The FIFA Executive Committee, chaired by President Joseph S.
Blatter, upheld the decision taken in Tokyo in December 2007
regarding football at high altitude. It also applauded the
improvement in relations with the major clubs following meetings
earlier this year and welcomed FIFA's positive financial
results for 2007.
Taking stock after seven hours of discussions, the FIFA
President said: "Today's meeting was a reflection of the
wide range of issues which need to be dealt with carefully and at
regular intervals to protect and to promote football. I am pleased
to see that the decisions taken today will allow us to address
these matters adequately."
At the recommendation of the FIFA Associations Committee, it
was decided to suspend the Football Association of Albania due to
heavy political interference, while the situation regarding the
Spanish football association (RFEF) will be closely monitored
following a ministerial decree that aims to regulate the election
for the association's leadership, effectively shortening the
mandate of the current leadership by eight months. The executive
supported the RFEF in its decision to adhere to its own statutes
and regulations as well as those of FIFA. The situation in Turkey
will continue to be supervised, as will the cases of Kuwait and
Dominica, while in the case of Madagascar, it was decided that the
association would be suspended automatically if the government
decree to dissolve the association was not cancelled within three
days. The Ethiopian government will also be asked to allow the
Ethiopian Football Federation to access its headquarters again.
Moreover, the FIFA administration was requested to monitor very
closely developments with respect to the diplomatic situation of
Kosovo.
Following the decision taken by the Executive Committee in
Tokyo on 15 December regarding football at high altitude, the South
American Football Confederation submitted a request for
reconsideration, which was not accepted. In line with the decision,
an upper altitude limit will be imposed for matches in FIFA
competitions in which the players and match officials are not given
time to acclimatise in advance. As per the circular letter sent to
all associations in January, the following criteria were upheld:
• Above 2,500m: acclimatisation period of three days strongly
recommended;
• Above 2,750m: mandatory acclimatisation period of one week;
• Above 3,000m: games generally not permitted except with a
minimum acclimatisation period of two weeks.
In accordance with the same decision, it was again
recommended that the same limit be introduced for international
competitions organised by other football bodies.
Furthermore, the Executive Committee applauded the improved
relations between FIFA, UEFA, and the major clubs. Note was also
taken of the creation of the European Club Association and the
dissolution of the G-14. On the basis of these agreements and the
letters of intent, the interests of the entire football family have
effectively been safeguarded. In terms of litigation, Atletico
Madrid have withdrawn their claim while the case involving
Olympique Lyonnais and the G-14 has been suspended. Regarding
Charleroi, multilateral discussions are still ongoing.
Despite some unforeseen expenses, FIFA started the 2007-2010
World Cup cycle with favourable financial results. The executive
noted with great satisfaction the accounts for 2007, which reveal
that world football's governing body recorded income of USD 882
million and expenses of USD 833 million, leading to an overall
surplus of USD 49 million and equity amounting to USD 643 million.
The full report is available on www.FIFA.com (cf. separate media
release from today).
Preparing for the 58th FIFA Congress due to be held in Sydney
(Australia) on 29 and 30 May 2008, the FIFA Executive Committee
took note of the proposed amendments to the Statutes and the
Regulations Governing the Application of the Statutes. These will
include, among others, the principle of promotion and relegation
and the provisions regarding eligibility to play for association
teams. Another item for decision will be the signature of
WADA's World Anti-Doping Code. In this respect, the President
informed the committee about a meeting with WADA President John
Fahey on 29 February and the fact that the revised code foresaw
more flexibility for sanctions. The 2009 FIFA Congress will be held
in the Bahamas following a bid process involving nine interested
associations.
The FIFA President also raised the topic of the
"6+5" rule, which he considers essential to preserve the
uncertainty of results and competitions and emphasised that he
aimed at implementing it by convincing the various stakeholders
through dialogue and by presenting objective reasons in favour of
such a rule. The Executive Committee supported the President.
With respect to the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, the FIFA executive
was informed about the issue of the stadium in Nelson Mandela
Bay/Port Elizabeth, with a final decision to be taken on 29 April.
There was also a report on the electricity provision situation in
South Africa. While asking the administration to monitor
developments very closely, the committee noted with satisfaction
the overall progress achieved by the South African organising
committee. It also endorsed the decisions taken by the Organising
Committee for the FIFA Confederations Cup (cf. media release dated
13 March).
For the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, the number of
finalist teams was maintained at 16. At the same time and as with
the FIFA World Cup™, it was considered beneficial for a build-up
event to be held, and consequently the executive agreed that the
U-20 women's event was the most suitable. For this reason, the
2010 edition of this competition will also take place in Germany.
Further matters and decisions:
- The Executive Committee will decide at its meeting in
Sydney on 27 May which country will host the 2009 and 2010 FIFA
Club World Cups. The 2008 edition will be played in Japan from 11
to 21 December.
- The men's Olympic Football Tournament final will
definitely be played in Beijing's Olympic Stadium at noon on 23
August. The executive also appealed to the goodwill of clubs to
release players above the age of 23 for the men's event. The
draws for the men's and women's Olympic tournaments will be
held in Beijing on 20 April, with the women's play-off match
for the final slot between Brazil and the runner-up of CAF (either
Ghana or Nigeria) taking place on 19 April in the Chinese capital.
- The FIFA Futsal World Cup in Brazil will now start on 30
September and end on 19 October so as to accommodate the increase
from 16 to 20 teams. In addition, it was decided that total prize
money of USD 700,000 would be awarded.
- The dates for the two 2008 FIFA women's competitions
with age limits were slightly adapted with the U-20 Women's
World Cup in Chile to be played from 19 November to 7 December and
the U-17 Women's World Cup in New Zealand from 28 October to 16
November. With respect to the latter, the Executive Committee
approved a revised distribution of slots: AFC 3, CAF 2, CONCACAF 3,
CONMEBOL 3, OFC 1 (host) and UEFA 4.
- The Executive Committee approved a change in the
international calendar to allow the Africa Cup of Nations to be
played from 10 to 31 January 2010.
- The Executive Committee confirmed FIFA's opposition to
the Premier League's planned international round.
- Note was taken of the decision by the IFAB regarding the new
unified dimensions of the field of play (105 by 68 metres), which
will not have a retroactive effect and will only apply to new
stadiums.
- A total of 337 projects in 192 member associations are
currently part of the Goal Programme. In future, FIFA will be
concentrating on breathing life into infrastructure by providing
help with competition organisation, etc.
- Concerning the status of implementation of the Win in
Africa with Africa initiative, it was reported that 26 artificial
turf projects had been finished so far with another 24 under
construction and two in the tender process stage. The objective is
to complete all such projects by the end of 2008. In addition, a
number of programmes to professionalise the organisation of
competitions and sports management were approved, the latter also
including cooperation with four African universities as part of the
efforts undertaken with the International Center for Sports Studies
(CIES). Moreover, initiatives for other continents are also
underway.
