UEFA has appointed FIFA Referee Alan Mario Sant (photo) for the UEFA European Under-17 Championship final tournament to be played from yesterday till 16 May in Slovenia.

Last Tuesday, Mario Sant passed a rigorous FIFA Fitness Test in preparation for his participation in this Final Tournament and was commended for his optimum physical condition.

This is a very prestigious appointment as 12 years have passed since the Malta FA was represented with a referee (not assistant referee) in a Final Tournament.

Alan Mario Sant is the only referee chosen from the UEFA Category 3 List of Referees (total of 104 referees in this category) while the other five are all from Category 2. The match official team will consist of six referees and eight assistant referees new to the FIFA list, and two experienced fourth officials from the host nation, as follows:

Referees – Emir Alečković (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Marius Avram (Roumania), Mattias Gestranius (Finland), Ivan Kruzliak (Slovakia), Harald Lechner (Austria) and Alan Mario Sant (Malta).

Assistant Referees – Milutin Djukić (Montenegro), Mark Gavin (Republic of Ireland), Serkan Gençeler (Turkey), Haralds Gudermanis (Latvia), Mubariz Hashimov (Azerbaijan), Borut Križarić (Croatia), Leif Opland (Norway), and Jean-Yves Wicht (Switzerland).

Fourth Officials – Dejan Balažič and Mitja Žganec (Slovenia).

The participants include three former competition winners, with the Netherlands having won it in 2011, Germany in 2009 and France in 2004. Poland were added to this list, since they won the European Under-16 Tournament in 1993.

Three of the teams that participated in the 2011 final round – the Netherlands (winners), Germany (runners-up) and France – will be joined by Poland, Belgium, Iceland, Georgia and hosts Slovenia in the final round of this season’s tournament.

The draw, conducted in Ljubljana on 4 April by the chairman of the UEFA Youth and Amateur Football Committee, Jim Boyce, former Slovenian internationals and tournament ambassadors Sašo Udovic and Marko Simeunovic, and UEFA head of national team competitions Lance Kelly, produced the following groups:

Group A: France, Iceland, Georgia, Germany

Group B: Slovenia, Netherlands, Poland, Belgium

Alan Mario Sant had to make his debut yesterday as referee of the Group A France vs Iceland match.