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FIFA President Scraps Plans for More World Cups
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has scrapped his plan to hold the World Cup every two years. Blatter had been considering the controversial proposal only to meet widespread opposition and therefore declared: "I have put the idea into a safe and I have lost the combination to that safe. Let it stay there in peace."
Blatter was speaking in Malta where he was taking part in the country's centenary celebrations of their football association, which include Saturday's friendly international against England.
That has given the England side the perfect opportunity to act as ambassadors for the campaign to host the 2006 World Cup, especially as Malta's Joseph Mifsud is one of the FIFA executive committee members who will decide on the winning bid next month. It was little surprise, even though goalkeeper Richard Wright is due to make his debut, to see that England's two most famous players- David Beckham and Michael Owen - were paraded before the media in an apparent goodwill gesture to the Maltese.
Mifsud, whom England have been attempting to woo in competition with Germany, was not committing himself on where his support was likely to lie, although he did reveal that the technical reports on the merits of each country's bid would be a major factor.
Blatter has seen the draft copy of those reports and while he too was giving little away, the England campaign team will at least welcome the fact that he is not pursuing his known support for an African host country with unqualified vigour.
Blatter said: "When I started my campaign to become FIFA president I said that we should give the World Cup to Africa, but I have always said that would only be when and if an African candidate fulfilled all the technical, security and infrastructure requirements. That is a very important addition to what I have said in the past."
Blatter, who vigorously opposed the concept of fences being reintroduced for games with a high security risk - as they were for the UEFA Cup final - meanwhile confirmed that FIFA would pursue their plan to implement a coordinated international fixture calendar.
This would set various dates aside for international games to help ease the growing tension between clubs and national sides, but it would not prevent the English season continuing to run from August to May.
Another agenda item at FIFA's summer congress meeting in Zurich is scheduled to be the thorny issue of possible restrictions on the number of overseas players appearing in club football.
Blatter is determined to press ahead with a proposal to ensure a minimum of six home-grown players in each club's starting line- up, although it is clear that European law on freedom of trade is almost certain to block this taking place.
Quoting the examples of Chelsea and Barcelona, he is evidently seeking backing from within the game to see if there is a way of football agreeing to self-regulation - however infeasible that may seem.
Blatter said: "We have opened dialogue with the European Union in order to try to minimize the effects of the Bosman ruling, although we can't change the court's ruling."
"We have no weapons to stop the free circulation of European citizens but we have to protect the national identity of clubs. It is not good for national football teams if a lot of teams have a majority of players not eligible for them.
"It is a case of politics in small steps. The football family has to take its responsibilities seriously and have a motion at the congress to show that it a restriction is the will of the whole family of football and not just a few people."
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