FIFA and the Brazilian National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) have agreed to cooperate in the fight against the piracy of intellectual property after FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter and his INPI counterpart Jorge Avila signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the Home of FIFA in Zurich on 5 March. FIFA and the INPI share the understanding that the protection of trademarks, combined with educational and informative campaigns, play a crucial role in the fight against piracy of intellectual property and have therefore agreed to join forces and develop common strategies. This general cooperation with Brazil’s national register is primarily designed to assist in the protection of FIFA’s trademarks in Brazil well in advance of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™, focusing on prevention rather than punishment.

Joseph S. Blatter and WADA President John Fahey have signed a declaration of intent to further strengthen cooperation between the two organisations in the fight against doping. The agreement was reached at the Home of FIFA on 29 February following a meeting in which the revised version of the World Anti-Doping Code and the UNESCO Convention were discussed and during which FIFA expressed its satisfaction at the inclusion of more flexibility for sanctions in the revised code. “FIFA and WADA share the common objective of fighting doping and we will continue to do so through all possible means,” said the FIFA President. “With this close and excellent cooperation between us, I am certain that we will be able to safeguard this objective.” Fahey, meanwhile, stated that: “WADA values its partnership with FIFA and respects the very valuable work done to date by the FIFA Sports Medical Committee, including research and education programmes in particular. We look forward to working together as we continue to address the fight against doping in sport.” According to the terms of the letter of intent, FIFA has declared its unconditional support for WADA in the fight against doping and agreed to do its utmost to ensure that the relevant bodies within FIFA ratify the World Anti-Doping Code Version 3.0, whereas WADA has declared its respect for the specificity of team sports as compared to individual sports, with discussions still ongoing about whereabouts information and testing pools for teams.

Marcio Braga, the President of Brazilian football giants Flamengo, visited the Home of FIFA on 28 February to discuss a number of important topics with FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter and FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke. Zurich was the final stop on Braga’s European tour, which also took him to the French capital for a meeting with Paris Saint-Germain President Alain Cayzac, to Lausanne, Switzerland for a meeting at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and also to Lake Geneva for meetings with representatives of the United Nations in Geneva and UEFA President Michel Platini in Nyon.