Capital Balls FIFA football balls

Joseph Blatter – FIFA President:
As both the President of FIFA and a member of the International Olympic Committee, I was fortunate enough to experience the 29lh Olympic Games in China, and I have fond memories of a fascinating country with wonderful, friendly people. The legendary Olympic spirit, to which many often make reference, was certainly there for the participants and guests alike. We all witnessed fantastic events that were perfectly organised and a shining example of fairness, mutual respect and solidarity.
The Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, and particularly the Men’s and Women’s Olympic Football Tournaments, made history. The two events thrilled and captivated the fans, who were treated to wonderful action and goal after goal by stars of the calibre of Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Marta. Both the men and the women treated us to football of the very highest order, and the vast majority of matches were tense and at times dramatic. Argentina were the best team in the men’s competition and rliey deservedly retained the Olympic crown that they won in Athens in 2004, whereas in the women’s event, the USA raised their game to claim gold once more. Brazil’s long wait for Olympic gold goes on, however, even though their men and women claimed consolation in the shape of bronze and silver medals, respectively. My compliments also go to Nigeria, whose performances underlined the progress that African football continues to make.
The fans’ fascination with Olympic football was certainly reflected in the attendance figures. Never before in the 100 years of Olympic football have so manv fans – over two million — flocked to the stadiums to see the world’s most popular sport. The previous record of 1.4 million, set in Los Angeles in 1984, was comfortably surpassed. In Beijing in 2008, only athletics came anywhere near matching the pulling power of football.
Although the Olympic Football Tournaments were a resounding success at this year’s games, we still have to give some serious thought to their future, particularly as we had a number of problems with clubs and the release of players in the run-up to the events. That cannot be allowed to happen again in the future, which is why I would like to see the Olympic Football Tournaments included in the international match calendar. FIFA will sit down with the International Olympic Committee for discussions later this year and I have no doubt whatsoever that, together, we will make the right decisions – for the good of the game and for the good of the Olympic movement.
For the Game. For the World. For the Olympic spirit.

Football brings nations together: anybody in any doubt about this need only look to the recent qualifying round for the European U-19 Championship for proof. The tournament, which was held in Armenia, pitted the Armenian and Turkish sides against each other – an event of obvious significance given the state of relations between the two countries. Not only was the match played in the spirit of fair play, but the two sides and their officials posed together for a commemorative photo. Turkey won the match 2-1, but Spain won the tournament, thus qualifying for the final tournament in the Czech Republic. This U-19 tournament prepared the ground for the international “A” qualifying matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.
The Austrian football federation (OFB) is taking innovative steps to improve training for talented youngsters. It has signed a cooperation agreement with the Austrian gymnastics federation, whose coaches will offer training to the young footballers three times a week in the OFB’s regional training centres. The aim of this initiative is to develop the young players’ basic motor skills in order not only to improve their performances, but also to help prevent injuries.
Efforts are also under way to improve the quality of young players in Norway, but using different methods. The Norwegian federation has noticed that not all of the volunteers who are involved in basic football coaching for children have attended its courses for coaches. It has therefore decided to post a series of articles on its website to provide coaches who have not completed a course with simple guidelines on how to organise their training sessions. These guidelines include letting the children play in small teams on smaller-scale pitches, so that they have more contact with the ball, improve more quickly and, most importantly, have fun playing.

Five players from OFC were invited to play in the Christian Karembeu Jubilee match against the France side that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup™ at Stade Numa Daly in New Caledonia. Vaughn Coveny was joined by Keryn Jordan, Fred De Jong (all three New Zealand), Gideon Omokirio (Solomon Islands) and Moise Poida (Vanuatu) in the sold-out match that celebrated the career of Karembeu, with the profits going to charity.
The official draw for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup New Zealand 2008 was held at the Te Papa national museum in Wellington. The tournament kicks off on 28 October and the 32 matches will be played at four venues across New Zealand: Auckland, Waikato, Wellington and Christchurch.
Navua won their third major tournament in Fiji after beating Labasa 1-0 to claim their second FACT title. Former Nadroga striker Epeli Saukuru, 19, was the hero as he nailed the winner for Navua in the 28th minute.
The Solomon Islands futsal team have qualified for the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Brazil this year after winning the OFC Futsal Championships in Suva, Fiji. The Solomon Islands overcame Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Tuvalu and Vanuatu in a round-robin competition to clinch the title. It is the second World Cup that the Solomon islands have qualified for this year, with the “Bilikiki Boys” heading to the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in France in July.
The New Zealand women’s football team competed in the Peace Queen Cup in Suwon, Korea Republic, winning one of theirthree group matches. The “Football Ferns” lost 2-1 to Korea Republic in their opening match before defeating Argentina 1 -0. Needing a win from their last match to qualify for the finals, the “Kiwis” lost 2-0 to Canada.