Match-fixing draft approved in Bilbao

In order to strengthen European football's commitment to fighting match-fixing, the UEFA Executive Committee has supported an 11-point resolution for the integrity of football at its meeting in Bilbao, Spain.

The document, currently in draft format, will now be presented to the 54 UEFA member national associations for their feedback in advance of a vote at the XXXVIII Ordinary UEFA Congress, which will take place in Astana, Kazakhstan, on 27 March.

The UEFA Executive Committee appointed Araz Naxçivan (Baku, AZE) as hosts of the four-team 2014 UEFA Futsal Cup finals to be played between 24 and 27 April. The other three qualified teams are: FC Barcelona (ESP), Kairat Almaty (KAZ) and MFK Dinamo (RUS).

In addition, the Executive Committee has reiterated its wish that the so-called 'triple punishment' – where a player who denies an opponent a clear goalscoring opportunity in the penalty area, concedes a penalty, is subsequently dismissed and therefore automatically suspended for a subsequent fixture – be reconsidered by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which governs the Laws of the Game.

The Executive Committee also ratified the consolidated annual financial statements for the 2012/13 season; some procedural rules governing the Club Financial Control Body were accepted; regulations for the 2014/15 UEFA Regions' Cup were approved; and regulations for licensed UEFA match agents were abolished.

Albania was accepted as a Pro level member of the UEFA Coaching Convention, while Hungary, Scotland and Sweden were granted membership of the additional Elite Youth A level. Changes to the UEFA Grassroots Charter were also approved, with the creation of a new three-layer structure composed of gold, silver and bronze levels.

The Executive Committee made an initial review of the procedure for the forthcoming UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying competition draw which will be made in Nice, France, on 23 February from 12.00CET, and a decision will be taken at the committee's next meeting – at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland, on 23/24 January.

The UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying competition will be organised in accordance with the Week of Football match schedule. This scheduling format, to be implemented for the European qualifiers for UEFA EURO 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup, involves matches being played from Thursday to Tuesday. Kick-off times will be largely set at 18.00CET and 20.45CET on Saturdays and Sundays, and 20.45CET on other days. On double-header matchweeks, teams will play on Thursday and Sunday, or Friday and Monday, or Saturday and Tuesday.