It’s anything but an every-day occurrence that a sports administrator speaks to the European parliament. But on Monday, Franz Beckenbauer joined Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble, Germany’s minister of the interior, in an address to the assembled European sports ministers in Stuttgart. Beckenbauer, newly elected to the FIFA Executive Committee, gave a report on the fan services during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which contributed to the event’s peaceful and joyous atmosphere. The former President of the German Organising Committee, Beckenbauer, stressed: “We certainly need a unified approach to combat racism and in our war on doping. We need to protect the core values of sports.”
Wolfgang Schäuble suggested to deploy police officers from both countries – from home and visiting club – for the bigger national or European Cup games; a strategy that proved successful during the 2006 summer. “I could very well see this becoming a standard for European games.” Beckenbauer added: “Long before the start of the World Cup, we had a great rapport with the interior ministers.”
According to Beckenbauer and Schäuble, the deployment of British and French police officers had a positive impact on the World Cup, “a vital part of the peaceful atmosphere”, said Schäuble. The self-healing powers of sports were discussed as well. “We need to get a better understanding about the way, fan-projects operate”, said Schäuble. “Obviously, you cannot copy World Cup procedures to an amateur league, but you can duplicate certain elements.”
Ministers from 24 European countries participated at the two-day conference in Stuttgart.
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It’s anything but an every-day occurrence that a sports administrator speaks to the European parliament. But on Monday, Franz Beckenbauer joined Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble, Germany’s minister of the interior, in an address to the assembled European sports ministers in Stuttgart. Beckenbauer, newly elected to the FIFA Executive Committee, gave a report on the fan services during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which contributed to the event’s peaceful and joyous atmosphere. The former President of the German Organising Committee, Beckenbauer, stressed: “We certainly need a unified approach to combat racism and in our war on doping. We need to protect the core values of sports.”
Wolfgang Schäuble suggested to deploy police officers from both countries – from home and visiting club – for the bigger national or European Cup games; a strategy that proved successful during the 2006 summer. “I could very well see this becoming a standard for European games.” Beckenbauer added: “Long before the start of the World Cup, we had a great rapport with the interior ministers.”
According to Beckenbauer and Schäuble, the deployment of British and French police officers had a positive impact on the World Cup, “a vital part of the peaceful atmosphere”, said Schäuble. The self-healing powers of sports were discussed as well. “We need to get a better understanding about the way, fan-projects operate”, said Schäuble. “Obviously, you cannot copy World Cup procedures to an amateur league, but you can duplicate certain elements.”
Ministers from 24 European countries participated at the two-day conference in Stuttgart.
