The Nuit des Nieges (The Night of the Snow) is a highlight in the social calendar of Crans-Montana in the Valais, the Swiss canton where Joseph S. Blatter was born. It is held every year to raise funds for charity, and to celebrate its 25th anniversary on 23 February, there was a gala at which both football and the fight against cancer were given pride of place. The money raised through donations and the raffle held during the evening will be used to help projects run by the Sepp Blatter Humanity and Football Foundation and A.YE.C. (a support association for cancer sufferers). AVEC President Prof. David Khayat announced that “the funds will go towards opening a research centre for targeted therapy”. The Sepp Blatter Humanity and Football Foundation will again be putting the money raised towards football-related projects and humanitarian activities and institutions in the Valais. In 2006 for example, Blatter’s foundation awarded 25,000 Swiss francs to an Upper Valais sports project, which aims to give disabled people improved access to sports equipment. Throughout the evening, which was hosted by Stephane Bern of French television fame, Blatter, Khayat and BOO guests were treated to music from Les Forbans and Enrico Marias. For the 25th Nuit des Neiges, Linda Barras, President of the foundation, puttogethera star-studded guest list including UEFA President Michel Platini, former Swiss internationals Jean-Paul Brigger and Stephane Chapuisat, and 1998 FIFA World Cup™ winner Christian Karembeu together with his wife, Adriana.

FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter travelled to Madrid on 17 February to attend a special tribute night for Alfredo di Stefano, a man he described as a “philosopher on the pitch”. Blatter paid homage to the values enshrined by the Argentinian, in particular his “loyalty to his team and colleagues”, and admitted that the legendary former Real Madrid football striker had been “one of his boyhood heroes”. The emotion-filled day began with a gathering at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium, where the “Blond Arrow” enjoyed the most successful spell of his career. The 81-year-old was named as an Honorary President of UEFA, with the European body dubbing him “a great among greats”. The celebrations then moved on to Real Madrid’s Cuidad Deportiva in Valdebebas, where a statue of the football player was unveiled. The figure, a stone and bronze sculpture created by the artist Pedro Montes, depicts Di Stefano celebrating a goal. The FIFA President, who also hailed the Argentinian as “a living legend”, announced that he would propose to the FIFA Congress in Sydney that Di Stefano’s name be used in a worldwide Fair Play football campaign. In addition to Blatter, among those present at the tribute were UEFA President Michel Platini, Spanish FA President and FIFAVice-President Angel Maria Villar Llona, Real Madrid President Ramon Calderon, Spanish Secretary of State for Sport Jaime Lissavetzky, Spanish Olympic Committee President Alejandro Blanco, Mayor of Madrid Alberto Ruiz Gallardon, the entire Real Madrid squad and a group of former football players including Eusebio, Raymond Kopa, Francisco Gento, Fernando Hierro and Emilio Butragueno.

Members of South Africa’s building trade unions handed FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter a memorandum at the Home of FIFA in Zurich on 11 March. The trade unionists expressed their appreciation of FIFA’s show of solidarity towards them, encouraging them to continue their efforts to ensure that equitable working conditions were in force while the infrastructure for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa was being built. The FIFA President expressed concern that the builders and other workers involved in constructing the World Cup projects were all treated fairly. “Although FIFA is not the employer or the builder responsible for constructing the football stadiums, it is well aware of its social responsibility in connection with the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and is also keeping an eye on it,” explained Blatter, who has visited several football stadiums in South Africa to see the situation there for himself.
The trade unionists themselves had asked to pay a visit to the Home of FIFA. Paul Rechsteiner, President of the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions, and Vasco Pedrina, National Secretary of the Unia Swiss Trade Union and Vice-President of the International Building and Timber Federation, accompanied Crosby Moni, Vice-President of South Africa’s biggest 280,000-strong builders’ union, as well as other trade unionists to the meeting. They thanked FIFA for its willingness to open its doors and lend an ear to their concerns, not only at FIFA headquarters in Zurich but also through the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa. At the meeting, Moni presented the “Fair Games – Fair Play: humane working conditions” campaign: “The workers, especially those labouring on the construction sites, need a wage that will enable them to live, enjoy a safe and healthy workplace and social benefits as well. We have no doubt that FIFA can help significantly to reach this goal.”