Croatian President Stjepan Mesić received a high-level football delegation headed by the President of the International Football Federation (FIFA), Joseph Blatter, and the President of the European Football Federation (UEFA), Michel Platini. The delegation included UEFA Vice-Presidents Senes Erzik, Geoffrey Thompson, Angel Maria Villar Liona, Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder and Marios N. Lefkaritis, and Croatian Football Federation (HNS) President Vlatko Marković and HNS Secretary-General Zorislav Srebrić.
President Mesić said he was very pleased that his guests had chosen Zagreb to host the 32nd UEFA Congress, which will take place on Thursday.
"Croatia is a country of sports and football is by far the most popular of them," President Mesić emphasized.
Platini thanked President Mesić for his warm reception and praised Marković for assistance in organising the congress.
"You're a country of four and a half million people, but you're very talented for sports, and believe me, no team in the world is pleased to have you as an opponent," Platini said.