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Karl
Senior Member
USA
914 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 28 2005 : 11:51:26 PM
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FIFA President
Football: the unifying force
FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter addresses the conference during the 'Visions of Football' conference on the 27 July 2005 in Munich.
(AFP) DDP/JOERG KOCH
(FIFA.com) 28 Jul 2005
"Football is more than just kicking a ball. In a vicious, crazy world, football can contribute towards restoring a positive atmosphere and positive energy." Those were the words chosen by FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter to open the three-day congress "Visions of Football"at Munich's exhibition centre. The event, aimed at heightening anticipation for next year's FIFA World CupTM, will feature a number of high profile personalities from the worlds of politics and sport.
Franz Beckenbauer, patron and President of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee Germany, Bavarian Prime Minister Dr. Edmund Stoiber and Lord Mayor of Munich Christian Ude greeted the numerous international guests. The FIFA President was joined by FIFA General Secretary Urs Linsi, UEFA President Lennart Johansson, Chairman of the Organising Committee for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and South Africa's Danny Jordaan, Chief Executive Officer of the Local Organising Committee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, in making the journey to the Bavarian capital. Asia was represented by vice-president of the Chinese football association, Zhang Lijong.
Speaking on 'Football and Society', Joseph S. Blatter added that "the legacy of the FIFA World Cup will remain far beyond 2006. Some 1.2 billion people are directly or indirectly connected with football. That is one sixth of the global population, meaning football can no longer be considered as 'only' a game.
"Rather, it offers an automatic connection with society. Football is a game for all, which thrives on human instinct. We must develop football even further and particularly among young people. People are at their strongest when they work as a group. The school of football is a school for life. So youngsters who play football will be better people.
"Many people are stunned when teams such as Cameroon suddenly reach a FIFA World Cup quarter-final. But it is no surprise. It is the result of our development programmes. Football also has a social responsibility and we have to fulfil that obligation."
There then followed a podium discussion covering a variety of subjects.
On the issue of foreign players:
Joseph S. Blatter:
Originally, clubs were local, then regional and today they are not even national. How many home-grown players are there in any one team? This is partly due to the solidarity in football. Clubs buy players so that the opposition can not get them and then sit them on the bench. We are in favour of the 6+5 solution whereby six players must be eligible to play for the domestic national team. If more and more players are purchased from other nations, at some stage the clubs will cease producing their own players. We absolutely must do something to avoid that.
Franz Beckenbauer:
Football is part of society. Many efforts have been made, but there are political issues that must be observed. There are clubs in England and Spain, for example, who no longer field any domestic players. That cannot be a solution.
Lennart Johansson:
The problem is that many good players go abroad only to sit on the bench. We have to strengthen the national leagues. On the other hand, there are numerous players from smaller football nations who play at top clubs in Europe and take the enthusiasm they gain from their clubs into their national teams, which then make progress.
On football as a means of connecting people:
Joseph S. Blatter:
There is so much fighting and killing in the name of peace that it is difficult to talk of peace. But if people maintain contact, they do not fight. And football helps people to do just that. The players on the field are in contact with each other and the fans in the stands interact with each other. We are a tool for peaceful resolution. FIFA strives to ensure that people of all races play football with each other around the world because football is the universal language.
Franz Beckenbauer:
FIFA is exemplary as an organisation striving for a better world. They invest a lot of money in development projects to promote football in developing nations. Where football is played, there is no fighting. Football has done a great deal of good in that respect.
On expectations for the 2006 FIFA World Cup:
Franz Beckenbauer:
We are not a service nation and did not invent the smile! The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the smiling face of Asia. We will find that difficult to follow but we have different qualities. We want to be a good host.
On the significance of the 2010 FIFA World Cup:
Danny Jordaan:
2010 will be the first FIFA World Cup on the African continent. That is a particular challenge for us and a tremendous duty. We have a strong partnership with FIFA, who are obliged to maintain their standards of quality. It is a challenge to enable fans with little or no income to experience the FIFA World Cup live. In our country, football has brought great unity since we were awarded the FIFA World Cup. Our nation was separated for 300 years and has rediscovered itself in ten years through football. The FIFA World Cup is the strongest unifying factor in our country.
On football in China:
Zhang Lijong:
China has grown closer to world standards in football. We have to use Europe as a role model and continue to develop. We are students learning how to build up professional football in a country. Professional football should become the number one sport in China.
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Karl |
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Football: the unifying force
