Illustration photo – Head of the football association Petr Fousek.
Prague – The chairman of the Football Association of the Czech Republic, Petr Fousek, is satisfied with the organization and course of the final of the European Conference League in Prague. At the same time, a recently elected member of the executive committee of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) indicated in an interview for the FAČR website that another event could soon be held in the Czech Republic.
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Photo gallery: European Conference League 2022/23
“In any case, I consider the final a success. Our main task was flawless organization, which according to the reactions of UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, my colleagues from the executive committee and other UEFA experts, we clearly succeeded,” said Fousek.
According to the 60-year-old official, he can Czech football will continue to benefit from the event in the future. “I spoke with Aleksander Čeferin on Thursday morning. He appreciated the way we approached the final. We would like to get another project out of this match, which I don't want to talk about yet,” hinted Fousek.
West Ham defeated Fiorentina 2:1 in the Wednesday match at the Slavia Stadium in Eden and won the second major European trophy. The “Hammers” followed up their victory in the then Cup Winners' Cup from the 1964/65 season. The Czech representatives Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal were also able to rejoice at the triumph, while Antonín Barák was among the losers. In addition, the fans spent a lot of money in Prague. Even these economic and non-economic effects belong to such an event,” noted Fousek.
However, it was the fans of both clubs who earned public criticism after the match. Fiorentina and West Ham supporters clashed in the city center on Wednesday afternoon. In addition, during the first half of the match, the fans of the London club threw plastic cups at the opposing players, and one of them chopped the head of the “Piolets” captain Cristian Biraghi. The police detained 23 people in connection with all the events.
“UEFA's assessment also concerned security. What happened in the center was minor considering the number of fans, although of course I don't want to excuse such fan collisions. UEFA highly appreciated the work of the police. It was also thanks to them that the stadium and its surroundings were calm. Z the overwhelming majority also applied to the center of Prague,” said the chairman of the FAČR.
The final of a major European cup was played in the Czech Republic for the first time. In 2013, Eden hosted the Super Cup between Champions League winners Bayern Munich and Europa League winners Chelsea. The main organizer of the final was UEFA, but many other entities participated in the organization, including the FAČR, the city or the security forces.
“We conceived the part of the budget that belonged to the FAČR as balanced. The benefit does not lie in gigantic profits, but in many other effects that will manifest themselves differently. The match was attended by political leaders, important commercial partners, the management of the football association and representatives of professional and regional football. There were presidents of associations from Europe, heads of league competitions, clubs. It was the highlight of the year for Czech football and we can to be proud of the way we organized this match,” added Fousek.
