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Government confirms visit of UEFA president and FIFA officials to help end soccer turmoil

Government confirms visit of UEFA president and FIFA officials to help end soccer turmoil

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and FIFA vice president Greg Clarke are due in Athens on February 25 to help Greece outline its action plan to overhaul soccer, a Greek government spokesman said on Tuesday.

Hobbled by dwindling attendances and the damaging effects of a debt crisis, Greek soccer has been beset by financial problems and frequent closed-door matches because of crowd violence.

Ceferin, the president of European soccer's governing body, and Clarke are expected in Athens on February 25 to sign a framework for the restructuring of the Greek soccer, government spokesman Stelios Petsas told a weekly news briefing.

State Minister George Gerapetritis met Ceferin and other officials in Geneva last week to discuss ways to crack down on match-fixing and soccer violence.

Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also plans to meet Gianni Infantino, the president of world soccer’s governing body FIFA, this month, a government official said last week. [Reuters]

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