FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter held very productive meetings regarding “6+5″ with French Secretary of State for Sport Bernard Laporte and a delegation representing FIFPro at the Home of FIFA in Zurich in June. On 17 June, the FIFA President welcomed Mr Laporte to a meeting that was also attended by President of the French FA Jean-Pierre Escalettes and President of the French League Frederic Thiriez. Commenting on the meeting the next day in a programme on French television channel Canal+, Laporte said: “I told Mr Blatter that I think the ’6+5′ proposal is a good idea. I think it is in the interest of all of us, of education and of our young players, and that it applies not only to football, but also to rugby, volleyball and indeed all sports. It is our responsibility to debate this issue and examine it fully.” On 18 June, Mr Blatter hosted a delegation from FIFPro, led by FIFPro Europe President Philippe Piat and by FIFPro Secretary General Theo Van Seggelen, who also stressed their support for the objectives of “6+5″.
“I am encouraged by the support that we have received in the past few days and this gives me even greater motivation to continue working on ’6+5′ and hold further meetings,” said the FIFA President, prior to receiving a delegation from the IOC, including its Chairman of International Relations Mario Pescante and representatives from the international federations of five team sports (basketball, handball, ice hockey, rugby and volleyball) at the Home of FIFA in Zurich on Wednesday, 25 June.

At the invitation of FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, and in line with the resolution adopted by the 58th FIFA Congress in Sydney in May, delegations from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), led by Mario Pescante, IOC Executive Board member, and from major international team sports federations met at the Home of FIFA in Zurich on 25 June to discuss key common issues.
Regarding the protection of national teams, the delegations agreed that they share common issues related to the eligibility of players for national teams, youth development, stronger control on the transfer of minors and competitiveness within their sports. They unanimously supported the idea that the international sports federations should work closely together, under IOC leadership, in discussions on the recognition of the specificity of sport with the European Union (EU).
The participants agreed to the principle of creating a consultation forum between the European Union and the Olympic and sporting movement in order to better structure the dialogue between them, prepare a common understanding on issues such as the specificity of sport and debate any topics arising in the world of sport, such as “6+5″, taking into account the universality of sport and its European dimension.
During the meeting, the objectives and calendar of the EU French presidency in relation to sport during the second semester of 2008 were presented by Mr Hugues Moutouh, Director of the Cabinet of Mr Bernard Laporte, French Secretary of State for Sport.
The following people attended the FIFA/IOC meeting with international sports federations on 25 June:
Joseph S. Blatter (FIFA President and IOC member)
IOC
Mario Pescante (IOC Executive Board member); Patrick Hickey (EOC President and IOC member); Christophe De Kepper (IOC Executive Office of the President, Chief of Staff)
ASOIF
Denis Oswald (President); Andrew Ryan (Secretary General); Hugues Moutouh (Cabinet Director of Bernard Laporte, French Secretary of State for Sport)
International sports federations
FIBA, Patrick Baumann (Secretary General and IOC member)
FIFA, Jerome Valcke (Secretary General); Jerome Champagne (Director of International Relations); Marco Villiger (Director of Legal Affairs); Hans Klaus (Director of Communications & Public Affairs)
IMF, Peter Muhlematter (Secretary General)
IIHF, Rene Fasel (President); Horst Lichtner (General Secretary); Yves Vonlanthen (Administration and Legal Manager)
IRB, Darren Bailey (Head of Legal)

Unbelievable but true – the final of the football Copa Libertadores was recently held in Rio de Janeiro for the first time. In the second leg, played in the legendary Maracana stadium, home team Fluminense were looking to turn around a 4-2 deficit from the I first leg against LDU Quito. However, there was to be no happy ending for Fluminense in front of more than 80,000 spectators, despite a hat trick from Thiago Neves. They won the match 3-1 over 90 minutes, but lost 3-1 in a penalty shoot-out. LDU’s 37-year-old keeper Jose Cevallos was the hero, saving three shots.