After taking care of 323,000 guests at the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ in Germany, FIFA is once again aiming to provide hospitality of the highest standard at the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ with its new exclusive partner, MATCH Hospitality AG. The official hospitality programme was launched by Jaime Byrom, Executive Chairman of MATCH Hospitality AG, and Pascal Portes, Chief Operating Officer of MATCH Hospitality AG, at a reception in Johannesburg on 5 March in the presence of FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke and LOC 2010 CEO Danny Jordaan. At the same time, the new South African joint venture formed by Primedia and SAIL was presented as the exclusive sales agent for South Africa and the rest of the sub-Saharan Africa region, acting under the MATCH Hospitality AG umbrella. The South African hospitality products will go on sale in June 2008, whereas the international package sales will start in September 2008. To enable interested parties to register, the website, www. FIFA.com/hospitality, has been created. “It is great to see that the hospitality programme is now really coming to fruition,” remarked FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke. “It is very important for FIFA to give the host market priority in various areas, so we are very pleased that South Africa has been given prime access to the hospitality packages.”
The FIFA Hospitality Programme offers guests a wide range of services such as football match tickets and facilities at the football stadiums, including private suites and lounges, marquee tents, catering, parking, transport, entertainment and gifts. For the first time, optional full hospitality packages, including tourism activities, accommodation and transport in South Africa and neighbouring countries, will also be available. MATCH Hospitality AG is the only company that has been authorised to sell exclusive on-site hospitality packages, including services and tickets for every football match of the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

30 April – 1 May Zurich
70th Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup
25 May Sydney
Internal Audit Committee meeting
26 May Sydney
Finance Committee meeting
27 May Sydney
Executive Committee meeting
28 May Sydney
Confederations’ meetings
28 May Sydney
CONCACAF Congress
29-30 May Sydney
58th FIFA Congress
6 July Brasilia
Final Draw for the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2008
8 July Johannesburg
Meeting of the Board of the Local Organising Committee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™
17-27 July
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Marseilles 2008
6-23 August Olympic Football Tournaments Beijing 2008
16 September Johannesburg
Meeting of the Board of the Local Organising Committee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™
30 September – 19 October
FIFA Futsal World Cup Brazil 2008
20 October Zurich
Meetings of the Sports Medical Committee, the Referees Committee (Part I) and the Football Committee
21 October Zurich
Meetings of the Referees Committee (Part II), the Players’ Status Committee and the Associations Committee
22 October Zurich
Meetings of the Organising Committee for the FIFA Club World Cup, the Media Committee and the Committee for Women’s Football and the FIFA Women’s World Cup
23 October Zurich
Meetings of the Goal Bureau and the Finance Committee
24 October Zurich
Executive Committee meeting
28 October – 16 November
FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup New Zealand 2008
19 November – 7 December
FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Chile 2008
25 November Johannesburg
Meeting of the Board of the Local Organising Committee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™
11-21 December
FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2008
18 December Tokyo
Finance Committee meeting
19 December Tokyo
Executive Committee meeting

At its Annual General Meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland on 8 March, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) decided to put goal-line technology on ice and to stop all related tests until further notice. The human aspect of the football game, the universality of the Laws of the Game, as well as the simplicity and efficiency of the technology were all matters taken into consideration. The IFAB also approved a proposal from FIFA to conduct an experiment involving two additional assistant referees who will mainly focus on fouls and misconduct in the penalty area. The competition in which this test will be conducted will be decided at a later date.
The Board also discussed a proposal from the Scottish FA regarding the use of post-match video evidence to sanction football simulation. Although the suggestion was not approved, the IFAB members agreed that simulation is an act of cheating which must be intensively fought and sanctioned during the game and that all member associations would be encouraged to do so. Furthermore, a proposal submitted by The FA called Fair Play Convention, aimed at dealing with injured players while the game is in progress, was acknowledged but not approved, mainly on the grounds that fair play is an instinctive behaviour rather than an attitude to rule.
Regarding the Laws of the Game, the IFAB decided to set a fixed size of 105 metres in length and 68 metres in width (instead of a minimum and maximum length – from 100 metres to 110 metres – and a minimum and a maximum width – from 64 metres to 75 metres – as mentioned in the previous text).
Furthermore, as it had done in 2007, the Board stressed that people in the technical area should not have access to or a view of pitchside monitors.
Finally, the FIFA President made a strong appeal against violent tackles on the field of play, reiterating that “players committing such acts should be banned”.