The EURO 2008 final on 29 June in Vienna marked the end of the European football season, just as the new season had got under way with the final edition of the UEFAIntertoto Cup. The first task for many football associations after the EURO tournament was to find a new national coach, since the final round of a major competition often means the end of a contract, and EURO 2008 was no exception; even the new European champions Spain had to look for a new coach after Luis Aragones’s move to Turkish club Fenerbahce.
Nonetheless, the member associations have not lost sight of their long-term projects, such as coaching and improving match and training facilities. With this in mind, several tournaments have been organised for young players, such as the Slovakia Cup, in which eight national U-18 teams participated, and which was won by Ukraine In Liechtenstein, the focus has been on football for girls, in collaboration with the schools.
With regard to facilities, a project has been launched in Slovenia in the framework of UEFAs HatTrick II programme with a view to constructing 30 small artificial turf pitches for young players over the next three years. In Ukraine, a dome-covered pitch has been inaugurated near Kiev, which will allow young players to train in excellent conditions all year round. In the Faroe Islands, a UEFAclub competition match was played on an artificial pitch for the first time: HB Torshavn hosted the Swedish side Elfsborg in a UEFA Intertoto Cup fixture In Austria, the football association has launched a new development tool: a DVD of 274 exercises to help players to prepare physically.

The OFC television pilot project in the Solomon Islands drew 20 course participants and ran for two weeks in Honiara. The local broadcaster One News Television was joined by two outside experts (Allan Gilvear, Channel 7, Australia and Fabien Duflos, Canal France International) and was facilitated by OFC Director of Media and Communications Gordon Glen Watson. The two instructors provided training for the course participants in camera work, preparing interviews and stories, commentating and how to connect and operate the television equipment. They then guided the team through three matches at Lawson Tama Stadium during the Wantok Cup. The Solomon Island Olympic squad won the Wantok Cup in Honiara after overcoming the Vanuatu national team and the Solomon Bonitos in a three-day tournament.
New Zealand Football has named former music industry executive Michael Glading as its new Chief Executive Officer.
Glading will replace Paula Kearns, who has been acting in the role since Graham Seatter’s departure from the Albany-based national body in April.
An own goal and a wonder strike from Fijian striker Maciu Dunadamau were enough for Vodafone Ba to beat Labasa 2-1 in the final of the Battle of the Giants competition in Suva. Suva clinched the women’s title after beating Tavua 3-1 in their final.

The Argentinian football association (AFA) is considering introducing a spray that would allow referees to mark on the pitch the distance the defensive wall has to observe when a free kick is being taken. The fact that walls creep forward at free kicks is a worldwide problem that causes a lot of goal-scoring chances to be lost. The spray marks a clearly visible white line on the pitch that disappears in a minute or two. The AFA is considering using the spray in its upcoming second-division tournament. The referee would carry the small aerosol in a holder attached to his shorts, similar to a mobile phone-holder. This innovation is already in use in Brazil, where it was introduced in 2000.
Luis Bedoya, the president of the Colombian football association, has confirmed the eight host cities for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2011: Bogota, Medellin, Call, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Armenia, Pereira and Manizales.
“Growing with football”, a project established in 2004 by the Peruvian football association to increase access to the limited youth football scene over ten years, has already achieved more than 90 per cent of its objectives in its first four years in operation. The project is intended to change the old or in some cases almost non-existent youth football structures in the land of the Incas, with a view to ensuring sustainable development in this area and drawing up a plan of action that will generate long-term opportunities for children all over Peru. The programme is already being implemented in 21 of Peru’s 25 regions, and to date it has mobilised more than 300,000 children and approximately one million parents every week, with more than 490,000 seven-a-side football matches played in the U-8, U-10 and U-12 categories. More than 1,200 promoters and parents are also involved in gathering the testimonies of children who have had the chance to play sport in Peru for the project. These stories will form the basis for a national evaluation of youth football in the land of Teofilo Cubillas.