Sweat, rain and 'lovely' women: Uefa chief's recipe to boost game | The Independent

Sweat, rain and 'lovely' women: Uefa chief's recipe to boost game | The Independent: "I think they should turn to the sponsors. There are so many companies who could make use of the fact that if you see a girl playing on the ground, sweaty, with the rainy weather and coming out the dressing room, lovely looking, that would sell." After coming perilously close to advocating what sounded like a footballing wet T-shirt contest, the Uefa chief compounded his problems by appearing to suggest that a focus on the physical attributes of women might be the only way forward."Otherwise, they have to accept that the money they ask for comes when the spectators are coming and when sponsors are interested." The comments did little to endear Mr Johansson, 75, with the players he was trying to praise. His compatriots in particular were less than impressed. The Swedish international Frida Ostberg, whose side lost 3-2 in extra time to Norway in a match watched by the Uefa president, said: "I get really fed up of this sort of thing. In a superficial world it is what is on the surface that sells, but we should be interesting for what we do on the pitch." Helen Donohoe, the head of policy for the Women's Sports Foundation, said: "It's astonishing. It really reflects how out of touch the higher echelons of football are. I cannot imagine some other president of another sport like swimming or athletics saying something so crass." The remarks are likely to rankle organisers of Euro 2005, which concludes tomorrow with the final between Norway and the three-time winners Germany.