EXCO expands Club Financial Control Panel

The UEFA Executive Committee, on the first day of its meeting in Funchal, Madeira, has approved a proposal to further expand the newly created Club Financial Control Panel by two more independent experts to a total of eleven members – ten members and a chairman.

Geographical spread
The recommendation was suggested by the panel's chairman, former Belgian prime minister Jean-Luc Dehaene, and is designed to better represent the geographical spread of UEFA's 53 member associations. The tasks of the Club Financial Control Panel are, among others, to ensure that the UEFA club licensing system is applied correctly across all 53 UEFA member associations, and will be a key tool in successfully implementing the recently approved Financial Fair Play concept.

Financial Fair Play
A progress report on Financial Fair Play was given to the Executive Committee, listing the establishment of a work programme for 2009/10 following a meeting of the Club Financial Control Panel on 10 November. The UEFA administration and experts are now working on drafting the regulations in consultation with the clubs and leagues. The major objective of the Financial Fair Play concept is to improve the financial fairness in European competitions, as well as the long-term stability of European club football (click here for details).

Statutes revisions
A number of revisions to the UEFA Statutes were approved in order to reinforce the autonomy of UEFA member associations, and these will now be submitted for approval to the XXXIV Ordinary UEFA Congress in Tel-Aviv, Israel, on 25 March next year. In addition, both the programme and the agenda for the Congress were also approved.

Coaching Convention – new members
The Executive Committee approved Kazakhstan and Moldova as new members of the UEFA Coaching Convention at Pro level, meaning that 42 member associations have now achieved the Pro, A and B licences. The convention's objective is to protect the coaching profession and smooth the way for the free movement of qualified coaches within Europe in accordance with European law. UEFA also promotes the exchange of coach education and encourages its 53 member associations to share technical knowledge with the overall benefit of European football in mind.

Friday agenda
Friday's agenda begins with an update for the Executive Committee on the betting fraud detection system and recent events regarding match-fixing (click here for details) The designation of Ukraine's remaining host cities for UEFA EURO 2012™ alongside Kyiv, and the choice of venue for the UEFA EURO 2012™ final, are also up for discussion. The decision on the host cities in Ukraine will follow a decision taken by the UEFA Executive Committee at its meeting in Bucharest in May (click here for details).