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The bottom line is that FIFA does not want anything to challenge the World Cup.
BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa (AP) - FIFA is considering abolishing age limits for the Olympics and barring all players with World Cup experience.
With the International Olympic Committee (IOC) unhappy over a FIFA proposal to change its age limit to admit only Under-21 men's teams, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said yesterday that football's world governing body could revert to the format employed at the 1984 and '88 Olympics.
Blatter said he and FIFA vice-president Issa Hayatou - who also heads the Confederation of African Football and is a member of the IOC - will be part of a task force that will discuss the plan.
Blatter had initially suggested reducing the present Under-23 limit, but IOC president Jacques Rogge said that would affect the quality of the Olympic competition and raised the prospect of cutting the tournament size.
"Everybody can play unless they have been in the World Cup," Blatter told The Associated Press. "At that time, it was with the exception of Africa and Asia, but now it must be for everybody.
"There will be no limit, but there will be not the best players. There will be, let us say, an opportunity for other players to come out."
The FIFA executive committee recently said it wanted to limit the tournament to players 21 and under, or eliminate the rule on allowing three players over 23.
Rogge told Blatter that the IOC would respond by reducing the number of teams.
"Jacques Rogge is defending his event and football at the Olympics is very important," Blatter said. "But he thinks if we go from (under) 23 to (under) 21, it will diminish the quality. This we are not so sure, but that doesn't matter. Personally, I think that with (under) 23 we have made good experiences, without additional players.
"This will be then the discussion: (under) 21 or 23, or perhaps going back to the system we have used in 1984 in Los Angeles and '88 in Seoul."
BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa (AP) - FIFA is considering abolishing age limits for the Olympics and barring all players with World Cup experience.
With the International Olympic Committee (IOC) unhappy over a FIFA proposal to change its age limit to admit only Under-21 men's teams, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said yesterday that football's world governing body could revert to the format employed at the 1984 and '88 Olympics.
Blatter said he and FIFA vice-president Issa Hayatou - who also heads the Confederation of African Football and is a member of the IOC - will be part of a task force that will discuss the plan.
Blatter had initially suggested reducing the present Under-23 limit, but IOC president Jacques Rogge said that would affect the quality of the Olympic competition and raised the prospect of cutting the tournament size.
"Everybody can play unless they have been in the World Cup," Blatter told The Associated Press. "At that time, it was with the exception of Africa and Asia, but now it must be for everybody.
"There will be no limit, but there will be not the best players. There will be, let us say, an opportunity for other players to come out."
The FIFA executive committee recently said it wanted to limit the tournament to players 21 and under, or eliminate the rule on allowing three players over 23.
Rogge told Blatter that the IOC would respond by reducing the number of teams.
"Jacques Rogge is defending his event and football at the Olympics is very important," Blatter said. "But he thinks if we go from (under) 23 to (under) 21, it will diminish the quality. This we are not so sure, but that doesn't matter. Personally, I think that with (under) 23 we have made good experiences, without additional players.
"This will be then the discussion: (under) 21 or 23, or perhaps going back to the system we have used in 1984 in Los Angeles and '88 in Seoul."
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