The Union of European Football Associations has set up a special council, comprising 20 current and former players and coaches, to come up with proposals on the way forward for the game, French news agency AFP learned on Friday from UEFA.
The new structure, called the UEFA Football Board, includes former Red Devils coach Roberto Martinez. It was approved by the European federation’s executive committee in Lisbon on Tuesday.
It will hold its first meeting on 24 April in Nyon, on the sidelines of the final of the Youth League, the Champions League for the under-19s.
The board will be tasked with reflecting on regulatory developments and those concerning the organisation of football, to come up with ideas that can then be transformed into “draft legislation.”
Among the issues that may be addressed by the UEFA Football Board will be the question of hand balls, raised by UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin after his re-election on Wednesday.
The board will be headed by former AC Milan playmaker Zvonimir Boban, UEFA’s director of professional football, who will be joined by Italy’s Roberto Rosetti, the body’s head of refereeing.
Former Belgian national coach Roberto Martinez will also be in the group, along with France’s Zinédine Zidane, Portugal’s José Mourinho and Italy’s Carlo Ancelotti, among others.
