Fans seen as key to EU football review

Football fans from across the European Union are being asked to participate in a review into the way the game is run in the 25 EU countries.

As part of an inquiry set up in December by the British Presidency of the EU, the European Commission and UEFA, European football's governing body, a new website was launched on Wednesday for fans to give their views.

"Fans are the foundation of our game and the most important part of the game, so their views are very important," UEFA Chief Executive Lars-Christer Olsson told Reuters.

"Many fans feel that the game is losing its values and we are asking them to help us to stop that happening."

Fans are being asked to log on to www.independentfootballreview.com if they wish to take part in the inquiry with oral hearings scheduled for next month.

Former Portuguese deputy prime minister Jose Luis Arnaut, the head of the review, said: "This will not be a closed shop. Fans will have the chance to have their say and follow the debate through open hearings."

The aim is for the final report to be published at the beginning of June.

The inquiry will focus on how European football authorities, the EU institutions and member states can best implement the Nice Declaration on the specific characteristics of sport at European and national level.

The homegrown player rule and the so-called "Charleroi case" will also be examined in the review.

Homegrown quotas

The UEFA Congress in April agreed on new regulations setting a minimum quota of locally trained players, which would rise on a sliding scale starting from the 2006-07 season.

From next season, clubs entering UEFA competitions will have to have four 'locally trained' players, defined as players who have been registered for three seasons or years with the club between the ages of 15 and 21.

A question mark remains, however, over whether the rule is in breach of EU competition law.

The Charleroi case concerns a court action launched by the Belgian club and the G14, representing Europe's richest clubs, against world governing body FIFA, seeking compensation for the club after one of their players was injured while on international duty.

The G14 have also joined French champions Lyon in a similar action.