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Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup™
By Lennart Johansson
The power of the FIFA World Cup™ is awe-inspiring. I can think of no other event in the modern era that can rival it for grandeur, beauty and emotion.
Perhaps it is the tournament's rarity that makes it so special: after all, it has only been held seventeen times - and each has been the stuff of legends: Pele weeping for joy in the arms of Gilmar in 1958; the great man's telepathic ball for Carlos Alberto to seal the win over Italy in the 1970 Final, stunning saves by Banks, mazy Maradona dribbles, pinpoint Platini passes: oh so many precious memories.
With very rare exceptions, the greatest players have had the chance to compete for the game's supreme honour on the world's finest stage. The FIFA World Cup trophy has had a magical aura for generation after generation of footballers and every team that has lifted it has gone down in history. For my part, I remember the host venues just as much as the winners: Wembley, Munich, Madrid, and the selfless volunteers working long into the night to make each tournament an outstanding popular success.
Mexico 1970 marked a turning point, for this was the first time the world watched the event on television - in colour for the lucky ones. Korea/Japan 2002 surely marked another: for the first time, the FIFA World Cup journeyed far from its traditional heartlands of Europe and America, and Korea's appearance in the semi-final saw a shift in the power base of world football.
As the home fans took to the streets of Korea, bursting with pride and joy at their heroes' exploits, I was reminded of similar scenes of celebration in newly-formed West Germany after Fritz Walter's team's triumph in Bern in 1954. Host nation delight at England 1966, Argentina 1978 and France 1998 also came flooding back.
Only seven countries have won the FIFA World Cup, but with the number of participants consistently on the increase - 32 teams now -and the preliminary rounds open to all 204 member associations, this really is a FIFA World Cup for all. And when a side qualifies for the world's greatest football festival, jubilant celebrations naturally follow, as witnessed on the streets of Teheran, Dakar and Istanbul in recent years. It is the simple fact that these celebrations should be so widespread, so peaceful and so spontaneous that makes the FIFA World Cup such a unique power for good.
Chairman
JOHANSSON Lennart Sweden
Deputy Chairman
GRONDONA Julio H. Argentina
Member
WILL David H. Scotland
HAYATOU Issa Cameroon
WARNER Jack A. Trinidad and Tobago
VILLAR LLONA Angel Maria Spain
D HOOGHE Michel Belgium
TEIXEIRA Ricardo Terra Brazil
ERZIK Senes Turkey
BLAZER Chuck USA
LEOZ Nicolas Paraguay
MAYER-VORFELDER Gerhard Germany
PLATINI Michel France
CHIBOUB Slim Tunisia
AL-DABAL Abdullah Saudi Arabia
ABUMOHOR Ricardo Chile
FIGUEREDO Eugenio Uruguay
CARRARO Franco Italy
SANDU Mircea Romania
THOMPSON Geoff England
VELAPPAN Peter Malaysia
ZHANG Jilong China PR
TEMARII Reynald Tahiti
MADAIL Gilberto Portugal
OLIPHANT Molefi South Africa
ALUFURAI Martin Solomon Islands
CHUNG Mong Joon Korea Republic
OKANO Shun-Ichiro Japan
BECKENBAUER Franz Germany
SCHMIDT Horst R. Germany
KHOZA Irvin South Africa
JORDAAN Danny South Africa
By Lennart Johansson
The power of the FIFA World Cup™ is awe-inspiring. I can think of no other event in the modern era that can rival it for grandeur, beauty and emotion.
Perhaps it is the tournament's rarity that makes it so special: after all, it has only been held seventeen times - and each has been the stuff of legends: Pele weeping for joy in the arms of Gilmar in 1958; the great man's telepathic ball for Carlos Alberto to seal the win over Italy in the 1970 Final, stunning saves by Banks, mazy Maradona dribbles, pinpoint Platini passes: oh so many precious memories.
With very rare exceptions, the greatest players have had the chance to compete for the game's supreme honour on the world's finest stage. The FIFA World Cup trophy has had a magical aura for generation after generation of footballers and every team that has lifted it has gone down in history. For my part, I remember the host venues just as much as the winners: Wembley, Munich, Madrid, and the selfless volunteers working long into the night to make each tournament an outstanding popular success.
Mexico 1970 marked a turning point, for this was the first time the world watched the event on television - in colour for the lucky ones. Korea/Japan 2002 surely marked another: for the first time, the FIFA World Cup journeyed far from its traditional heartlands of Europe and America, and Korea's appearance in the semi-final saw a shift in the power base of world football.
As the home fans took to the streets of Korea, bursting with pride and joy at their heroes' exploits, I was reminded of similar scenes of celebration in newly-formed West Germany after Fritz Walter's team's triumph in Bern in 1954. Host nation delight at England 1966, Argentina 1978 and France 1998 also came flooding back.
Only seven countries have won the FIFA World Cup, but with the number of participants consistently on the increase - 32 teams now -and the preliminary rounds open to all 204 member associations, this really is a FIFA World Cup for all. And when a side qualifies for the world's greatest football festival, jubilant celebrations naturally follow, as witnessed on the streets of Teheran, Dakar and Istanbul in recent years. It is the simple fact that these celebrations should be so widespread, so peaceful and so spontaneous that makes the FIFA World Cup such a unique power for good.
Chairman
JOHANSSON Lennart Sweden
Deputy Chairman
GRONDONA Julio H. Argentina
Member
WILL David H. Scotland
HAYATOU Issa Cameroon
WARNER Jack A. Trinidad and Tobago
VILLAR LLONA Angel Maria Spain
D HOOGHE Michel Belgium
TEIXEIRA Ricardo Terra Brazil
ERZIK Senes Turkey
BLAZER Chuck USA
LEOZ Nicolas Paraguay
MAYER-VORFELDER Gerhard Germany
PLATINI Michel France
CHIBOUB Slim Tunisia
AL-DABAL Abdullah Saudi Arabia
ABUMOHOR Ricardo Chile
FIGUEREDO Eugenio Uruguay
CARRARO Franco Italy
SANDU Mircea Romania
THOMPSON Geoff England
VELAPPAN Peter Malaysia
ZHANG Jilong China PR
TEMARII Reynald Tahiti
MADAIL Gilberto Portugal
OLIPHANT Molefi South Africa
ALUFURAI Martin Solomon Islands
CHUNG Mong Joon Korea Republic
OKANO Shun-Ichiro Japan
BECKENBAUER Franz Germany
SCHMIDT Horst R. Germany
KHOZA Irvin South Africa
JORDAAN Danny South Africa
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