A high-ranking FIFA delegation, headed by President Joseph S. Blatter, Vice-President Antonio Matarrese (Italy) and General Secretary Michel Zen-Ruffinen, will be in Lausanne on 1 March 2000 for discussions with the International Olympic Committee.

Following an invitation from IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch to meet with him and IOC Member Franco Carraro, General Director François Carrard, General Secretary Françoise Zweifel and other IOC representatives, the focus will be primarily on the Sydney 2000 Men's Olympic Football Tournament, to be played in Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne. Over the last few weeks concerns have been aired in certain circles regarding the release of players by clubs for the qualified teams, in view of the fact that in many regions of the world, especially in Europe, international club competitions will already have begun at this time.

The age limit of 23 years will apply for the tournament, although the competing teams may each select three over-age players. To date, Brazil, Chile, Japan, Korea and Kuwait have qualified for Sydney alongside hosts Australia. The qualifying phases are currently underway in the other confederations.

The agenda will also include reports on the reforms initiated by the IOC in recent months and presentations of various FIFA projects. Other points for discussion are the issue of a football court, the co-operation between FIFA and the United Nations, the harmonisation of the international football calendar, the situation of international sports federations based in Switzerland, and the joint FIFA-IOC development programme Olympic Solidarity.