Domestic stadiums in recent history have hosted, for example, the Super Cup in 2013 between Chelsea and Bayern Munich, the European Under-21 Championship in 2015 or last year’s continental women’s under-19 championship. Now it’s time for the finals of the Conference League, with Czech participation in the form of Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufalo on the English side and Antonín Barák in the colors of Fiorentina. In addition, all three have played for Slavia in the past, at whose stadium the match will take place.
“The fact that Czech footballers will play is the icing on the cake. It’s a big draw for fans. My wish is that UEFA is satisfied, as always when we organize something. It’s a promotion of our abilities, the city, the republic, and I hope that it will be the door to getting other events, for example in lower age categories,” states Fousek and mentions, for example, non-sporting events. “It’s no secret that I would like to have the UEFA Congress here, which He hasn’t been in 20 years,” he reveals.
Wednesday evening, June 7, will therefore belong to football in Prague. With regard to the organization of the finals, the Czech Republic had seven opponents, the field gradually narrowed, and in the end it resulted in a win in the first round. But the future of similar events in stadiums with a capacity of around 20,000, which is what the arena in Eden has, is almost impossible.
“The final of the Conference League is almost certainly here for the last time, UEFA is tightening the requirements. The capacity of the stadium for the next final will be disproportionately higher than it is now or last year in Albania,” Fousek explains. “There are 55 member associations in UEFA and maybe up to three-quarters do not have the infrastructure to be able to bid to host finals in the future. big associations and there are also smaller countries that don’t have a stadium like us. These will all be condemned in the future, the circle is getting thinner,” he continues.
According to the chairman of the FAČR, UEFA must find a balance between, on the one hand, the matches being held in a narrow circle of countries in stadiums with a gigantic capacity, but also with availability for the other already mentioned countries. An example should be the Supercup, which was held with iron regularity in Monaco, but since 2013 it has been traveling around Europe and, in addition to Prague, has visited, for example, Cardiff, Tbilisi, Tallinn or Helsinki.
But Fousek rules out the connection. “I would definitely separate these things, we have been dealing with the issue of the use of the area in Strahov for a long time. I noticed criticism from abroad that the Conference final is in a small stadium. I have to refuse that,” he alludes to the dissatisfaction of the supporters of both finalists, as the clubs only received a little over 5,000 tickets.
In general, the competition itself, which is currently in its second year in history, is not chosen at its birth. “When it was founded, there was talk of a third-tier competition, that’s nonsense,” reports Fousek, and he bases his claim on the argument of the teams that play in the competition. Last year, the football players of the eventual winner AS Roma met Feyenoord in the final, this year we are expecting a battle between the already mentioned West Hama and Fiorentina.
“The way the teams are in the Conference League confirms that it is a viable competition. In the future, he will not only increase his potential in sports,” estimates Fousek.
