Brazil 2014 World Cup organizers learn lessons from South Africa 2010 leaders

A delegation from Brazil visited 2010 World Cup organizers in South Africa on Monday to learn more about the requirements for staging FIFA’s quadrennial showpiece in 2014.

The 40-member delegation, including Blairo Borges Maggi, governor of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, met with 2010 organizing committee chief executive Danny Jordaan and his team.

He remarked on the 2010 legacy pillars of tourism, infrastructure and the improving perceptions of South Africa and Africa's image.

"We have officially started our meetings in preparation for 2014 and we are ready to learn from South Africa. What is really important is that we meet with the administration so that they will be able to assist us and tell us what works best," said Maggi after the meeting.

Jordaan told the Brazilian delegation that the football legacy aim was “to see improvement for football in this country – better stadiums, training grounds and broadcasting; that is really the hub of the economy of football.

"Up to 85 per cent of the football economy is in Europe, with the highest concentration in England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France. If Brazil and South Africa can build a basis of world class infrastructure, including in broadcast and telecommunications, we can create, in my opinion, a central economy of football in the southern hemisphere," he added.

When Brazil stage the 2014 World Cup, it will be the second time the South American nation has hosted the tournament since 1950. The country is only the fifth to host the World Cup twice, after Mexico, Italy, France and Germany.

World Cup 2010 Volunteer Applications Close

The deadline has passed for volunteer applications for next year’s World Cup in South Africa, with organizers claiming an overwhelming response.

Local organizers say they received tens of thousands of applications from around the world.

“We are honored by the tremendous response we have received. We can see how excited people from all around the world are about 2010 in the number of applications we are receiving from volunteer hopefuls,” said organizing committee CEO Danny Jordaan.

“They are eager to be part of this World Cup that will showcase Africa’s capabilities to the world.”

About 15,000 volunteers are needed to fill roles across 16 functional areas: accreditation, marketing, media, protocol, spectator services, transportation, administration, environmental services, welcome and information, IT and telecommunication, language support, rights protection, logistics, hospitality, crowd ushering and volunteer coordination.

The task of selecting the successful candidates from more than 50,000 applications now begins and the organizing committee’s volunteer department will interview the pre-selected applicants in January and February next year.

FIFA Orders MRI Tests In Over-age Player Crackdown

Footballers playing at the upcoming U-17 World Cup in Nigeria will be subject to bone tests to verify they are within the age limit for the tournament.

FIFA announced plans this week for the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests, saying they will “protect the integrity of the tournament” and “the spirit of fair play.”

“MRI of the wrist can identify players who are definitely above 17 years,” FIFA said in a statement. “It is reliable, evidence-based and safe for the player.”

It said the random MRI tests on the wrist bones of players representing the 24 qualifiers at the tournament – including Brazil, Spain and the USA – were developed by its medical research center.

The new measures follow reports in Nigeria that the host nation was planning on selecting older players for the Oct. 24 to Nov. 15 tournament.

Nigeria are the defending champion and have a tradition of success at international youth-age tournaments. But rumors have persisted for years that the country fields ineligible players.

Tournament regulations state players must be born on or after January 1, 1992 and FIFA said it was encouraging participating nations to conduct their own tests to ensure players were in compliance.

Football Continues To Be Hurdle For WADA

FIFA and UEFA are continuing to defy attempts by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to introduce controversial new out-of-competition tests.

Both organizations are rejecting WADA’s “whereabouts” testing provision which requires athletes across all sports to provide drug testers with three months notice of where they will be for one hour, each day of the year.

The “whereabouts” rule in the new WADA Code came into effect on Jan. 1, but FIFA and UEFA have called on WADA to make changes.

They say there are “fundamental differences” between individual and team athletes, insisting athletes in the latter group were “easy to locate” by virtue of the fact they trained as a team up to six days a week.

The stance by two of football’s key stakeholdersis placing pressure on WADA, which is determined to get football to sign up to its new anti-doping code, claiming the out-of-competition testing is an essential component of its fight against drugs in sport.

A joint statement issued after UEFA’s Executive Committee meeting last week called on WADA to reconsider “in a spirit of collaboration in the fight against doping.”

UEFA wants special exemption for players during their off-season – typically running from mid-May to the end of June. According to the statement, both bodies “do not accept that controls be undertaken during the short holiday period of players, in order to respect their private life.”

The statement came just several days after FIFA president Sepp Blatter insisted the strict new rules should not apply to football, which he said had joined the international governing bodies of other team sports – including basketball, volleyball and ice hokey – to repeat the call for WADA to clarify the rules.

FIFA and UEFA did make one concession – accepting that individual players should face the same rules as track and field athletes if they were injured, serving a suspension or not taking part in the daily life of a club.

WADA president John Fahey has steadfastly refused to make changes to the new WADA code and he has been unable to placate the influential voice of football as the main critic of the new measures.

More than 25,000 doping controls are carried out in world football each year; an average of 10 players tested positive each year between 2004 and 2008.

FIFA Club World Cup tickets sales launch

Tickets for the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2009 went on sale Tuesday as organizers marked the 100-day countdown to the event. The tournament takes place at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium and Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi from Dec. 9-19.

Among those present at the official sales launch were Chuck Blazer, member of the FIFA Executive Committee and chair of the tournament organizing committee, Yousuf Abdullah, general secretary of the UAE Football Association and His Excellency Mohammed Ibrahim Al Mahmood, general secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council.

“This competition goes from strength to strength every year. I remember Sir Alex Ferguson saying last year that whatever the club goes on to achieve in the future, people will always be able to look back at the records and see that in 2008, Manchester United were the champions of world club football,” Blazer said.

"I know that people in the UAE are very passionate about their football and with both stadiums having undergone extensive refurbishment, I am sure fans will enjoy a fantastic tournament."

The match schedule will be finalized in November after the respective AFC and CAF Champions League finals are contested, but FIFA already reports great demand for tickets.

The opening match features the UAE's Al Ahli FCD against OFC Champions League winners Auckland City; the semi-finals will feature FC Barcelona in one tie and Argentinian side Estudiantes de la Plata in the other.

Tickets are available in four price categories for each matchday and have been designed with affordability and accessibility in mind. Prices start from $2.70 for category four tickets, rising to $82 for category one tickets for the closing ceremony and final.

SA2010 qualifiers set to entertain

World Cup qualification action steps up a gear in the coming weeks and months. According to FIFA, the playoffs include “South American derbies, Asian play-offs, European tussles and African duels”.

More than 75 World Cup qualifiers take place Sept. 5-10. The 32 teams to contest the 2010 World Cup will be finalized ahead of the Dec. 4 draw for the tournament.

Ban for Mutu unlikely

Italian club Fiorentina will pursue every available legal avenue to ensure their player Adrian Mutu does not face a ban.

The Romanian has been ordered to pay former club, English Premier League team Chelsea $24.2 million compensation for a breach of contract after testing positive for cocaine five years ago. He now plays for Fiorentina.

Fiorentina director Pantaleo Corvino is confident Mutu will not be banned, despite reports suggesting Chelsea could apply to FIFA for a long-term ban if he didn't pay up. “We are sure that Mutu will not be banned," Corvino told Sky Sport Italia. “In any case, we are ready for every battle.”

Mutu’s appeal was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Written by Anthony StavrinosFor general comments or questions, click here