FW 29 Cover-2012 · 2019-03-10 · Joseph S. Blatter. 4 FIFA WORLD I MAY/JUNE 2012 ... Ronaldo and...

open happinessTM

Bringing the world’s youth

together through football.

©20

11 T

he C

oca-

Cola

Com

pany

. “Co

ca-C

ola”

, “O

pen

Happ

ines

s” a

nd

t he

Con

tour

Bot

tle d

esig

n ar

e tra

dem

arks

of T

he C

oca-

Col

a C

ompa

ny.

3 FIFA WORLD I MAY/JUNE 2012

EDITORIAL

“In the game of

football, the most

important thing is

always the players

and there can be

no compromise in

our focus on player

health.”

A healthy futureDear friends of football,

As the annual coming together of our member associations from all over the world, the FIFA Congress is always an important event for our organisation, but the upcoming Congress in Budapest will, I am sure, turn out to be especially signifi cant.

At last year’s Congress in Zurich I was given the mandate to initiate structural changes to the way FIFA operates, making sure in particular that our statutes insist on good governance, transparency and zero tolerance of wrongdoing. Now the ball is back with the member associations who will have the opportunity in Budapest to implement the fi rst set of reforms which were unanimously approved by the FIFA Executive Committee in March.

While institutional change is high on the agenda at this year’s Congress, the game itself must remain our top priority, and in the game of football the most important thing is always the players. This means that there can be no compromise in our focus on player health, particularly in light of the recent incidents – the one tragic, the other miraculous – involving Piermario Morosini and Fabrice Muamba.

We must continue to do all we can to prevent such incidents and ask ourselves, at a time when footballers are playing more and more games at ever shorter intervals, where the physical and psychological limits are. This is another of the key points on the Congress agenda and one that will also be discussed at the FIFA Medical Conference taking place in Budapest just before the Congress.

While there will always be important issues that need tackling by those who administer the game, I am convinced that football remains a major force for good in the world. Evidence of this can certainly be seen in this issue of FIFA World where you can read about the continuing success of the “20 Centres for 2010” campaign – instigated as part of our legacy programme for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ – and also see how we are working towards another socially responsible FIFA World Cup™ in Brazil two years from now.

Our fl agship tournament also remains in a very healthy state, as can clearly be seen from our recently reported fi nancial fi gures (more details of which can be found on page 16) and excitement is once again growing towards the next edition, with the top-seeded teams in Africa, Oceania and the CONCACAF region about to begin their qualifying campaigns.

Before that though, we have the FIFA Congress, and I look forward to reporting back to you in the next issue of this magazine on what I am sure will be another positive chapter in the long history of our sport.

Joseph S. Blatter


Nero as the confederation’s successor to Teixeira on the FIFA Executive Committee.

Monterrey magicMonterrey became the fi rst team into the hat for December’s FIFA Club World Cup in Japan thanks to their 3-2 aggregate triumph over fellow Mexican side Santos Laguna in April’s CONCACAF Champions League fi nal. Leading 2-0 from their home leg, the Rayados fell two goals behind in the return before securing victory with an 82nd minute goal by Neri Cardozo. Mexican sides have now won the last seven editions of the Champions League, while Monterrey’s victory saw them become the fi rst club to defend the title since Pachuca in 2008. Two more Club World Cup berths were due to be allocated in May, as this issue of FIFA World went to press, with New Zealand’s Auckland City taking on Tahiti’s Tefana in the two-legged OFC Champions League fi nal and German Bundesliga side Bayern Munich set to face English Premier League club Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League fi nal on 19 May.

Pep walksFIFA World Coach of the Year Pep Guardiola announced in April that he would be stepping down from his post as Barcelona coach at the end of the season. The announcement came just days after Guardiola’s team had suffered the double blow of losing to Real Madrid in Spain’s La Liga and to Chelsea in the UEFA Champions

League semi-fi nal. The 41-year-old insisted, however, that his decision was motivated by the need for a rest after four years in charge of the Catalan giants. “I have given everything and I have nothing left and need to recharge my batteries,” he said. Guardiola was appointed coach in 2008 and quickly became the most successful coach in the club’s illustrious history, winning three Spanish league titles, two UEFA Champions League titles and two FIFA Club World Cups.

Around the world

Marin on boardJosé Maria Marin has been named the new chairman of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee Brazil following the resignation of Ricardo Terra Teixeira. Marin, a 79-year-old lawyer, played as a right-winger for São Paulo in the early 1950s before setting out on a political career which culminated in his appointment as São Paulo’s state governor in 1982. He has also held various leading positions in the Brazilian Football Association (CBF), serving as vice-president of its south-eastern region from 2007 onwards. “We’re going to work in partnership with two huge stars of the game, Ronaldo and Bebeto, so that Brazil continues its efforts towards hosting an unforgettable FIFA World Cup for our country and the world,” Marin promised on taking up his new position. Meanwhile, CONMEBOL has appointed 71-year-old criminal lawyer Marco Polo Del

Mourning MorosiniThe football world was stunned in April by the sudden death of 25-year-old Livorno player Piermario Morosini, who collapsed half an hour into his side’s Serie B match against Pescara. The midfi elder, who had been on loan to Livorno from top-fl ight side Udinese, had endured much sorrow during his life, losing both his parents when he was a teenager, shortly after which his disabled brother committed suicide. “The family history of this young man makes his loss even more harrowing,” said FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, as he expressed his deep sorrow at the news to Italian FA President Giancarlo Abete. Blatter stressed that FIFA would redouble its support of medical research. “None of this will bring Piermario Morosini back to life,” the FIFA President acknowledged, “but we will perhaps one day be able to prevent such tragedies from occurring.”

5

62

12 226

FIFA WORLD I MAY/JUNE 2012

6Madrid, Mainz, São PauloStriking images from the world of football

12Ready for approvalBudapest Congress to vote on fi rst reforms

16In good shapeAnnual fi nances show boost to reserves

18Golden pathOlympic teams discover their fates

22Oceania’s 11FIFA 11 for Health programme makes Pacifi c debut

30Centres go forwardGhana opens Football for Hope Centre as fi nal line-up confi rmed

38Continental kick-offsTop teams from three confederations enter FIFA World Cup™ qualifying

58Thailand’s Dutch masterFormer Netherlands star eyes new FIFA Futsal World Cup challenge

62Bye-bye, BirgitWomen’s football legend Birgit Prinz hangs up her boots

68AssociationsA centenary celebration and a miraculous return

70Men’s rankingNew high for Uruguay

72ArchiveHeated discussions in 1930

VIEW NEWS FOCUS SUMMARY

Inside this issue


VIEW

7 FIFA WORLD I VIEW

Mad menFormer FIFA World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo shows his anguish after seeing his spot kick saved by Bayern Munich keeper Manuel Neuer during Real Madrid’s penalty shoot-out exit in the UEFA Champions League semi-fi nals; an

FSV Mainz supporter is in fi ner fettle during the goalless draw with VfL Wolfsburg that assured Mainz of their continued place in the German Bundesliga.


Among friends

9 FIFA WORLD I VIEW

Joint FIFA Player of the Century Pelé was reunited with a host of fellow Santos FC legends in April as the São Paulo club celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding. For more on the celebrations, see the South America column of our Associations section on page 69.


Letters to FIFAA selection of comments from the FIFA World and FIFA.com mailbags

April issue

Let us hear your views, either on what you have read in FIFA World, or in regard to anything else in the world of international football. You can contact us via e-mail at feedback-fi faworld@fi fa.org or by writing to FIFA World, FIFA-Strasse 20, P.O. Box, CH-8044, Zurich, Switzerland.

Asian anticipationEvery team in the next round of Asia’s World Cup qualifying competition will be diffi cult to play away from home, but in Australia we say “respect everyone, but fear no one”. The Socceroos were beaten by Oman in Muscat in November last year, but will likely win most of their home games in Australia. Good luck and respect to all of the teams!

FIFA.com user (Australia)

The Group A match-up between Uzbekistan and Iran will be particularly interesting since both teams topped their group in the previous round without losing a game. A big disadvantage for Uzbekistan is that fi ve of our players are ruled out, but we managed to win in Japan with a depleted team.

FIFA.com user (Uzbekistan)

Looking to LondonThose who say that Lionel Messi hasn’t helped Argentina win anything forget how much he helped them secure their second consecutive Olympic gold medal in Beijing four years ago. It’s a shame that Argentina won’t be able to defend their title this year, but this may help the Brazilians to fi nally add the Olympic gold medal to their trophy cabinet.

FIFA.com (USA)

In terms of history, star names and ability, Brazil are the favourites of course, but don’t rule out Belarus. Did you see how well they performed [during the Olympic qualifi ers] against Spain? They are a good team and could spring a surprise.

César (Honduras)

Subs supportI would have liked to have seen the International Football Association Board permit a fourth substitution in extra time. Imagine the score is tied in a cup fi nal, and a key player from one of the teams receives a minor injury. The team has already made three substitutions in normal time, and the game is too close for the player to come off and reduce his team to ten players. An extra-time substitution would allow this player to be replaced, allow the team to continue with 11 players and prevent a player from getting injured.

FIFA.com user (England)

I totally agree with the proposed introduction of goal-line technology. Other sports have introduced technology, so why not football? I hope this will help to cut down on the number of refereeing errors.

Omar (Colombia)

Support for goal-line technology | FIFA takes to YouTube | New security chief | Olympic draws preview | Algarve Cup review | Football tackles dementia | Egypt’s record-breaker | Japan’s U-20 ambitions | Germany’s green globe-trotter

April 2012

Asian excitementTen remain in race for Brazil

As a fan of Oman, I think our national team can beat anyone. I think Japan and Australia are the two teams that will give us the most trouble in Group B but we can still overcome them, as we showed when we beat Australia at home. We have a world class goalkeeper in Al-Habsi, a great midfi eld, especially Al-Hadhri, and up front we’ve fi nally found somebody, Al-Maqbali, who’s able to fi nish off the many chances the team creates.

FIFA.com user (Oman)

11 FIFA WORLD I VIEW

Algarve successGermany’s women’s football team showed at the Algarve Cup that they’re able to bounce back after their World Cup disappointment. It was also great to see Japan doing so well. I wish

their women continued success. The women’s game will grow bigger and bigger as the competition continues to intensify.

FIFA.com user (USA)

Egyptian legendAhmed Hassan is a legend and an example for all Egyptian players. I wish Egypt future success and hope that things will improve for them as a country and from a football standpoint. They have some amazing players and it’s been too long since they last made it to the fi nals. I hope they qualify for

the 2014 FIFA World Cup so they can showcase their talent on the world stage.

FIFA.com user (USA)

Hassan is one of those who does not appear all the time in newspapers and advertising, but who really lives for football and manages to play successfully in different countries. Four Africa Cup of Nations titles is proof of his talent. It’s a pity he’s never made it to a FIFA World Cup, but if he hangs on in there for a few years, why not?

FIFA.com user (Argentina)

Textbook careerWomen’s football legend Birgit Prinz has called time on an extraordinary career. Read our exclusive interview starting on page 62.


NEWS

FIFA Congress to tackle fi rst reforms

The upcoming FIFA Congress in Budapest is set to be a particularly signifi cant one, as member associations gather to vote on the fi rst set of proposals put forward as part of FIFA’s ongoing reform process.

13 FIFA WORLD I NEWS

The “pearl of the Danube”, as Budapest is romantically known, is set to provide the picturesque setting for a milestone FIFA Congress on 24 and 25 May, as FIFA’s 208 member associations meet to discuss a series of far-reaching changes in the areas of corporate governance, compliance and ethics.

While the reform “road map” set out by FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter in October 2011 envisages the completion of the reform process at the 2013 FIFA Congress in Mauritius, a successful meeting of the FIFA Executive Committee at the end of March has helped to ensure that several concrete proposals can already be voted on in Budapest.

Taken from recommendations made by the three FIFA Task Forces set up following last year’s FIFA Congress as well as by the Independent Governance Committee (IGC) chaired by renowned governance expert Professor Mark Pieth, the proposals going before the Budapest Congress include the strengthening of FIFA’s Ethics Committee, the establishment of an Audit and Compliance Committee with increased scope and the creation of a new seat for a female member on the FIFA Executive Committee. Although the Congress will now have the fi nal say on their adoption, the March Executive Committee meeting provided an important fi rst test, with all the proposals being unanimously approved.

“This has been a historic day for FIFA’s reform process,” said FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, following the Executive Committee meeting. “We always said that we would complete these reforms in June 2013, but now we have the possibility to already go to the Congress in May with some important items.”

Blatter said he was particularly pleased with the Executive Committee’s support for the new Ethics Committee structure, fi rst proposed by the President himself at the close of the 2011 FIFA Congress in Zurich. Subject to approval in Budapest, the Ethics Committee will be divided into two distinct chambers, one of which will be investigatory and the other adjudicatory.

Scenic staging post: Budapest is the next stop on FIFA’s road map for reform.


Governance expert Professor Mark Pieth is chairing the Independent Governance Committee.

“I am very pleased that one of the main points I mentioned nearly a year ago – the need for a two-chamber Ethics Committee – is now the crucial point in the recommendations made by the IGC,” Blatter said.

Checking integrityAnother key task to be handed to the Ethics Committee under the new proposals would be the carrying out of integrity checks on candidates for specifi c positions, including all members of the new Audit and Compliance Committee as well as the members of FIFA’s judicial bodies. In order to avoid a situation where the “police” police themselves, integrity checks would also be carried out on the Ethics Committee members by the Audit and Compliance Committee.

Replacing the former Audit Committee, this newly expanded body is also part of the proposals going before the Budapest Congress. While the former committee’s previous focus was primarily on the auditing of FIFA’s fi nances, the new committee will be given additional scope to monitor issues relating to compliance.

Underlining the need for clear impartiality in both these key committees,

the Budapest Congress proposals also include a new section in the Standing Orders of the Congress setting out strict “independence criteria” that must be met by the chairmen and deputy chairmen of the Audit and Compliance Committee and both chambers of the Ethics Committee – stating for example that neither they nor

any of their family members can have held any paid position or material contract with FIFA or any member, confederation, league or club in the four years preceding their appointment.

Another notable proposal being put before the Budapest Congress is the

Congress briefs

Besides the main discussions on the proposed reforms to the Statutes, the 2012 FIFA Congress will be asked to vote on a number of other issues…

Rules of admissionA change has been proposed to the process whereby new members are admitted to FIFA, with the suggested removal of the current requirement that an association must have been a member of its confederation for at least two years prior to requesting membership of FIFA. If accepted by Congress, this could be changed to allow any new member of a confederation to immediately seek FIFA membership. If approved by Congress, the fi rst benefi ciary of this rule change could be the new state of South Sudan, whose football association joined the Confederation of African Football in February of this year.

Members’ motionsTwo proposals have been put forward to the Congress by member associations. The fi rst, submitted by a number of associations, calls for the scrapping of the match levies paid to FIFA by members in regard to international “A” matches. The second proposal, by the German Football Association, relates to the payment of match offi cials at international games and suggests that this could be carried out by bank transfers within ten days of the match in question, rather than the current system involving cash payments on the day of the game.

Players’ insuranceThe FIFA Congress will also be asked to approve the new worldwide player insurance project which was approved by the Executive Committee in March. Starting in August 2012, this major new undertaking will see FIFA insure all players involved in all international “A” matches listed in the international match calendar. The provisional budget for this project amounts to USD 100 million.

“I am particularly happy with the proposal to

have a female member. Football is a game for men and women, so it

is vital to have a female voice on the committee.”

FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter


The 62nd FIFA Congress in Budapest will be the third to be held in the Hungarian capital after it hosted both the sixth Congress in 1909 and the 19th in 1930. Indeed it was at the 1909 Congress that the second FIFA President Daniel Burley Woolfall noted presciently that football “had become the game of the world”. Today, with 208

member associations – and South Sudan applying for membership this year – this is truer than ever before.

We have come a long way since those early FIFA Congresses and even, I believe, since last year’s Congress in Zurich, where together we steadied the FIFA ship and steered it into a safe harbour, thanks to the member associations placing their trust in me for another four years and giving me the mandate to initiate change.

Having reached this harbour, FIFA then drew up a road map to change FIFA from within by creating new control and

governance bodies and strengthening existing bodies – a road map which was unanimously approved by the FIFA Executive Committee last October.

After branching out into four separate avenues (three Task Forces and the Independence Governance Committee), our paths once again converged with the meeting of the Executive Committee in March of this year, at which decisions were taken based on the recommendations of the Task Forces and IGC as well as on the decisions passed by last year’s Congress.

So today I am happy to say that we are on the right track, with the fi ndings of the process started at the Congress one year ago ready for presentation, deliberation and in some cases, decision, following which our journey will continue until its fi nal destination at the Congress 2013 in Mauritius, where the process of change will be completed.

For the Game. For the World.

Joseph S. Blatter

Follow the FIFA President on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/seppblatter

“We have come a long way, even since

last year’s Congress in Zurich.”

President’s corner

FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter addresses the media following the March Executive Committee meeting.

planned addition of a female member to the FIFA Executive Committee. Subject to the Congress approving the relevant amendment to the FIFA Statutes, this “Representative of Women’s Football” will already take her place on the executive in 2012, initially as an appointment made by the Executive Committee members. The 2013 Congress would then see an election take place for the fi rst four-year term, with candidates put forward by the confederations on the basis of proposals made by their member associations.

“I am particularly happy that the Executive Committee backed my proposal to have a female member,” said Blatter. “Football is a game for men and women, so it is vital to have a female voice on the committee.”

Half-way stageSpeaking to reporters after the March Executive Committee meeting, the FIFA President stressed that the measures being put to the vote in Budapest will mark only the half-way point in the reforms road map.

Although not yet ready to be voted upon, other recommendations put forward by the Task Forces and IGC have been distributed to the member associations (and published on FIFA.com) and these will also be presented and discussed in Budapest.

“The composition of the Executive Committee, the number of Vice-Presidents … how the President is elected in future, whether we should have age limits or limits on the number of terms of offi ce and all the other proposed changes to the Statutes – we will go forward with these discussions, together with the IGC, and according to the road map,” Blatter concluded.

The main documents relating to the 2012 FIFA Congress, including the Congress agenda, the draft FIFA Statutes and the further proposals made by the Task Forces and Independent Governance Committee have been published on FIFA.com. A link to the documents can also be found on the FIFA World web page www.fi fa.com/magazine.


2011 was a very positive year for FIFA from a financial perspective, as the organisation’s annual fi gures once again underlined the high marketing value of the FIFA World Cup™.

FIFA posted an annual surplus of USD 36 million for 2011 after generating total revenues of USD 1,070 million, due mainly to the encouraging uptake of the TV and marketing rights for the FIFA World Cup.

The event continues to exert a huge commercial pull despite the global fi nancial crisis, with the sale of rights for the Brazil 2014 edition, particularly in the area of marketing, generating even higher income than for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

Of course, with over 90% of FIFA’s revenue connected to the FIFA World

Cutting a fi ne fi gure

This year’s FIFA Congress will be presented with another strong set of fi nancial fi gures as FIFA’s recently published annual report shows the organisation to be in a robust state despite the ongoing uncertainty in the fi nancial markets and the global economy.

Cup, FIFA’s fi nancial performance over the four-year budget cycle provides a more representative picture than any individual year. However, the IFRS accounting standard used by the organisation enables it to spread a portion of the revenue and costs from the fi nal year of the cycle – the FIFA World Cup year – to the fi rst three years, and FIFA’s Finance & Administration Director Markus Kattner expressed his delight that FIFA had managed to negotiate the difficult financial and economic situation of 2011 without any major fi nancial diffi culties.

“Thanks to our success fu l commercialisation of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the measures we’ve taken to control FIFA’s costs, which have seen us

underspend our 2011 budget by 5%, we’ve been able to further increase our revenue basis,” he said.

“While the economic situation in some parts of the world might be moving sideways, we haven’t seen any noticeable knock-on effect in the value of the FIFA World Cup, with regions such as the Americas and Asia in particular offering huge potential.”

Close controlExpenses were down slightly on last year’s fi gure, at USD 1,034 million, with the vast majority of FIFA’s outgoings being ploughed straight back into football.

In all, 75% of overall expenditure went on FIFA events, including an outlay of

Strong interest in the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ has continued to

drive FIFA’s revenue.


“We’ve increased our cost savings and cost awareness initiatives recently to take account of the additional elements in the budget,” he said. “The control instruments and procedures in place to govern FIFA’s fi nances are state-of-the-art and the outcome of our annual audit was excellent. We can look to the future with confi dence.”

USD 428 million on the 2014 FIFA World Cup™, while development benefi ted to the tune of USD 183 million as FIFA helped member associations worldwide expand their football activities on and off the pitch through programmes such as the Financial Assistance Programme, Goal and PERFORMANCE.

Meanwhile, the sharp fall in the net result to USD 36 million, following three consecutive results of close to USD 200 million, reflected the 2010 Congress decision to crank up spending on football development and shrink the portion of FIFA’s revenue which is allocated to its fi nancial reserves.

Building up these reserves had been a key element of the Finance Committee’s strategy in previous years, in order to guarantee that the organisation could fulfi l its statutory duty of staging the FIFA World Cup, but the reserves are now suffi ciently high that the committee will look to increase them only moderately in the years ahead.

“The reserves we’ve built up correspond to around a third of our budget for the four-year cycle,” explained Kattner, “and while you can’t put a precise dollar value on the potential risk factors, this seems to be a reasonable level.”

The decision to rein in the reserves is also likely to produce smaller results in the next couple of years, while the Executive Committee’s proposal in March to create a budget of up to USD 100 million to insure all

“Thanks to our successful commercialisation of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and

the measures we’ve taken to control FIFA’s costs,

we’ve further increased our revenue basis.”

Markus Kattner, Director of Finance & Administration

players involved in “A” international matches could also have an impact on the 2012 and 2013 results if approved by the upcoming Congress in Budapest. However, Kattner is confi dent that appropriate measures are in place to cover all eventualities.

Annual revenue in 2011 was second only

to the record fi gures set

during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ year,

allowing FIFA to further increase

its reserves.2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Revenue

Expenses

1,070

1,034

36

882957

1,059

1,291

833 773863

1,089

20249

184 196

Result

1,2931,280

643

9021,061

Reserves


Former England striker Gary Lineker hosted the ceremony, held in the Bobby Moore Suite on 24 April, while legendary Brazilian marksman Ronaldo and pop star Melanie C stepped up on stage to help pull the balls out of the pots. Also lending their assistance as the fate of the qualifi ed nations was revealed were England women’s striker Kelly Smith,

Lining up for London

The 28 teams competing in the men’s and women’s Olympic Football Tournaments can begin plotting their pathways to the podium following last month’s offi cial draws at Wembley Stadium.By Andrew Loan, London

former Scotland striker Kevin Gallacher and retired Wales midfi elder Robbie Savage.

In the men’s competition, hosts Great Britain, appearing in an Olympic Football Tournament for the fi rst time since 1960, were drawn against Uruguay in Group A. These two nations will be hoping to relive former glories when the tournament kicks off, having struck gold twice each in the

tournament’s early years between 1908 and 1928.

Although the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament is essentially an U-23 competition, coaches can also choose three over-age players, opening up the possibility for Uruguay to draw on the talents of Luis Suárez and Diego Forlán, a factor GB coach Stuart Pearce seemed to be mindful of when assessing the outcome of the draw.

“Uruguay will be tough. The addition of three over-age players can contribute to a really strong side,” he said. “Playing at home will give us an advantage, but it will be tough, tournament football always is.”

Also standing in the hosts’ way in the early stages of the tournament are the

Rings master: television presenter and former FIFA World Cup Golden Shoe winner Gary Lineker oversaw

the Olympic draws ceremony.


United Arab Emirates, who are taking their fi rst bow on the Olympic stage, and Senegal, who booked their ticket for the Games less than 24 hours before the draw thanks to a 2-0 victory over Oman in their Coventry play-off.

Long wait for gloryGroup B pits 1924 silver medallists Switzerland against Mexico and Korea Republic, two teams who have yet to clinch an Olympic football medal of any colour despite making an impressive nine appearances to date. Lining up alongside these three are Gabon, who will be hoping to add to the footballing euphoria generated at home by their senior team’s successful showing at the recent Africa Cup of Nations on home soil.

One of the most intriguing plot strands in this year’s men’s tournament will be the progress of Brazil, who, despite amassing world titles in every age category, including a record fi ve FIFA World Cup™ titles, have yet to get their hands on Olympic gold.

That’s a statistic the Brazilians are determined to change, however, and certainly the Olympic tournament’s age regulations could play into their squad’s hands this time round, offering them

an ideal platform to blend emerging talents such as Neymar and Ganso with experienced stars such as Ronaldinho and Dani Alves.

“We have some experienced and quality players and I have every faith in them,” said Brazilian FA President José Maria Marin. “We’re going to give them the right conditions so they can work properly and win a title that has been a dream of ours for years.”

Hoping to thwart the Seleção’s ambitions in Group C are sole Oceania representatives New Zealand, European debutants Belarus – who fi nished a surprising third in the UEFA U-21 European Championship – and the vastly experienced Olympians Egypt, who will be making their 12th Olympic appearance at the London Games.

“I’m delighted to be playing against Brazil,” said Egypt coach Hany Ramzy. “It’s a great source of motivation for my players and I hope we can put in a good performance and build up the momentum we need to reach the next round.”

The last of the four groups in the men’s half of the draw, Group D, also features four teams well versed in Olympic football, with reigning European U-21 champions Spain drawn against regular Olympic qualifi ers Japan and Morocco, as well as

Honduras, who’ve appeared in two of the last three editions.

“We respect our three opponents because they are tough sides who will make life diffi cult for us,” said Spain coach Luis Milla. “People say we’re favourites because we’re European champions, but we have to follow the very same course we took in that competition, and that means having maximum respect for our rivals, humility and unity.”

Women at full strengthUnlike the men’s tournament, coaches of the women’s squads can draw on their full complement of players, with no age restrictions applying to the female half of the competition. This is perhaps one explanation for the consistency of the results in the women’s tournament, with the favourites invariably making it through to the latter stages of the tournament.

The outcome of the previous two women’s tournaments has been identical, with the USA taking gold, Brazil silver and Germany bronze in 2004 and 2008. At least one new fl ag is assured on the podium this time round, however, with Germany failing to qualify as a result of their quarter-fi nal exit in last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup™.

Brazil could call on a host of burgeoning talents such as

Ganso and Neymar; the USA have won three of the four Women’s Olympic Football Tournaments held to date.

Tomorrow brings usall closerTo new people, new ideas and new states of mind. Here’s to reaching all the places we’ve never been.

Fly Emirates to 6 continents.

emirates.com


In Group E, the fi rst of the three women’s groups, Great Britain, making their fi rst appearance in the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament, will face a Brazil team dotted with stars such as Cristiane, top goalscorer in the last two editions, and fi ve-time FIFA Women’s Player of the Year Marta.

“The match everyone here is talking about is Great Britain against Brazil,” said England striker Kelly Smith after the draw. “No matter whether you play Brazil in the men’s or the women’s game, there’s a special buzz around the match and it’s a mouth-watering prospect to be playing against them here at Wembley.”

While Group E appears to be fraught with danger for the other two teams pulled out of the pot, Cameroon and New Zealand, the Kiwis’ coach Tony Readings was excited rather than daunted by the challenge that awaits.

“If you’d asked people at home who they most wanted to draw, they’d have said Team GB and Brazil,” he said. “For us to play Team GB on their home turf in the opening game of the tournament is going to be amazing and we know when you play Brazil you’re up against some of the best players in the world.”

Stoic SwedesFIFA Women’s World Cup™ winners Japan, who have picked up where they left off last year by reaching the fi nal of the Algarve Cup and winning the Kirin Challenge Cup in recent months, came out of the pot against Canada, Sweden and South Africa.

The Swedes are the only team alongside the USA and Brazil to have appeared in every instalment of the Olympic women’s tournament thus far, although their best effort to date is a fourth-place fi nish in 2004.

“The draw is what it is,” said Sweden coach Thomas Dennerby. “But we’re satisfi ed with our group. Every time you come to the Games you have to concentrate on your own team’s capabilities.”

Arguably the toughest of the three groups on the women’s side of the draw is

Group G, which pits Olympic heavyweights the USA against France, Korea DPR and Colombia. The Americans have enjoyed almost total dominance of women’s Olympic football, reaching all four fi nals to date and winning three, with defeat to Norway in the 2000 fi nal the only blemish on their record to date.

However, France, whose attractive football en route to the semi-fi nals of last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup won them a host of new admirers, and Korea DPR, the world’s eighth-ranked team, will provide stern resistance, while debutantes Colombia will be looking to build on the big-stage experience they gained at Germany 2011.

“We played France in the [FIFA Women’s World Cup] semi-fi nal and they’re a good team,” said USA coach Pia Sundhage after the draw. “They are getting better and better and I think it’s good for us to have a good team at the beginning. It’s also great to have three different teams with three different styles to play against.

“Having the draw done, it feels like ‘here we are’ instead of just talking about what teams we might bump into. It’s also a reminder that the Olympics are just around the corner…”

Men’s Olympic Football Tournament,26 July – 11 August

Women’s Olympic Football Tournament, 25 July – 9 August

Group AGreat BritainSenegalUnited Arab EmiratesUruguay

Group BMexicoKorea RepublicGabonSwitzerland

Group CBrazilEgyptBelarusNew Zealand

Group DSpainJapanHondurasMorocco

Group EGreat BritainNew ZealandCameroonBrazil

Group FJapanCanadaSwedenSouth Africa

Group GUSAFranceColombiaKorea DPR

“Every time you come to the Games you have to

concentrate on your own team’s capabilities.”

Sweden women’s coach Thomas Dennerby

Sweden coach Thomas Dennerby reacted philosophically to his team’s draw.


Pacifi c measures for health

While the Solomon Islands’ idyllic beaches and deep blue waters conjure up images of a tropical paradise, it was the serious health challenges also facing the country which drew the attention of FIFA’s medical experts.

In particular, the Solomon Islanders suffer one of the world’s highest per capita incidences of malaria, with tens of thousands of cases reported every year and children among those most at risk. The country’s national health system meanwhile faces the logistical and fi nancial burden of del iver ing essential services such as health and education to half a million

inhabitants spread across almost 1,000 islands.

“When we were considering which country in the Pacifi c to nominate as our fi rst 11 for Health partner, we were warned about the problems in the Solomon Islands, but the more we heard about the concerns, the more interested we became in taking the programme

there,” explained FIFA’s Chief Medical Offi cer, Professor Jiri Dvorak, following his visit to the region in March.

Dvorak travelled to the Solomon Islands and Tonga to meet leaders in both countries and present the benefi ts of implementing the 11 for Health programme, which

Oceania is set to become the third continent to benefi t from the FIFA 11 for Health programme, with pilot programmes due to begin this year in the Solomon Islands and Tonga.


Unlike in the West, where a stigma is often attached to obesity, large bodies are revered in many South Pacifi c cultures, and this has contributed to high obesity rates in Tonga, with over 90% of the population reportedly overweight. As a result, related diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes are increasing among the islanders.

After making the journey south-east from the Solomon Islands to meet with Tonga’s acting prime minister, Samiu Vaipulu, and education minister, Dr ‘Ana Taufe’ulungaki, Dvorak emphasised the programme’s effectiveness in encouraging young people to take up a healthy lifestyle.

“The rate of obesity is a signifi cant problem for us, so we support any programme that helps us to address this issue and create a healthier society,” said Taufe’ulungaki.

“11 for Health is a very exciting programme and it will complement beautifully the work we are already doing in promoting healthy living for school students.”

Dvorak, for his part, was highly encouraged by the government support for the programme in both partner

combines football lessons with specially targeted health messages, delivered with the help of famous footballing ambassadors such as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Following the decision by both countries to run pilot projects this year, 11 for Health will now be used to support the existing measures being taken to address their most pressing health concerns.

“I am impressed that football is taking the initiative with this special programme, which also encompasses a role in community education,” was the assessment of Solomon Islands’ health minister Charles Sigoto following his meeting with Dvorak.

“We encourage community health awareness in my ministry and I can see that football will enrich this role and make a big impact in our communities.”

While the pilot programme on the Solomon Islands will initially involve 18 schools over an 11-week period running from August to November, Dvorak was confi dent that these fi rst lessons would extend far beyond those participating in the classroom.

“The children will go home and share their knowledge with their peers, siblings and parents, and the impact will be felt in the Solomon Islands’ wider population,” he explained.

Weighty concernsWhile the biggest threat to health on the Solomon Islands is posed by communicable diseases such as malaria, it is the prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as obesity and diabetes which present the greatest danger to the Tongans.

“The more we heard about the concerns in the Solomon Islands,

the more interested we became in taking the programme there.”

FIFA Chief Medical Offi cer Professor Jiri Dvorak

countries. “The health ministers in the Solomon Islands and Tonga confi rmed their full support for the FIFA 11 for Health programme, giving us the green light to proceed with our pilot programmes. We have no doubt that they will be successful.”

Global spreadDvorak’s confi dence is borne out by the success of the 11 for Health programme in Africa. Initially rolled out as part of the medical legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa, the programme has subsequently been implemented nationwide in Mauritius, Namibia and Malawi, with more than 100,000 children participating in the programme by the end of 2011.

Following the launch of the fi rst 11 for Health initiatives in the Americas last year during the FIFA U-17 and U-20 World Cups in Mexico and Colombia, further African launches are soon planned in Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Ghana.

The 11 messages that make up the programme (see overleaf) are based on the biggest health challenges worldwide

Children in the Pacifi c region (left) will be next to benefi t from FIFA’s 11 for Health programme; the pilot programme agreed by the Solomon Islands’ health minister Charles Sigoto and FIFA’s medical chief Jiri Dvorak (above) will run in schools from August.


as defi ned by the World Health Organization, leading physicians, public health experts and non-governmental organisations. They are designed to increase children’s knowledge about the causes and prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases and to improve their skills and behaviour towards these diseases.

“The concept is very simple – in fact we were surprised that nobody had thought of it before,” explains Dvorak. “Basically, we identifi ed the risk factors, created the relevant health messages, drew an analogy with football and encouraged the children’s adoption of the messages by inviting famous footballers to endorse the messages.”

Budapest check-up

The FIFA 11 for Health programme is one of many important health topics on the agenda of the 2nd FIFA Medical Conference being held in Budapest on 23-24 May.

The conference, which is taking place ahead of the FIFA Congress in the Hungarian capital, will bring together several hundred leading administrators and physicians from FIFA member associations around the world to assess and discuss the latest developments in football medicine.

Following on from the inaugural FIFA Medical Conference staged in Zurich two years ago, this year’s conference will include sessions on injury management and prevention, anti-doping and the implementation of the 11 for Health programme (see main article). Participants will also take part in four practical workshops dealing with pressing issues in football medicine, including pre-competition medical assessments, football emergency medicine, the FIFA 11+ injury prevention programme and anti-doping. The fi rst of these workshops – focusing on how the pre-competition

medical assessment devised by F-MARC can be used to identify risk factors prior to participation in football competitions – has taken on particular signifi cance, following the tragic on-fi eld death of Livorno midfi elder Piermario Morosini in April and the collapse (and medically assisted recovery) of Bolton Wanderers’ midfi elder Fabrice Muamba during an English FA Cup match in March.

“One of the key themes of the conference will be preventive medicine,” explains FIFA’s Chief Medical Offi cer Professor Jiri Dvorak. “We will look at ways of making football safer, and of mitigating the risk of unexpected cardiac arrest, through regular medical examination not only for top professionals but also recreational footballers.”

In addition to Dvorak and the chairman of the FIFA Medical Committee, Dr Michel D’Hooghe, speakers at the event will include David Howman, Director General of the World Anti-Doping Agency, and Dr Christian Schmied from the Cardiovascular Center of Zurich University Hospital.

“11 for Health is a very exciting programme

and it will complement beautifully the work

we are already doing in promoting healthy living

for school students.”Tongan education minister

Dr ‘Ana Taufe’ulungaki

The 11 for Health messages The corresponding football skills

Ambassador

Play football regularly Play football Javier Hernández

Respect girls and women Passing Thierry Henry

Protect yourself from HIV Heading Michael Essien

Avoid drugs and alcohol Dribbling Cristiano Ronaldo

Use treated bed nets Shielding Samuel Eto’o

Wash your hands Defending Carles Puyol

Drink clean water Trapping Nataly Arias

Eat a balanced diet Building fi tness Lionel Messi

Vaccinate yourself and your family Shooting Didier Drogba

Take your prescribed medication Goalkeeping Gianluigi Buffon

Fair play Teamwork Fabio Capello


With international sporting tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup™ leaving an indisputable impact on society and the environment, FIFA’s Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Federico Addiechi, gives us an insight into the sustainability strategy for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ and explains how the strategy will guide FIFA’s efforts to stage a sustainable event and build a better future.

FIFA World: The term “sustainability” is used frequently nowadays in connection with international events such as the FIFA World Cup, Federico, but what exactly does it mean?Federico Addiechi: Broadly speaking, sustainability is about enabling this generation to meet its needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. For FIFA, that means using our resources wisely, in other words, striking a balance between economic growth, social development and environmental protection.

How do you decide which topics a FIFA World Cup sustainability strategy should focus on?As you can imagine, because of its sheer size, the FIFA World Cup offers a unique global platform to raise awareness of many social and environmental concerns

In a few weeks’ time, representatives of FIFA will travel to Rio de Janeiro to take part in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (20-22 June), where world leaders, governments, private companies, NGOs and other groups will pool their expertise to fi nd ways of reducing poverty, increasing social equity and protecting the environment.

Interview with Federico Addiechi

Striking a balance

and the expectations of what FIFA can achieve are therefore very high, so we have to defi ne a clear, ambitious but realistic focus. In consultation with the key stakeholders – the Local Organising Committee, the Brazilian government, the host cities, and FIFA’s partners and sponsors – we carry out what’s known as a “materiality analysis” to identify what issues are relevant for Brazil and for the World Cup. Importantly, we have to evaluate which issues it makes sense to focus on in terms of our degree of infl uence. We ask ourselves: is this an area that FIFA and the LOC can control or have a signifi cant impact on? Is it a relevant topic that Brazilians want to

see addressed? If the answer to those two questions is yes, then that becomes a material issue to be addressed in the strategy. We also consider the country’s own sustainability objectives. For example, the 13 directives that outline Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and her government’s policy agenda have contributed to shaping our sustainability strategy.

Have you been able to transfer knowledge gained from previous FIFA World Cups into the 2014 strategy?Defi nitely. We gained a lot of knowledge and experience from the 2006 and

Rio summit: FIFA will set out its social and environmental legacy plans at the upcoming UN conference.


2010 FIFA World Cups, and from last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, and we’ve tried as much as possible to incorporate the best practices from those tournaments into the sustainability strategy for 2014. In particular, those events gave us the opportunity to set up a framework for sustainability. Within the area of environmental protection, for example, this framework contains six key areas: waste, water, energy, transportation, procurement and climate change, and we can adapt these according to the part of the world in which the World Cup is being staged. So while the framework remains the same, each tournament will incorporate sustainability in a different manner, taking into consideration the particularities of the host country and the region.

In terms of environmental sustainability, doesn’t an event like the FIFA World Cup cause damage by its very nature?We acknowledge that the FIFA World Cup has a both a positive and a negative impact on society and on the environment. Acknowledging this reality is a fi rst step towards changing and trying to address the related issues. Beyond that, we see it as our responsibility to take measures to maximise the positive and minimise the negative impact using the resources we have available and using the power of our organisation and of the event itself.

What exactly does that involve?Well, fi rst of all, an organisation like FIFA has to understand the extent of its environmental impact, including its carbon footprint. We’ve taken steps to evaluate what emissions are caused by our activities in the lead-up to recent FIFA World Cups, and we recognised that a large part of our emissions comes from international fl ights. Therefore, on 1 January 2012, we launched a programme to offset


all of our carbon emissions resulting from international air travel. The programme is certifi ed to the Gold Standard, the premium standard for voluntary carbon reduction projects, and ensures that every time a FIFA representative travels, the emissions are 100% compensated through carbon reduction projects in various parts of the world. Another of our programmes will see us hold a certifi ed training course on environmental matters for all stadium managers. At last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany, this resulted in over 50 individual measures being carried out to improve the environmental performance of the stadiums.

Of course, sustainability is not just about the environment. What can you tell us about the strategy’s social dimension?Clearly, topics such as social inclusion, non-discrimination and respect for human rights and the rule of law are present in every area of our work

and they will continue to underpin our strategy in the years ahead. As for specifi c measures, we’ve gained a lot of experience of working with disadvantaged communities in recent years through the worldwide Football for Hope programme, and we’ll be looking to push ahead strongly with the programme in Brazil. With this in mind, we’re launching a study to identify programmes in the 12 host cities that are using football to promote social inclusion and social development,

which we will then support in 2014 and beyond. Another area we’re focusing on is increasing the skills and employability of the local population. We’ll be working with around 18,000 FIFA World Cup volunteers, and rather than simply training them for their specifi c tasks, we’ll offer them other ways to build their skills in order to increase their chances of getting a fi rst or second job when the World Cup is over.

The exclusion of informal traders from certain zones around the cities and stadiums attracted criticism during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa…Yes, we’ve evaluated the best practices and not-so-good practices from South Africa and incorporated these lessons into the current strategy. Informal traders remain a responsibility of the host cities, and we’ll be supporting and encouraging these cities to actively engage with informal traders to fi nd solutions and alternatives for those negatively affected by the event. In some cases, we’ll even be giving informal traders the opportunity to be part of our offi cial FIFA World Cup operations, again with a view to building their skills for the time after the event.

So it’s also about encouraging others to incorporate sustainability into their operating practices?Absolutely. In addition to our own concrete initiatives, one of the principles of our strategy is to reach out to others within our sphere of infl uence by encouraging them to further integrate sustainability into their activities. We work with our partners and sponsors to make sure that their FIFA World Cup operations are as sustainable as possible, sharing best practices and also giving them opportunities to interact with us on sustainability-related matters. For example, we’ll be working with Sony on a skill-building programme to provide equipment and media training to young people in Brazil, a programme which we will then embed into long-term community projects through our Football for Hope network. We’ll also be working with Yingli Solar to install a large solar energy system that will provide Brazilian communities with renewable energy long after the World Cup has ended. On top of that, we’re exchanging knowledge and information with the Brazilian government on an ongoing basis, because, although we know that they have their own expertise and objectives, just as we do, sometimes overlapping

“One of the principles of our strategy is to reach

out to others within our sphere of infl uence by encouraging them to further integrate

sustainability into their activities.”


areas arise out of those discussions where one plus one is more than two.

You’ve been at FIFA for almost a decade now. How has FIFA’s sustainability strategy evolved during that time?In previous FIFA World Cups, we’ve had social responsibility and environmental “satellites”, that is, individual events,

initiatives and programmes that were linked to the tournaments. This time round, however, we realised that if we wanted to have a major impact, we had to look at our internal operations. We had to talk about how the tournament is organised, and we had to consider the impact on society and the environment in everything that we do. We want to make sure that sustainability is not solely the task of the Corporate Social Responsibility team but is embraced by the whole organisation and the Local Organising Committee. For example, we’ve integrated sustainability into our tender and procurement processes to ensure that all the products or services FIFA purchases are produced in compliance with international norms and decent work conditions, and we look to purchase products whose manufacturers have considered how they’ll be reused or recycled at the end of their life cycle – not just at the end of the World Cup.

What evidence of sustainability will fans be able to see at the 2014 FIFA World Cup?Our sustainability activities will be visible to fans in a number of areas. We‘ll be

putting a system of waste management in place, for instance, that takes into account environmental protection, while the World Cup in Brazil will also be a great opportunity to raise awareness of climate change. Inside the stadium, fans will see evidence of our measures to improve the experience of young fans through the child protection areas we’re setting up there. However, many activities will not be as visible to the fans because sustainability is often more about how we do things and the many measures we’re carrying out behind the scenes, for example to ensure that the ticketing system takes into account high-level consumer issues such as data protection and the rights of fans attending the event.

And looking beyond 2014?As soon as the FIFA World Cup in Brazil has fi nished, we’ll put together a fi rst comprehensive sustainability report evaluating the outcome of our activities surrounding the tournament, which will then form the basis for future events.

The report will be based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), a sustainability framework used by most of the largest companies around the world. We’ll also continue our work with the Local Organising Committees in Russia and Qatar ahead of the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. For the fi rst time, the bidding process for these tournaments took in social and environmental considerations, so the host countries have already indicated their focus topics and we’ve been able to make early inroads into developing appropriate sustainability measures, including the stipulation that FIFA World Cup stadiums will have to obtain green building certifi cation in future to ensure their energy and environmental credentials. So, as for Brazil 2014, we hope that through the combined efforts of FIFA, the Local Organising Committee, our partners and sponsors and the host nation’s government, we can ensure that sustainability becomes an integral part of the FIFA World Cup and a benchmark for future sporting events.

FIFA’s environmental and social strategy will focus on the key issues facing Brazilians.

“We see it as our responsibility to take measures to maximise

the positive and minimise the negative

impact of the FIFA World Cup.”

30

a library and an administrative block, the centre is the sixth to have opened its doors as part of the offi cial “20 Centres for 2010” campaign.

The aim of all the centres is to combine sporting and social development, allowing youngsters to enjoy the sporting facilities while also learning valuable “life skills”

Ghana opening for sixth centre

The Ghanaian port of Cape Coast has become the latest African city to open a Football for Hope Centre as part of the ongoing legacy left to Africa by FIFA following South Africa’s hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

By Brendon Hanley, Cape Coast

As FIFA prepares to reveal the fi rst details of its social development activities for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ at the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (see previous article), the legacy promises made in relation to the last FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa have of course not been forgotten.

In the last week of March, over 200 Ghanaian children took part in a colourful festival to mark the opening of the Oguaa Football for Hope Centre in the country’s former capital Cape Coast. Boasting a small-size football pitch, changing rooms and a medical area as well as various teaching areas including a computer lab,



specifi cally designed for their needs by the local centre operators.

In the case of the Cape Coast centre, which is operated by non-governmental organisation Play Soccer Ghana, participants will receive varied instruction, depending upon their ages, covering both social and vocational skills.

“We have two programmes, one for those aged fi ve to 14, and one for those aged 15 to 22,” explains centre manager Abdul Wahab Musah. “With the fi rst group, we use football to teach them social and health skills, while for the older group, we have formed a street league which we use to link football-playing with vocational teaching.”

Another important priority for the centre is improving the lives of disabled people in the Cape Coast area, with the Cape Coast School of the Deaf having been integrated into the league.

“It’s highly overwhelming to see how the street league participants are able to make friends with their deaf counterparts, and to watch them exchanging text messages with each other,” Wahab added.

Cape of good hopeThe choice of Cape Coast as the location for the latest Football for Hope Centre was no accident, with the city having long established itself as a base for trailblazers, academics and athletes.

Originally founded by Portuguese settlers in the 15th century, the port served as

Ghana’s capital until 1877. Known locally as Oguaa, Cape Coast was home to Ghana’s fi rst-ever football club (a school side known as Excelsior which started playing games in 1903) and also boasts the country’s fi rst secondary school, Mfantsipim, whose alumni include Alex Quaison-Sackey, the fi rst black African to preside over the

United Nations General Assembly, and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Literally building upon the city’s proud academic history, the Football for Hope Centre is located within the Mfantsipim campus and will be used by Play Soccer Ghana as a hub for their development programmes throughout the Cape Coast region.

The importance of the centre as a beacon for development on both a sport and social level was demonstrated by the high number of dignitaries who attended the March opening, with traditional ruler

Osabarima Kweku Atta II, deputy regional minister Ebo Barton-Oduro and Ghana Football Association President Kwesi Nyantakyi among the many in attendance.

“Looking at the achievements of Play Soccer Ghana since 2001, I am convinced that this centre will become a beacon for youth empowerment through football, both for Cape Coast and for Ghana at large,” said Ian Mills, Football for Hope Centres project manager.

“The opening today is not the end of our common path, but in fact, it is just the beginning. Jointly with FIFA, we will accompany PSG on this path … that will serve this community, and this country, for many years to come.”

The last word, however, should perhaps go to the children who are now benefi ting from the centre’s facilities and courses. Decked out in special commemorative T-shirts for the occasion, many of them had clearly been enjoying their fi rst feel of the centre’s state-of-the-art football turf pitch, as well as the fi rst set of lessons which they attended before the offi cial opening.

“I am very happy to participate in the programme,” said Patrick Eshun, a 13-year-old pupil at the Adom A.M.E. Zion Junior High School. “Whenever I come here I meet my friends and we play together. After playing I go to the classroom to learn with them too. Our coaches also teach us health skills like malaria prevention and how to keep our bodies clean. So we are always happy and want to come here every day.”

“I am convinced that this centre will become

a beacon for youth empowerment, both

for Cape Coast and for Ghana at large.”

Football for Hope Centres project manager Ian Mills

More than 200 children took part in the festival to mark the opening of the Oguaa Football for Hope Centre.


The offi cial campaign of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™20 Centres for 2010

Line-up completeThe full list of proposed locations for the 14 remaining Football for Hope Centres were fi nalised in April with the announcement that the 20th Football for Hope Centre will be located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Starting with the inaugural project in the township of Khayelitsha, South Africa, which was opened the day after the December 2009 Final Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, six centres have now been offi cially opened as part of the tournament’s offi cial “20 Centres for 2010” campaign, with seven more due to follow by the end of 2012.

The fi nal centres are expected to be completed by 2013, providing a lasting legacy of Africa’s fi rst FIFA World Cup long after the tournament’s fi nal whistle.

completet of proposed locations for the 14

g Football for Hope Centres were n April with the announcement 0th Football for Hope Centre will d in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. g with the inaugural project wnship of Khayelitsha, South hich was opened the day after mber 2009 Final Draw for the

A World Cup™, six centres have n offi cially opened as part of ament’s official “20 Centres for

20

13

2

4 5

6

8 7

9

1013

1211

15

16

1714

19

18


MauritaniaNouakchottCentre Host: ESPOIRFocus: Reduction of poverty and promotion of good governance

and human rights

MaliBaguinéda, BamakoCentre Host: Association Malienne pour la Promotion de la Jeune

Fille et de la Femme (AMPJF)Focus: Empowerment of girls and young women in the community

Cape VerdeSantiagoCentre Host: Delta Cultura Cabo VerdeFocus: After-school opportunities for vulnerable young people

GhanaCape CoastCentre Host: Play Soccer GhanaFocus: Health and social development

CameroonBesongabang, MamfeCentre Host: United Action for ChildrenFocus: Counselling programmes for out-of-school children

Democratic Republic of the CongoKalebuka , LubumbashiCentre Host: Georges Malaika FoundationFocus: Education, health and life skills

KenyaMathare, NairobiCentre Host: Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA)Focus: Awareness of sport, health and the environment

RwandaKimisagara, KigaliCentre Host: Espérance - Association des Jeunes Sportifs de KigaliFocus: Peace-building and reconciliation

TanzaniaIringaCentre Host: Iringa Development of Youth, Disabled and Children

CareFocus: HIV/AIDS and environmental education

MozambiqueManicaCentre Host: Grupo Desportivo de ManicaFocus: Creating networks of social coherence and promoting healty

living

NamibiaKatutura, WindhoekCentre Host: Special Olympics NamibiaFocus: Empowerment of people with intellectual disabilities

BotswanaRamotswa, South East DistrictCentre Host: South East District Youth Empowerment AssociationFocus: HIV/AIDS prevention, leadership skills training and

empowerment of girls

ZimbabweLuveve, BulawayoCentre Host: Grassroot Soccer ZimbabweFocus: HIV/AIDS prevention and education

LesothoMaseruCentre Host: Kick4LifeFocus: HIV/AIDS prevention and education

South AfricaKhayelitsha, Cape TownCentre Host: Grassroot Soccer (GRS)Focus: HIV/AIDS prevention and education

South AfricaAlexandra, JohannesburgCentre Host: Grassroot Soccer (GRS)Focus: HIV/AIDS prevention and education

South AfricaQwaQwa, Free StateCentre Host: loveLifeFocus: HIV/AIDS prevention and education

South AfricaMokopane, LimpopoCentre Host: South African Red Cross Society (SARCS)Focus: Youth development, peer education and public health

South AfricaEdendale, PietermaritzburgCentre Host: WhizzKids UnitedFocus: HIV/AIDS prevention and education

EthiopiaAddis AbabaCentre Host: Sport – the BridgeFocus: Street children

1 11

2 12

3 13

4 14

5 15

6 16

7 17

8 18

9 19

10 20

OPENED

OPENED

OPENED

OPENED

OPENED

OPENED


Staging a FIFA tournament invariably brings colour and prestige to the host association as well as a range of cultural and social benefi ts. Perhaps foremost among these, however, is the opportunity it gives them to further their own football development goals.

That opportunity has certainly not been lost on the hosts of this year’s FIFA women’s youth competitions, with Azerbaijan and Japan both launching legacy programmes months before their respective events have even begun.

In Azerbaijan’s case, seven girls’ football festivals are due to be held across the country in the months leading up to the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup kick-off in September, along with courses for coaches

Fostering a female future

Azerbaijan and Japan have both launched ambitious new women’s football youth programmes with the aim of leaving a lasting legacy following their hosting of this year’s FIFA U-17 and FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cups.By Monika Huser, Baku, and Kumi Kinohara, Sakai

at U-15 and U-17 level and for referees at senior level.

“I am very happy and excited about the kick-off of this project,” said Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA) General Secretary Elkhan Mammadov at the 10 March launch event and accompanying “Live Your Goals” girls’ football festival in Baku’s Dalga Arena, one of fi ve stadiums being used for this year’s tournament.

“When we applied to stage the U-17 Women’s World Cup, our fi rst priority was to upgrade the standard of women’s football in the country, and the Azerbaijani girls who have come along today to take part in the festival have shown how excited they are to be part of the game.”

High turnoutIn total, some 200 people attended the Baku event, with the 90 participating youngsters being joined by leading representatives from football, government, sponsors and media in Azerbaijan as well as FIFA ambassador for women’s football Steffi Jones and FIFA women’s football instructor Vera Pauw.

“Football is so much more than just kicking a ball. You learn what you can achieve, how to stand on your own two feet and set goals in your life,” said Pauw. “‘Live Your Goals’ is the best message I would give to the players who have taken up football recently. Take everything out of it and it will help you in life.”

Heavy snowfall and bitingly cold temperatures forced the organisers to make some late changes to their plans, with the football festival being moved indoors following the opening ceremony. Fortunately, Azerbaijani singer Chingiz Mustafayev was on hand to help the girls warm up with some singing and dancing, while Pauw and Jones also stepped in to tell the girls about their own experiences of the game during an impromptu question-and-answer session.

As the day came to a close with an appearance by Top Top Girl, the Offi cial Mascot of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, and members of Azerbaijan’s U-17 women’s national team, the team’s German coach Sissi Raith even suggested that there was something apt about the way the event had warmed up after a chilly start.

Storm of excitement: bad weather did not dampen the enthusiasm of the girls taking part in the Baku festival.


nevertheless proved a huge hit with the youngsters, particularly when they received a surprise visit by three members of Japan’s World Cup winning team, Aya Miyama, Kozue Ando and Nahomi Kawasumi, as well as team coach Norio Sasaki. In the days that followed, they were able to move outdoors again for a variety of small-sided games, football clinics and social activities.

“We took part with our new second-year students. The students are usually very quiet but this festival has given them a chance to get to know the girls from other prefectures and has brought them out of their shells,” said Yukiko Takei, coach of the Jumonji Gakuen junior high school team.

“Students in this age group are in the process of growing mentally and it is quite diffi cult to know whether to praise them or scold them,” he added. “But, thanks to the advice I’ve gained at this festival, I feel that I can help them grow more and better.”

The fi nal highlight of the festival saw the girls being taken to watch their national team heroines conquer Brazil 4-1 in a match played as part of the inaugural Women’s Kirin Challenge Cup (see also report on page 76).

Similar festivals are due to take place across the host nation during the lead-up to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, which kicks off on 19 August, mainly in and around the fi ve host venues of Hiroshima, Kobe, Miyagi, Saitama and Tokyo.

“When I came to Azerbaijan 20 months ago, we also had to start from zero with women’s football,” Raith explained. “It’s been a real joy for me to teach the players how to play football and, despite some diffi culties at the beginning, they now play football to a good standard.”

Japanese ambitionWhile Azerbaijan’s staging of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will be used primarily to boost a national women’s football scene that is still very much in its infancy, the U-20 version in Japan will be more about building up a sport which is already well established, with Japan’s senior national team, the Nadeshiko, still basking in the afterglow of last July’s FIFA Women’s World Cup™ victory.

Far from resting on their laurels, however, the Japan Football Association (JFA) are looking to further strengthen the women’s game in their country, with a special focus on promoting the sport among teenage girls.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have many teams where girls of junior high-school age can play football as much as they want,” Japan Football Association President Junji Ogura explained at the start of the four-day “Live Your Goals” festival in Sakai, which was used to launch Japan’s legacy programme in April. “We’re working together with the Sports and Education Ministry and others to improve the situation, and I hope this festival can give us an added spur to increase the number of girls’ teams for this generation.”

As further evidence of the JFA’s commitment to girls’ and women’s football, the Sakai event also included the opening of the association’s second women’s football academy, including an elite training programme for U-15 players, where the JFA hopes to unearth the next generation of Homare Sawas.

Surprise visitAs in Azerbaijan, the weather gods were not smiling on the Japanese launch event, with a fi erce storm around the Sakai region forcing organisers to move the planned on-field activities indoors. The event

Japan is working hard to promote girls’ football at junior high-school level.

FIFA briefs

Somalia condolencesFIFA President Joseph S. Blatter expressed his shock and sorrow on hearing of the death of Somali Football Federation President Said Mohamud Nur during a bomb attack in April. Mohamud Nur was among a crowd of people killed in a blast set off as dignitaries celebrated the re-opening of a Mogadishu theatre. Somali Olympic Committee President Aden Yabarow Wiish was also fatally injured. “I knew both men personally and can only say good things about their endless efforts to promote sport and football in their country,” Blatter wrote in a letter of condolence. “They will be sorely missed.”

Supporting BorgonovoFIFA has announced that it will sponsor the youth tournament of Stefano Borgonovo, the former European Cup winner and Italy international who now suffers from motor neurone disease. In a joint venture with the Italian Football Association, world football’s governing body will help stage the competition, which will take place in Borgonovo’s home town of Giussano on 2-3 June.

New interactive recordThis year’s edition of the FIFA Interactive World Cup has broken yet another participation record with more than a million gamers now having registered for the tournament. The competition, which involves online qualifying as well as physical qualifying events in different locations around the world, has already been offi cially recognised by Guinness World Records as the largest online gaming tournament in the world. Around 1.3 million players are expected to have taken part in this year’s edition by the time the FIWC Grand Final takes place in Dubai from 21-23 May.


my country and shows that, in football at least, every country is taken on an equal footing,” said long-standing CAF Sports Medical Committee member Dr James Sekajugo as he arrived in Zurich for his fi rst FIFA Medical Committee meeting in March.

“It’s very important to have the smaller associations represented at FIFA because it brings out the feeling that this is truly a world sport,” added the former Uganda national team doctor. “It’s also a great motivation for the younger generation, because it shows that if they work hard, Ugandans can achieve great things.”

Having herself achieved great things as a former national team captain who has

FIFA’s decision-making bodies have become more representative than ever, with a recent major restructuring ensuring that all 208 member associations have at least one delegate on a FIFA committee.

House of representatives

There were plenty of introductions being made at FIFA’s Zurich headquarters in February and March as a host of new faces reported for the fi rst meetings of the 2012-2015 administrative cycle. Almost half of the 500 seats on FIFA’s various standing committees have been attributed to new members, with the aim of bringing new blood and fresh ideas to the decision-making process.

In addition, the shake-up was designed to ensure an even greater geographical spread of knowledge and experience among the committee members, with all 208 member associations now having at least one member serving on a FIFA committee.

“The new structure is intended to ensure a more balanced and fair representation of each confederation and member association, with the number of committee members from each confederation also shared out on as even a basis as possible, according roughly to the size of those confederations,” FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke told FIFA World as the newly appointed committee members headed to their fi rst meetings.

As a result of the changes, no fewer than 33 associations are now represented on a FIFA committee for the fi rst time in their history – something which comes as a great source of pride, it seems, to the newcomers in question.

“Being the fi rst Ugandan to sit on a FIFA committee is a great recognition for

since risen to become General Secretary of the Turks and Caicos Islands Football Association, Sonia Bien-Aime also spoke of her excitement at being invited onto the Organising Committee for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

“I think it’s a great opportunity, not only to learn from the experiences of others but also to pass on my own experiences,” Bien-Aime told FIFA World. “I’m a former chairman of the Turks and Caicos Sports Commission and have served on several event management and sports management committees, as well as still acting as a consultant to our women’s committee – so I’m sure I will have a valuable contribution to make even if my country is not on the same scale as some of the others.”

A link to FIFA’s administrative bodies, including the names of all committee members, can be found on our web page: www.fi fa.com/magazine

Warm welcome: FIFA President

Joseph S. Blatter greets new

committee member Sonia Bien-Aime.


Resolution, redemption, FOCUS

39 FIFA WORLD I FOCUS

reinvention

The race to qualify for Brazil 2014 is set to heat up on three continents in June as the leading teams of Africa, Oceania and the CONCACAF region all get their FIFA World Cup™ qualifying campaigns under way.Over the next 18 pages, FIFA World takes a look at the 60 sides chasing nine available berths at the fi nals in Brazil via three gruelling qualifying competitions, each with their own distinctive history and fl avour…


Going to extremes

Long journeys and testing climatic conditions are just two of the challenges facing the last dozen teams chasing World Cup qualifi cation from North America, Central America and the Caribbean.By Michael Lewis, New York

Trying to qualify for the FIFA World Cup is always an adventure for CONCACAF teams.

Whether it is in the sweltering heat of the tropics, performing on an occasionally bumpy pitch in the Caribbean, enduring monsoon season in Central America or playing in the dead of winter in Columbus, Ohio, qualifi cation in this varied part of the world presents a challenge for even the most experienced of teams.

On paper at least, the 12 remaining CONCACAF sides still dreaming of a place in Brazil could be roughly categorised as heavyweights (Mexico, United States and Honduras), contenders (Costa Rica, Panama and Jamaica), hopefuls (Canada, Guatemala and El Salvador) and longshots (Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana and Cuba), but even the supposed favourites insist that they are taking nothing for granted.

“People outside of the region may think it’s a relatively easy area from which to qualify, but it’s not,” Honduras midfi elder Roger Espinoza told FIFA World. “You go through all different stages of play: the cold of the USA, the altitude of Mexico or the humidity of Honduras. Then you go to the Caribbean and you get rainy, tropical weather. It’s defi nitely tough.”

Climatic conditions notwithstanding, however, Honduras will still begin alongside the USA and Mexico as the three teams most fancied to make it into the fi nal six

for next year’s decisive fourth round. As well as being the most experienced sides in the three groups, the trio were of course CONCACAF’s representatives at the last edition of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa two years ago.

Record in sightIndeed, the USA will set a CONCACAF record of participating in seven straight FIFA World Cups if they can secure one of the top two spots in Group A (where they are up against Jamaica, Guatemala and Antigua and Barbuda) and then also make it through the fourth round.

USA coach Jürgen Klinsmann insists that he has no interest in past achievements, or even the style of play required to win through this stage of the preliminary competition. Having won plenty of admirers for the attacking fl air of his young Germany side at the 2006 FIFA World Cup™, as well as for his own athletic prowess as a World Cup-winning player in 1990, the 47-year-old trainer says he will just be concentrating on securing results in whatever fashion possible as the Americans embark on their latest qualifying campaign.

“You need to adjust to the circumstances and make the best out of it,” is how Klinsmann summarises the physically challenging encounters that tend to dominate this stage of the competition.

“You might face a very diffi cult pitch or struggle to play [through balls] because your opponents have locked themselves in with ten men in the box. So you have to forget about your ideal style of play, maybe send [central defender Oguchi] Onyewu up to centre forward and try to hit him with a set piece. I am looking forward

Three devoted Guatemala fans brave the elements to follow their country’s 8-1 win over Antigua and Barbuda during the early stages of qualifying for the 2002 FIFA World Cup™.


to all these different types of games and environments, but the goal is the same – to get the job done.”

A clear pecking order can certainly be discerned in their group, with the USA having never lost a game to Jamaica, who have never been beaten by Guatemala, who in turn have never lost to the footballing minnows of Antigua and Barbuda.

If the USA do live up to their reputation as group favourites, Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz will therefore be highly fancied to take the

group’s second qualifying spot, especially given their formidable record when playing at home. Frequently described as Jamaica’s “12th player”, the team’s national stadium in Kingston has also been dubbed “The Offi ce” in reference to the diffi culty visiting teams seem to have in winning there.

“Nobody comes to your offi ce and bosses you around,” fl eet-footed midfi elder Dane Richards recently said of the ground where Jamaica have now gone 17 games unbeaten – winning 14 of those encounters and drawing three. The Boyz’ last defeat in Kingston dates back fi ve years (a June 2007 friendly against Chile), with their last World Cup qualifying loss at the stadium to be found even further back, in September 2004.

Seeking their fi rst win in any location over the Jamaicans, Guatemala are one of four Central American teams – along with Panama, Nicaragua and Belize – who have yet to reach the World Cup fi nals.

“It’s very clear to us that with the three direct qualifying berths and the additional play-off one [from the fi nal qualifying round], we’ll be battling for third place with the likes of Jamaica, Costa Rica, Canada and Honduras,” is the frank assessment of veteran striker Carlos Ruiz, whose clinical fi nishing has earned him plaudits across three continents during a club career which has included stints in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Paraguay and Greece.

“The standard of Central American and Caribbean football is below that of Mexico and the USA. So if we accept the reality that the top two places will go to those

two countries, then we have to focus on securing the remaining berth.”

Completing the Group A quartet, Antigua and Barbuda could be forgiven for resting on their laurels after already going further than anyone expected with their progress to this stage of the competition (see “For club and country”). Having never even qualifi ed for a CONCACAF Gold Cup fi nal tournament, let alone the fi nal stages of World Cup qualifying, the Benna Boys (nicknamed after a local form of calypso-style music) pulled off a series of major upsets in last year’s second round – winning fi ve of their six matches, including a decisive 1-0 home win in November over group favourites and near neighbours Haiti.

“They said we couldn’t do what we did, but here we are,” team captain George Dublin pointed out following the side’s second-round success. “Now we need to

CONCACAF qualifying round three groups

Group AUSAJamaicaGuatemalaAntigua and Barbuda

Group BMexicoCosta RicaEl SalvadorGuyana

Group CHondurasPanamaCanadaCuba

The third round of CONCACAF qualifying will see the teams in each group playing each other on a home-and-away basis, with matches taking place from June to October of this year. The top two teams from each group will then progress to next year’s decisive fourth round, also known as the “hexagonal” due to its six-team composition. The teams that take the top three spots in that fourth round will automatically qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, with the team that fi nishes fourth going into a home-and-away play-off against the top team from Oceania’s qualifying competition.

Clint Dempsey celebrates after scoring the only goal in the USA’s friendly win over Italy in February – earning the Americans their fi rst-ever victory over the Azzurri.

“I am looking forward to all these different types of games and

environments, but the goal is the same – to get

the job done.” USA coach Jürgen Klinsmann


do the same things [in the third round] and we’ll give them all a run for their money.”

In-form MexicansIn Group B, meanwhile, Mexico will be strongly expected to come through this stage of the qualifying process unscathed as they take on Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guyana. Arguably even bigger favourites to progress than the United States, El Tri are currently enjoying one of the greatest runs in their already impressive

footballing history. Over an amazing past 12 months, the Mexicans have captured the CONCACAF Gold Cup, won the FIFA U-17 World Cup, fi nished third at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, earned the gold medal at the Pan-American Games and also recently made sure of a place at this year’s London Olympics.

Boasting considerable depth and firepower – most notably in their formidable attacking trio of Javier (Chicharito) Hernández, Andrés Guardado and Giovani dos Santos – Mexico are another team who fully exploit home advantage, with Mexico City’s cavernous, vociferous and altitudinous Azteca Stadium rarely proving a happy hunting ground for visiting sides.

In a run that exactly matches Jamaica’s Kingston sequence, the Mexicans are unbeaten at the Azteca since June 2007, when they suffered a 1-0 friendly defeat against Paraguay. Their record in competitive games at the stadium is even more impressive, however, with the national team having only ever lost one

The full list of CONCACAF’s World Cup representatives

Neighbours and close rivalsWith 23 appearances between them, arch-rivals Mexico and the USA have dominated the race for World Cup places in the CONCACAF region ever since the inaugural tournament in 1930. While Mexico boast the region’s best record with a total of 14 appearances, the USA have been creeping up on their neighbours in recent years and will set a new CONCACAF record of seven straight appearances (overtaking the sequence of six-in-a-row set by Mexico between 1950 and 1970) if they successfully qualify for Brazil 2014.

Cuba were the fi rst Caribbean side to reach the fi nals, all the way back in 1938, although they owed their participation not to a successful qualifying campaign, but rather the withdrawal of all the other CONCACAF sides who were disgruntled at the decision to stage the tournament in Europe for a second successive edition. It would be another 36 years before the Caribbean was able to send a second representative to football’s top table, with Haiti qualifying for the 1974 FIFA World Cup™ after making the most of home advantage in the previous year’s qualifying competition. The FIFA World Cup’s subsequent expansion to include 32 teams from the 1998 edition onwards then helped two further Caribbean nations secure berths – Jamaica making their World Cup debut in 1998, followed by Trinidad and Tobago in 2006, with both sides coming through gruelling 20-match campaigns to eventually make sure of their tickets for the fi nals.

A similar pattern can be seen among the Central American teams who had to wait four decades before fi nally sending their fi rst representative to the 1970 FIFA World Cup™. Benefi ting from the fact that this was the fi rst tournament to be staged in the CONCACAF region, with hosts Mexico receiving an automatic spot, El Salvador took the region’s second berth after two highly charged series of qualifying matches against neighbouring Honduras and Haiti. The Salvadorans returned to the fi nals 12 years later, when they qualifi ed alongside Honduras for Spain 1982 – marking the fi rst and so far only time that two Central American teams have played at the same FIFA World Cup. The biggest Central American success story of recent editions, however, has been that of Costa Rica, a country which waited 60 years to make its World Cup debut but which has taken part in three of the last six fi nals.

While Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti are already out of the running for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, eight other former participants are still hoping to chart a successful return to the fi nals. But standing in their way of course will be the four other nations (Guatemala, Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana and Panama) who are dreaming of making their fi rst appearance on CONCACAF’s World Cup roll of honour.

1930: Mexico, USA1934: USA1938: Cuba1950: Mexico, USA1954: Mexico1958: Mexico1962: Mexico1966: Mexico1970: El Salvador, Mexico (hosts)1974: Haiti

1978: Mexico1982: El Salvador, Honduras1986: Canada, Mexico (hosts)1990: Costa Rica, USA1994: USA (hosts), Mexico1998: Jamaica, Mexico, USA2002: Costa Rica, Mexico, USA2006: Costa Rica, Mexico, Trinidad and

Tobago, USA2010: Honduras, Mexico, USA

“In terms of the talent and players we have, we ought to reach the

[fourth round], but we’ve all seen how the other teams are narrowing the gap.”

Mexico defender Hector Moreno


World Cup qualifi er at the Azteca – against the Costa Ricans back in June 2001.

“In terms of the talent and players we have, we ought to reach the [fourth round],” Mexico defender Héctor Moreno told FIFA.com in April, “but it won’t be easy, particularly our away games. We’ve all seen how those national teams with less pedigree are narrowing the gap. I’ve played away in Honduras and El Salvador before and the people over there are very passionate and always desperate to beat us. What’s more, they’re getting more and more international experience, which has helped them grow.”

Should the Mexicans prove as strong as expected, the opening-round match between Costa Rica and El Salvador on 8 June could play an important role in the battle for second place in the group. What remains to be seen is how much Costa Rica’s Ticos will be affected by the switch from their old Saprissa Stadium to the country’s new National Stadium.

Nicknamed the “the Monster’s Cave”, the old ground was renowned for its intimidating atmosphere and its worn artifi cial turf pitch. The USA’s dismal record at the Saprissa of just one draw and fi ve defeats even prompted Landon Donovan to describe it as the most daunting venue

he had ever played at. “In the locker room, the stadium was shaking,” the American star recalled. “There is such an intimidation factor that they use to their advantage that you don’t see anywhere else in the world.”

As well as having to adapt to their new, and far more comfortable, home ground, the Costa Ricans could well do with achieving some managerial stability. Since their last FIFA World Cup appearance in 2006, the Ticos have changed coaches seven times, with Colombian Jorge Luis Pinto the latest to take up the reins.

El Salvador will certainly be looking to benefi t from any slip-up by their near neighbours as they continue their bid to reach the World Cup fi nals for the fi rst time since 1982. Although clearly handed a tough group, the Salvadorans boast a highly experienced squad (with eight of their players having 60 or more caps) and appear to be in fi ne form after romping through the second round with a perfect six wins from their six matches.

Like Antigua and Barbuda, Group B’s lowest-ranked team, Guyana, were never expected to get this far in the competition, though they more than earned their place in the third round after getting the better of 2006 FIFA World Cup™ participants Trinidad and Tobago in round two.

For club and countryAntigua and Barbuda’s surprise qualifi cation for the third round of CONCACAF qualifying is a story of national team success that owes more than its fair share to an unusual club football project.

With a population of less than 90,000 people to draw upon, and a national stadium more often used for cricket than football, the tiny Caribbean nation came up with an imaginative way of giving its players greater exposure to the professional game: placing a team of Antiguan players in the United Soccer League PRO – the third tier of professional football in the USA.

While Antigua Barracuda FC failed to reach the 2011 USL PRO post-season play-offs, the season was still hailed a success in terms of giving the players an opportunity to play and train together regularly. Certainly, the project has been cited by those involved in the national team set-up as a major factor in the national team’s unexpectedly strong showing in CONCACAF’s second qualifying round. Topping their group ahead of heavy favourites Haiti, the Benna Boys also scored more goals (28) and managed a better goal difference (+23) than any of the round’s other 18 participants.

“Barracuda FC is a development tool for the national team,” explains Englishman Tom Curtis, who coaches both the national side and Barracuda. “We get a chance to train professionally week in and week out, which is a chance these guys wouldn’t have as, normally, they’d be working eight to eight and would not get a chance to train professionally.”

National team captain and Barracuda defender George Dublin describes the club project as “the best thing ever to happen to football here.

“Now football is our full-time job, our trade. The difference it’s making is unbelievable.”

El Salvador won all six of their matches during the second round of qualifying.


Gold Cup last year, before going on to join the Hondurans in the last four.

Losing out by a single goal to the Americans when the two sides were reunited in the semi-fi nals (with Honduras going out 2-0 to Mexico on the same day), Panama, under the stewardship of former international Julio Dely Valdés, appear to have found a successful blend of home-based and overseas players.

“We’re bringing in the style of where we’re playing and infusing it into the national team,” says USA-based striker Blas Pérez. “Also, the young kids coming up have a lot more motivation based on seeing what their players are doing outside of Panama. They bring a spirit of winning.”

Widely regarded as the fi nest Canadian player of his generation, Canucks’ midfi elder Dwayne De Rosario knows plenty about the spirit of winning, but is still waiting to transfer his club-level successes onto the international stage. Turning 34 this month, De Rosario is making a fourth – and last – attempt to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. On the last, and so far only,

Coached by Trinidad native and former Soca Warriors international Jamaal Shabazz, Guyana’s Golden Jaguars will start the next phase of their campaign in the daunting setting of Mexico’s Azteca, a long way from home for a team that hails from the north-eastern corner of South America but which has traditionally played in the CONCACAF zone.

“It’s not going to be an easy situation,” Shabazz freely admits of his team’s upcoming assignments. “This is not a level any of us has played at or coached at, but we’re up for the challenge.”

“C” for close?While apparent favourites and underdogs abound in the fi rst two groups, Group C looks like being the hardest to call of the three, with the Hondurans far from certain of progressing against fellow contenders Panama, Canada and Cuba.

Although buoyed by their successful qualifi cation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and their more recent success in qualifying for their third Olympic Football Tournament berth since 2000, the Central Americans have been beaten in the past by all three of their opponents. Their head-to-head records against Canada (9-3-6) and Cuba (5-1-3) in particular are positive, but far from one-sided, prompting Espinoza to emphasise the importance of a strong work ethic for him and his team-mates.

“The experience, we have it,” the Sporting Kansas City player points out. “We were in the last World Cup and we have about 13 of those players coming back. But the work rate has got to be there. If you don’t work hard, it doesn’t matter what type of talented team you’ve got.”

Superstitious Hondurans might take heart from the fact that their national team beat Panama, Canada and Cuba during the qualifying campaign for the 1982 FIFA World Cup™, the only other time when Honduras made it to the tournament fi nals. But they will also know that football has not stood still in any of those countries in the intervening 30 years.

Panama in particular will be seen as a much-improved side after handing the USA their fi rst-ever group-stage defeat in the

occasion that the Canadians reached the World Cup, back in 1986, De Rosario was just eight.

“It would be my ultimate goal, my ultimate dream,” is how he describes the prospect of playing at Brazil 2014. “That’s something that I have defi nitely wanted since I was a kid. It would be the highlight of my career, for sure.

“After Mexico and the USA, I think we have a very good squad. Unfortunately, we don’t have the luxury of playing a lot of international friendlies. We have players stretched all across the world, playing different styles and at different levels. To come in in such a short time, it is very diffi cult to get everyone gelling and on the same page.”

That is one problem which Cuba certainly does not have, with almost all of the national team squad members playing their club football in the country’s domestic league. While football in Cuba is strictly non-professional and often played in the shadow of the island’s more popular sport of baseball, Cuba’s footballers have frequently managed to punch above their weight.

Although only ever present at one FIFA World Cup so far (all the way back in 1938 when they beat Romania to reach the quarter-fi nals), Cuba are no strangers to this stage of the qualifying competition. They have also qualifi ed for fi ve of the last six CONCACAF Gold Cups and recently made it through to the fi nal stage of qualifying for the London 2012 Olympics, eventually bowing out after snatching a late draw against the Canadians in their fi nal group-stage match.

Coach Raúl Triana González has already said that seven or eight players from that U-23 team could soon be promoted to the senior team, with the talent available prompting him to predict “a good future” for the island’s footballers. As with all of the sides still in contention, it remains to be seen whether that good future might already include the current qualifying campaign, but a quick reunion with the Canadians in their opening fi xture on 8 June could well give the Cubans a chance to set an early marker.

Honduras followed up their successful 2010 FIFA World Cup™ qualifying campaign with a run to the semi-fi nals of last year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup.


Road to redemption

The resumption of FIFA World Cup™ qualifying in June will offer many of Africa’s leading football nations a shot at redemption following recent disappointments at the continental level.By Mark Gleeson, Cape Town

Even before a ball had been kicked at the fi nal tournament, this year’s CAF Africa Cup of Nations boasted something of an unusual line-up, with a surprising number of the continent’s leading sides forced to watch from the sidelines. Of the competition’s 12 previous winners, no fewer than eight failed to qualify for the 2012 edition – with record seven-time winners Egypt, four-time champions Cameroon and two-time winners Nigeria the most notable absentees.

Including similar disappointments for the likes of Algeria, South Africa and Congo DR the qualifying campaign for the African championship certainly showed that past pedigree counts for little when it comes to a country’s future sporting success. As Africa’s attention now turns to the qualifying battle for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™, however, those recent disappointments may well provide strong motivation for the continent’s “big teams” as they seek to restore their battered reputations.

Ghana bounce back? Black Stars midfi elder Sulley Muntari leaves the fi eld following his country’s Africa Cup of Nations defeat to eventual champions Zambia.


Following a series of preliminary knockout ties last November, the slate has been wiped clean once again, with a total of 40 nations now set to contest the second round of African qualifying. Divided into ten groups of four (see full list on right), the teams will play each of their rivals home and away, with only the top-placed team from each group progressing to the continent’s decisive third round, in which the last ten teams will play straight two-legged knockouts to determine the continent’s fi nal fi ve representatives.

After their recent footballing mishaps, however, Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions, Egypt’s Pharaohs and the Super Eagles of Nigeria are unlikely to be thinking ahead to that fi nal round just yet. Instead they will be focusing on the home games with which they are all set to start the second round on 1 June.

Egypt also have a new man in charge, though American Bob Bradley is no rookie, having taken his native USA to the round of 16 at the last FIFA World Cup fi nals in South Africa and also clearly made a major impression on the Egyptians when he infl icted a 3-0 defeat on them 12 months earlier at the FIFA Confederations Cup.

With their preparations hampered by the recent political turmoil in Egypt and the decision to suspend professional football in the country following February’s Port Said stadium tragedy, the Pharaohs could certainly do with a good start in their opening Group G fi xture against Mozambique. Despite an unparalleled record at the Africa Cup of Nations, the Egyptians will also be keen to improve on their far less stellar World Cup qualifying history. The fi rst African side ever to qualify for a FIFA World Cup, all the way back in 1934, the North Africans have only managed one subsequent appearance at world football’s top table – qualifying for the 1990 fi nals in Italy before exiting at the group stage.

“I often hear that Africa Cup of Nations success is important, and of course we have to qualify for the tournament in 2013, but what I hear most of all, everywhere I go in Egypt, is how important it is now to reach the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, after such a lengthy absence,” Bradley told reporters when he took up his post in September. “That is the goal for all of us as we begin this work.”

CAF qualifying round two groups

Talk like an Egyptian: Bob Bradley is the Pharaohs’ new man in charge.

“Everywhere I go in Egypt, I hear how important it is for us to reach the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. That is the goal for all of us.”

Egypt coach Bob Bradley

Group ASouth AfricaBotswanaCentral African Rep.Ethiopia

Group BTunisiaCape VerdeSierra LeoneEquatorial Guinea

Group CCôte d’IvoireMoroccoGambiaTanzania

Group DGhanaZambiaSudanLesotho

Group EBurkina FasoGabonNigerCongo

Group FNigeriaMalawiKenyaNamibia

Group GEgyptGuineaZimbabweMozambique

Group HAlgeriaMaliBeninRwanda

Group ICameroonLibyaTogoCongo DR

Group JSenegalUgandaAngolaLiberia

The ten group winners will progress to round three, where they will be paired into fi ve home-and-away series (due to be played in October and November 2013) to determine Africa’s fi ve representatives at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

New facesCameroon will kick off their campaign against Congo DR still without their charismatic captain Samuel Eto’o, as he continues to sit out an eight-month ban imposed following last year’s dispute with his country’s football association. In the absence of Africa’s four-time Player of the Year, the weight of expectation will rest upon the shoulders of a talented but young squad overseen by Denis Lavagne, the relatively untested French trainer, who stepped up from coaching Cameroon champions Coton Sport following the sacking of previous national team coach Javier Clemente.


Nigeria, who start their Group F campaign at home to Namibia, boast a far more successful World Cup track record, having qualifi ed for four of the past fi ve editions with Germany 2006 their only recent no-show. Following their shock failure to reach the latest Africa Cup of Nations, however, they too have opted for a change of coach – bringing in Stephen Keshi who captained the Super Eagles on their fi rst appearance at the World Cup fi nals at USA 1994.

Among the other countries who missed out on this year’s Cup of Nations, South Africa will perhaps be keener than most to reach Brazil as they seek to build on the footballing legacy fostered by their hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. Already guaranteed a place at next year’s African championship, again as tournament hosts, Bafana Bafana will be aiming to qualify for a second successive FIFA World Cup for only the second time in their history (having previously achieved the feat when

“Everyone is excited about us going up

against Bafana Bafana, and they will be

expecting us to win.”Botswana coach Stanley Tshosane on his country’s upcoming clash with neighbouring South Africa

they qualifi ed for the 1998 and 2002 tournaments).

Though strong favourites on paper to win Group A, Pitso Mosimane’s team will have

reasons to be wary of a much-improved Central African Republic side which came close to qualifying for the 2012 Cup of Nations thanks to an impressive unbeaten home record that included a shock 2-0 win over Algeria (see “Central time?”). South Africa also face an early derby encounter

away to in-form neighbours Botswana, who secured their fi rst ever Cup of Nations qualifi cation in emphatic style last year, unexpectedly becoming the fi rst team to reach the 2012 fi nals.

While Botswana’s campaign at the tournament itself ended in three straight group-stage defeats, the Zebras are apparently now relishing their fi rst competitive match against their big neighbours – despite having lost fi ve of the six previous friendly matches played between the two nations.

“All the people of Botswana are excited about going up against Bafana Bafana,” coach Stanley Tshosane recently insisted, “and they will be expecting us to win.”

Zambia’s next goalA different type of pressure awaits Zambia’s Copper Bullets, the surprise 2012 Cup of Nations winners who must now live up to the expectations that go along with being the reigning African champions.

Newly crowned African champions Zambia now have Brazil in their sights.


Egypt were Africa’s fi rst representatives at a FIFA World Cup™ – all the way back in 1934.

As they look to maintain the momentum of their Libreville triumph, it is perhaps a good omen for Hervé Renard’s team that two of the teams whom they beat en route to the Africa Cup title have been drawn against them once again in World Cup qualifying Group D.

The Zambians’ fi rst match on 1 June will see them travel to Sudan, the side they beat 3-0 in the Cup of Nations quarter-fi nals, before returning home to face their Cup of Nations semi-fi nal “victims” Ghana a week later, most likely at Zambia’s new multi-purpose stadium in Ndola.

While Zambia goalkeeper and team veteran Kennedy Mweene says getting to Brazil is a new priority for Zambia “so we can prove we are worthy champions”, the southern Africans will of course be wary of their opponents’ desire for speedy revenge.

Ghana’s Black Stars will also have the added incentive of impressing new boss James Kwesi Appiah, who stepped up from his previous role of assistant coach in April following the dismissal of Serbian trainer Goran Stefanović soon after the defeat to Zambia.

Among the other established teams who qualifi ed for the Cup of Nations but then fell short of expectations at the tournament itself are Côte d’Ivoire, the heavy pre-tournament favourites who won all their matches on the way to the fi nal, only to suffer the anguish of a penalty shoot-out defeat by the Zambians.

Senegal and Morocco will meanwhile have even more to prove following their shock group-stage exits from the event. The Senegalese arrived at the Cup of Nations convinced they had produced another “golden generation” capable of emulating the squad that reached the quarter-fi nals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup™ – only to exit without a point after losing all three of the matches they played. With Amara Traoré promptly dismissed, newly appointed replacement Pierre Lechantre will have to prove that the hype surrounding the Senegalese squad is justifi ed, as they prepare to take on a dangerous-looking trio of Uganda, Angola and Liberia in Group J.

The placing together of the Ivorians and the Moroccans in World Cup qualifying

Long road to South AfricaAfrican involvement in the FIFA World Cup began all the way back in 1934 when Egypt made an all-too-brief appearance at the tournament’s second edition in Italy. Following the Egyptians’ fi rst-round exit (after a 4-2 defeat by Hungary), it would be a staggering 36 years until another African side played at the fi nals – with Morocco fi nally following in Egypt’s footsteps when they qualifi ed for the 1970 FIFA World Cup™ in Mexico.

The intervening years had all seen the hopes of Africa’s leading teams extinguished long before the tournament fi nals kicked off. For the 1954 fi nals in Switzerland, Egypt lost to Italy in qualifying, while for the 1958 tournament in Sweden, Sudan and Egypt both withdrew during the preliminary campaign. It was only for the 1962 fi nals in Chile that Africa was fi nally granted its own qualifying group, won by Morocco, although the North Africans still had to contest a two-legged play-off against European opposition, duly losing both games to Spain.

Africa’s boycott of the 1966 FIFA World Cup™, partly in opposition to the inclusion of apartheid South Africa and partly in protest at the fact they were not given a guaranteed berth at the fi nals, ultimately ensured that no team from the continent played in the preliminaries. The South Africans had been scheduled to play in a qualifying group with Australia, Korea Republic and Korea DPR, but were subsequently suspended by FIFA before playing a single game.

A sea change occurred ahead of the 1970 tournament when Africa’s call for a fi xed qualifying place at the finals was fi nally heard. Eleven teams entered the competition, with Morocco going on to win the three-team fi nal round ahead of Nigeria and Sudan. Although they exited the tournament itself at the group stage, the Moroccans acquitted themselves admirably after losing only narrowly (2-1) to eventual third-place fi nishers West Germany in their opening game and securing Africa’s fi rst-ever World Cup point following a 1-1 draw with Bulgaria in their last match.

Since then, Africa has of course been ever-present at the FIFA World Cup, with its number of qualifying places rising steadily from that single berth in 1970 to a record six spots (including the hosts) when South Africa fi nally hosted the fi rst FIFA World Cup on African soil two years ago.

The number of African member associations entering the World Cup qualifi ers has also grown exponentially, reaching a record of 52 for the 2014 preliminaries, with only Mauritania choosing not to enter.

Milestones along the way have included the fi rst-ever win for an African side at the 1978 fi nals (when Tunisia beat Mexico in Rosario) and the fi rst-ever progression from the opening round, achieved in 1990 by a Cameroon side that went on to reach the quarter-fi nals. Since then, two other African sides (Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010) have also made it to the last eight, with Asamoah Gyan’s missed penalty in the fi nal minute of extra-time against Uruguay in Johannesburg narrowly denying Africa what would have been its fi rst appearance in the semi-fi nals.

From zero to six in 80 yearsThe full list of Africa’s World Cup representatives1930: None1934: Egypt1938-1966: None1970: Morocco1974: Zaire1978: Tunisia1982: Algeria, Cameroon1986: Algeria, Morocco1990: Cameroon, Egypt

1994: Cameroon, Morocco, Nigeria1998: Cameroon, Morocco, Nigeria, South

Africa, Tunisia2002: Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, South

Africa, Tunisia2006: Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo,

Tunisia2010: Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire,

Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa (hosts)


Central time?

Senegal’s fans had little to smile about at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Central African Republic will start the next round of African qualifying with a somewhat unenviable claim to fame – as the only one of the 40 teams remaining yet to have won a FIFA World Cup qualifying match. Drawn alongside South Africa, Botswana and Ethiopia in Group A, Les Fauves (“The Wild Beasts”) are taking part in the continent’s second round for the fi rst time in their history, with their 1 June opener against Botswana also marking only their third game at any stage of the preliminaries.

Having withdrawn from the qualifying competitions for both the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups, the Central Africans’ only previous campaign was for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and came to an early end with home and away defeats to Zimbabwe.

The fact that they are now preparing for the second round of qualifying for Brazil 2014 – having skipped the fi rst round altogether – is a sign of how things have changed for Central African Republic in recent months, however.

The turnaround began in September 2010 when the team managed an improbable 0-0 draw away to North African heavyweights Morocco in a qualifying match for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations that was also their fi rst competitive game in three and a half years. They then proved that was no fl uke by seeing off Morocco’s Algerian neighbours 2-0 in their next qualifying match a month later. A further goalless draw at home to Morocco last September then put the Central Africans on the brink of a shock fi rst appearance at the Cup of Nations fi nals, only for a 2-0 defeat away to Algeria in their fi nal game to end the dream and send Morocco through instead.

Despite missing out on the Cup of Nations, however, the team’s performances saw them soar up the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, reaching their best-ever position of 90th in the world last July, just a year after being placed 202nd. Although they have subsequently fallen to 123rd in the latest April ranking, Central African Republic’s ascent was enough to exempt them from the fi rst round of qualifying for Brazil.

As they now try to take the momentum from their creditable continental campaign to the world stage, Central African Republic might consider looking south to Lesotho for inspiration.

Only a few months ago, the team from the mountain kingdom completely surrounded by South Africa were also among the small band of countries still waiting to celebrate a FIFA World Cup qualifying victory. In Lesotho’s case it was not for lack of trying, however, with the national team having played a total of 14 qualifi ers between 1972 and 2008 – losing 11 and drawing three.

The disappointing streak fi nally came to an end though in November of last year when Lesotho beat a higher-ranked Burundi side 1-0 in the fi rst leg of their fi rst qualifying round tie – following that up with a 2-2 draw in Burundi four days later to secure their own place among the last 40 teams.

Lesotho’s Likuena (“Crocodiles”) may struggle to bite again in the second round after being placed in a tough-looking group that includes newly crowned African champions Zambia, 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-fi nalists Ghana and 2012 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-fi nalists Sudan, but their continuing involvement in the competition along with the likes of Central African Republic certainly suggests that a few more surprises could still be in store.

Group C (alongside Gambia and Tanzania) means, however, that at least one of the two sides is set for further disappointment.

Despite suffering a similarly torrid time to Senegal at the Cup of Nations – losing their fi rst two matches before taking some consolation from a 1-0 win over Niger in a meaningless fi nal group-stage game – Morocco have held on to Belgian coach Eric Gerets as they aim to reach the FIFA World Cup fi nals for a fi fth time.

Gerets, himself a former FIFA World Cup semi-fi nalist as well as a European Cup winner with Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven in 1988, had described his team’s World Cup qualifying chances as good before January’s C up of Nations exit but has subsequently admitted that he is now “not so sure”.

“We need a big improvement in the mental strength and attitude of the players,” the coach acknowledged as he looked ahead to a campaign which begins with an away game against Gambia followed by an already massive-looking home tie against the Ivorians. Going into June’s opening rounds of action, the only

thing that is certain is that nothing will yet be decided in these early fi xtures. Nevertheless, given the apparently narrowing gap between Africa’s “big teams” and the sides just behind them,

a good start could certainly prove useful. Until then, it would take a brave fan to predict with any confi dence which fi ve teams will be lining up to represent the continent in Brazil two years from now.


High hopes and high definition

The next round of 2014 FIFA World Cup™ qualifying in Oceania will take place within the setting of the OFC Nations Cup 2012 – adding an extra layer of intrigue as the region looks to revamp and rebrand its continental championship.By Gordon Glen Watson, Auckland

supposed whipping boys only to end up as the tournament’s only unbeaten team – bowing out bravely after three group-stage draws.

Two years on from that memorable campaign, coach Ricki Herbert can still call upon the experience of veterans such as captain Ryan Nelsen and record cap holder Ivan Vicelich. But he has also focused on the further integration into the team of young overseas-based players such as Chris Wood, Kosta Barbarouses, Winston Reid, Marco Rojas and Tommy Smith.

Herbert was due to fi ne-tune his squad’s preparations for the tournament in late May with a couple of friendly internationals against El Salvador and Honduras in the US state of Texas.

“The US tour will provide valuable preparation for some of our players who will be out of season, and given the players’ geographical spread it will also be an opportunity to work with an extended group in the build-up to the Solomons,” Herbert told FIFA World. ”To get two international matches of this stature is crucial to our preparation both in terms of getting through international matches with a short rest period between matches, and in terms of the heat we are likely to face in the Solomons.”

Indeed, the muggy climate of the Solomon Islands in June, when temperatures can easily reach into the thirties often accompanied by a stifl ing humidity, will be seen as one of the biggest obstacles facing the All Whites. The tournament’s

The combination of this year’s OFC Nations Cup with the second round of Oceania’s qualifying competition for the 2014 FIFA World Cup means that there’ll be no shortage of competitive incentives for the eight participating teams once the tournament kicks off in the Solomon Islands on 1 June.

As well as being crowned continental champions, the eventual winners of the 10 June fi nal will go on to represent Oceania at next year’s FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil. The four teams that make it to the semi-fi nals in the Solomons will meanwhile progress to the region’s fi nal round of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup itself, from which one team will qualify for the decisive inter-confederation play-off tie in 2013 against the fourth-best team from CONCACAF qualifying.

With former Oceania heavyweights Australia having moved to the Asian Football Confederation back in 2006, New Zealand will start the tournament as clear favourites to defend the title that they won in 2008. Having won four of the previous eight editions (with the Australians winning the other four), the All Whites will also be aiming to build on their success at the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ where they qualifi ed as

On track for glory? The Solomon Islands will have home advantage at June’s OFC Nations Cup, which also serves as the next round of World Cup qualifying.


draw, which pitted Herbert’s men in Group B alongside Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islanders themselves, was also not as kind to the New Zealanders as it might have been, and may make even the most optimistic Kiwi fan think twice before booking fl ights to the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013.

Home advantageBy contrast, the tropical conditions should certainly benefi t the Solomon Islanders as they look to follow on from their run to the fi nal of the OFC Nations Cup in 2004

Moli also considering the addition of a number of U-23 players to the squad which he led to the runners-up place at last year’s Pacifi c Games in New Caledonia.

“I can say that the current players in the national team have not lost their understanding of the system we used last year and this is a big plus for us,” Moli told the OFC’s website during a series of extended squad trials in April. “The challenge will be to get the new players to have the same awareness of our system but I am confi dent that a solid foundation is already in place.”

Long-running rivalryFiji are another team who are certainly capable of mixing it physically with the All Whites, with whom they share a long sporting history. As joint co-founders (along with Australia) of the OFC all the way back in 1966, the two teams have met on a total of 29 occasions – including an OFC record of nine World Cup qualifying games.

OFC qualifying round two/OFC Nations Cup 2012 groups

New Zealand’s Chris Wood on the ball against Jamaica in a February friendly; Papua New Guinea coach Frank Farina.

“Frank Farina has brought structure

and discipline to our preparations and the

players do not fear New Zealand as perhaps we

once did.”Papua New Guinea midfi elder Mauri Wasi

Group ANew CaledoniaSamoaTahitiVanuatu

Group BFijiSolomon IslandsNew ZealandPapua New Guinea

The two top teams from each group will progress to the semi-fi nals of the OFC Nations Cup and also go through to the third round of OFC qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which is due to get under way in September of this year. The OFC Nations Cup winners will, in addition, go on to represent Oceania at next year’s FIFA Confederations Cup.

(even if they would perhaps rather forget their subsequent 11-1 aggregate defeat to Australia during the two-legged fi nal itself).

Affectionately known as the Bonitos, the host nation will look to the experienced trio of striker Benjamin Totori and attacking midfi elders Henry Fa’arodo and Alick Maemae for inspiration. Well known across Oceania and Australia, all three have played at professional level at various points in their career, with Totori enjoying a spell in Major League Soccer with the Portland Timbers and Fa’arodo spending two seasons at Australian giants Perth Glory. Maemae is meanwhile one of the region’s most-travelled players, having played for Koloale in his homeland and YoungHeart Manawatu in New Zealand before moving on to Papua New Guinea – where he won the OFC Champions League title with Hekari United in 2010 – and current club FC Amicale of Vanuatu.

Though never yet able to qualify for a FIFA World Cup, the Solomons famously fi nished ahead of the New Zealanders during the preliminary competition for Germany 2006 before going on to suffer another aggregate defeat to Australia (this time 9-1) in the fi nal round.

Like New Zealand, the current Solomon Islands squad includes a number of promising youngsters, with coach Jacob


While New Zealand have won seven and drawn one of those nine meetings, the most recent clash – during the second round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ – ended in a 2-0 away win for the Fijians. Though the All Whites had already made sure of their progression to the intercontinental play-offs by then, Fiji could later take pride in having infl icted upon the New Zealanders the only defeat of their entire 2010 World Cup adventure.

Coached by Juan Carlos Buzzetti, the Fijian strike duo of Malakai Tiwa and Roy Krishna has been bolstered by the inclusion of U-23 international midfi eld lynchpin Esava Naqaleca – a trio who will carry the weight of much expectation among Fiji’s success-starved fans as they hope for at least a top-two fi nish in the group stage.

Papua New Guinea will likely to be seen as the underdogs of Group B, although they too once managed a shock win over the New Zealanders with a 1-0 victory in Port Moresby during the second round of qualifying for the 1998 FIFA World Cup™. More recently, the country’s U-23 team suffered only a narrow 1-0 defeat against New Zealand in Olympic qualifying and appear to be benefi ting from the guiding hand of new coach Frank Farina.

Appointed last year, the former Australia international has exchanged Papua New Guinea’s traditional “all-out attack” philosophy for a more pragmatic measured tactical approach based around a 4-2-3-1 formation.

“Frank has brought structure and discipline to our preparations and the players do not fear New Zealand as perhaps we once did,” reckons veteran midfi elder Mauri Wasi. “The fi rst game of the tournament is vital though as we’ll be taking on the Solomon Islands and we know that they are always diffi cult at home.”

Balanced groupIf Group B is all about trying to beat New Zealand, Group A appears to comprise a much more evenly balanced quartet – and one that comes with a distinctly francophone fl avour.

Fiji striker Roy Krishna scored both goals in his country’s 2-0 win over New Zealand at the 2008 OFC Nations Cup.

“Certainly no Oceania nation has attempted a football broadcast

production of this type, but we’re confi dent of

success.”OFC head of television Olivier Huc

As runners-up to the All Whites at the last OFC Nations Cup four years ago and record six-time winners of the Pacifi c Games men’s football tournament, New Caledonia

will be eager to maintain their historic edge over Melanesian neighbours Vanuatu and French Polynesian rivals Tahiti. New Caledonia has a long tradition of producing top players such as Christian Karembeu, Frédéric Piquionne and Antoine Kombouaré but has often struggled to integrate such players into the national team – mainly due

to the fact that New Caledonia’s continuing political status as a dependency of France allows the most talented footballers to move easily to Europe and even play for the French national team as full French passport holders.

Nevertheless, the New Caledonians boast a positive head-to-head record against both Vanuatu and Tahiti, having lost just once to each in six and seven previous meetings respectively.

Once the clear number three in Oceania, fi nishing as runners-up behind either Australia or New Zealand in the fi rst three editions of the Nations Cup, Tahiti have since lost ground, though they were recently able to demonstrate the talent of their next generation when they qualifi ed for the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2009. A key match for the Polynesians could be their fi nal group-stage match against Vanuatu, whose relatively modest footballing history includes the one major shock of their 4-2 win over New Zealand eight years ago which eventually ended the

unleash deadlyFive lethal zones, each engineered to deliver perfection. Combined, they give you an endless arsenal to create, remix and take every touch to its deadliest.

adidas.com/football

predator lethal zones

FIRST TOUCH SWEET SPOTPASSDRIBBLEDRIVE

© 2

012

adid

as A

G. a

dida

s, t

he 3

-Bar

s lo

go a

nd t

he 3

-Str

ipes

mar

k ar

e re

gist

ered

tra

dem

arks

of t

he a

dida

s G

roup

.


All Whites’ hopes of qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Getting anywhere near New Zealand this time around could prove tricky, however, especially with a fast-improving Samoa completing the group. Taking part in the Nations Cup for the fi rst-ever time, following their home-soil victory during last year’s fi rst round of World Cup qualifying, the Samoans are traditionally more accomplished on the rugby fi eld. With a sprinkling of New Zealand-based players and boosted by that fi rst-round success, however, they could certainly have a strong say in which two teams from the group progress to the fi nal four.

New marketsWhile the eight participating teams aim for glory on the pitch, plenty of work will also be going on off the pitch to ensure increased levels of interest in the tournament itself.

Since its launch in 1973, the OFC Nations Cup has suffered a fairly haphazard history, with irregular scheduling, the gap in quality between the competing teams and a general lack of promotion outside the region contributing to a low international profi le in comparison to other continental championships.

This year, however, the confederation is promising a “new dawn” for the competition, thanks to a new television and marketing plan which will see broadcast and distribution rights being sold to overseas markets for the fi rst time.

Based on a new cooperation between the OFC’s fl edgling television department and the international sports media rights agency MP & Silva, the project will see all 16 matches broadcast live in high defi nition to a curious global market.

Pilot broadcasts of last year’s OFC U-20 Championship and this year’s OFC Men’s Olympic Football Tournament qualifi ers have already been warmly received with rights for those events sold to eight countries – prompting high expectations for June’s “real thing”.

“The Nations Cup is the most important event of the year for OFC, especially since it also forms the second stage of qualifying

for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, so it’s a huge challenge – but we like that,” OFC television department head Olivier Huc told FIFA World.

“New Zealand are the only Oceania nation to broadcast in high defi nition and certainly no Oceania nation has attempted a football broadcast production of this type. In terms of power and infrastructure, we’re starting from the ground up, but we’re confi dent of success, with the OFC executive and competitions department, the Solomon Islands Football Federation and our other partners all working hard to make a more attractive media product.”

Football’s status as the number-one sport in the Solomon Islands is also expected to play a key role in the competition’s relaunch, with the organisers expecting crowds upwards of 20,000 for the big matches. Whether the vociferous home support can help the Solomon Islanders etch a new name on the trophy remains to be seen, of course, but there is at least plenty of optimism that this year’s Nations Cup could be one of the closest and most-followed editions yet.

Two names so farNew Zealand and former OFC members Australia remain the only two teams yet to have qualifi ed from Oceania for the fi nal tournament of a FIFA World Cup™. While football has been played in both countries for more than a hundred years, it was not until the qualifying competition for the 1966 FIFA World Cup™ got under way that Oceania’s involvement with world football’s biggest event fi nally began. On that occasion, Australia faced off against Asia’s sole representatives Korea DPR for a place at the fi nals in England but were soundly beaten 9-2 on aggregate in a two-legged tie played in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. Between 1970 and 1982, Oceania’s teams continued to share their qualifying tournament with the Asian Football Confederation, with Australia fi nally reaching the main event in 1974, followed by New Zealand in 1982. From 1986 onwards, the OFC has had its own qualifying tournament, although the winner still needs to come through an intercontinental play-off against a team from another confederation in order to gain a spot in the FIFA World Cup fi nals. After several near misses, Australia fi nally got the better of the new format – though only after a penalty shoot-out victory over Uruguay – to secure their second World Cup berth at Germany 2006. Following the Socceroos’ switch to the Asian Football Confederation in that same year, New Zealand then made their second appearance at the fi nals after beating Bahrain 1-0 in a tight two-legged play-off for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. In a slight change to the format for the 2014 edition, the line-up for the intercontinental play-offs was decided this time by a draw and ensured that the eventual winners of the OFC qualifying competition will face off next year against the fourth-placed team from the CONCACAF qualifi ers.

The full list of OFC World Cup representatives

1930-1970: None1974: Australia1978: None1982: New Zealand1986-2002: None2006: Australia2010: New Zealand Vanuatu keeper David Chilia celebrates his

team’s shock win over New Zealand in 2004.


To the Victor the spoils?

Asia’s top indoor football sides will be battling it out for a place at this year’s FIFA Futsal World Cup when the AFC Futsal Championship gets under way in the United Arab Emirates later this month. For the already-qualifi ed World Cup hosts Thailand, however, the event is all about fi ne-tuning their preparations under the watchful gaze of highly experienced Dutch coach Victor “Vic” Hermans.By Thomas Schanze


It’s humid in the multipurpose sports hall in Bangkok. Beads of sweat are visible on the foreheads of all the participants and the heat is oppressive. The city’s ubiquitous traffi c noise fi lters in from outside, but despite the difficult conditions, the concentration of the Thai national futsal team is unwavering.

The players, led by captain Panuwat Janta and Thailand’s most-capped international Anucha Munjarern, are focused entirely on their coach, Victor “Vic” Hermans, hanging

on his every word. Having already achieved hero status in his homeland, when he was voted best player of the tournament at the inaugural FIFA Futsal World Cup Netherlands 1989, the Dutchman is now set on providing further home cheer in his new role as Thailand’s trainer.

Hermans is well-known for his meticulous approach and his passion for the game, both of which are on display during the training session, as he gesticulates wildly with his arms and legs and, in English, repeats over and over again what he expects from his players.

Netherlands’ booming futsal scene was attracting a lot of European stars.

Despite the fi erce competition for places, Hermans managed to establish himself as one of the sport’s top strikers and was a fi xed member of the Dutch national side by the time FIFA staged the fi rst offi cial Futsal World Cup in January 1989.

Aged 35 at the time, and captaining the team, he scored six goals in seven matches to help fi re the Oranje into the tournament fi nal. Though he failed to fi nd the net in the Netherlands’ subsequent 2-1 defeat to Brazil, Hermans was voted best player of the tournament, an achievement which he believes laid the foundation for his later coaching career.

“That was an important moment,” says Hermans of his 1989 heroics, “but it

“You have to work hard and stay focused on every aspect, because futsal has developed hugely in recent years. There are greater demands on the players, so the key to success is in the details,” Hermans tells FIFA World during a break in the action. “It’s a fascinating sport, because it’s very technically and tactically demanding. It’s also extremely fast and there are always plenty of goals.”

A futsal iconAs a player, Hermans was himself no stranger to goals. Like many futsal players of his generation, the Maastricht native came to the sport having fi rst tried his luck in the game’s traditional grass version. At the age of just 23, he abandoned football for the indoor game, at a time when the

“We want to bring the continental title back to Thailand, and not having to qualify for the World Cup could really work in

our favour.”

Run of the hall: Hermans puts his Thai charges through their paces.


Previous FIFA Futsal World Cup winners Spain and Brazil both secured places for the 2012 edition via their respective regional qualifi ers in April. Defending world champions Brazil have won four of the six Futsal World Cups held to date – with Spain winning the other two – but the Brazilians did not have things all their own way as hosts of the latest South American qualifying tournament.

After cruising through the group stage with four wins out of four, and a goal difference of +36 , the Seleção were already certain of World Cup qualifi cation, but then suffered a shock 5-3 extra-time defeat to Paraguay in the semi-fi nals. That left Argentina to take top spot with a penalty shoot-out victory over the Paraguayans in the fi nal, while Brazil had to settle for a rare third-place fi nish after beating fellow World Cup qualifi ers Colombia 5-1 in their last match.

“We kept saying that our prime objective was to qualify and that after that came the title,” insisted Seleção coach Marcos Sorato after the home nation’s shock defeat. “We slipped up, but we’ll still be in good shape for the World Cup.”

Spain had no such diffi culty in coming through the European qualifying play-offs, with the Furia Roja beating Slovakia 12-0 over the course of their two-legged tie. The reigning and six-time European champions

will be joined in Thailand by six other teams from the “Old Continent”, including former Futsal World Cup semi-fi nalists Portugal and Russia. The Portuguese clinched their qualifying spot in straightforward-enough fashion, with an 11-2 aggregate win over Belarus, but the Russians were made to work hard before fi nally seeing off their Azerbaijani neighbours 3-2.

Also representing Europe at November’s fi nal tournament will be Italy, who brushed Norway aside 7-0, Ukraine (5-4 against Romania), the Czech Republic (4-3 against Slovenia) and Serbia, who are now looking ahead to their Futsal World Cup debut after completing a 6-2 aggregate win over Hungary.

In total, 13 of the Futsal World Cup’s 24 participating teams are now known, with Thailand qualifying automatically as hosts and the Solomon Islands having already booked their place as Oceania champions all the way back in May of last year.

Following the determination of Asia’s four representatives at this month’s AFC Futsal Championship, attention will switch in June to the battle for Africa’s three available berths. The fi nal line-up will then be completed in early July by the four best teams to emerge from the 2012 CONCACAF Futsal Championship in Guatemala.

Favourites book berths

was only later that I really realised what it meant to me. Participating in that World Cup opened many more doors for me.”

Indeed, this year’s FIFA Futsal World Cup – taking place in Bangkok and Nakhon

Ratchasima from 1 to 18 November – will mark an uninterrupted run of seven fi nals appearances by Hermans in various capacities. Following on from his headline-grabbing performances in 1989, he switched to the sidelines for the

next three editions, coaching the Hong Kong team when they hosted the event in 1992, before taking charge of Malaysia for Spain 1996 and then serving as the Netherlands’ assistant coach at the 2000 fi nals in Guatemala.

Defending champions Brazil booked their place at the FIFA Futsal World Cup via April’s South American championship – but went on to suffer a shock defeat to Paraguay in the semi-fi nals.


For Chinese Taipei in 2004 and Brazil 2008, Hermans was on hand to lend his expertise as a member of the FIFA Technical Study Group, before being tempted back into coaching, fi rst with Malta in 2009 and then, since the start of this year, with Thailand.

Continental campaign Following his experiences with both the Netherlands and Hong Kong, Hermans is well aware of the expectations that go along with being World Cup hosts and is therefore eager to prepare his charges as well as possible for the pressure that is coming their way.

After hosting and winning last month’s AFF Futsal Championship for teams from Southeast Asia (with a 9-4 victory over Vietnam in the fi nal), Thailand are now focused on continuing their preparations at the AFC Futsal Championship taking place in Dubai from 25 May to 1 June.

While the Changsuk (“War Elephants”) do not have to worry about securing one of the four qualifying berths for the FIFA Futsal World Cup, Hermans insists that they will be taking the continental tournament very seriously, as the team look to lay down a marker against their regional rivals.

“As well as the development of each individual player, the result is of course also important to me,” explains the 59-year-old. “My team wants to bring the continental title back to Thailand, and I want to reach the semi-fi nals at least. We don’t have the pressure of having to qualify for the World Cup, since as hosts we automatically get a spot. That advantage could really work in our favour.”

The continental tournament is also the fi rst major test en route to this year’s World Cup highlight, which makes a good performance in the UAE all the more important for the coach.

“It’s important for me that we survive against the strongest Asian teams in Dubai and show what we’re made of,” Hermans adds. “In my view, Iran are the favourites for the title in Asia. That country has massive potential. Japan have also developed hugely, but I think

we’re on a par with them. I also expect Uzbekistan and Australia to qualify for the World Cup, but outsiders Indonesia could surprise us.”

Busy schedule Hermans and his team have plenty of work ahead of them in the next few months, because although the affable Dutchman has “plenty of good players” in attack, he still sees “some problems” in the Thai

defence. “We still have to improve in that area,” he admits.

To tackle the defensive problem and avoid falling at the fi rst hurdle at the World Cup on home soil, Hermans has planned the team’s preparations for the World Cup down to the very last detail and is leaving nothing to chance.

“I have drawn up a programme for my teams so they can get to know other cultures and playing styles. So we will

be spending three weeks in Europe in August to play friendlies against Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands. And I’m also trying to organise a sort of mini-World Cup for October with teams from various continents. We will use the last few weeks before the World Cup to fi ne-tune everything,” the coach tells FIFA World.

Having bowed out with Hong Kong and Malaysia after the fi rst round and with the Netherlands after the second round, the confi dent Dutchman has high hopes for Thailand’s home World Cup – encouraged by the country’s already strong passion for the sport.

“Futsal has a very high status in Thailand,” he points out. “My players train like professionals and are therefore treated like stars by the fans. The league structures are very professional and the support from the association is great, allowing me to focus one hundred per cent on my work as coach.

“Of course, how we fare at the World Cup depends a lot on the group that we’re drawn against. We could have problems if we come up against very strong opponents. But, otherwise, I think that my team has a very good chance of reaching at least the quarter-fi nals, so that will be our goal.”

“Futsal has developed hugely in recent years, so the key to success is

in the details.”

Hermans receives the adidas Golden Ball award from former FIFA President João Havelange following the fi nal of the inaugural FIFA Futsal World Cup in 1989.


Interview with Birgit Prinz

“Football will always be my passion“


The clocks in Frankfurt’s Volksbank Stadion had just ticked over to 19.46 on 27 March 2012 when the fans rose as one to pay a fi nal, emotional tribute to the extraordinary career of Birgit Prinz, the German Football Association’s all-time record cap-holder and goalscorer who had just completed a farewell match on the ground where it had all begun for her almost 20 years earlier. Prinz, who turned out a staggering 214 times for her national team (scoring 128 goals in the process), showed no sign of easing up – even in this fi nal testimonial match. Playing for 84 minutes, she scored in the fi rst half for her former club, 1. FFC Frankfurt, before grabbing a second after the break, this time for a Germany all-star team.

At the post-match press conference, the two-time world champion was quick to laugh off any suggestions that the second goal might have been scored from a suspiciously offside-looking position. “Ah, no way, I was defi nitely behind the ball when it was played,” said the 34-year-old with a smile when asked about

After playing one last “farewell” game for Germany in her native Frankfurt in March, star striker Birgit Prinz spoke exclusively to FIFA World about her extraordinary career, the changing face of women’s football and her plans for the future.Interview by Thomas Schanze, Frankfurt

Guard of honour: Prinz is applauded off the pitch by the 1. FFC Frankfurt and Germany teams at the end of her farewell match.


her second goal, which wrapped up an entertaining 6-3 win for Silvia Neid’s star ensemble.

Moments after scoring that fi nal goal, the three-time FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year (2003, 2004, 2005) left the pitch to a standing ovation from the supporters and through a guard of honour formed by her former Germany and Frankfurt team-mates. As she made her way to the touchline, she stopped to acknowledge the fans’ applause before embarking on a well-deserved lap of honour.

FIFA World: Birgit, you’ve just played in your official farewell match. Tell us about your evening.Prinz: It was a fantastic game on a beautiful evening. I had a lot of fun and

I am delighted that both the national team and 1. FFC Frankfurt were able to be here as both teams were like home to me. I didn’t get sad at all, maybe that will come later.

So how are you feeling now that you have called time on your career?I’m very well, thank you. I have used the last few months to sit back and take stock, to decide what I want to do next. As for my life without professional football, of course I still get itchy feet whenever I see 1. FFC Frankfurt play, but that’s normal and totally fi ne.

The Bundesliga and the UEFA Women’s Champions League are

both in full swing. How are you finding your new role as a spectator?It’s not a problem for me, because I’m enjoying watching 1. FFC Frankfurt from the stands. Of course, it’s always better when my old club wins, and, just like any other fan, I don’t enjoy it so much when the team goes through a rough patch.

You haven’t hung up your boots for good though, you’re still training with second-division team 1899 Hoffenheim.That’s true, and I don’t see any reason to totally turn my back on playing football. I have always enjoyed being on the pitch and kicking a ball around. Football was, is, and always will be my great passion, and the game has always been my driving force.

As it turned out, the final act of your successful career didn’t quite turn out the way you had hoped, with Germany only going as far as the quarter-finals of the FIFA Women’s World Cup on home soil. Now that some time has passed since then, what are your thoughts on last year’s tournament?From a sporting point of view, it was obviously a massive disappointment for us all. We had expected more of ourselves and we just didn’t reach the goals we had set ourselves. But that’s the way it can be in sport. Sometimes things just don’t go as planned. The World Cup was affected by many factors that I don’t want to go into. In the end, they all added up to prevent us hitting top form. Other teams were, quite simply, better than us.

Germany 2011 was your fifth FIFA Women’s World Cup. How has the competition developed since your first appearance back in 1995?The attendances for all of the matches in Germany were impressive. All of the teams also played very well and they were virtually all on the same level. It was a very even tournament. Overall, you have to say that football has grown


and grown since 1995 and the game has come a very long way since then.

The German women’s national team has also changed a great deal. What do you think have been the main changes when you now look back on your debut in a Germany shirt?One of the major changes has been in the training of female players, who are now scouted at a very early age. The training and education at youth level have both massively improved, which has helped to improve the quality and quantity of female footballers. That is mainly down to the coaches at the German Football Association and the main club coaches in the Bundesliga, who have all done a fantastic job. As a result, the quality in and around the national team and the clubs has automatically improved.

Given all of these positive changes, what potential does women’s football have? Will the women be as good as the men in the future?We women are not even thinking about comparing ourselves to the men, or even about trying to play catch-up with them. Our day-to-day work is focused on our own development, and we are certainly on the right path, as you can see from our performances and the attendance fi gures in the women’s Bundesliga or for international matches. Women’s football is taking everything step by step and is not even looking at the men’s game. The most important thing is for everyone to concentrate on their own game and chase their own targets.

In your opinion, what needs to be done to draw more attention to

women’s football, to make it more interesting, to help it grow?That’s a question for current managers, coaches and players. All through my career, I was more interested in my own targets and in my own performances. That was how I defi ned myself and that is how the fans and the media defi ned me. That is the only way to get people interested and to gain their respect.

That definitely sounds like Birgit Prinz. It was often said that you never really wanted to be in the spotlight. Do you think that women’s football needs starlets like Fatmire Bajramaj, Marta or Hope Solo to make the media sit up and take notice?While I was playing, I wasn’t really interested in the glamour and glitz of the game, and I’m still not really. I have

German Football Association Vice-President Hannelore Ratzeburg and FIFA Head of Women’s Competitions Tatjana Haenni were among those paying tribute to Prinz.


All hail the PrinzFIFA President Joseph S. Blatter was among the many football dignitaries paying tribute to Birgit Prinz as the player called an offi cial end to her lengthy and impressive career.

Writing in the offi cial programme for Prinz’s farewell match, the FIFA President described her 17 years with the German national team as “incomparable”, citing her two FIFA Women’s World Cup™ titles, three FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year awards and unique record of having scored at every Women’s Olympic Football Tournament held to date as evidence of her status as one of the all-time leading female players.

“Birgit Prinz is not only known for her exploits on the pitch, but she is also a highly respected player off it, where she has always kept a discreet profi le while excelling with a continued education on different levels,” Blatter noted. “I wish Birgit all the best for her future … and hope that many generations of little girls in Germany and around the world will benefi t from the magnifi cent example of such a dedicated player.”

Prinz’s undoubted contribution as a role model for women’s football was also emphasised by German Football Association (DFB) President Wolfgang Niersbach at the party which followed the Frankfurt game.

“What you have done for us cannot be expressed purely in terms of all your records and titles,” Niersbach told Prinz. “Throughout your career you have stood for totally honest sport and been a shining example for many talented young players, both girls and boys. You have put your stamp on the game, far beyond the borders of Germany, and I am proud to be the one who can say on behalf of the DFB, ‘Thank you, Birgit!’”

After pulling on the national team shirt once again to play alongside Prinz in her final

match, ex-Germany international and current DFB director of women’s football Steffi Jones also paid tribute to her former team-mate.

“For me, Birgit is the shining light of German women’s football,” Jones said. “Throughout her entire career, from the age of 15, she played at a constantly high level. She was not just a key player, but also a role model for so many girls and I wish her all the best for the future.”

Former stars of the German men’s team were no less fulsome in their praise for Prinz, with FIFA World Cup™ winners Franz Beckenbauer and Lothar Matthäus, and European Championship winner Oliver Bierhoff all providing tributes for the event.

“Birgit Prinz has defi nitely been the most infl uential fi gure in German women’s football for the last ten or 15 years,” Beckenbauer told the DFB’s website. “She brought women’s football to the attention of a wider public and made the game socially acceptable. To have played more than 200 international matches is incredible, particularly as a forward, and I hope that she remains within football and brings her knowledge and vast experience to the various committees at the DFB, FIFA and UEFA.”

to say that I don’t really think the game has to create starlets but, on the other hand, I know exactly how the media tick and exactly what they demand.

Professional football also demands success, and you certainly enjoyed your fair share of that. Now, when you look back on your amazing career, what would you say was your biggest triumph?

Winning a bronze medal at the Olympics in Sydney in 2000 was undoubtedly one of the highlights of my career, as were the World Cup titles in 2003 and 2007, which I will never forget. At club level, my biggest triumph was winning the UEFA Women’s Cup with 1. FFC Frankfurt in 2002.

Where did you find the motivation to play 214 international matches,

to score 128 goals and to win title after title?I was always desperate to win every game I played in. My will to win was unbreakable. That is not necessarily about ambition, but I always set myself high targets that I wanted to reach, for club and for country. I always worked hard for the team because I wanted to make a difference. The targets I set myself kept me going.

Prinz steps up to receive the FIFA Women’s World Cup

Trophy from FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter in 2007.


And how did you learn to cope with the heavy weight of expectation that was placed on your shoulders?I always dealt positively with the heavy expectations of the fans and the media. I saw it as a personal challenge and I always strived for success, both for the team and for myself. I was able to do exactly that because of my positive attitude, but if things weren’t going so well and I went through a hard time, I took it all on board and tried to turn it into something positive.

You have always been an intelligent person with one eye always on the future, which explains why you started studying psychology while you were still playing. Why psychology?I have always found it fascinating. It’s also perfect for me as I have already had some experience in this area as a former player and as a trained physical therapist. I was able to combine my studies with my club and international career as the club, the DFB and the university all made allowances so that I could combine my sport and my studies.

At the moment you are sitting in on the sports psychology team of Dr Jan Mayer at Bundesliga outfit TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. What exactly are you doing there?Part of my role involves looking after the professional players and the youth academy. Sometimes I work alone, other times I just have an observer’s role. The main focus is on psychological diagnostics and educating coaches. I would love to set myself up as a psychologist in the areas of sport and management. Psychology plays a huge, important role in football as a player’s personal development and motivation is vital to the success, not only of that player, but of the entire team.

How important is psychology in football?Psychology can be the difference between victory and defeat for two

A fi nal tussle with Germany team-mate Annike Krahn during the game in Frankfurt; Prinz lines up alongside men’s winner Zinédine Zidane in 2003 for the fi rst of her three consecutive FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year awards.

well-matched teams. Having said that, I don’t think it is just about psyching yourself up before a game. Instead, psychological work is more about the long-term development of the coaches’ and players’ performances and personal skills. You have to take responsibility and set yourself targets, but still be able to work hard as part of a team.

As a psychologist, how can you help a player or a team?

That all depends on the situation, as no two players or teams are ever the same. There is no universal remedy for every coach and every player. Instead, I, as a psychologist, have to use existing concepts to fi nd individual solutions and ideas to improve the performances of everyone involved, which means analysing each matter in minute detail. After that, we can take the next steps towards working successfully in the long term.


SUMMARY

www.the-afc.com www.cafonline.com www.concacaf.com

Asia Africa North & Central America and Caribbean

Member associations

FIFA Women’s World Cup™ winners Japan underlined their current supremacy in the women’s game in April by winning the Kirin Challenge Cup on home soil. Despite the absence of their inspirational captain, Homare Sawa, the Nadeshiko won the three-team tournament on goals scored following a 1-1 draw with the United States and a concluding 4-1 victory over Brazil. In the tournament’s other match, the North Americans overcame Brazil 3-0.

In the men’s game, DPR Korea successfully defended their AFC Challenge Cup title after beating Turkmenistan 2-1 in the final in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu in mid-March. The North Koreans’ victory in the tournament, which was launched in 2006 to raise standards among Asia’s emerging football nations, also handed them a place in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia. Two late penalties decided the outcome of the match, with DPR Korea’s Jang Song Hyok scoring from the spot in the 87th minute after Berdy Shamuradov had missed a penalty for Turkmenistan two minutes before. Jong Il-gwan had earlier cancelled out Shamuradov’s second-minute opener for the Central Asians. The Philippines upset the odds to finish third by overcoming Palestine 4-3.

Five of the stadiums used for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, including Soccer City in Johannesburg and Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium, have been chosen as venues for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, which is taking place from 19 January to 10 February. The announcement was made in early May, just a few weeks after the signing of the organising association agreement by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the South African Football Association. “We have full confidence in South Africa to host a successful tournament, like the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It will be a wonderful celebration of African football,” said CAF First Vice-President, Suketu Patel.

CAF is to distribute office and medical equipment to all of its member associations as part of its “Contract with Africa” development programme. The equipment includes at least six laptop computers, as well as an emergency medical kit containing various essential items for providing life support and dealing with other risks faced by professional athletes. “CAF is very committed to our members’ programmes and we hope the equipment will be vital in carrying out their administrative and medical responsibilities,” said CAF President Issa Hayatou.

Jeffrey Webb of the Cayman Islands was the only candidate to be nominated for the vacant presidency of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and will run unopposed in its 23 May election in Budapest. Webb, a 47-year-old banker, has been President of the Cayman Islands FA for the past 21 years, and will be only the fourth President in CONCACAF’s 51-year history, following Ramón Coll Jaumet (Costa Rica, 1961-1968), Joaquín Soria Terrazas (Mexico, 1968-1990) and Jack Warner (Trinidad & Tobago, 1990-2011). “I would like to thank the CONCACAF member associations that have demonstrated their confidence in me,” said Webb, after receiving nominations from 29 of CONCACAF’s 40 member associations. “I look forward to working with all of the members to strengthen our foundation and build on our unity.”

a

The United States and Grenadian football communities were left in mourning recently following the passing of two former footballing greats. John “Clarkie” Souza, a forward in the USA team that upset England at the 1950 FIFA World Cup™, died on 11 March at the age of 91. In Grenada, former national team goalkeeper Kellon Baptiste passed away on 12 April at the age of only 38 after a battle with cancer. His last appearance for the Spice Boys came against the USA in a FIFA World Cup qualifier in June 2004.

69 FIFA WORLD I SUMMARY

South America

www.oceaniafootball.com

Oceania

www.conmebol.com www.uefa.com

Europe

Member associations wishing to submit news items to FIFA World can send e-mails to feedback-fi faworld@fi fa.org. Please bear in mind that items should be submitted more than a month in advance of the issue in question.

Reigning Brazilian champions Santos celebrated their centenary on 12 April with a match between the first team and a team of 100 children at their Vila Belmiro stadium. Pelé arrived at the match in a helicopter, carrying the Copa Libertadores trophy which Santos won last year. Santos are not Brazil’s biggest or best-supported team but are arguably Brazil’s best-known internationally, thanks largely to their exploits in the 18 years that Pelé spent at the club from 1956 onwards. As well as dominating at home, Santos won the Copa Libertadores, South America’s premier club competition, in successive years. Although the team’s fortunes dipped after Pelé left, the club has risen again in the last decade thanks to one of Brazil’s top youth development programmes, which has produced talents such as Robinho, Diego and Neymar.

Paraguay striker Salvador Cabañas, who was shot in the head in a Mexico City bar in 2010, has continued his astonishing recovery by playing his first professional match since the attack. Cabañas played 40 minutes for 12 de Octubre in their 2-0 win over Martín Ledesma in the Paraguayan third division. “I want to go back to being what I was before in football,” said the 31-year-old, who was one of South America’s most prolific strikers and a regular for Paraguay at the time of the shooting. “It won’t be easy but I have shown that anything is possible with faith, work and conviction.”

New Zealand’s Reece Lambert showed how on-field skills can cross over to the virtual world in April, when he earned the right to represent Oceania at the 2012 FIFA Interactive World Cup in Dubai with victory at the OFC’s final qualifying event in Auckland. The 18-year-old, who played for the All Whites at last year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico, is the first New Zealander to qualify for the event. Far from being a distraction, the centre back believes the interactive game helps his on-field performance: “I play FIFA 12 before every game, it just helps me to get in that mode,” he explained.

A new competition to help clubs from the Pacific’s smaller footballing nations qualify for the OFC Champions League was due to kick off in Tonga on 19 May. The O-League preliminary competition, to be held over four days, will give the club champions of Tonga, American Samoa, Cook Islands and Samoa the chance to compete for a play-off spot against New Caledonia’s top club, AS Mont-Dore, who were consigned to the play-off round after finishing last in the 2011-2012 Champions League group stage. Other key Champions League revisions include a condensed format, with the tournament proper running from May to June, and increased television coverage.

The Estádio da Luz in Portugal’s capital Lisbon will host the UEFA Champions League final in 2014 following a decision taken by UEFA’s Executive Committee at its 36th Ordinary Congress in Istanbul on 22 March. It will be the first time that European club football’s season-ending showdown has been played in the stadium, home to leading Portuguese club Benfica, although Lisbon’s now out-of-use Estádio Nacional played host to the European Cup final between Celtic and Internazionale in 1967. Next year’s Champions League final is due to take place at London’s Wembley Stadium.

UEFA has signed an agreement with the European Professional Football Leagues, the European Club Association and the European division of the players’ union FIFPro to ensure minimum standards for player contracts in in the EU and UEFA territories. The April agreement defines the basic rights and duties of the clubs and players and addresses matters such as salary and insurance, as well as containing provisions on dispute resolution. “It is a pleasure to have the European football family united around the same table, speaking with a united voice,” said UEFA President Michel Platini following the signing of the agreement in Brussels.


Rank Team +/- RanksApril-

May 12

PointsMay

12

+/- PointsApril-

May 12

1 Spain 0 1442 02 Germany 0 1345 03 Uruguay 0 1309 04 Netherlands 0 1207 05 Portugal 0 1190 06 Brazil 0 1165 07 England 0 1132 08 Croatia 0 1114 09 Argentina 1 1076 1010 Denmark -1 1069 011 Russia 0 1049 012 Italy 0 1041 013 Chile 0 968 114 Greece 0 961 015 Côte d’Ivoire 0 951 016 France 0 938 017 Sweden 0 931 018 Republic of Ireland 0 891 0

Switzerland 0 891 020 Mexico 0 867 -121 Australia 0 862 022 Ghana 0 816 023 Colombia 0 812 -324 Norway 0 805 025 Paraguay 0 801 -226 Czech Republic 0 798 027 Bosnia-Herzegovina 0 792 028 Slovenia 0 781 0


May 12

PointsMay

12

+/- PointsApril-

May 12

29 USA 0 779 030 Japan 0 753 031 Korea Republic 0 746 032 Serbia 0 725 033 Turkey 0 720 034 Slovakia 1 716 035 Hungary 1 692 036 Peru -2 691 -2837 Ecuador 0 679 638 Algeria 0 667 039 Mali 0 656 040 Zambia 0 640 041 Wales 0 635 042 Gabon 0 621 043 Venezuela 0 613 -444 Belgium 0 604 045 Romania 0 603 046 Libya 0 602 047 Armenia 0 598 048 Scotland 0 596 049 El Salvador 0 591 250 Ukraine -1 589 051 Jamaica 5 576 1152 Iran -1 575 -3

Panama 0 575 054 Estonia -1 574 055 Montenegro -1 569 056 Tunisia 1 563 0


May 12

PointsMay

12

+/- PointsApril-

May 12

57 Egypt -2 559 -758 Israel 0 558 059 Costa Rica 0 549 -860 Morocco 2 548 061 Sierra Leone 2 542 962 Honduras -1 540 -1063 Nigeria -3 537 -1764 Cameroon 0 526 065 Poland 0 514 066 China PR 0 508 567 South Africa 4 500 1868 Guinea -1 499 069 Belarus -1 494 070 Uzbekistan -1 493 071 Haiti 1 486 972 Iraq -2 476 -1273 Austria 0 475 074 Latvia 0 465 075 Canada 0 450 076 Cape Verde Islands 0 449 077 Senegal 0 448 078 Angola 0 440 079 Finland 0 430 080 Burkina Faso 0 426 081 Jordan 0 420 082 Trinidad and Tobago 1 419 283 Guatemala -1 396 -2384 Albania 0 384 0

New high for Uruguay

The April issue of the ranking brought no additional changes for the leading teams, with only eight international “A” matches taking place during the four weeks prior to its publication. The only alteration in the top ten involved Argentina (9th, up 1) and Denmark (10th, down 1) switching places – though without either team having played a game.

Korea DPR were the biggest climbers of the March ranking – soaring up 25 places to 86th following their victory in the AFC Challenge Cup, and holding on to that position in the April ranking. Jamaica (51st, up 5) and South Africa (67th, up 4) were the only teams to climb more than three places in the April version. This was again due to the devaluation of older results for their nearest rivals, with neither the Reggae Boyz nor Bafana Bafana in action in recent weeks.

Something to smile about: Uruguay striker Luis Suárez celebrates the third of his four goals against Chile during November’s comfortable FIFA World Cup qualifying win in Montevideo.

The relative lack of movement in the April standings can be seen as something of a “calm before the storm”, however, with the upcoming UEFA Euro 2012 and the resumption of FIFA World Cup qualifying in other parts of the world soon set to have a signifi cant impact on world football’s pecking order.

Uruguayan football fans were given further cause to celebrate recently, as their in-form national team climbed up to third in the March issue of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking – their highest position in the 20-year history of the standings. Semi-fi nalists at the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa and winners of last year’s Copa Americá in Argentina, Uruguay have carried their momentum into the qualifying competition for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ where they currently head the South American table as the region’s only undefeated side.

La Celeste, whose two FIFA World Cup™ victories in 1930 and 1950 came long before the introduction of the world ranking, are now behind only Spain and Germany in the global standings, with previous second-ranked team the Netherlands dropping down to fourth in the March ranking.

71 FIFA WORLD I SUMMARY FIFA WORLD I SUMMARY


May 12

PointsMay

12

+/- PointsApril-

May 12

84 Qatar 0 384 086 Korea DPR 0 376 -1

Kuwait 1 376 088 Togo 0 374 089 Lithuania 0 373 0

Saudi Arabia 0 373 091 Congo 0 366 092 Oman 1 363 293 Uganda -1 362 094 Bahrain -1 361 095 Georgia 0 360 096 Bulgaria 0 354 097 Vietnam 0 347 098 FYR Macedonia 0 342 099 Guyana 0 341 0100 Antigua and Barbuda 0 338 0

Northern Ireland 0 338 0102 Malawi 0 332 0103 Equatorial Guinea 0 330 -1104 Zimbabwe 0 328 0105 Rwanda 0 327 0106 Botswana 1 321 0107 Bermuda 1 318 0108 Bolivia 1 308 0109 Azerbaijan 1 305 0110 Mozambique -4 300 -22111 St. Kitts and Nevis 0 298 0112 Liberia 0 296 3113 Gambia 0 292 0

Sudan 0 292 0115 Chad 0 289 0116 São Tomé e Príncipe 0 288 0117 Kenya 0 285 0118 Faroe Islands 0 284 0119 Luxembourg 0 283 0120 Namibia 1 281 0

United Arab Emirates 1 281 0122 Niger 1 274 0123 Central African Republic 1 271 0124 Benin 1 269 0

Congo DR -5 269 -14126 Syria 0 268 0127 Burundi 0 267 0128 Liechtenstein 1 261 0


May 12

PointsMay

12

+/- PointsApril-

May 12

129 Lebanon -1 260 -6130 New Zealand 0 256 0131 Iceland 0 255 0

Tajikistan 0 255 0133 Cyprus 0 252 0

Suriname 0 252 0135 Dominican Republic 0 247 0136 Cuba 0 244 0137 Kazakhstan 0 243 0138 Ethiopia 0 236 0

Puerto Rico 0 236 0140 Belize 0 235 0141 Thailand 0 232 0142 Moldova 0 222 0143 Grenada 1 221 4144 Turkmenistan -2 220 -2145 Tanzania 0 217 2146 Nicaragua 0 211 0147 St. Vincent/Grenadines 0 191 0148 Philippines 0 172 -10149 Nepal 0 164 0150 Malta 0 161 0151 Indonesia 0 159 -1152 Bangladesh 0 156 2153 Malaysia 3 153 5154 Palestine -1 151 0155 New Caledonia -1 150 0156 Samoa -1 149 0157 Yemen -1 148 0158 Singapore 0 145 0159 Curaçao 0 138 0160 Fiji 0 133 0161 Bahamas 0 132 0

Hong Kong 0 132 0163 Lesotho 0 131 0164 India 1 122 0

Maldives 0 122 -8166 Madagascar 0 121 0167 Aruba 0 120 0168 Chinese Taipei 1 117 0169 Guinea-Bissau 1 116 0170 Afghanistan -2 115 -3171 Barbados 0 106 0172 Vanuatu 0 103 0


May 12

PointsMay

12

+/- PointsApril-

May 12

173 Laos 2 96 0174 Dominica 2 95 0175 Cambodia -2 94 -7

Myanmar -2 94 -7177 Mongolia 0 88 -2

Tonga 1 88 0179 Swaziland 0 86 0

Tahiti 0 86 0181 Pakistan 1 80 0182 US Virgin Islands 1 78 0183 Solomon Islands 1 75 0184 Sri Lanka -3 74 -8185 Cayman Islands 0 72 0186 American Samoa 0 61 0187 Comoros 0 60 0188 St. Lucia 0 52 0189 Seychelles 0 47 0190 Eritrea 0 45 0191 Somalia 0 43 0192 Mauritius 0 37 0193 Papua New Guinea 0 34 0194 Guam 0 32 0195 Kyrgyzstan 0 29 0196 Cook Islands 0 28 0197 Djibouti 0 23 0198 Macau 0 16 -3199 British Virgin Islands 0 13 0200 Anguilla 0 9 0201 Bhutan 0 4 -2

Brunei Darussalam 1 4 0Mauritania 1 4 0

204 Timor-Leste 0 2 0205 Andorra 0 0 0

Montserrat 0 0 0San Marino 0 0 0Turks and Caicos Islands 0 0 0

FIFA Calendar May-June 201219 May UEFA Champions League fi nal21-22 May FIFA Executive Committee meeting, Budapest23 May OFC, CONCACAF Congresses, Budapest23-24 May FIFA Medical Conference, Budapest

24-25 May FIFA Congress, Budapest1-5 June International match days8-12 June International match days

Elections The following member associations have elected presidents since the last issue of FIFA World:

Azerbaijan Rovnag ABDULLAYEV (re-elected)Brazil José Maria MARINLibya Muftah KUWEIDER (acting)Belize Ruperto VICENTESri Lanka Sarath WEERASEKERA (re-elected)Lithuania Julius KVEDARAS

Korea DPR KIM Jong SuSweden Karl-Erik NILSSONBurkina Faso Sita SANGARELiechtenstein Matthias VOIGTZambia KALUSHA BWALYA (re-elected)

Note: Teams inactive for more than four years do not appear in the table.


FIFA Archive Budapest, Hungary 6-7 June 1930

When FIFA’s member associations gather in Budapest for this month’s 62nd FIFA Congress, they will fi nd themselves in a city which has already played host to the annual gathering on two previous occasions, both of which gave rise to particularly vigorous discussions.

While the 1909 Congress (featured in our Archive page in the June/July 2009 edition of FIFA World) involved something of an existential crisis – with the fi ve-year-old federation and its 11 members facing an early challenge to its authority from rival organisation UIAFA – the 1930 gathering (shown in this month’s photo) was dominated by a more internal form of power play.

The 1930 Congress came at a historic time for FIFA, with just over fi ve weeks to go until the staging of what would be the fi rst-ever FIFA World Cup™. Unaware back then of the huge success story that the competition would eventually become, the Congress delegates criticised the Executive Committee’s preparations for the event, which was known at the time as the “World’s championship”.

Taking place at a time of increasing political tension across Europe, the meeting also saw several members criticising the FIFA Executive Committee for a supposed lack of initiative or urgency. Italian representative Dr Giovanni Mauro even went as far as to suggest that Uruguay would have been better served if a dictator had been in charge of the Executive Committee. FIFA Vice-President Rodolphe W. Seeldrayers, the Belgian who in 1954 would go on to become the fourth FIFA President, fi rmly rejected the vagueness of the accusations, however, and declared emphatically that there was no possibility of FIFA being run as a dictatorship.

Responding to claims that Uruguay would struggle to stage the inaugural tournament,

Seeldrayers reminded the European critics that the South Americans had been chosen as hosts by the Congress itself one year earlier, and insisted that the Executive Committee would do everything in its power to ensure the success of the competition.

Several other ongoing matters were discussed by the Congress, including the delegates’ desire to fi nd a way of bringing the British associations back into FIFA. Seeldrayers told the gathering that a “project of agreement” had been submitted on this subject (though it would in fact take another 16 years until the British associations returned to the fold).

In an early discussion on international transfer regulations, the member associations rejected a proposal by the United States to relax the law governing the transfer of amateur players between associations, in order to protect them against “sham-amateurism”, while it was decided that a professional player could only transfer between associations when his contract had terminated.

The members also used this second Budapest gathering to discuss the proposals its delegates would make at the following week’s International Football Association Board (IFAB) meeting and backed the admittance of substitutes for injured players in international matches in order to increase interest for spectators. This proposal was rejected at the IFAB meeting, however, and it was not for another 38 years – with the start of qualifying for the 1970 FIFA World Cup™ – that substitutes were offi cially permitted in FIFA competitions.

Among the interested “spectators” following these discussions of football politics were the wives of the FIFA

delegates, who were allowed to attend the Congress for the fi rst time. As the picture shows, these “fi rst ladies” of football also lent a feminine touch to the customary group photo taken prior to the Congress dinner.

73 FIFA WORLD I SUMMARY FIFA WORLD I SUMMARY

Delegates and wives pose for a convivial photo on the fringes of the 1930 FIFA Congress – though tensions were running unusually high at the meeting itself.

74

neutralPrinted Matter

No. 01-12-209443 – www.myclimate.org© myclimate – The Climate Protection Partnership


FIFA World – No. 29,

May/June 2012

Offi cial monthly publication of

the Fédération Internationale

de Football Association (FIFA)

Publisher:

FIFA, FIFA-Strasse 20, P.O. Box,

CH-8044 Zurich, Switzerland

Tel.: +41-(0)43-222 7777

Fax: +41-(0)43-222 7878

Internet:

www.FIFA.com/fi faworld

E-mail:

feedback-fi faworld@fi fa.org

President:

Joseph S. Blatter

Secretary General:

Jérôme Valcke

Content:

Communications & Public

Affairs

Director:

Walter De Gregorio

Editor:

Mark Ledsom

Deputy editor:

Andrew Loan

Articles:

Mark Ledsom, Andrew Loan,

Edward Brown, Brendon

Hanley, Monika Huser, Kumi

Kinohara, Michael Lewis,

Mark Gleeson, Gordon Glen

Watson, Thomas Schanze,

Chetan Kulkarni, Suleiman

Habuba, Steven Torres,

Brian Homewood, Priscilla

Duncan, André Vieli, Dominik

Petermann

Translations:

Gabriela Straube (head);

Andrew Hurley, Stuart Makin,

Zoë Morrow, Gwenn Ward

(English); Maxime Ferréol,

Alexandre Károlyi, Nicolas

Samier, Estelle Valensuela,

Camille Lovichi, Armelle

Marolle (French); Helena

Barrio, Alfonso Ferrer, José

Ibarra, Juan F. López Vera,

Maritza García Arias, Thomas

von Ubrizsy (Spanish); Sandra

Locher, Reto Gustin (German)

Production:

Hans-Peter Frei (head);

Philipp Mahrer (layout),

Repro Studio Büsser AG

Printing:

Bruhin AG, Switzerland

Photos:

Getty Images, foto-net,

Reuters Pictures, AFP Image

Forum, Keystone, pixathlon,

Imago, Action Images, Oceania

Football Confederation, Shane

Wenzlick, Mexsport

Cartoons/Illustrations:

Beach

Contact:

Please send any comments on

FIFA World to

feedback-fi faworld@fi fa.org.

For subscription information or

to read an online version of the

magazine, please visit

www.FIFA.com/fi faworld

Editorial deadline

for this issue:

25 April 2012

Any views expressed in FIFA

World do not necessarily refl ect

those of FIFA. The reproduction

of photos and articles – even

partially – is prohibited unless

permission has been sought

from the editors and a reference

is made to the source

(© FIFA 2012). The editors

are not obliged to publish

unsolicited manuscripts and

photographs. The FIFA logo is a

registered trademark. Produced

and printed in Switzerland

©FIFA 2012

Coming up In the July issue of FIFA World

Building new livesBrazil stadiums offer fresh start for prisoners

West Bank StoryFootball development challenges in Palestine

Past meets futureFIFA’s planned football museum

Publication date:29 June 2012

when the moment happens

focus matters

is a

tra

de

ma

rk o

f So

ny

Co

rpo

ratio

n.

Shoot 10fps in perfect focus.

FW 29 Cover-2012 · 2019-03-10 · Joseph S. Blatter. 4 FIFA WORLD I MAY/JUNE 2012 ... Ronaldo and...

Documents

Transcript of FW 29 Cover-2012 · 2019-03-10 · Joseph S. Blatter. 4 FIFA WORLD I MAY/JUNE 2012 ... Ronaldo and...