Tuvalu, a tiny archipelago of just 26 square kilometres and approximately 12,000 inhabitants, has been independent since 1978. Despite finding itself at the centre of a region where the sport of rugby is king, on Tuvalu it is football that reigns supreme. It is for this precise reason that Tapugao Falefou, President of the Tuvalu Football Association, is so intent on helping his association to gain membership of world football’s governing body, an objective that has the full support of the island’s Prime Minister, Apisai lelemia. During their visit to the Home of FIFA in September, both men spoke about Tuvalu’s bid for membership.

Can you outline the reasons why you’ve both come to FIFA headquarters in Zurich this September?
Apisai lelemia: I travelled to Brussels to unveil an assignment for the European Union, and I’m taking advantage of this opportunity to make a detour and drop
into Zurich and accompany Mr Tapugao Falefou on his visit to FIFA. Tapugao Falefou: We’re here to discuss our candidature for joining FIFA, and having the Prime Minister with us is a real stroke of luck. We’ve been associate members of the OFC since last year, so joining FIFA is the next step.

Tell us something about the state of the game in Tuvalu.
Falefou: First of all, it’s the no.1 sport there – almost everybody plays! Our season lasts from February to October. The Premier League consists of nine clubs. This year we’ve made a start on counting the number of people playing the game, but it’s a tricky task and it must be understood that our association relies totally on volunteer workers. We could well do with a few full-time employees…
lelemia: As far as the national team is concerned, we’ve taken part in the qualifying round for the South Pacific Games, which also serve as the first phase
of preliminary qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa. We’re still learning, but we can be satisfied with our results: we got off to a really bad start against Fiji (16-0), though we went on to only lose 1-0 against New Caledonia, after keeping them at bay for half the game, and then we even managed a draw against Tahiti (1-1). The last two results in particular were against two strong Pacific sides, so it’s a good omen.

How would joining FIFA help?
Falefou: It would enable us to make our football more professional. For example, at the moment we can’t afford to pay for a coach for our national team. If we had one, I’m sure we’d make a great deal of progress.
lelemia: We’ve wanted to be part of FIFA since 1987. We’ve been part of the United Nations since September 2000. In a way, the next logical step is to be¬come a part of the big football family.

In September, FIFA’s top men’s and women’s coaching and referee instructors worldwide gathered in the Spanish football association’s (RFEF) technical centre in Madrid- The men’s coaching instructors were first up. They were welcomed by two FiFA Vice-Presidents, Angel Villar Llona (UEFA Vice-President and President of the Spanish football association) and Reynald Temarii (President of the OFC and Chairman of the FIFA Technical and Development Committee). The objectives of the seminar were then highlighted: exchange of experiences, evaluation of potential instructors, and the further education of future instructors. FIFA’s Technical Director Jean-Michel Benezet added, “The objective of the men’s seminar is simple because we have a lot of new programmes we would like to introduce in 2009.”
The seminar, which was attended by the technical directors of three confederations (AFC, CAF, OFC), also featured a presentation of confederation coaching licenses (AFC and CAF). Abdel Monem Hussein, CAF’s technical director, explained: “This meeting made us aware of the value of the work of the instructors worldwide and also of FIFA’s support for the confederations.”
Belhassen Ma louche, a FIFA instructor and consultant from Tunisia, was impressed when listening to a presentation on how Spanish national teams were prepared. “Particularly interesting were their comments on the dynamics between players and coaches, the system of selection, and their long-term planning,” he noted. “Technique, personality and speed are the crux for them. I saw Spain play in Canada at the FIFA U-20 World Cup and they played the same way as the senior national team -to which players from that team have indeed graduated.”
The objectives of the coaching instructors’ seminar for women’s football were similar: to evaluate potential new instructors, provide information on FIFA’s new philosophy for the development of women’s football through the introduction of new programmes, and offer an opportunity for the exchange of experiences and opinions.
Hasan Al Sabah, AFC Assistant General Secretary and Director of Education, saw great benefit for the Asian region in having the region’s instructors in attendance at the seminar, in particular for the women’s game, where there has been considerable progress and recent success (including Korea DPR winning the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2006).
New FIFA women’s football instructor and current New Zealand women’s coach John Herdman commented: “It was a perfect setting for FIFA instructors. Coaches have aspirations to come and work with the best football instructors in women’s football, and then to also be presented with one of the best football environments in the world was magnificent.”
The new philosophy for FIFA technical programmes details that FIFA will be a role model in all football matters, complement the confederations’ programmes and respond to the technical needs of member associations.
This also applied to the third and final three-day instructor seminar for referees. From 12-14 September, 14 new FIFA RAP (Referee Assistance Programme) instructors as well as three female FIFA instructors and ten Refereeing Development Officers (RDOs) gathered in Madrid for the seminar, which had two main objectives. Benezet summed them up: “RAP (Referee Assistance Programme) is a new FIFA programme with two parts. The first objective was to increase the standard of referees for future international competitions, in particular for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. The second part was to establish a new system for referees, which in the future is to be based on scouting and education.”
A methodological approach is being used to meet the first objective of in¬creasing the quality of refereeing ins¬tructors. Spanish professor Guillermo Ballenato delivered a six-hour lecture on methodology that reinforced the combination of teaching and learning principles with practical activities. The presentation was very well received by the participants.
Another key objective of the seminar was to obtain uniformity in the interpretation of the Laws of the Game and in the analysis of match situations. A considerable number of video clips were examined by the group in order to establish the criteria for analysing situations that occur during a match.
Special meetings were also held with the new RDOs in order to provide guidelines on how to help and support the member associations to develop refereeing and organise activities in their respective regions. Another focus was the organisation of refereeing at member association level. Benezet concluded, “We hope this seminar will be, like all of our initiatives, of huge benefit to the development of the game at all levels.”

FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter paid an official visit to Serbia, Montenegro and Georgia between 9 and 12 October. His busy schedule included discussions with presidents of football associations, an inauguration ceremony for a Goal project as well as attendance at an international match.
The FIFA President and his delegation touched down in Belgrade on 9 October. “This is the first time that I have been here as President,” said Blatter, clearly delighted to be visiting the “white city”. Later that evening he attended an official dinner with Ivica Dacic, Vice-President of the Republic of Serbia and Minister for the Interior, as well as with Tomislav Karadzic, the President of the Football Association of Serbia, and the chairmen of local clubs Partizan and Red Star Belgrade.
The following day, the FIFA delegation had a reception with Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic. In the presence of the Serbian Minister for Sport, Cvetkovic mentioned the fact that unlike most FIFA member associations, the Serbian FA still does not have an official headquarters built with support from FIFA. “If we are to carry that out, we will need land as well as support from your government,” replied Blatter. Once the Prime Minister had been informed of the Serbian FA’s projects that are being supported by FIFA and UEFA, he promised to put his weight behind the schemes.
Prior to Blatter’s departure, President Tomislav Karadzic presented his FIFA counterpart with the highest honour in Serbian football-the “Diamond Ball”
- as a token of his gratitude for the FIFA President’s work and support for the development of football.
On 10 October, the FIFA delegation continued their travels by moving on to Montenegro, where they were received by Prime Minister Milo Dukanovic, who plays an active role in his country’s football scene. “I believe in football’s ability to help the development of our society,” he said. “It will enable us to put ourselves on the international map more quickly.” Afterwards, it was Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic’s turn to welcome Blatter. “We are grateful that FIFA integrated us so quickly as a new member,” said the President before underlining his support for football in his country. He showed his pride in the progress that has already been made by presenting the FIFA President with the Danilo Cross, a symbol of Montenegrin independence.
“I’m pleased to see that football is in a very healthy state here on this, my first visit to a very young association,” said a delighted Blatter. “Football is a genuine school of life that teaches us rules, discipline and fair play, and while we will not all go on to become world champions, we can still take away the lessons we have learned for the rest of our lives. You have every reason, therefore, to believe in the benefits of our sport for your society.” The FIFA President then inaugurated the football association’s technical centre together with Dejan Savicevic, the President of the Montenegrin FA, and Miomir Mugosa, the mayor of Podgorica. The sun was shining upon the ceremony to open the new building, which is bright red to match the strip of the national team.
On 11 October, after flying over the Caucasus to Georgia, the FIFA President immediately headed out of Tbilisi to visit the new Georgian FA training centre and artificial pitch built as part of the Goal !l Programme. “I am pleased to be here at this training centre, which is a symbol of the future of football in your country. You can always rely on the younger generation and the progress they will make,” he said to Georgian FA President Nodar Akhalkatsi junior.
Blatter then paid an official visit to the Georgian parliament to discuss the ‘ country’s most popular sport with David Bakradze. The head of parliament said that he was delighted with the visit and underlined the importance of football’s role as a peacemaker in Georgia. He then presented the FIFA President with a golden lion – a symbol of strength and courage. :
Finally, the FIFA President headed to the Boris Paichadze National Stadium in Tbilisi to watch the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ qualifying match between Georgia and Cyprus. Immediately prior to kick-off, Blatter awarded a posthumous FIFA Order of Merit to the late Nodar Akhalkatsi senior, the founder of the Georgian FA. The award, which was accepted by his son, was in recognition of Akhalkatsi senior’s efforts to promote football in his country as a player, coach and official.