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Posted - Jan 01 2004 : 07:30:07 AM
FIFA President - Joseph S. Blatter
Thursday, January 01, 2004, 5:01:21 AM
IP:24.188.141.129
FIFA President
Football on the threshold of the New Year
(FIFA.com) 23 Dec 2003
Football has once again captured the attention of a large part of the world’s population in 2003, as a result of the fascination, the emotion, the drama and, when I think back to the tragic loss of Marc-Vivien Foé, even the tragedy that the beautiful game brings with it. But football was also the focus of attention because of the social and cultural role that it plays. For those involved in the game, it provides an education, a true school of life, together with great hopes and even great expectations.
By FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter
Four FIFA competitions have been played over the past year: the FIFA Confederations Cup in France, the FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland, the FIFA Women's World Cup in the USA (switched from China following the outbreak of the SARS epidemic), and the FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates (rescheduled as a result of events in Iraq). At the end of the year as well, we witnessed the kick-off to the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™, with the Preliminary Draw being held in Frankfurt.
On the political stage, we succeeded at the Extraordinary Congress in Doha in restoring both the unity of the football family and a good working atmosphere within the Executive Committee. In Doha as well, the new Statutes received the unanimous approval of all 204 associations present; the associations were also able to acknowledge the current healthy state of FIFA’s finances.
So all would appear to be rosy in the FIFA garden.
Sadly, this is not the case. Doping incidents have been reported in various associations and – something that is particularly regrettable for FIFA – two cases were also recorded at the FIFA World Youth Championship. Unfortunately, we have also seen a lack of discipline and respect at various levels. This has been apparent not only in the failure to respect football’s institutions, but there has also been a lack of respect for the spirit of the game, namely the principle of Fair Play and the traditional values associated with our sport: solidarity, universality and working for the common good. I should perhaps mention here the cases of club players who have brought football-related disputes before the civil courts, or of those associations that allow their disciplinary bodies to delay taking decisions after rules have been breached. Another worrying aspect is the precarious financial situation of many clubs and the lack of control exerted over such clubs by the associations to which they are affiliated.
To add to this, far too many matches are being played in the world’s top leagues and too much football is being shown on television. This, of course, has financial repercussions as well, given that the revenue generated (from television, advertising and gate receipts) is no longer sufficient to cover expenditure. Furthermore, the international calendar, which was ratified by the 2000 FIFA Congress, is not being respected by all the authorities in the game, and problems have therefore arisen as far as the interests of the clubs (and players) and those of the national teams are concerned. Nevertheless, I feel certain that, by maintaining direct dialogue between all the parties concerned and by demonstrating the solidarity that has to underpin the whole football movement, we shall succeed in finding solutions with the Executive Committee – which also represents the interests of the confederations – and in particular with our member associations and all of the people involved in the game “on the pitch”, namely the players, the match officials, and the coaching and medical staff.
With this in mind, then, we can start the year 2004 – a year that will be marked by the celebrations of our organisation’s centennial – with equanimity and optimism, and in a spirit of democracy and solidarity; all the more so, in fact, as FIFA has designated the year 2004 as a year of Fair Play. We shall be able to continue our work in the humanitarian sector with the United Nations and its agencies, in particular with UNICEF, UNDP (the United Nations Development Programme), ILO (the International Labour Organisation) and WHO (the World Health Organisation), as well as with SOS Children's Villages. And on the pitch, our Goal Programme, from which 160 countries have already benefited, will soon enable every association to have its own “house of football” and to operate its own training centre.
The year 2004 will also – finally, I might add – see the decision regarding the first FIFA World Cup™ to be held in Africa in 2010. This is wholly deserved in the light of what African football has given world football and it will serve as a symbol of hope and trust in the continent whose talents have already been recognised and whose potential must be encouraged.
Finally, the year 2004 will be an important year in that we shall be keeping up our commitment to restore the balance – something that has sadly been lacking of late – between finance and sport, at the heart of football, and to rectify the ever-growing negative consequences of globalisation on football.
The united football family will therefore be able to plays its part in encouraging better understanding between the peoples of the world in 2004, while also contributing actively to a global message of peace. Indeed, this same message of peace has already been rewarded in 2003 with the presentation of the American Global Peace Award in New York.
Let us therefore unite our efforts for the good of society as a whole. After all, football is the most popular movement in the world, and we want to celebrate our sport and its universal appeal with the rest of the world. And finally, we should consider ourselves exactly what we are: FIFA, the Fair Play Family.
Joseph S. Blatter
Zurich, 23 December 2003 |
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