Politicians stay on the ball and in the driving-seat

European politicians are not afraid to tap into the popular appeal of sport - and football in particular - to boost the image of the EU and its institutions.

In March this year an all-star team of European football stars played against Manchester United in a charity event to mark both the 50th anniversary of the European Union and 50 years of United playing in European competitions.

The Europe XI included former United player David Beckham, Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher as well as stars from Barcelona, Lilian Thuram and Ronaldinho.

United won 4-3 in front of 74,000 fans, including European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. He is a football enthusiast, a life-long fan of Sporting Lisbon and a friend of José Mourinho, currently manager of Chelsea, who used to manage Porto.

José Luis Arnaut, who oversaw the European Review of Sport for a number of professional sports organisations, including UEFA, was minister for sport when Barroso was prime minister of Portugal. The report called for measures to protect sport against over-commercialisation including greater discretion for sports governing bodies.

Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn played professional football for Finnish club FC Mikkelin Palloilijat’s first team in 1979-82. The team won Finland’s cup competition twice and has competed in European championship matches. Rehn habitually uses football metaphors in his public statements, referring recently to the 120-day period for negotiating a compromise on the future of Kosovo as "extra time".

Rehn still likes to put his strip on when he gets the chance. In May 2006 he played in a charity match organised by the then Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel and EU Council president in a team which included Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who nearly became a professional footballer in his youth.

The European Parliament also contains two former professional sportsmen. Slovak centre-right MEP Peter Štastný was a professional ice hockey player in the US in 1980-95 and has been manager of the Slovak national team since 2002. Finnish national Ari Vatanen, who is an MEP for French centre-right party UMP, was a professional rally-driver, world champion in 1981 and desert rally champion in 1997.

European politicians are not afraid to tap into the popular appeal of sport - and football in particular - to boost the image of the EU and its institutions.

• Primary Source