The UEFA Football Board met at the House of European Football in Nyon on Monday to engage in constructive discussions on a range of topics relating to women’s football, from strategy and refereeing to fixture calendars, competitions and athletes’ well-being.
The meeting began with a presentation on UEFA’s women’s football activities and initiatives, highlighted by the attendance records broken across the continent by clubs and national teams, as well as the increase in investments made in Europe in recent seasons.
The Council then discussed the UEFA Women’s Football Strategy post-24, where it was recommended to increase initiatives that provide greater representation in leadership positions in football, new competition opportunities, protection of players, better academic structures, as well as greater support for small and medium-sized national federations.
The meeting also discussed refereeing issues, such as VAR, infringements related to handball, behavior of players and coaches, as well as UEFA’s new campaign “Be a Referee!” followed by competitions and game calendar questions. The Management conveyed the need for greater consideration of the players’ needs and for an open dialogue about the game calendar, competition calendar and calculation of injury time, which adds additional fatigue to the players’ already heavy workload. The Council also expressed its appreciation and satisfaction with UEFA’s new women’s national team competition system and provided feedback on the current status and development of the Women’s Champions League.
The meeting concluded with medical discussions focused on the effects of the menstrual cycle on player performance and recovery, head injury prevention and education, as well as the prevention and treatment of cruciate knee ligament (ACL) injuries.
The meeting was attended by Verónica Boquete, Marissa Callaghan, Karen Carney, Jovana Damnjanović, Jonas Eidevall, Magdalena Eriksson, Laura Georges, Gemma Grainger, Ada Hegerberg, Pernille Harder, Josephine Henning, Eugénie Le Sommer, Carolina Morace, Francisco Neto, Alexia Putellas, Lotta Schelin, Viktoria Schnaderbeck, Tessa Wullaert and Leah Williamson.
Nadine Kessler, UEFA General Director of Women’s Football, said: “Bringing together some of the greats of our game to discuss the successes, challenges and opportunities facing our sport was a necessary step. We all listened attentively and I was pleased with the open spirit and constructive debate. His ideas will undoubtedly lead to an even better European football outlook. I want to thank everyone for their time.
Statement by Verónica Boquete: “This is a group with experience, who really knows our competitions, our problems, our weaknesses and our strengths, so it’s great to be able to share that. We want to help be part of improving the system and organization and bringing new ideas. I think UEFA is already doing an excellent job but if it can do something to help even more so much the better.”
Statement from Karen Carney: “Everything is happening very quickly, but we have to build the sport on a solid foundation. Today we are able to bring people together to understand that there are so many countries and that they are all at different parts of the evolution of women’s football, so understanding and listening to everyone is very important because we want to achieve the same goal.”
Note to the media:
Photo gallery available here.
Video to download available here.
2023-09-12 13:32:48
#Player #welfare #focus #UEFA #Football #Board #UEFA
