Contents of initiative specified
A delegation from India visited FIFA on 7 April 2008 to discuss FIFA’s Win in India with India initiative, almost one year to the day since its launch on 14 April 2007. The delegation, headed by the President of the All India Football Federa¬tion, Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, and by the Joint Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Injeti Srinivas, was greeted by FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter and the President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Mohamed bin Hammam. The meeting focused on the implementation of the Win in India with India initiative.
“I visited India exactly one year ago to see for myself the situation of football in India and to launch the Win in India with India initiative. Twelve months on, I have no doubt that Indian football is on the right track and following the economic, social and cultural development of this huge nation. I hope that development will be even further boosted by the pro¬grammes of FIFA, the AFC and the Indian authorities,” said President Blatter. At the meeting, it was decided that Win in India with India would concentrate on developing Indian football at elite level, namely the top two divisions in India. The initiative will most notably focus on helping to develop infrastructure for clubs and on providing support in man¬agement and club licensing. The initia¬tive will also support the development of national teams, particularly with regard to infrastructure. Training coaches, referees and technical directors will be another cornerstone of the initia¬tive. There are also a number of other initiatives running alongside Win in India with India. “Vision India”, which is part of the AFC’s “Vision Asia” programme, and FIFA’s Goal, Corn-Unity and FUTURO III programmes are already concentrating on the development of amateur football and regional football associations in India whereas various government bodies are prioritising the development of football in rural areas and Indian schools. Therefore, in order to create synergies between the various parties involved, it has been decided that a four-party working group consisting of representatives of FIFA, the AFC, the AIFF and the Indian government should be set up as quickly as possible.

25 May Sydney
Internal Audit Committee meeting
26 May Sydney
Meetings of the Finance Committee and the Executive Committee (1st part)
27 May Sydney
Executive Committee meeting (2nd part)
28 May Sydney
Confederation meetings and CONCACAF Congress
29-30 May Sydney
58th FIFA Congress
6 July Brasilia
FIFA Futsal World Cup Brazil 2008 group draw
8-9 July Johannesburg
Meeting of the Board of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa
17-27 July
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Marseille 2008
6-23 August
Olympic Football Tournaments Beijing 2008
16-17 September Johannesburg
Meeting of the Board of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa
30 September – 19 October
FIFA Futsal World Cup Brazil 2008
20 October Zurich
Meetings of the Sports Medical Committee, the Referees Committee (1st part) and the Football Committee
21 October Zurich
Meetings of the Referees Committee (2nd part), the Players’ Status Committee, the Associations Committee and the Technical and Development 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, the Finance Committee and the Executive Committee (1st part)
24 October Zurich
Executive Committee meeting (2nd part)
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
25-26 November Johannesburg
Meeting of the Board of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa
11-21 December
FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2008
18 December Tokyo
Meetings of the Finance Committee and the Executive Committee (1st part)
19 December Tokyo
Executive Committee meeting (2nd part)

44-year-old football goalkeeper Marco Ballotta has extended his contract with top Italian football club Lazio until 2009. The veteran obviously has no intention of retiring. “I love playing football so why should I give up?” asks Ballotta, who, at 43 years and 217 days, is the oldest player to date in the history of the UEFA Champions League and Italy’s Serie A. Ballotta became Lazio’s first-team goalie when Angelo Peruzzi called time on his career last year.