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The 2010 World Cup host will be chosen in 2004 |
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August 7, 2000
ZURICH (AP) - Japanese reluctance to host the 2001 Confederations Cup and a simmering row between the African and Asian soccer confederations marred an otherwise polished meeting Saturday of the FIFA Congress. The meeting of 203 national soccer associations, held one month after FIFA awarded Germany the 2006 World Cup in controversial circumstances, passed off without incident, prompting FIFA President Sepp Blatter to say that "we have unity in the family of football." But the African Football Confederation said it had informed its Asian counterpart that all cooperation between the two was being ended in retaliation for a "lack of support" from Asian representatives on FIFA's executive committee - an apparent reference to their support of Germany over South Africa. And Japan angrily rejected FIFA's proposal it should stage the Confederations Cup next year as a dress rehearsal for the 2002 World Cup, which it is co-hosting with South Korea. The Japanese sent a letter to Blatter early Saturday, condemning the decision as "very sudden, without any consultation beforehand, neglecting the Japanese association's independence." They had turned down a FIFA Executive Committee proposal in March to stage the eight-team tournament in 2001 and were surprised by the announcement. South Korea, which is to co-host the tournament, did not protest. Meanwhile, the Congress meeting gave its final stamp of approval to the harmonized international calendar drawn up by FIFA starting 2002. No protests were raised against the plan, which will set aside 12 dates per year for international matches and time for breaks and training. Domestic leagues will be allowed to play whenever they want so long as they avoid clashes with international dates. The congress also approved the principle of rotating the World Cup between the six continents in future, which Blatter told delegates will be studied urgently. "I am sure that before 2002 we will have that rotation system installed," Blatter insisted. The 2010 World Cup host will be chosen in 2004. Blatter declined to say exactly how the rotation might work. "We have approximately 24 parameters that we could use," he said. At this Congress, "we had to show that ... everything is back to normal," he added. There was little controversy at the meeting itself, where delegates agreed to an overhaul of the FIFA statutes by 2004. FIFA officials said they hadn't been informed of the African decision to drop cooperation with Asia. The African Football Confederation said in a statement it informed Asian soccer officials Thursday that it would "put an end to the Afro-Asian cooperation between the two confederations in the field of Afro-Asian championships and exchange of officials." "This decision which takes effect beginning August 2000 comes as a result of the lack of support by the Asian FIFA executive committee members in matters involving African interests within FIFA," it said. "It was very unexpected. It really shocked us," said the Asian confederation's secretary-general, Peter Velappan. "We're sad but we're not really suffering any serious handicap," he said. "The game is bigger than all these petty issues. Nobody should tell us what we should be doing." The new row coincided with South Africa's decision to drop its campaign to have the 2006 World Cup vote taken to arbitration. The African confederation had played a key part in dissuading the South Africans, who argued the vote couldn't stand after Oceania Football Confederation president Charles Dempsey, instructed to vote for South Africa by the OFC, instead abstained, complaining of "intolerable pressure." The situation poses "a challenge for the FIFA president," Velappan said. Regarding the other new challenge, Blatter said he was optimistic he could still convince the Japanese of their need to host the Confederations Cup. He was adamant the dispute will not endanger the tournament, which will feature the champions from the six confederations, and the two co-hosts. "This reluctance is a bit understandable as the Japanese are very sensitive to decisions," Blatter said. "But the goal is to fine-tune the organization for the 2002 World Cup. I expect another approach from them, not to put their hands in the air and say 'not us, not us."' Japan offered to stage the tournament in 2005 instead. |