Under-19 success in the bag
Tuesday, 19 July 2005

UEFA.com
July 19 2005

UEFA President Lennart Johansson says the efforts put into preparing
and staging the UEFA European Under-19 Championship final round in
Northern Ireland have paved the way for an outstanding tournament.

Local praise
In his message for the championship, Mr Johansson praised both the
local authorities and the Irish Football Association (IFA) for the
work undertaken in hosting the event ~V which is seen as an important
shop window for the talents of tomorrow.

Special finals
“These finals are special in many ways for the Irish Football
Association, one of the oldest associations in Europe, as it is
currently holding its 125th anniversary celebrations,” Mr Johansson
said. “Furthermore, this final round is the most important UEFA
competition ever hosted in Northern Ireland.

Outstanding support
“We can be confident that the outstanding support shown by both the
local authorities and the commercial partners during the preparation
of this tournament will be rewarded by a cheerful, lively and
enthusiastic crowd in the stadiums during the two weeks of the
competition,” the UEFA President added.

IFA’s professional work
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Irish Football
Association and its president, Jim Boyce, for their very professional
work and commitment in staging what is certain to be a highly
successful tournament,” Mr Johansson went on.

New combination of teams
The President also stressed that the competition’s qualifying format
was giving fresh opportunities to smaller countries to progress. “I
am delighted to see a new combination of teams, with Armenia
qualifying for the final round of an international championship for
the first time,” he said. Of the eight finalists present in
Switzerland a year ago, only Germany have qualified this time.

New format
“This demonstrates once again that the new format, where seven teams
come out of the Elite round to enter the final stage of the
competition, gives a chance of qualification to even the smallest
associations.”