Now we have an apartment in Madrid, but we mainly live in Barcelona. My work takes me all over. I am lucky because in this way football is never far away. Maestro, what do music and football have in common? Teamwork is the main thing. Training an orchestra is part of the whole extended process of people coming together to interpret a score. If you mess up as a brass player, for instance, you cause a lot of stress for your colleagues and severely undermine the whole effort. So the responsibility rests on each and every member of the team. The opponent is within, so to say. Yes, because you don’t have an opponent who would put a bellicose factor to your perform ance. Some older musicians view the conductor as the opponent [laughs]. But I would say I am more like a trainer.

Maestro, what is your first lasting football memory from childhood? My first experience was going to Blackburn Rovers, a team with a famous history, when I was about seven years old. My father took me. He was a railway man, a working-class man, and Blackburn was an industrial town. Rovers at that time were in the second division, what is now called the Championship. It was very well attended, really. Walking to the ground and standing there is a lasting, strong memory for me.

In what respect? In football and in music you have goals. In football, the objective is to win the match, possibly in a stylish way. An orchestra’s goal is to deliver the score and interpret it in a convincing way. So the composer sets the goal, really. They’re both pretty complex. There’s nothing simple in interpreting a Mahler or a Bruckner symphony. I think that’s why they expand the scope of human endeavour. The operas of Wagner will require your peak performance. Debussy speeds up the human brain. The same can be said of the game plans of Pep Guardiola or Arsène Wenger.

Football fan Ivor Bolton attends Barcelona and Real Madrid matches whenever his schedule allows.

What is your own style of play? I am not an overbearing conductor. In former generations, there were conductors who were quite dictatorial. They were masters of their class, but quite tiring. That was partly a reflection of the societies in which they were brought up, which tended towards authoritarianism.

Ben Wright

There were also football trainers like that. I am not saying that I address all musicians by their first name or that I have a drink with them in the evening, not at all. When you are standing in front of an orchestra, your word has to mean something, otherwise thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anarchy. Generally, people want a dynamic rehearsal and the sense that problems are being solved. Like the ensemble moments, the tuning moments, the technical side, but also the sweep of the piece. So I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about focusing and speaking slowly. In football, I prefer a trainer with a clear, superb organisational brain who knows what he wants, rather than a passionate, wild touchline figure. It must be so important to have a clear vision of what you want.

Yes, very important. You have a very clear idea of the sounds in your head that you want to come out and become evident. I prefer people who have a strong vision of the piece or the game.

Ivor Bolton, born in Blackrod, England, in 1958, has held various positions including: music director of Glyndebourne Touring Opera (1992-1997), principal conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (19941996) and chief conductor of the

What about the stars in your teams? Sometimes they can be rather self-appointed spokespeople of the team. But generally, I enjoy it when people are committed, I enjoy the conversations with the team. They have something to offer, they contribute to the greater good. I tend to encourage that. When people want to take responsibility, those orchestras are the best. The Berlin Philharmonic is quite a vocal orchestra; during rehearsals they talk a lot. People feel entitled to ask a lot of questions. Elsewhere, with some conductors the rehearsals are more interesting than the actual performance for the audience.

Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, with whom he appeared at The Proms in 2006. He now holds the title of honorary conductor with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg. In February 2014, the Teatro Real in Madrid named him as its music director as of the 2015-2016 season, on an initial contract of five years. In June 2015, the Sinfonieorchester Basel announced the appointment of Bolton as its next chief conductor, as of the 2016-2017 season, with an initial contract of four years. He is married to the musicologist, critic, and broadcaster Tess Knighton, with whom he has a son.

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surely not a sustainable strategy, is it? In football you would lose every game that way [laughs]. FIFA 1904 /

THE SOUND OF FOOTBALL

”

N LY S O U I O N Y

WINNI N G ’RE

HEN YO W U G

“

Getty Images, Sion Ap Tomos (Illustration)

(our favourite terrace chants)

/ FIFA 1904

YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE

The tune probably has the same effect on

bandleader Gerry Marsden, who with his

opposing teams, although for very differ-

group The Pacemakers had just had two

ent reasons. Unsurprisingly, when Pink

hit singles. During a coach trip as a guest

Floyd wanted to emphasise the main

of Liverpool FC, Marsden played Shankly

message of their song Fearless (taken

his next single – You’ll Never Walk Alone.

from the album Meddle), they used a live recording of the Kop as a backing track.

The song was a cover version of a popular

The pride and passion embodied by You’ll

ditty from the musical Carousel, com-

Never Walk Alone is rooted in nostalgia.

posed by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein and given its world premiere on Broadway in 1945. Shankly was much

pool’s glory days. Rewind to 1963 and the

taken with what he heard, and soon

Is there any song more closely associated

start of a new football season. Beatle-

enough the press were reporting that

with a football club than You’ll Never

mania is at its height. Bill Shankly had

Liverpool had a new club song. You’ll

Walk Alone is with Liverpool? In the

taken over as the Reds’ manager in 1959

Never Walk Alone topped the British

countdown to kick-off at Anfield, when

and had succeeded in taking the club up

charts for four weeks, and by the end of

the stadium resounds to the sound of

to the top flight at the third attempt

the season Liverpool had claimed their

40,000 fans bellowing the famous chorus,

followed by a respectable eighth-place

first league title since 1947. The rest is

the anthem still sends shivers down the

finish in their first season back in the First

history.

spine. Hanspeter Kuenzler

Division. Shankly was a friend of

GUANTANAMERA

Every set of football fans knows at least

known all over Cuba. At some point

two versions: one for their own team and

around 1929, Guantanamera became one

another for their opponents, with one

of those improvised songs. The song is

used for celebrating and another for

said to be about a girl from Guantanamo

gloating. It is entirely possible for another

who misinterpreted a compliment from

two or three new versions to be made up

the lyricist in his lunch break before the

within the course of a match. The popu-

broadcast. However, the version made

larity of the song can be attributed to its

popular across the globe by American folk

incredibly catchy melody – one that is

and protest singer Pete Seeger on his

simple, impossible to forget and somehow

1963 album We Shall Overcome uses an

charming. It can be used in any number of

arrangement by Cuban composer Julián

ways and either bellowed drunkenly or

Orbón that uses extracts from four poems

With the possible exception of Happy

sung sweetly like a love song. Improvisa-

by writer and national hero José Marti.

Birthday, it would be tough to find another

tion is central to the song’s appeal; the

Since then, numerous artists have rec

song anywhere in the world for which

easy swinging rhythm and multiple vowels

orded their own versions of the song,

there are more different versions than

of the title challenge the singer to find their

including Celia Cruz, the Fugees, Pitbull,

Guantanamera. Hanspeter Kuenzler

own words for the melody. Indeed, the

Joe Dassin, Los Lobos and Robert Wyatt,

origins of this popular song lie in improvisa

not to mention the countless variations

The evergreen classic harks back to Liver-

tion. Shoemaker Joseíto Fernández, born

such as “There’s only one [insert player’s

in Havana, Cuba, in 1908, was a singer for

name]”, “You only sing when you’re

the Raimundo Pia Orchestra in his spare

winning” or even “You’re getting sacked

time, and his speciality was using impro-

in the morning”. The possibilities, ranging

vised songs to comment on all kinds of

from adulation to derision, are endless…

topical issues, for which he became well

FIFA 1904 /

IRON UNION

Over 14 years have passed since Union’s

words to the carols. This joyful occasion is

fans first started singing Christmas songs.

typical of a club whose fans are well

The tradition was born out of frustration

known for their dedication. Back in 2004,

when the team had been suffering a

the club was in dire financial straits,

wretched run of form in the run-up to

prompting the fans to swiftly organise a

Christmas. After the last match before

blood donation drive and donate the

Christmas Eve, the mood among the

proceeds to the club’s coffers. By 2008, the

club’s supporters was so low that they all

stadium was badly in need of renovation,

headed home without even exchanging

so 2,400 supporters grouped together

holiday greetings. For one Torsten Eisen-

and completed the work as a labour of

beiser, this was simply too sad. He called a

love within 300 days. Union’s history goes

couple of friends and suggested that they

back to the days of the Iron Curtain.

At Christmas time, there is no football

should gather in front of the stadium

Founded in 1966, the club provided an

stadium more atmospheric than Stadion

gates to sing a couple of festive tunes.

alternative to Berliner FC Dynamo, which

An der Alten Försterei, home of Bundesliga

That evening, 89 fans joined him; the

was chaired by the head of the feared

second division club 1. FC Union Berlin.

following year their numbers were even

secret police. At every free kick, Union

Hanspeter Kuenzler

greater; and by the third year, the sing-

fans chanted, “The wall must come

along had become an official club event.

down!” at the top of their voices. The

Nowadays, close to 30,000 fans join in

official club song, Eisern Union (“Iron

with the Christmas songs each year for

Union”) was recorded by German punk

the entire 90 minutes of a match, plus

idol Nina Hagen in 1998 and still echoes

stoppage time. Each participant is given a

around the stadium before each match.

small candle and a booklet containing the

SEVEN NATION ARMY

Prior to EURO 2008, the majority of

When Club Brugge played Roma in the

European football supporters were proba-

UEFA Cup three years later, the melody

bly unfamiliar with Detroit natives Jack

returned to Italy with the visiting fans and

and Meg White. Since 1997, the duo had

swiftly became the tifosi’s unofficial

been trying to create a musical blend out

national anthem – just in time for the

of authentic blues and various aesthetic

World Cup in Germany. After Italy were

concepts the former art students had

crowned world champions, Seven Nation

concocted. Club Brugge do not play in

Army became so widely ingrained on

red, white and black, the colours regularly

European football terraces that UEFA

donned by the band, but when their

made it the official entrance song for

supporters gathered in a Milanese bar

teams at EURO 2008. Jack White, who by

ahead of their side’s Champions League

his own admission has little footballing

The origins of fans’ stadium chants are

match against AC Milan in October 2003,

talent, felt honoured, saying: “Nothing is

often shrouded in mystery. The Daa da da

Seven Nation Army was playing on the

more beautiful in music than when people

da da daa daa song, better known as

jukebox. The good-humoured Belgian fans

embrace a melody and allow it to enter

Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes,

heartily sang along to the song off the

the pantheon of folk music.” His song is

is a case in point. Hanspeter Kuenzler

White Stripes album Elephant, and when

not alone in that regard. The daa da da da

their team secured a 1-0 victory thanks to

da daa daa can also be heard in Anton

Andrés Mendoza’s 33rd-minute goal, the

Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony in B flat major,

tune’s propitious reputation was sealed.

which he completed in 1881.

From then on, it took on a life of its own. FIFA 1904 /

THE SOUND OF FOOTBALL

MAGIC By Annette Braun

Best friends Neymar celebrated his birthday in Paris in February. Alok wouldn’t have missed mixing beats for his mate for the world.

/ FIFA 1904

Alisson Demetrio (2)

Alok’s music gets millions of people on the dance floor. But which track could lead his home country Brazil to World Cup glory? The DJ gives it a shot.

Double whammy Alok loves music and football, so what better for him than to perform in a stadium?

Alok was barely ten years old when he

hopes that it will lead the team and his good

INTRODUCING... ALOK!

watched the World Cup final between

friend Neymar into the knockout phase and,

Alok Achkar Peres Petrillo is a Brazilian DJ

Brazil and Germany with his family in

all being well, to win the World Cup.

and producer. He was born in 1991 in

2002. “I remember it very clearly to this

Goiânia in the state of Goiás. He has

day. A very special moment for me,” he

become the poster child for Brazilian

said recalling the 2-0 win of the Seleção.

electronic music with hits like Hear Me

How he cheered for Ronaldo who, four years earlier, had been part of the team that lost in the final. “It was his redemption.” The entire nation went Ronaldo crazy. And the boy from Goiânia’s passion for football was fired up. Today, Alok is a DJ, filling stadiums with people who dance to his beats. When we start talking about football, the famous artist reverts to being a fan, and an emotional one at that. “Wins and defeats are all part of the sport and the evolution of each player and team. I have to admit to having occasionally shed a tear or two over defeat!“ He is looking forward to the World Cup in Russia: “We will discover many fresh and talented players that will probably be idols in years to come. That’s all part of the magic of the World Cup. I cannot wait to watch as many games as I can.” The perfect result for Brazil? Alok has already found the right sound for FIFA 1904. He

THIS IS WHAT DJ ALOK’S SELEÇÃO SOUNDS LIKE:

“THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO SUPPORT OUR TEAM IS TO FIND SONGS THAT MATCH THEIR EMOTION AND ENERGY. I THINK THAT THE BEST SOUNDS TO REPRESENT THE BRAZILIAN TEAM UP TO THIS DAY ARE THE CLASSIC UKULELE OR CAVAQUINHO. THE CLASSIC BRASILEIRINHO IS ONE OF THE SONGS THAT ALWAYS REMINDS ME OF OUR AMAZING TIMES IN FOOTBALL. A NEW EDIT TO THE ORIGINAL VERSION WITH SOME DRUMS AND ELECTRONIC ELEMENTS ADDED COULD GO REALLY WELL. THAT JUST GAVE ME AN IDEA…!“

Now. He has also won awards; he has been named “best Brazilian DJ” several times and is the only Brazilian to have made it onto the list of top 25 DJs in the world.

FIFA 1904 /

THE SOUND OF FOOTBALL

GOALS AT 160 BPM Football is about speed, rhythm and keeping time. What happens when players listen to the same beats? Are they more in sync with each other and therefore more successful?

It is not the first time since the cultivation

SYNCHRONISED MOVEMENT

Can these synchronisation processes be

of the short-passing game in the form of

The music and science journalist Manfred

triggered by external stimuli? If so,

the Spanish tiki-taka style that modern

Müller from Cologne has tried to find an

whether and when a team finds its

football, with its distinctive physical

answer. Working together with Dr Alfred

rhythm may no longer be left to chance.

component and rich tactical variety, has

Effenberg and Dr Gerd Schmitz from the

Effenberg and Müller’s working group

turned to rhythmic, timed sequences.

Institute for Sports Science at the Univer-

now also includes the football coach

Defence-splitting passes call for

sity of Hanover and the media composer

Armin Friedrich and has set out to test

split-second timing by the attacking team,

Matthias Hornschuh, Müller has started

the theory in practice. A total of more

as do transitioning to defence and

to run field tests. He suspects that “pro-

than 100 footballers in “A” youth and

lightning-fast counter attacks.

cesses similar to those that take place

senior teams, both men and women,

when musicians improvise together also

took part in the study.

occur in a football team”. Müller ex-

situation what his team needs from him at

plains, “the players concerned finely

Using wireless headphones, rhythmically

a given point in time in the game? How

attune their movements to each other.

accentuated sound sequences of 140

do players communicate with each other,

It’s a process that is spontaneous and

beats per minute were played to the

for instance, about upping the pace? In

largely subconscious, but has ‘musical’

players of a team during training games.

short, how does a team find its rhythm?

precision.”

“Individual movement rhythms are thus

But how can a player know in a given

David Ramos / FIFA via Getty Images

By Perikles Monioudis

/ FIFA 1904

coupled to an external pulse pattern that

1993 – a goal that is engraved in German

passing and scoring. There is much to

can serve as a common time basis to

football fans’ minds. Okocha sashayed

suggest that concrete training methods

more precisely time playing the ball

past three defenders in the penalty area

can be developed on the basis of these

forward, receiving the ball or running

and dodged the goalkeeper before

results in order to instil a sense of timing

speed,” explains Müller. For comparison,

scoring.

in complex game situations.

the same rhythm, but asynchronously, in

In order to transform this “dance” into

Whether this will work remains to be

other words at different tempos between

music, Hornshuh marked some param

seen. However, a follow-up study may

120 and 160 beats per minute.

eters of Okocha’s and Kahn’s movements,

the players of the opposing team heard

soon shed more light on this.

such as their steps and when they

TECHNOBEATS INSTEAD OF THE METRONOME

touched the ball. Superimposing both

When choosing the music, real rhythms

astonishing: Okocha and Kahn were

were preferred to metronome clicks,

moving to the same beat for the whole

which players no longer actively per-

passage of play, not just the shot. So

ceived after a while. Beats needed to

synchronicity can also be observed

change. The musicologist Matthias

between opponents and not just within a

Hornshuh from Cologne overlaid beats

team, as Müller and Effenberg were also

with techno sounds. He has used this

able to back up with hard data.

sound patterns resulted in something

method before when he converted goals into sound and created a musical image

“It is proven,” said Müller, “that a team’s

of them. One example is the goal scored

performance relating to synchronous

by Frankfurt player Jay-Jay Okocha

passes significantly improves when a

against the entire defence of Karlsruhe

rhythmic stimulus is applied, both in

SC, including goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, in

terms of the speed and precision of

FIFA 1904 /

FIRST LOVE PLACE Hidalgo, Mexico DATE 6 September 2016 TIME 14:46 PHOTOGRAPHER Steve McCurry 38

/ FIFA 1904

FIFA 1904 /

PRESIDENT´S MESSAGE

SUPPORTING FAIRER RESULTS enormous pressure. However, we have an obligation to provide match officials with all of the tools they need to help them take decisions as accurately as possible. I am sure that soon we will reach a stage in which VARs are part and parcel of the game and its flow. Right now, while technology is still a novelty in football, every single incident draws attention and is dissected like an anomaly – unlike the many seconds that we have grown used to wasting, say, in between free kicks or -

throw ins. Over the course of the test phase, the average duration of a VAR -

review was 60 seconds: 39 seconds for VAR only reviews and 70 -

seconds for on field reviews. This means that during those 1,000+ matches, less than 1% of overall playing time was spent on VAR checks and reviews – as opposed to an estimated 9.5% of time lost with free kicks, for example. It seems to me like quite -

a reasonable trade off for more justice. In any case, FIFA’s Refereeing and Football Technology Innovation Football took a major step forward by deciding to adopt the use

departments will be constantly working to streamline the use of

of video assistant referees – and by doing so already in this year’s

VARs. This means enhancing the processes of requesting video

FIFA World Cup™. Mind you, I do not say that only as a football

assistance and communicating the decisions to players, fans and

executive who has long backed this initiative, but as who I am

viewers.

first and foremost: a football fan. And, yes, we will be ready for controversy. Whenever people care The reason why I am genuinely excited lies in a sense of priority,

about something as much as they do about football, there will

for I care too much about the game to accept that it remains

always be discussion. In the same way that for many, many years

subject to decisive errors that can be avoided.

there was discussion around other questions: “Why does football have access to technology but does not use it?” “Why does the game have to be so close minded?” -

You do not need to go any further than the VAR test phase. For almost two years, the University of Leuven analysed the use of the technology in more than 1,000 matches. The result: a 98.9%

Football could either expose itself to a brand new controversy –

accuracy rate in situations subject to review. In total, 5% of the

arising from a willingness to improve the game – or settle for an

matches involved the correction of a clear and obvious error.

existing, inert one. I am happy we chose the former.

Michael Regan / FIFA via Getty Images

Supporting fairer results is a matter of respect towards the work of football professionals and the passion of millions of fans, that is

Yours in football,

to say towards the very heart of the game. I cannot think of higher stakes, or stronger arguments, than those. Having said that, will there still be mistakes? Absolutely. Unavoid able ones. An important component of football refereeing is subjective, and for that we will always have to count on human

Gianni Infantino

judgement, which is fallible by nature – even more so when under

FIFA President FIFA 1904 /

FIFA NEWS

opening match will see the hosts, France, take on Ghana in

The FIFA Council held its first meeting of the year in Bogotá,

Vannes. Defending champions Korea DPR will meet England,

Colombia, on 16 March, passing a number of milestone decisions,

Mexico and Brazil, while Japan were pitted against the USA,

such as:

Paraguay and Spain. Three-time champions Germany will be up

•

Amending the Regulations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup

against Haiti, who will be making their debut, as well as China PR

Russia™ so that the tournament adopts the following changes

and Nigeria. “I’d like to send my regards and warmly congratulate

to the Laws of the Game, approved by The International

Haiti, who just qualified for their first-ever FIFA women’s tourna-

Football Association Board (IFAB) at its 132nd Annual General

ment, on their remarkable road to France. Well done, girls, for

Meeting: use of video assistant referees (VARs) in all matches;

taking this huge step,” said FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura.

one additional substitute per team in matches that go into

“It’s so encouraging to see these young girls pointing the way

extra time; permission to communicate information and

forward through playing football. For FIFA, increasing the partici

transmit data to the technical area for coaching purposes.

pation of women in football is an imperative. The development of

Approving the voting procedure for the designation of the

women’s football is at the top of our list of priorities in our strategy

host country/countries of the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ final

‘FIFA 2.0: The Vision for the Future’.”

LANDMARK FIFA COUNCIL DECISIONS

competition. •

Approving FIFA’s annual reports for 2017 – i.e. the Activity Report, the Financial Report and the Governance Report. These three reports will now be submitted to the 68th FIFA

Congress in Moscow on 13 June for ratification. •

FIFA’s strategic body agreed, in principle, that there was a crucial need to support women’s football and to strengthen the existing scenario of international women’s competitions. However, further to the consultation phase that led to the proposal of a FIFA Women’s World League by the FIFA administration, the FIFA Council decided that the matter required further examination and should be revisited in the body’s

•

upcoming meetings. After discussing the pros and cons of adopting a different strategy for the future of international youth competitions, biennial U-17 and U-20 tournaments for both men and

INFANTINO VISITS UNITED NATIONS

women.

FIFA President met UN Secretary-General António Guterres at

Regarding the tournaments scheduled for 2019, the FIFA

UN headquarters in New York on 9 March. Both men agreed that

Council designated Poland as the host of the FIFA U-20 World

the United Nations and FIFA share a lot of core values. Further-

Cup and Peru as the host of the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

more, cooperation on the promotion of positive values and

Following months of consultation, both within FIFA’s relevant

human rights through football should be intensified. President

committees and between FIFA and the game’s key stake

Infantino pledged his support for UN efforts more broadly, and in

•

the FIFA Council decided to stick to the existing structure of

holders, the FIFA Council agreed upon the exact wording of

particular, to assist UN efforts in specific countries as well as in

important amendments to the Regulations on the Status and

achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In this regard, the

Transfer of Players.

football for schools project was presented to the UN Secretary-

and a great pleasure to discuss several important topics with him as I think he clearly believes in the power of football as I do. To

The Official Draw for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2018 was

harness that power, we touched on many common goals, includ-

held at Rennes Opera House on 8 March, and it threw up a num-

ing how FIFA can continue to help promote peace in conflict

ber of intriguing ties – particularly Japan v. USA – for the tourna-

situations, unite people and promote the positive values that both

ment that will be held in France between 5 and 24 August. The

the UN and FIFA share.”

/ FIFA 1904

DRAW FOR U-20 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

meeting, Infantino said: “It was an honour to meet Mr Guterres

Aurelien Meunier / Getty Images

General as a tool for development through sport. After the

EQUALITY AND INCLUSION

quite rushed. Nevertheless, I was fortunate enough to secure a Skype interview and was later admitted to the course. I couldn’t

The fourth FIFA Conference for Equality and Inclusion took place

believe it!

at the Home of FIFA on 2 March under the motto “Pass it on – Hope through football”. Many people involved in the fight for a

What did you enjoy most about the course?

fairer society without discrimination came to Zurich to talk about

The first module in Leicester was more like deep learning again,

the role of sport, and in particular, football, as a means for imple

about the history of sport, the Olympics, and so many other

menting equality and integration. “My mother always said that

amazing topics. We also had really interesting professors and

there were three things that united the world: food, music and

guest lecturers, which is what makes the course so unique. In

sport. And she’s right. Sport changed the way that I feel about

Milan, where you do more management, accounting and finance,

myself. Sport changed the whole way that the world sees itself,”

I found it very challenging as a journalist because I’m not that

said Loretta Claiborne, Chief Inspiration Officer for the Special

great when it comes to numbers. But I loved learning something

Olympics International Board of Directors. Warshan Hussin, who

new. The law module in Neuchâtel was also really challenging but

fled from Iraq with his family at the age of 12 and spent four years

equally fascinating as I dreamt of being a lawyer as a kid.

in Syria, agreed with this sentiment: “I believe that football has a special power, and one that I’ve experienced myself. It was never

You got to know a lot of people and places during the course. Do

easy going from one country to another, but football was always

you draw on this network in your job today?

key to my happiness.”

Yes, absolutely. One of the key takeaways from this course is learning the art of networking. I always made a point of speaking with people who struck a chord with me or in whom I had a specific interest, for example spokespersons for communications

FIFA MASTER GRADUATES AT FIFA

departments. Today, from time to time I even work with people I met during my studies. We have a strong alumni network, there is a Facebook group for all graduates and my class has a WhatsApp group which is great for keeping up with job, engagement and baby news! We are all very much willing to help one another professionally, and I think this is one of the strongest features of the FIFA Master alumni network. To whom would you recommend the FIFA Master course? It’s suitable for people who already have some professional work experience and who are in the sport industry or want to break into the world of sports management. I think it’s also very inter esting for people outside of Europe in order to gain experience with or access to international sports federations. By enrolling and studying you will gain a broad understanding of the sports world and you will meet incredible people along the way. It’s the best

Sarah Widera is a FIFA Master graduate. After completing the

way to gain a foot in the door and make your dream of working

14th edition of the FIFA Master in 2014, the Australian/British

in sport a reality.

national is now working as a Corporate Communications Man ager at FIFA.

The FIFA Master – International Master in Management, Law and

Management (Milan, Italy) and the University of Neuchâtel. In

journalist in Sydney, but I was always conscious of wanting to do

2017, the FIFA Master was ranked as the no. 1 course in Europe

more, something that would fit my skill set. I found out about the

for the fifth time in the SportBusiness International global rank

FIFA Master through a colleague. I applied on the last day possible

ings. More information: https://www.cies.ch/en/education/

and didn’t think I would have much luck as my application was

fifa master/about fifa master/about fifa master -

De Montfort University (Leicester, UK), SDA Bocconi School of

I already had my bachelor degree and was working as a TV

Ben Moreau / FIFA

Humanities of Sport – is organised by the CIES in partnership with Sarah, why did you chose to enrol in the FIFA Master?

FIFA 1904 /

+ / – Points

Rank Team

+ / – Points

Rank Team

+ / – Points

Rank Team

1 USA

2115

55 Equatorial Guinea

-2

1446

109 Mozambique

865

St Kitts and Nevis **

2 England

2042

56 Northern Ireland

-1

1425

110 Malawi

842

Guinea-Bissau **

927

3 Germany

-1

2033

57 Bosnia and Herzegovina

1412

111 Lesotho

836

Pakistan **

926

942

4 Canada

2029

58 IR Iran

-2

1411

112 Swaziland

832

Grenada **

914

5 France

2025

59 India

-2

1409

113 Bhutan

771

Rwanda **

908

6 Australia

-2

2018

59 Peru

-2

1409

114 Andorra

748

Dominica **

900

7 Netherlands

1972

59 Israel

1409

115 Botswana

746

Libya **

883

8 Brazil

1968

62 Slovenia

-2

1404

116 Madagascar

693

Liberia **

877

9 Sweden

1963

63 Turkey

-2

1401

117 Mauritius

358

Kuwait **

870

-1

1388

Papua New Guinea **

1473

British Virgin Islands **

867

1382

Ecuador **

1451

Qatar **

864

10 Korea DPR

1955

64 Venezuela

11 Japan

-2

1950

65 Côte d'Ivoire

12 Spain

1886

66 Greece

-2

1370

Haiti **

1372

US Virgin Islands **

852

13 Denmark

-1

1884

67 Azerbaijan

-2

1360

Panama **

1363

Cayman Islands **

849 836

14 Norway

1871

68 Uruguay

1355

Jamaica **

1352

Uganda **

15 Italy

1864

69 Bulgaria

-3

1340

Indonesia **

1321

Curaçao **

831

16 Korea Republic

-2

1860

70 Kazakhstan

-3

1329

Tunisia **

1313

Belize **

825

17 China PR

-1

1855

71 Hong Kong

-3

1323

Guatemala **

1297

Antigua and Barbuda **

767

18 Switzerland

-1

1849

72 Philippines

-3

1316

Fiji **

1292

Aruba **

745

19 Iceland

1819

73 Morocco

1298

Algeria **

1283

Burundi **

519

20 New Zealand

-1

1815

74 Faroe Islands

-4

1296

Guyana **

1274

Barbados *

979

21 Austria

1800

75 Albania

-4

1293

Laos **

1273

Togo *

962

22 Scotland

1793

76 Guam

-3

1282

Tonga **

1258

Niger *

891

23 Belgium

-1

1788

77 Bahrain

-5

1278

New Caledonia **

1252

Comoros *

837

24 Colombia

1754

78 Egypt

-4

1256

Tahiti **

1238

Macau *

824

25 Mexico

1724

79 Senegal

1245

Cuba **

1217

Turks and Caicos Islands *

704

26 Russia

-1

1713

80 Malaysia

-5

1244

Congo **

1206

27 Ukraine

1712

81 United Arab Emirates

-5

1230

El Salvador **

1198

28 Finland

1691

82 Estonia

-5

1222

Dominican Republic **

1191

29 Republic of Ireland

1684

82 Mali

-2

1222

Benin **

1187

30 Thailand

1676

84 Bolivia

-5

1217

Cook Islands **

1185

31 Poland

-1

1668

85 Moldova

-4

1215

Puerto Rico **

1156

32 Costa Rica

1650

86 Montenegro

-8

1214

Suriname **

1152

33 Czech Republic

1649

87 Latvia

-5

1209

Honduras **

1152

34 Wales

1644

88 Zimbabwe

-5

1204

Solomon Islands **

1144 1143

35 Vietnam

-3

1640

89 Malta

-4

1190

Ethiopia **

36 Portugal

1632

90 Palestine

-4

1181

Vanuatu **

1139

37 Argentina

-1

1615

91 Lithuania

-5

1180

Samoa **

1138

38 Nigeria

-1

1608

92 Georgia

-4

1145

Angola **

1134

39 Romania

1585

93 Singapore

-4

1137

Kyrgyz Republic **

1134

40 Chile

1567

94 Nepal

-3

1136

Sierra Leone **

1132

41 Uzbekistan

1557

95 Luxembourg

-3

1125

Congo DR **

1132

-3

42 Chinese Taipei

1553

96 Cyprus

43 Myanmar

1534

97 Burkina Faso

43 Serbia

1534

98 Zambia

45 Hungary

-2

1527

99 Kosovo

46 Ghana

1503

100 Namibia

47 Slovakia

1498

101 Tajikistan

48 Trinidad and Tobago

1484

48 Cameroon

50 Paraguay

+ / – Points

Rank Team

51 Jordan

-1

1120

Armenia **

1104

1062

Guinea **

1077

-2

1048

American Samoa **

1075

-2

1022

Nicaragua **

1073

-2

1019

FYR Macedonia **

1069

-2

1018

Eritrea **

1060

102 Bangladesh

-2

1003

Gabon **

1052

1484

103 Sri Lanka

-2

971

St Vincent and the Grenadines **

1000

1465

104 Maldives

-1

958

Timor-Leste **

991

1460

105 Syria

-1

921

St Lucia **

989 960

52 Croatia

-1

1452

106 Afghanistan

884

Tanzania **

53 South Africa

1450

107 Iraq

873

Lebanon **

949

53 Belarus

-1

1450

108 Kenya

870

Bermuda **

943

/ FIFA 1904

** Inactive for more than 18 months and therefore not ranked. * Provisionally listed due to not having played more than five matches against officially ranked teams.

FIFA/COCA-COLA WOMEN´S WORLD RANKING

Last updated: 23 March 2018

http://www.fifa.com/worldranking

+ / – Points

Rank Team

+ / – Points

Rank Team

+ / – Points

Rank Team

+ / – Points

Rank Team

FIFA/COCA-COLA MEN’S WORLD RANKING

1 Germany

1609

57 Norway

-1

578

113 Vietnam

-1

293

168 Chad

110

2 Brazil

1489

58 Albania

557

114 Turkmenistan

-1

292

170 Moldova

-4

105

3 Portugal

1360

59 Korea Republic

-1

554

115 Kyrgyz Republic

282

171 Singapore

103

4 Argentina

1359

60 Algeria

553

116 Nicaragua

277

171 Cambodia

103

5 Belgium

1337

61 Cape Verde Islands

539

117 Sudan

276

173 St Lucia

101

6 Poland

1228

62 Slovenia

537

117 Jordan

-1

276

173 Kuwait

101

6 Spain

1228

63 Russia

-2

531

119 Korea DPR

270

175 St Vincent and the Grenadines

-4

100

8 Switzerland

1197

64 Honduras

517

120 New Zealand

267

176 Kosovo

9 France

1185

65 Ecuador

508

121 Central African Republic

266

177 Belize

10 Chile

1161

65 China PR

508

122 Philippines

265

178 Malaysia

-3

11 Peru

1128

67 Mali

506

123 Malawi

264

179 São Tomé e Príncipe

12 Denmark

1108

68 Finland

-2

503

124 Tajikistan

255

180 Aruba

13 Colombia

1106

69 Saudi Arabia

-5

494

125 Bahrain

253

181 Liechtenstein

14 Italy

1062

70 Guinea

484

126 Guatemala

245

182 Cuba

-1

15 Croatia

1053

71 Côte d'Ivoire

479

127 Azerbaijan

-8

243

183 Laos

16 England

1047

72 Uzbekistan

451

128 Togo

241

184 Bermuda

17 Mexico

1038

73 Palestine

449

129 Thailand

238

185 Malta

18 Iceland

1026

74 Syria

442

130 Andorra

232

186 Macau

19 Sweden

1002

75 FYR Macedonia

-1

441

131 Latvia

231

187 Djibouti

64 63

20 Wales

984

76 South Africa

440

132 Comoros

-2

230

188 Bhutan

21 Netherlands

964

77 Zambia

-1

438

133 Swaziland

-2

227

189 Mongolia

22 Uruguay

931

78 Uganda

435

134 Chinese Taipei

225

190 Timor-Leste

23 Tunisia

920

79 Trinidad and Tobago

430

135 Liberia

-2

224

191 Seychelles

24 Northern Ireland

879

79 United Arab Emirates

-1

430

136 Kazakhstan

223

191 Guam

25 USA

-1

876

81 Benin

427

137 Ethiopia

-2

221

193 Brunei Darussalam

-3

26 Costa Rica

-1

872

82 Curaçao

407

138 Equatorial Guinea

213

194 American Samoa

27 Senegal

862

83 Luxembourg

405

139 Antigua and Barbuda

212

194 Cook Islands

28 Austria

826

83 Iraq

405

140 Yemen

-1

211

194 Samoa

29 Slovakia

-1

822

85 Haiti

403

141 Angola

210

197 Bangladesh

30 Paraguay

816

86 Estonia

399

142 Myanmar

203

198 US Virgin Islands

31 Republic of Ireland

804

87 El Salvador

32 Scotland

-1

797

87 Lebanon

390

142 Burundi

203

199 Montserrat

-5

390

144 Lesotho

193

200 Sri Lanka

33 IR Iran

792

87 Congo

390

145 Hong Kong

-1

190

201 Turks and Caicos Islands

34 Serbia

780

90 Canada

-1

388

146 Tanzania

186

201 Cayman Islands

35 Ukraine

778

91 Armenia

385

147 Lithuania

182

203 Pakistan

36 Romania

749

92 Cyprus

378

148 Afghanistan

176

204 San Marino

37 Australia

-1

740

93 Belarus

376

149 Botswana

173

205 British Virgin Islands

38 Turkey

730

94 Israel

375

150 Maldives

161

206 Anguilla

39 Congo DR

728

95 Gabon

371

151 Solomon Islands

152

206 Bahamas

40 Bulgaria

715

96 Guinea-Bissau

-2

368

152 Barbados

151

206 Eritrea

41 Bosnia and Herzegovina

700

97 Faroe Islands

-1

364

153 Tahiti

-1

149

206 Gibraltar

42 Morocco

694

98 Sierra Leone

-1

360

154 South Sudan

-1

148

206 Somalia

43 Czech Republic

690

99 India

339

155 New Caledonia

146

206 Tonga

44 Egypt

-1

687

99 Libya

339

156 Vanuatu

141

45 Greece

685

101 Qatar

332

157 Suriname

140

46 Montenegro

-2

675

101 Georgia

-1

332

158 Mauritius

-1

134

47 Bolivia

674

103 Oman

-2

331

159 Guyana

126

48 Venezuela

659

104 Mauritania

322

159 Papua New Guinea

-1

126

49 Jamaica

643

105 Kenya

317

159 Grenada

126

50 Hungary

-1

637

105 Mozambique

317

162 Indonesia

-2

123

51 Cameroon

611

107 St Kitts and Nevis

316

163 Dominican Republic

-3

121

52 Nigeria

609

108 Zimbabwe

-3

312

164 Gambia

-1

120

53 Panama

605

109 Madagascar

-1

309

165 Nepal

116

54 Ghana

602

110 Niger

305

166 Dominica

112

55 Japan

593

111 Namibia

-2

302

166 Puerto Rico

112

56 Burkina Faso

587

112 Rwanda

296

168 Fiji

110

/ FIFA 1904

Last updated: 15 March 2018

www.fifa.com/worldranking

PANINI STICKERS

COLLECTOR’S PARADISE On 14 June, the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ will kick off in Moscow. Some fans already have cause for celebration, however: Panini stickers and trading cards are now on sale! The Panini sticker album for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia features all

Peter Warsop, Panini Group Licensing Director, says: “With 12 World Cups and 48

32 participating World Cup teams with 18 players each, 32 team squad stickers

years of experience already behind us, Panini is delighted to be working with FIFA

and 32 badges on special foil paper. Ten legends stickers, 12 stadium stickers and

again on the 2018 World Cup Russia.” In the digital age, there’s even more Panini

four FIFA icon stickers are also included. Altogether, there are more than

for the fans: Adrenalyn XL – the Official 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ Trading

670 stickers to be collected for the new album, which has over 80 pages and

Card Collection is Panini’s hugely popular sports trading card game, which also

is being distributed in ten languages in more than 100 countries.

features online and mobile challenge games to engage fans from all over the world.

GER 2009

BRA

2006

m 1,93 kg 92

86 27-3-19

JPN (GER) ER chen EL NEU FC Bayern Mün MANU 2008

m 1,72

6-5-1983

DANI ALVES

kg 70

Paris Saint-Ge rmain (FRA)

EGY 2011 12-9

m 1,7 YUTO -1986 0 NAGA TOMO kg 68 Galat as ar ay AŞ (TUR) NTINA ARGE

m 1,75 kg 71

15-6-1992

H ED SALA Liverpool FC (ENG) MOHAM

RUSSIA

FIFA 1904 /

FIFA MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

G100 PROJECT

opening. The training was

2018. In addition, Canada

organised by the Develop

Soccer’s Deputy General

ment Department, headed

Secretary Joe Guest

by Douglas Martínez, and

presented to the group on

the APF’s Competitions &

future projects and opportun

Licensing Division, whose

ities for the group moving

director Michael Sánchez

forward.

participants. Other high

warmly welcomed the level representatives of the association who were Sánchez and Rolando Safuán, both members of

NEW FUTSAL FACILITY IN COSTA RICA

the APF Executive Board.

The Costa Rican

The seminar was aimed at

Football Association

both experienced and new Fernando Bocca,

lays the foundations for a

officials. “The training

(FEDEFUTBOL) recently

the Director for

promising future for the

focused on key theoretical

inaugurated a new futsal

Development of

game in Ecuador. In a com

aspects and their correct

arena, which will benefit the

the Ecuadorian Football

munication addressed to the

practical implementation,”

country’s women’s and men’s

Association (FEF), publicly

head of the FEF, Carlos

explained Michael Sánchez.

national teams. The arena

extended a cordial invitation

Villacis, Joyce Cook wrote:

“To this end, all observers

will enable the national

to all the football schools in

“We are certain that the

and inspectors must be very

teams to prepare for inter

the country, whose students

Ecuadorian Football Associ

familiar with the regulations.

national tournaments under

include children between six

ation will carry out this

It also focused on proper

excellent conditions. The first

and 11 years of age, to

project with great success

and efficient communication

futsal competitions will be

prepare for the launch of the

and that it will have a big

within the framework of

held in the new arena soon.

Forward G100 Project, which

impact on football in Ecuador.

APF competitions. I think

Jair Bertoni, FIFA Director of

is aimed at the development

FIFA, and the Member

that the seminar has taken

Member Associations, Amer

of mixed football in training

Associations Division in

us a big step forward in

icas, and Philippe Moggio,

categories. This project has

particular, are available to

these areas.”

CONCACAF General Secre

the backing and support of

help you whenever you need

tary, participated in the

FIFA, whose representatives

it.” One of the main aims of

opening of the new com

Joyce Cook, Chief Member

the G100 project is to pro

plex, which was funded by

Associations Officer, and Jair

mote the beautiful game and

Bertoni, Director of Member

its practice among boys and

Associations, Americas, have

girls from the age of six, at

Canada Soccer

USD 1.8 million was invested,

praised the project, which

national level.

held its National

of which slightly more than

Referee Camp in

USD 1 million was from

REFEREE CAMP

ment programme. A total of

Ottawa on 16 18 February

FIFA’s development pro

TRAINING FOR MATCH OFFICIALS IN PARAGUAY

the FIFA Forward develop

2018. In addition to fitness

gramme. During the cere

seminar for APF match

testing and classroom in

mony, Bertoni addressed the

officials at the headquarters

struction to prepare for the

guests with the following

of the National Olympic

upcoming season, referees

words: “This complex is an

The Paraguayan

Committee. Association

received technical instruction

example of how member

Football Associ

President Robert Harrison

and direction for refereeing

associations can make

ation (APF) held a

was also present at the

in Canada’s top leagues in

optimum use of the funds

/ FIFA 1904

Getty Images

present included Enrique

from the FIFA Forward

part of the agreement

development programme. In

between the leagues, there

view of this success, we

will be a mutual exchange of

hope that many other mem-

PREMIERE OF THE KABUL FUTSAL LEAGUE

fortunes of the Bright Stars.

work and experience in

Sadaqat FC won

tember 2018, a qualifier for

ber associations will also

areas such as football man-

the first edition of

the Africa Cup of Nations,

decide to promote futsal for

agement and marketing, and

the Kabul Futsal

Cameroon 2019. South

women and men in their

the hosting of friendly

League, beating Faisal Sharif

Sudan suffered a 3-0 loss to

countries.”

matches between Tajikistan

FC 5-2. The competition,

Burundi in their Group C

and Kyrgyz Republic football

organised by the Afghan

opener last June. Abdelmalek

clubs. “For the Football

Football Association (AFF) in

is no stranger to African

League of Tajikistan, this is

the capital Kabul, saw 14

football after previous stints

the first-ever signing of a

teams compete, of which the

with the Burundi national

document on cooperation

top eight qualified for the

team and Algerian clubs

with the league of another

15-day finals. Sediqi FC,

ASM Oran and JS Kabylie. He

MUTUAL EXCHANGE OF WORK AND EXPERIENCE I

E R AT I O

AN FO ST

TA J I K

will be against Mali in Sep-

country,” said Urunov. “I

Tofan Wazir Abad Futsal,

also had a short spell with

The football

congratulate our leagues,

Amarkhil FC and Zahir Asad

Malian giants Djoliba AC.

leagues of Tajiki

Republic signed a

commented on the import

Sharif FC, Sham Mirzayee FC,

memorandum of

ance of signing the memo-

Sadaqat FC and Dunya

understanding

randum, saying: “I am

University FC came up

(MoU) for cooperation on

confident that our cooper

against each other in Group

development matters in

ation with the Football

B. The league matches were

FIFA Secretary

various areas. The CEO of

League of Tajikistan will bear

broadcast live on Lemar TV

General Fatma

the Football League of

fruit. We follow the develop-

and the AFF’s YouTube

Samoura went to

Tajikistan, Alisher Urunov,

ment of football in Tajikistan

channel and were followed

Senegal to sign an agreement

and the President of the

and are very pleased with

with great interest both in

between FIFA and the Sene-

Football League of Kyrgyz

the noticeable progress of its

Afghanistan and abroad.

galese government to set up

Republic, Nurbek Atakanov,

clubs in the international

According to Lemar TV, the

a regional development office

signed the MoU, which falls

arena. We had a very con-

final was watched by around

for West and Central Africa in

within the framework of the

structive meeting with Mr

2.1 million viewers, which is

the country’s capital, Dakar.

AFC President’s Develop-

Urunov, and we hope the

a new record for a futsal

FIFA regional offices are

ment Initiative Programme to

experience of Tajikistan will

league game in Afghanistan.

designed to implement and

develop football leagues. As

help us in the development

coordinate all FIFA develop-

of club football in Kyrgyz

ment activities at a local level

in Group A, while Faisal

FC played against each other

countries.” Atakanov also

our friendly and fraternal

stan and Kyrgyz

ALL

Officer Yogesh Desai, who participated in the MoU

ABDELMALEK NEW COACH OF SOUTH SUDAN

signing, praised the cooper

NEW FIFA REGIONAL OFFICE

in the regions in question,

Republic.” AFC Development

and in particular to help the regional member associations carry out their development

ation between the two

German-born Aït

projects and apply the recom-

leagues in Central Asia.

Ahcene Abdelmalek

mendations of the FIFA

has been named

Forward Programme. Open-

MoU will also help clubs,

head coach of the South

ing an office in Senegal will

especially youth teams in

Sudan national football team

help implement development

these two countries to

after signing a two-year deal.

projects throughout all of the

compete internationally and

Abdelmalek, who also has

countries in West and Central

gain valuable experience,”

Algerian roots, has been

Africa. “By making a wonder-

he said.

tasked with improving the

ful building available to us

“This is a historic event. The

His first competitive match

FIFA 1904 /

FIFA MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

which includes Central

you have proposed, what

Koller for the Austrian

sending out a strong signal of

African Republic, Côte

you have retained in the title

national team. “I am excited

which the entire family of

d’Ivoire and Rwanda. A

of resolutions, will be the

to be here in New Zealand

football can be very proud,”

former coach of Gambia and

subject of a complete ana

and build on what the team

Samoura said during her

Burkina Faso, Put’s first game

lysis by the new Women’s

has achieved in the last four

meeting with Sidiki Kaba,

as the coach of Syli National

Football Department, which

years,” Schmid said. “The All

Senegal’s Minister of Foreign

will be against Mauritania in

has just been created. The

Whites are an exciting team

Affairs, and Matar Ba, Minis-

a friendly international in

closing session was attended

and have huge potential. Our

ter for Sport. “Dakar is set to

Nouakchott on 24 March

by FIFA Secretary General

ultimate goal over the next

become the nerve centre for

2018.

Fatma Samoura, and Liberia’s

four years is to qualify for the

football development in the

First Lady Clar Weah, who

FIFA World Cup in 2022 and

region, and together we are

was made “Ambassador for

I am confident we can

going to write a new chapter

Women’s Football” by the

achieve this.”

in the history of African

CAF President.

between FIFA and all those

HISTORIC WOMEN’S FOOTBALL SYMPOSIUM

involved in football in the

The Moroccan

area will hopefully enable us

city of Marrakech

to contribute to nurturing

was the centre of

JUST PLAY PROGRAMME WELCOMED IN HANUABADA

SCHMID TAKES CHARGE OF THE ALL WHITES

new football talents, who will

attention from 5 to 7 March

follow in the footsteps of

2018 for hosting the first-

their many illustrious prede-

ever CAF Women’s Football

Michael’s Primary

cessors from this part of the

Symposium. The symposium

School in Hanuabada,

world.”

ended on a high note with

a village in Port

participants lauding the

Moresby’s National Capital

groundbreaking two-day

District in Papua New Guinea,

event as a big step towards

welcomed a programme on

the development of the

football basics. Papua New

women’s game. Presenta-

Guinea Football Association

Paul Put has been

tions of the recommenda-

(PNGFA) launched the 2018

named head coach

tions of the seven working

season of the OFC Just Play

of Guinea. The

PAUL PUT FOR GUINEA

New Zealand have

programme in the cricket-

Technical, Marketing, Media,

announced their

crazy community. It is the

announced at a press confer-

Governance, Development

new coach for the

recipient of the first roll-out

ence in Conakry on Friday

and Stakeholders) were

2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™

to schools interested in

afternoon. The position

made shortly before the

qualifying round. Fritz

welcoming the region’s

became vacant after Lappé

symposium ended. CAF

Schmid will be taking over

football tool for development.

Bangoura was sacked in

President Ahmad said in his

from Anthony Hudson, who

Just Play Project Manager,

January after Syli National

closing speech that the

was let go at the end of last

Micah Kaneng, said that the

(National Elephants) exited

various recommendations

year. The 58-year-old Swiss is

development programme had

the African Nations Champi-

would be forwarded to the

the 17th coach of New Zea-

been run under the PNGFA

onship, Morocco 2018 in the

newly established CAF

land, with his most recent

banner and was aimed at

group phase. The Guinean

Women’s Football Depart-

appointment being a four-

schools teaching students

Football Association has the

ment for review, and then to

year stint as Technical Dir

social messages through

groups (Competitions,

Belgian’s appointment was

task of qualifying Syli National

the CAF Executive Commit-

ector at the Malaysian FA.

sport. “This programme will

for the 2019 Africa Cup of

tee for implementation.

From November 2011 to

help students concentrate in

Nations in Cameroon. Guinea

“What you have discussed

November 2013, Schmid was

school, respect people

are currently top of Group H,

during these two days, what

assistant coach to Marcel

around them and develop

/ FIFA 1904

Getty Images

football. This collaboration

free of charge, Senegal is

their knowledge of football

statutes were voted on and

Kamen Kostadinov, Rumyan

“and football centres for

basics,” he said. The OFC Just

adopted by the members.

Valkov, Ventseslav Stefanov,

children are operating in all

Play programme has covered

The election of office bearers

Mihail Statev, Valentin

regions in Kazakhstan. Of

almost 20 schools in the

for the period of 2018-2022

Mihov, Kiril Domuschiev,

course, we have to address

National Capital District,

also took place and the

Spas Rusev, Petar Velichkov,

some problem areas – our

including Hanuabada, most

successful candidates under

Panayot Reyzi and Dimitar

national team is not perform-

recently; Tatana and Baruni,

the presidency of Harmon

Georgiev.

ing as well as we would like.

in the National Capital Dis-

are as follows: Junior Areai

We have to develop our local

trict, will also benefit from

as Vice-President, Allen

championship, and then we

the 2018 roll-out. Kaneng

Parker as Treasurer and Apii

will have a strong national

said that this year they had

Porio, John Taripo, Terry Piri,

decided to start early before

Grover Harmon and Moeroa

setting out to other centres

Tamangaro as executive

such as Manus, Wewak, New

members. Harmon acknow

Ireland, Chimbu and Western

ledged the hard work and

Highlands.

support given by the execu-

team.”

JAXYBEKOV NEW KFF PRESIDENT

FIRST WOMEN’S FOOTBALL COACHES CONFERENCE

tive board members and looked forward to working with the existing and new

HARMON REELECTED

members for the next four

Republic of

years.

Ireland Women’s National Team

Lee Harmon has

(WNT) Head Coach Colin Bell

retained his place

presented his vision for the

as the President of the Cook Islands Football Association after being

Adilbek Jaxybekov

Ireland at the first-ever

has been elected

Football Association of

as President of the

Ireland (FAI) Women’s Foot-

Kazakhstan Football Feder

ball Coaches Conference.

2022. The CIFA Annual

has been re-

ation (KFF) for a four-year

The WNT Head Coach, who

General Meeting was held

elected as Presi-

term. Jaxybekov was elected

recently signed an extension

on 8 March at CIFA head-

dent of the Bulgarian Foot-

unanimously at the KFF’s

to his contract until 2021,

quarters with the Outer

ball Union (BFS) at the

assembly, and succeeds

presented a theory and

Island Associations and club

association’s eighth regular

Seilda Bayshakov, who

practical session on the

representatives in attend-

congress. Mihaylov won

stepped down at the begin-

training pitch at the FAI

ance. The meeting com-

90.8% of the delegates’

ning of the year. He is cur-

National Training Centre to

menced with the 2017

votes and is now starting his

rently the head of the nation-

coaches from the Continen-

Annual Report presented by

fourth term in office. The

al athletics federation. The

tal Tyres Women’s National

Harmon, which highlighted

other candidates were

63-year-old has held the KFF

League and youth set-up.

the progress and milestones

Lyuboslav Penev and Ivaylo

President’s position previous-

The conference was des

achieved for football in the

Drazhev. The new Executive

ly, from 2007 to 2014. After

igned to bring together

Cook Islands during the past

Committee was also elected

his election, he said that

coaches from across the

year. Following the annual

during the BFS’ general

strengthening the country’s

country in women’s football

report, CIFA Treasurer Allen

assembly and is made up of

domestic championship and

to share ideas, help improve

Parker presented the 2017

the following 14 members:

further developing grassroots

the standard of coaching in

financial report along with

Yordan Lechkov, Mihail

football would be key prior

the country and communicate

the 2018 budget. The pro-

Kasabov, Atanas Furna-

ities. “The championship is

the progress of the game in

posed amendments to the

dzhiev, Emil Kostadinov,

competitive,” Jaxybekov said,

Ireland. “The conference was

Borislav Mihaylov

four-year term from 2018 to

Getty Images

re-elected for a further

future of women’s football in

BORISLAV MIHAYLOV RE-ELECTED

FIFA 1904 /

a great opportunity for all

will be part of the discus-

coaches in women’s football

sion; we will correct them

to come together and learn

and we will do our best.

from each other,” said Bell.

I want to thank the candi-

“As I know, having worked

dates and the guests.

in club football in Germany,

I promise that my dedication

the club coaches are the

will be higher than before.

most important people in

I thank you all,” he concluded.

SVENDSEN RE-ELECTED

regards to the development of our footballers. If we can work together to increase the standard of coaching in the Women’s National League and at grassroots level, I’m sure it will have a

Jesper Møller has

positive impact for the future

been re-elected

Terje Svendsen has

by acclamation for

been re-elected

Ireland.”

FIFTH TERM FOR DUKA

for a further two

a second four-year term as President of the Danish

years as President of the

Football Association (DBU).

Norwegian Football Associ

The 54-year-old, a lawyer by

ation (NFF). Svendsen, who is

profession, became DBU

62 and built a career in

President in 2014, having

banking and property, first

of the women’s game in

Getty Images

MØLLER’S SECOND TERM

took the helm of Norwegian

the previous ten years.

football in 2016, and was

Football Association

Møller’s re-election comes

re-elected by acclamation.

of Albania (SFHF),

after a successful 2017 for

He is a former chairman of

Armand Duka, has been

Danish football. The women’s

Rosenborg Ballklub. “We

re-elected as the head of

national team finished

have two major challenges in

Albanian football. The

runners-up at the UEFA

Norwegian football,” he

football community decided

Women’s EURO in the

said. “How to increase the

to re-elect him for another

Netherlands, while the men’s

expertise available for grass-

four years. After the voting

national team finished

roots development, and

process, Duka declared:

strongly in their World Cup

nurturing more Norwegian

‘’I am happy and excited,

qualifying group, making it

players to reach a high

not because I will be presi-

through the play-offs to the

international level.” The NFF

dent, but because of the

final tournament in Russia

President pledged to focus

responsibility and the big

this summer. “In 2018, we