FIFA President Concludes U.S. Visit With Obama World Cup Invitation

Mexican fans celebrate their team’s 5-0 victory over the USA in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final at Giants Stadium Sunday (Getty Images)(ATR) FIFA President Sepp Blatter ends his four-day visit to the U.S. with an invitation to President Barack Obama to attend next year’s World Cup in South Africa.

During his visit Blatter attended the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, which Mexico won with a 5-0 thrashing of the USA on Sunday. The fourth and final day of his itinerary featured a trip to the White House to see Obama.

The Blatter-led FIFA delegation to the White House also included FIFA Vice-President and CONCACAF president Jack Warner, FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke, and U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati.

Last month in Johannesburg, during the Confederations Cup, Blatter told journalists Obama had already been invited to attend next year’s football showcase in South Africa. Blatter told AP he would “confirm it” in person when he met Obama today.

“I know there are people around the president who are football fans, and that they will make everything possible in his agenda that the president be at the opening of the World Cup or the final,” Blatter said.

Among the other topics for discussion with Obama was the state of U.S. football, including Major League Soccer’s schedule between spring and fall and the U.S. bid to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022.

Blatter has also raised the issue of how the homegrown talent drain is affecting the sport in the U.S. in the same way as some of the more established football nations.

“If they want to be called a major league ... and have this impact of other major leagues like American football, baseball and the NBA, I think they are far away in quality,” he said.

“I think with the number of participants on the youth level, they should try to do it.

“For the national team, they are not the only one with players mostly not playing inside the country. It’s the same as Brazil and Argentina, who have most of their players in Europe. It can't help football in the US if the heroes and stars are not playing here. How can the youth identify with the game?”

Ivory Coast Official Jailed Over Deadly Stampede

An Ivory Coast football official has been jailed for printing fake tickets for a World Cup qualification match marred by a deadly stadium stampede earlier this year.

Twenty people died and more than 130 fans were injured at an Abidjan stadium before a World Cup qualifier between Ivory Coast and Malawi on March 29.

Albert Kacou Anzouan, head of the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) match organising committee, was jailed for six months and also fined $1,000 for manslaughter and fraud.

Trial judge Clement Tobo Yapi also sentenced the man responsible for printing tickets for the match, Faustin Aka, toThe Abidjan stadium was the scene of a fatal stampede before a World Cup qualifier between Ivory Coast and Malawi on March 29 (Getty Images)a similar jail sentence, fining him $1,000 for fraud.

The highest ranking official on trial, FIF's director general Ardjouma Kone, was acquitted along with chief accountant Andoh Beugre and three others.

Two other defendants working for companies contracted to the FIF received three month suspended sentences and fines of $1,000 for fraud.

FIFA last week imposed a fine of $46,800 on the Ivorian FA along with restrictions on the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan when it next hosts a World Cup qualifier.

FIFA Lifts Suspension of Ethiopia

FIFA has reinstated Ethiopia after new leaders were elected to the country's football association.

“After organizing an extraordinary general meeting under the guidance of FIFA, and electing new leaders, we have been readmitted,” the Ethiopian Football Federation said in a statement.

Ethiopia was suspended from international competition in 2008 after failing to reinstate FIFA-recognized federation leaders who were fired by the federation’s general assembly.

As a result of the suspension, Ethiopia was kicked out of the African zone qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, after already playing four games.

FIFA's executive committee voted at a meeting in May to lift the suspension, provided that EFF organized and chaired an elective general assembly.

“The election took place last weekend and was observed by both FIFA and CAF (the African Football Confederation), to both parties' satisfaction," FIFA said in a statement.

"FIFA support on a range of programmers will now be available once again to the EFF, and the topic of the elections will be discussed at September's FIFA Executive Committee.”

FIFA Wants Kenya to Act on Violence

Kenya is facing a second international stadium ban after outbreaks of fan violence during a World Cup qualifier against Mozambique last month.

FIFA's Disciplinary Committee has asked for an explanation, after home supporters threw plastic bottles on the pitch as they celebrated the national team's 2-1 victory at the Kasarani stadium on June 20.

FIFA has already banned the favored Nyayo National stadium from staging qualifiers after Kenya failed to implement safety recommendations. It also restricted attendance at Kasarani stadium to 60 per cent of the 60,000-capacity during the match against Mozambique as a crowd safety measure.

FIFA Disciplinary committee deputy secretary Christine Farina has written to Football Kenya Limited to advise it is opening disciplinary hearings and wants statements and evidence relating to the bottle-throwing.

Kenya's next home match is against Nigeria on Nov. 14, but they will play Mozambique in the return tie on Sept. 6 in Maputo.

Written by Anthony Stavrinos

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