UEFA President Michel Platini underlined UEFA's commitment to supporting smaller associations and praised the progress made by Albanian football in a speech to the general assembly of the Football Association of Albania (FSHF) in Tirana.

Proud of democracy
"At UEFA we are very proud of our democracy," the UEFA President told delegates. "This democracy is derived from the 53 democracies that our member associations represent. Your democratic life makes ours possible. Our credibility as a sporting organisation depends on this democracy. UEFA is a large fraternal house where there are no privileges or preferential treatment – a house where small associations with limited financial resources are treated the same as the wealthy major associations. The resources generated by our major competitions are shared in an equitable manner between everyone.

Solidarity funds
"I understand, of course, that the solidarity funds and funds from the UEFA HatTrick programme are more important and, indeed, more crucial for associations with modest revenue such as yours, than for associations where commercial revenue amounts to tens of millions of Euros," Mr Platini continued. "Consequently, UEFA has invested considerable amounts in infrastructures, and Albanian football has benefitted considerably from these programmes."

Technical programme
Platini explained the programme being put in place by UEFA, which promotes technical exchanges between European associations , saying: "Everyone will therefore be able to profit from others' experience, and we will be able as a result to reduce the technical gap which separates the powerful associations from those who are less strong.

Defending independence
"We cooperate with the government institutions throughout Europe," Mr Platini continued. "We respect the law scrupulously – but we categorically reject any interference of the public authorities in all of the areas covered by our statutes. I would like to take this opportunity here to emphasise the commitment of UEFA and FIFA to defending the independence of our associations wherever and whenever this is under threat."

Measures taken
Mr Platini reminded the assembly of measures put in place since his election in January 2007 – the reuniting of the football family as a result of agreements with the clubs, players and European leagues; reforms to the UEFA club competitions which will lead to five more national champions reaching the UEFA Champions League group phase; and the recent decision to increase the UEFA European Championship final-round field to 24 participants.

Albanian football enthusiasm
Turning to Albanian football, Mr Platini said: "I know how much the Albanian people love football and the enthusiasm that surrounds our beautiful sport in this country. Albanian football has taken giant steps forward. Proof is given by the latest result obtained by your national team [a 0-0 FIFA World Cup qualifying draw] in Braga, Portugal. A national team that is going well provides an unmistakable sign of the state of health of an association's football."

Historic visit
Both the FSHF president, Armand Duka, and the president of the Albanian Olympic Committee, Hysen Domi, spoke at the assembly of the importance and historic nature of Mr Platini's trip to the country. The UEFA President is also visiting Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Romania this week for talks with national association and government officials.