ﬁ les, Scolari interview Clash of champions - FIFA…resources.fifa.com/mm/Document/AF-Magazine/FIFAWorld/02/20/83/02/... · When it comes to the FIFA Confederations Cup, we can

FIFA Congress preview | FIFA World Cup™ qualifying latest | Smoke-free stadiums | New health “signings” | Halfway point for African centres | Boateng on board | FIFA Confederations Cup special preview: tournament history, team profi les, Scolari interview

May/June 2013

Clash of championsBrazil set for FIFA Confederations Cup

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3FIFA WORLD I MAY/JUNE 2013

EDITORIAL

“This year’s FIFA

Congress has particular

signifi cance as we look

to complete the far-

reaching governance

reform process. I am

confi dent that we will

fi nally reach our goal.”

Confidence in FIFA – and BrazilDear friends of football,

The next two months promise to be extremely important ones for FIFA, with just two weeks separating the 63rd FIFA Congress in Mauritius at the end of May from the start of the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 in Brazil on 15 June.

The Congress is always a major event for FIFA, bringing together all 209 of our member associations from around the world, but this year’s gathering has particular signifi cance, as we look to complete the far-reaching governance reform process which was launched at the 2011 Congress in Zurich.

Two years ago, my pledge to restore FIFA’s credibility and good name received the strong backing of the Congress delegates, and I was extremely pleased when we were already able to realise our fi rst set of reforms at last year’s meeting in Budapest. Back then, however, I also reminded our members that we had only reached the halfway point and that a lot of work still lay ahead.

I am happy to be able to report that this work is now close to completion, thanks to the combined efforts of the people who have served on our Task Forces, on our working groups and on the Independent Governance Committee, which has advised us and provided us with external, independent expertise every step of the way. The vital last step will only be taken, of course, if we receive the approval of the Congress. Based on the overwhelming mandate that I received from the Congress itself two years ago, however, and given the unity with which the FIFA Executive Committee has approached the remaining reform proposals, I am confi dent that we will fi nally reach our goal at the end of May.

When it comes to the FIFA Confederations Cup, we can already look forward to a competition of the highest calibre, with no fewer than four current or former FIFA World Cup™ winners among the eight contenders. What happens on the pitch at this event is always only half the story, however, with the tournament also serving as an important test for the main event one year later.

Just as was the case with FIFA’s reform process when we reached that halfway point 12 months ago, there will clearly be a lot of work still ahead for us all in Brazil as we move into the fi nal stage of preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™. But with FIFA, the Local Organising Committee and the Brazilian authorities working hard together, I am certain that we can look forward to a truly magnifi cent competition next year in one of the world’s most passionate footballing nations.

For the Game. For the World.

Joseph S. Blatter

4 FIFA WORLD I MAY/JUNE 2013

Treble joy for MonterreyMexican giants CF Monterrey became the fi rst side to qualify for this year’s FIFA Club World Cup after clinching their third successive CONCACAF Champions League title in May. Taking on Santos Laguna in an all-Mexican fi nal, Monterrey were two goals down with just half an hour remaining – but fought back with four goals of their own, including three in the tie’s last seven minutes. “After being behind 2-0 against a great team like Santos, you can’t imagine rallying like this,” said Aldo de Nigris, who scored twice. “Now we are a team who have proven ourselves and made some history.” This year’s Club World Cup line-up will take further shape in the coming weeks, with the champions of Oceania set to be crowned at the OFC Champions League fi nal in Auckland on 19 May. Six days later, all eyes will be on London’s Wembley Stadium, as Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund go head-to-head in an all-German UEFA European Champions League fi nal on 25 May.

Around the world

from 11,481 in 2011 – but that overall spending fell from USD 2.82 billion to USD 2.53 billion. Despite the overall drop, clubs spent more on fees to intermediaries, with club-employed agents receiving USD 163 million, an increase of 28 per cent compared to 2011. For more details on the report, see page 26.

New leadersThe Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) have both appointed new leaders in recent weeks. Bahrain’s Shaikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa (pictured) won a resounding election in Malaysia on 1 May to serve as the new President of the AFC for the 2013-2015 term. Former Uruguayan Football Association President Eugenio Figueredo was meanwhile named as the new head of CONMEBOL, following the resignation of its long-standing President Nicolás Leoz. The confederation said that Figueredo would serve as its President until at least May 2015, when the position comes up for election.

Brazil in sightThe identities of the fi rst qualifi ers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ will also soon be known, with at least four teams set to book their tickets in June for next year’s extravaganza in Brazil. The completion of Asia’s fourth qualifying round will determine which four Asian sides go through automatically to the 2014 fi nals – with the third-placed teams in each group progressing to a fi fth-round play-off for the right to play the fi fth-best team in South American qualifying. South American leaders Argentina are, meanwhile, also on the brink of automatic qualifi cation after taking four points from their latest qualifying matches against Venezuela and Bolivia in March. Alejandro Sabella’s side can now make sure of their place by winning their upcoming games against Colombia and Ecuador. For more on the race to Brazil, see our latest qualifi ers wrap-up starting on page 18.

International transfers downFootball clubs spent ten per cent less on international transfers in 2012 than they did in 2011, according to the latest Global Transfer Market report published by FIFA Transfer Matching System in April. The report showed that 11,552 cross-border transfers took place last year – up slightly

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18

526 31

FIFA WORLD I MAY/JUNE 2013

12FIFA Congress previewReform process set for completion

16Counting down the daysFinal preparations for FIFA Confederations Cup

18Who will qualify?Crunch time approaches in race for Brazil 2014

31A healthy bunchNew stars join “FIFA 11 for Health” campaign

44FIFA Confederations Cup 2013Champions gather for Brazil showdown

48From Riyadh to the worldRecapping the past eight editions

52Scolari’s viewExclusive interview with Brazil’s returning coach

56Meet the contendersTeam profi les, star players and key statistics

74AssociationsDismissals in Africa and Peruvian high-fl iers

76Men’s rankingHighs for Croatia and Ecuador

78Women’s rankingUSA celebrate fi ve years on top

80Anniversary bluesLooking back on 75 years of Blue Stars

VIEW NEWS SUMMARY

Inside this issue

6Paris, Tokyo, Manchester, ThunStriking images from the world of football

SPECIAL


VIEW

Floating passFrance midfi elder Mathieu Valbuena seems to master the art of levitation during his country’s FIFA World Cup™ qualifi er at home to Spain in March. It was the Spanish who ended the night on a high, however, after securing a 1-0 win that lifted them back on top of European Group I. For more on the qualifi ers, see our round-up starting on page 18.

7 FIFA WORLD I VIEW

Fancy footwork

A solid gold 25-kilogram cast of Lionel Messi’s left foot has been put on sale by a Japanese

jeweller, at an asking price of USD 5 million. The piece was produced with the blessing of the FC Barcelona and Argentina star, with part of the

proceeds going via the Leo Messi Foundation to help victims of the earthquake and tsunami that

hit Japan in 2011.


Tangled webWigan Athletic players Maynor Figueroa and James McArthur come out on top in a three-way tussle with Manchester City’s Scott Sinclair during an English Premier League clash in April.

9 FIFA WORLD I VIEW

Biting backFC Zurich’s Loris Benito got more than he bargained for after

attempting to tackle a furry pitch invader during his side’s trip to Swiss Super League rivals FC Thun.


Letters to FIFAA selection of comments from the FIFA World and FIFA.com mailbags

March/April issue

Brazil stadium openings | Tournament ambassadors unveiled | | | South African legacy | Youth surprises in South America |

| | |

March/April 2013

Brazil boundAfrican champions Nigeria completeFIFA Confederations Cup line-up

Let us hear your views, either on what you have read in FIFA World, or in regard to anything else in the world of international football. You can contact us via e-mail at feedback-fi faworld@fi fa.org or by writing to FIFA World, FIFA-Strasse 20, P.O. Box, CH-8044 Zurich, Switzerland.

Kings of AfricaWhat a great [Africa Cup of Nations] win for Nigeria – after 19 years of waiting for the title. Burkina Faso also impressed me with their dramatic improvement. There are so many good things coming out of African football. I’m also looking forward to the Confederations Cup in Brazil, where I know Nigeria will do well because we have proved we are “back in the game”.

FIFA.com user (Nigeria)

The Africa Cup of Nations was really interesting and has launched African teams that were previously considered too small to be major players. Congratulations to the team from my country, Burkina Faso, who have fi nally become serious contenders in African football.

Fay (Burkina Faso)

The teams in this Africa Cup of Nations all had equal chances, and no matches were a foregone conclusion. Congratulations to Nigeria and Burkina Faso for showing team spirit right up to the last whistle. Despite the fact that Mali and Ghana left disappointed, they proved we could count on them for a good game. [Côte d’Ivoire’s] Elephants disappointed me the most as they seemed to provide the least action. I would have liked DR Congo to have done better but I’m proud because they left a strong impression despite their early elimination.

FIFA.com user (DR Congo)

South Africa’s legacyDevelopment is a [much-used] word these days, yet we in South Africa are thankful for such great investment and know that the 2010 FIFA World

Cup Legacy Trust will help many youth groups. More generally, it will help soccer to develop here and assist the country in the long term. It has been good to see which applicants have received support and also to fi nd out about the successful, sustainable projects that the Legacy Trust has brought about.

FIFA.com user (South Africa)

Fixing the fi xersFIFA is working in the right direction. Cheating by fi xing matches should be totally eradicated in the beautiful game.

FIFA.com user (Nigeria)

Female focusWell, we have to start somewhere, right? All of these women are brave and entrepreneurial. It’s great that women can join the FIFA Executive Committee and be able to contribute opinions from another perspective. Not just for women’s football, so that it continues to grow and gather more support, but it is also important for these women to collaborate and participate in decisions on the men’s game. That would be true integration.

FIFA.com user (Uruguay)

American (Samoan) dreamI’m a huge football fan but I have to say that the article on American Samoa is one of the best I’ve ever read... it’s an

11 FIFA WORLD I VIEW

Healthy measuresFootball stars are lining up to promote key health messages. See page 31.

excellent story that touches your soul. I can’t wait to see the movie. It’s so good to read about these growth regions for football. Thanks for the article.

FIFA.com user (Uruguay)

What a beautiful story. It made me shed tears, especially the comments from [team coach] Thomas Rongen. Really fantastic! Long live American Samoa! I hope the game continues to grow on this beautiful island.

Jaes (Peru)

What a great story! Never stop working for what you want, and never let

someone else tell you what you are capable of. Great work American Samoa!

Joanitox (Panama)

This shows you that being the best in the world is not the only thing that

matters in football. But maybe the American Samoan squad are the best, in a sense, because that love and passion for the team comes from the heart. These are important lessons that other similar footballing nations can learn from.

Joos (Chile)


NEWS

The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius will provide the setting for the 63rd FIFA Congress at the end of May, as football’s world parliament gathers to vote on the fi nal set of proposals in FIFA’s two-year governance reform process.

Heading for clear waters

13 FIFA WORLD I NEWS

The beautiful island location could hardly be more apt, as the representatives of FIFA’s 209 member associations meet to discuss the last set of proposals put forward as a result of FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter’s 2011 Congress pledge to steer “the FIFA boat … back into clear, transparent waters”. The delegates will have little time to savour the scenery beyond the Swami Vivekananda International Convention Centre, however, with a busy 19-point agenda awaiting them at the two-day gathering.

The most important piece of business will clearly be the proposed amendments to the FIFA Statutes relating to the last remaining decisions in the two-year governance process.

Following on from the major steps already approved at last year’s FIFA Congress in Budapest (see reform process timeline on page 15), the member associations will vote on a fi nal series of amendments, comprising ten main points aimed at furthe r strengthening FIFA’s governance structures, as well as increasing the integrity, transparency and representative nature of world football’s governing body.

Integrity checks for any candidates elected by the Congress (including candidates for the FIFA presidency) were already put in place following the 2012 Congress, with the Mauritius proposals calling for these checks to be extended to other key position-holders, including all

members of the FIFA Executive Committee. In relation to candidatures for the presidency, it is also proposed that these must be supported by at least fi ve member associations, and that candidates must have played an active role in an association for at least two of the preceding fi ve years.

The reform package also recommends that all FIFA members increase the involvement of all relevant parties in their own structures in order to ensure a stronger representation of the game’s key stakeholders. Furthermore, the Congress will be updated on the voluntary re-structuring of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) – the body which oversees any changes to the Laws of the Game.


Announced at the IFAB’s last meeting on 2 March, this restructuring will involve, in particular, the creation of two new advisory panels – one comprising refereeing experts and the other former players and coaches, current coaches, and technical directors – with the aim of further improving consultation within the game and increasing the transparency of the IFAB’s decision-making process.

World Cup bidsConcerning the bidding process for the hosting of FIFA World Cups™, the proposals call for fi nal decisions to be taken, in future, by the Congress. Already approved in principle at the 2011 Congress, this will involve the FIFA Congress voting on

the location of future fi nal competitions, following the drawing up by the FIFA Executive Committee of a shortlist of up to three bids. Supported by a detailed set of bidding and hosting regulations to be established by FIFA, the Congress will not be able to award the hosting rights to more than one FIFA World Cup at the same meeting, and it will also not be possible for one confederation to host two consecutive editions of the tournament.

Among the other proposed amendments to the FIFA Statutes included in the package are a series of clarifi cations and specifi cations, including in particular a re-drafting of articles 2 and 3 to incorporate stronger and more detailed wording on the promotion of ethics and the fi ght against discrimination respectively.

Following the vote on these multiple amendments, the Congress will then turn its attention to two further items put forward: the introduction of age limits and that of limited terms of offi ce for key offi ce-holders.

“We were already able to pass a number of landmark decisions at the 2012 Congress in Budapest, and I am now looking forward to the completion of this important process in Mauritius,” FIFA President Joseph S.

Blatter told FIFA World following the latest FIFA Executive Committee meeting in March. “Considering the unity that the Executive Committee has shown in its support for these remaining proposals, I believe that the reform process is on a good track, but it is now up to the Congress to give the fi nal approval.”

Beyond the reformsWhile the fi nal steps in the governance reform process are likely to dominate media coverage of the event, a number of other important matters will also be raised at the Congress.

As usual, the Congress will be asked to approve FIFA’s consolidated fi nancial statements for 2012 – which include a positive annual result of USD 89 million – as well as the detailed budget for 2014.

A series of updates will then be provided on a number of strategic and sports-political matters, including reports on FIFA’s ongoing efforts to tackle match-fi xing as well as discrimination and racism in football. In relation to the latter topic, the Congress will also receive an update on FIFA’s new Task Force Against Racism and Discrimination, which was created in March under the leadership of FIFA Vice-President and CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb.

As a follow-on to the reform process items already approved by the Congress in 2012, the member associations will then be asked to elect the chairmen, deputy chairmen and members of FIFA’s Audit and Compliance Committee and of the judicial bodies – comprising the two chambers of the Ethics Committee, the Disciplinary Committee, and the Appeal Committee.

Female electionsThe fi rst-ever formal election of a female member of the FIFA Executive Committee is also set to take place, following on from last year’s milestone appointment of Burundi’s Lydia Nsekera on a one-year co-opted basis. In addition, the Executive Committee has asked the Congress to approve the additional co-opting of two further female members, to bring the total number of women on the FIFA executive

“The reform process is on a good track, but it is now up to the Congress

to give the fi nal approval.”

FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter

Female fi rst: the 2013 FIFA Congress will see the fi rst formal election of a female member of the Executive Committee, as well as a proposal to co-opt two additional women. Lydia Nsekera, Sonia Bien-Aime, Paula Kearns and Moya Dodd are the four candidates proposed by their respective confederations.


to three. Four women have been proposed by their respective confederations for the three posts, with Nsekera standing against Australia’s Moya Dodd, New Zealander Paula Kearns and Sonia Bien-Aime of the Turks & Caicos Islands.

In other business, the Congress will also vote on a proposal to remove the match

From Zurich to Mauritius

levies that member associations currently pay to FIFA every time an international match is played, while maintaining the ability of the confederations and associations to demand such levies if they wish.

There will also be a vote on a proposal by the Football Federation Australia (FFA)

to amend an article of the Regulations Governing the Application of the Statutes relating to players who have acquired a new nationality.

There will be a full report on the outcome and decisions of the 2013 FIFA Congress in the next issue of FIFA World.

FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter launched the reform process at the 2011 FIFA Congress in Zurich.

A summary of the main steps already taken in the FIFA governance reform process

1 June 2011 FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter wins approval at the 2011 FIFA Congress for the launch of an extensive reform process, promising to bring the organisation “back on the right route”.

21 October 2011 The FIFA Executive Committee sets up three new task forces to propose reforms in the areas of ethics, transparency and compliance, and the revision of statutes.

17 December 2011 An Independent Governance Committee (IGC) is established, under the leadership of international governance expert Professor Mark Pieth, to oversee the proposals put forward by the task forces and bring concrete proposals to the FIFA executive.

25 May 2012 Meeting in Budapest, the 62nd FIFA Congress approves a fi rst set of reforms put forward by the task forces and the IGC. These include:– the splitting of the FIFA Ethics Committee into two chambers (one investigatory and one adjudicatory), each with an independent

chairman and deputy chairman;– the replacement of the former Audit Committee by the new Audit and Compliance Committee (also under the leadership of

an independent chairman) with the addition of compliance issues to its competencies;– the direct election by the Congress of the chairmen, deputy chairmen and members of FIFA’s Audit and Compliance Committee

and of the judicial bodies – comprising the two chambers of the Ethics Committee, the Disciplinary Committee and the Appeal Committee;

– the co-opting of the fi rst-ever female member of the FIFA Executive Committee on a one-year basis, with the fi rst election on a four-year basis due to be held at the 2013 Congress;

– the approval of the FIFA Code of Conduct, laying down 11 core principles for behaviour and conduct to which all members of the football community (e.g. offi cials, FIFA employees, players and associations) must adhere;

– integrity check for any candidate to be elected by the Congress.

28 September 2012 The FIFA Executive Committee announces the creation of a working group chaired by Theo Zwanziger with the purpose of consulting FIFA’s 209 member associations on the remaining ten reform proposals and corresponding amendments to the FIFA Statutes put forward by the Task Force Revision of Statutes.

21 March 2013 The FIFA Executive Committee is presented with the ten remaining reform proposals (see main text) and agrees to put these before the 63rd FIFA Congress in Mauritius. The executive also approves the revised FIFA Organisation Regulations and the new General Regulations for FIFA Development Programmes. In addition, the committee proposes that two more women be co-opted onto the Executive Committee, pending approval by the Congress in Mauritius.


Smoke-free stadiumsFans enjoying the live action at the FIFA Confederations Cup and at next year’s FIFA World Cup™ will be guaranteed a smoke-free experience, after FIFA and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) announced a total ban on smoking during matches in all stadiums. The March announcement, made at a media conference in Rio that marked the start of the 100-day countdown to

The FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 is now less than a month away, and the past few weeks have seen a fl urry of announcements in relation to both the “Festival of Champions” and next year’s 2014 FIFA World Cup™. FIFA World rounds up all the latest news from Brazil…

Counting down the days

the Confederations Cup, is in line with the World Health Organization’s campaign for smoke-free sporting events, and builds on previous FIFA commitments to promote good health and a sustainable environment for players, stadium staff and supporters. In 1986, world football’s governing body announced it would no longer accept advertising from tobacco companies. Sixteen years later, FIFA designated the

2002 FIFA World Cup™ smoke-free, a measure that was continued for the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups™. “The decision to make Brazil 2013 and Brazil 2014 tobacco-free is a natural step in the history of our fl agship events,” said FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke, adding that “FIFA recognises that tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke are harmful and supports the WHO’s global efforts with a


genuine interest in promoting health and security”. The announcement also drew support from former World Cup hero, LOC Management Board member and long-time smoker Ronaldo, who described the smoke-free commitment as “another incentive to stop smoking”.

Goal-line decisionA major innovation at this year’s FIFA Confederations Cup will be the use of goal-line technology to help referees determine whether or not the ball has crossed the goal line. In April, FIFA announced the appointment of Germany-based company GoalControl as the fi rm who will provide the technology for this service at both the Confederations Cup and the 2014 FIFA World Cup. GoalControl, whose system relies on 14 high-speed cameras placed around the pitch, was selected as the result of a tender process involving the four companies who have so far been licensed to install goal-line technology. The Confederations Cup will mark the fi rst time that GLT has been used at a national team competition, following the successful implementation of the technology at December’s FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.

Smart testsAnother major fi rst in Brazil will be the introduction of biological profi ling – FIFA’s most far-reaching measure yet in the fi ght against doping. Following successful pilot programmes at the FIFA Club World Cup

in 2011 and 2012, the project is now due to be rolled out at the FIFA Confederations Cup before being used next year for the fi rst time at a FIFA World Cup. As well as being subject to FIFA’s existing anti-doping tests, all players taking part in the Confederations Cup will provide blood and urine samples, which will then be used

to produce a unique genetic “blueprint” for each individual. This will then make it possible for anti-doping offi cials to detect any future deviations from a player’s normal “baseline” levels – with any such changes offering a possible indication of doping, which can then be investigated by further testing of the player involved. “Even though there is no evidence of systematic doping in football, it is vital that we remain vigilant in this area,” FIFA’s Chief Medical

Offi cer Professor Jiří Dvořák told FIFA World. “Biological profi ling provides us with an important new method, which should prove much more effi cient than random testing, while also carrying with it a strong deterrent factor.”

Record responseBumper crowds are already guaranteed at this year’s FIFA Confederations Cup, with advance ticket sales showing massive public interest in attending one of the 16 matches at Brazil 2013. As this issue of FIFA World went to print, with just under two months still to go until the “Festival of Champions” kicked off, more than half a million tickets had already been allocated for the event – corresponding to around 70 per cent of the total number of tickets available. “These fi gures prove that the FIFA Confederations Cup, including four FIFA World Cup champions in the line-up, is a highly anticipated event, especially for those fans and local residents hoping to experience the action live in one of the FIFA World Cup stadiums,” commented FIFA Marketing Director Thierry Weil. Anyone still wanting to get their hands on tickets should head to FIFA’s exclusive online booking service at www.fi fa.com/ticketing which provides real-time updates showing the availability of tickets for each match and category.

For more on the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013, check out our 28-page tournament preview starting on page 44.

Goal-line technology will make its FIFA Confederations Cup debut at this year’s tournament; Brazil’s passionate fans have been quick to snap up tickets for the “Festival of Champions”.

Biological profi ling provides us with an

important new method, which should prove much more effi cient than random testing,

while also carrying with it a strong deterrent

factorJiri Dvorak


Crunch time for Asia in race to Brazil

Four Asian teams will book their place at the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ in June, and become the fi rst teams to join the Brazilian hosts at next year’s sporting extravaganza.

Asian champions Japan will have it all to do again on 4 June when they welcome Group B rivals Australia to Saitama Stadium for their next potentially decisive World Cup qualifi er. Currently holding a six-point lead at the top of the group (see “State of play – AFC”), the Japanese know that a draw against the Socceroos will be enough to see

them through as the fi rst team to qualify for Brazil 2014. Alberto Zaccheroni’s side are unlikely to take anything for granted, however, having already missed their fi rst bite at the cherry a few weeks ago.

Needing just a point to qualify away to Jordan on 26 March, Samurai Blue instead suffered the fi rst defeat of a hitherto

impressive fourth qualifying round. Trailing 2-0 with just over 20 minutes remaining, the Japanese managed to pull a goal back through Manchester United star Shinji Kagawa and were then handed a golden chance to secure their ticket to Brazil when Atsuto Uchida was brought down in the penalty box.

Jordan goalkeeper Amer Sabbah saves a late penalty kick by Japan’s Yasuhito Endō to deny the Asian champions their fi rst shot at qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™.


Jordan goalkeeper Amer Sabbah came to his country’s rescue, however, diving at full stretch to keep out Yasuhito Endō’s subsequent spot-kick and earn the West Asians their fi rst-ever win against Japan.

“We headed into today’s game determined to win,” said Sabbah as his team celebrated a remarkable turnaround from their 6-0 defeat in Japan last June. “It was a hard game, but we showed our best to get a good result which will boost our confi dence in the remaining qualifi ers.”

Japan were, understandably, less happy with the result, with Kagawa telling reporters that the way they had played had “left a sour taste” in the players’ mouths.

“The result was a huge disappointment and everyone’s feeling down,” he added, “but we will defi nitely secure qualifi cation in Japan in the next game. That’s all we’re focusing on right now – getting the job done back in Japan.”

While Japan remain heavy favourites for qualifi cation – with two more opportunities to secure the point they need – the race for second and third place in the group remains wide open, with just two points separating the second-placed Jordanians from fi fth-placed Iraq.

A top-two fi nish is all that’s required to secure automatic qualifi cation to Brazil 2014, while the third-place fi nisher will have the opportunity to play off against the third-best team in Group A, with the eventual winner of that tie progressing to a decisive intercontinental play-off against the fi fth-best fi nisher in South American qualifying.

Everything is also still to play for in Asian qualifying Group A, although Uzbekistan and Korea Republic have managed to open up a small gap over the chasing pack in the race for the two automatic qualifying spots, thanks to their respective wins over Lebanon and Qatar in March.

Chasing their eighth straight appearance at the World Cup fi nals, and currently one point behind Uzbekistan, the Koreans will have the chance to go top of the group on 4 June when they travel to bottom side Lebanon during a rest day for their Central Asian rivals. The Koreans and Uzbeks will then go head to head on 11 June in a

meeting that could prove decisive for one or both teams, ahead of the round’s fi nal set of matches one week later.

Argentina closing inTwo-time world champions Argentina could also wrap up qualifi cation in June, after picking up a win and a draw from their latest two qualifying matches in March to remain four points clear at the top of the South American standings (see “State of play – CONMEBOL”).

The fi rst game in March, at home to Venezuela, marked Lionel Messi’s 100th game for Argentina at all age levels and the Barcelona star certainly lived up to the occasion – scoring once from the penalty spot and twice setting up Gonzalo Higuaín as the team ran out 3-0 winners. The result showed a considerable improvement by La Albiceleste since their 1-0 defeat away to the Venezuelans in their second match of the campaign, and also maintained Argentina’s record of having won every Brazil 2014 qualifi er in which Messi has scored.

Unfortunately for the Argentinians, that record also continued into their next game, with Messi this time failing to fi nd the back of the net as the leaders were held to a

State of play – AFC

Group A Played PointsUzbekistan 6 11Korea Republic 5 10Iran 5 7Qatar 6 7Lebanon 6 4

4 June Qatar v. Iran Lebanon v. Korea Republic11 June Korea Republic v. Uzbekistan Iran v. Lebanon18 June Korea Republic v. Iran Uzbekistan v. Qatar

Group B Played PointsJapan 6 13Jordan 6 7Australia 5 6Oman 6 6Iraq 5 5

4 June Oman v. Iraq Japan v. Australia11 June Australia v. Jordan Iraq v. Japan18 June Australia v. Iraq Jordan v. Oman

QUALIFIERS

Lionel Messi helped bring Argentina to the brink of qualifi cation with a stellar performance against Venezuela in March.


1-1 stalemate away to the second-bottom side, Bolivia. Nevertheless, Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella saw little reason to complain as his team stretched their unbeaten run in the campaign to nine games to stay fi rmly in the driving seat.

“We created some clear-cut chances in the second half and did enough to win,” Sabella told reporters in La Paz. “We managed to pick up a point, though, and it’s given the team’s confi dence a boost. I’m going away very satisfi ed.”

Argentina will now be guaranteed a place in Brazil if they can win their two upcoming games in June. Neither will be easy, however, with the fi rst match a home game against third-placed Colombia on 7 June, followed by a trip to second-placed Ecuador four days later.

While Argentina close in on what would be their 11th successive appearance at the World Cup fi nals, fellow two-time

State of play – CONMEBOL

Played PointsArgentina 11 24Ecuador 10 20Colombia 10 19Chile 11 15Venezuela 11 15Uruguay 11 13Peru 10 11Bolivia 11 9Paraguay 11 8

7 June Bolivia v. Venezuela Argentina v. Colombia Paraguay v. Chile Peru v. Ecuador

11 June Colombia v. Peru Ecuador v. Argentina Venezuela v. Uruguay Chile v. Bolivia

QUALIFIERS

former winners Uruguay are facing a major struggle.

In what is starting to look like a qualifying campaign of two halves, the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ semi-fi nalists and reigning South American champions have now gone six games without a win – having begun their bid for Brazil with a fi ve-match unbeaten run.

Following a 1-1 draw at home to bottom side Paraguay and a 2-0 defeat away to Chile, La Celeste now face a crucial-looking match against fi fth-placed Venezuela on 11 June. A further defeat in that encounter would not quite be enough to end the Uruguayans’ qualifying hopes, but their fans will already be well aware that they face an extremely tricky run-in, with their last three games in September and October coming against the current leading trio of Colombia, Ecuador and Argentina.

Half-time in AfricaAlthough not yet struggling in anything like the same way as Uruguay, Nigeria also discovered in March that continental crowns count for little when it comes to World Cup qualifying. Returning to their Brazil 2014 campaign after the highs of February’s CAF Africa Cup of Nations triumph, the newly crowned African champions only just managed to scrape a 1-1 draw against Group F’s bottom side Kenya – with an 88th minute equaliser from substitute Nnamdi Oduamadi rescuing a point for the Nigerians – as the confederation’s second qualifying round reached its halfway point.

Although still top of their group (see “State of play – CAF”), the Super Eagles are now level on points with surprise contenders Malawi, who have only twice qualifi ed for the Africa Cup of Nations and never yet made it to a FIFA World Cup. In June, the two teams will take on Namibia and Kenya (Malawi playing both games at home and Nigeria playing both games away) before contesting a potentially decisive head-to-head encounter in Nigeria on 6 September.

Africa’s second round is a case of “winner takes all”, with only the teams who come out on top of the ten qualifying groups

progressing to the third and fi nal round, and June’s matches could prove decisive in many of the groups, with only one further matchday to be played in September.

Several teams who missed out altogether on this year’s Africa Cup of Nations appear to be bouncing back nicely, with former continental champions Egypt and Cameroon among the sides topping their groups after wins in March. The Egyptians beat Zimbabwe 2-1 in Alexandria to maintain their perfect start in Group G, while Cameroon star Samuel Eto’o marked his return to the national team by scoring both goals in a 2-1 win over Togo which lifted the Indomitable Lions back above Libya in Group I.

Another pattern that seems to be emerging is a possible resurgence of North Africa’s leading sides, following the region’s lacklustre performances at the Cup of Nations. Tunisia have matched the start made by Egypt by winning all three of their matches so far, while Algeria currently top Group H, albeit level on points with Cup of Nations semi-fi nalists Mali. With Libya only a point adrift of Cameroon, Morocco are the only North African

Newly crowned African champions Nigeria found the going unexpectedly tough against Kenya.


State of play – CAF

Group A Played PointsEthiopia 3 7South Africa 3 5Central African Rep. 3 3Botswana 3 1

7 June Central African Rep. v. South Africa8 June Botswana v. Ethiopia15 June Botswana v. Central African Rep.16 June Ethiopia v. South Africa

Group B Played PointsTunisia 3 9Sierra Leone 3 4Equatorial Guinea 3 4Cape Verde 3 0

8 June Sierra Leone v. Tunisia Cape Verde v. Equatorial Guinea15 June Cape Verde v. Sierra Leone16 June Equatorial Guinea v. Tunisia

Group C Played PointsCôte d’Ivoire 3 7Tanzania 3 6Morocco 3 2Gambia 3 1

8 June Gambia v. Côte d’Ivoire Morocco v. Tanzania15 June Morocco v. Gambia16 June Tanzania v. Côte d’Ivoire

Group D Played PointsZambia 3 7Ghana 3 6Lesotho 3 2Sudan 3 1

7 June Sudan v. Ghana8 June Zambia v. Lesotho15 June Zambia v. Sudan16 June Lesotho v. Ghana

Group E Played PointsCongo 3 9Burkina Faso 3 3Niger 3 3Gabon 3 3

QUALIFIERS

8 June Gabon v. Congo9 June Niger v. Burkina Faso15 June Congo v. Burkina Faso Gabon v. Niger

Group F Played PointsNigeria 3 5Malawi 3 5Namibia 3 3Kenya 3 2

5 June Malawi v Namibia Kenya v. Nigeria12 June Malawi v. Kenya Namibia v. Nigeria

Group G Played PointsEgypt 3 9Guinea 3 4Mozambique 3 2Zimbabwe 3 1

9 June Zimbabwe v. Egypt Guinea v. Mozambique16 June Mozambique v. Egypt Guinea v. Zimbabwe

Group H Played PointsAlgeria 3 6Mali 3 6Benin 3 4Rwanda 3 1

9 June Mali v. Rwanda Benin v. Algeria16 June Mali v. Benin Rwanda v. Algeria

Group I Played PointsCameroon 3 6Libya 3 5Congo DR 3 4Togo 3 1

7 June Libya v. Congo DR9 June Togo v. Cameroon14 June Libya v. Togo16 June Congo DR v. Cameroon

Group J Played PointsSenegal 3 5Liberia 3 4Angola 3 3Uganda 3 2

8 June Uganda v. Liberia Angola v. Senegal15 June Uganda v. Angola Liberia v. Senegal

team currently struggling. Second bottom in Group C, and already fi ve points behind leaders Côte d’Ivoire, the four-time FIFA World Cup participants could already fi nd themselves out of contention if they fail to win their next match against second-placed Tanzania on 8 June.

Kiwi conquest, CONCACAF questionsWhile none of the world’s leading teams have yet made sure of their place at Brazil 2014, New Zealand have managed to take an important step towards next year’s fi nals by clinching top spot in the Oceania qualifying competition (see “State of play – OFC”).

Eking out a 2-1 home win over their last remaining rivals New Caledonia on 22 March – thanks to a dramatic 94th-minute winner from defender Tommy Smith – the All Whites will now go on to represent Oceania in November’s two-legged intercontinental play-off against the side who fi nish fourth in the CONCACAF qualifying competition.

“This was by far our worst game of the competition,” New Zealand captain Winston Reid acknowledged after the decisive but hard-fought victory in Dunedin. “Obviously we made a couple of chances but on the day [New Caledonia] were a little bit better than us. Sometimes you have a little bit of luck in football, though, and we had it tonight.”

Just who New Zealand will go on to face in November’s intercontinental play-offs is still anybody’s guess, with the fi rst three sets of fi xtures in the fi nal round of CONCACAF qualifying failing to produce any runaway leaders.

Panama are the surprise outfit at the top of the group, with the Central Americans one point clear of chasing trio Costa Rica, the USA and Honduras (see “State of play – CONCACAF”). Seeking what would be their fi rst-ever qualifi cation for a FIFA World Cup, the Panamanians maintained their unbeaten start to the six-team “hexagonal” round in March, after coming from behind to draw 1-1 in Jamaica and then beating the Hondurans 2-0 in Panama City.


State of play – OFC

New Zealand have fi nished top of the Oceania qualifying competition – with six wins from their six fi nal-round matches – and will now contest a two-legged intercontinental play-off in November against the fourth-best side from CONCACAF’s qualifying competition.

Played PointsNew Zealand 6 18New Caledonia 6 12Tahiti 6 3Solomon Islands 6 3

State of play – CONCACAF

Played PointsPanama 3 5Costa Rica 3 4USA 3 4Honduras 3 4Mexico 3 3Jamaica 3 2

4 June Jamaica v. Mexico7 June Jamaica v. USA Costa Rica v. Honduras Panama v. Mexico11 June Mexico v. Costa Rica Honduras v. Jamaica USA v. Panama18 June USA v. Honduras Costa Rica v. Panama

QUALIFIERS

The USA, chasing their seventh consecutive appearance at the fi nals, appear to have recovered from February’s shock defeat in Honduras – bouncing back in March with a 1-0 win over Costa Rica, before holding arch-rivals Mexico to a goalless draw at the Azteca Stadium.

“We came here to win, but we are satisfi ed with the result,” USA coach Jürgen Klinsmann said as the Americans celebrated their first World Cup

Panama savouring pole positionIt may appear at fi rst sight as if the current World Cup qualifying standings for the CONCACAF region have been turned upside down – with regional giants Mexico languishing near the bottom of the fi nal-round table, and supposed underdogs Panama occupying pride of place at the top.

For the man who has overseen Los Canaleros’ charge to the summit, however, there is nothing freakish about the Central Americans’ lofty position.

“I didn’t expect to be in fi rst place at this juncture of the competition,” admits Panama coach Julio Dely Valdés, “but it’s not really a surprise in terms of our results or in terms of how well our team has been playing.”

Speaking to FIFA World after his side’s impressive start, which has included a win over Central American rivals Honduras and draws with neighbouring Costa Rica and former FIFA World Cup™ qualifi ers Jamaica, Dely Valdés credited the team spirit within his squad as a major reason for their success to date.

He warned, however, that there is still a long way to go before Panama can start to celebrate their fi rst appearance at a World Cup fi nals – especially with Mexico and fellow regional heavyweights the USA up next in June.

“It is diffi cult to get points from the United States and Mexico,” acknowledged Dely Valdés, whose charges play host to El Tri on 7 June before travelling to Seattle to face the Americans four days later, ahead of a further away game against Costa Rica on 18 June.

“We’ll close [the fi rst half of the round] against Mexico, and will also play our last match of the entire round against the United States [at home on 16 October] so these are key matches that I’m visualising getting points from.”

The June qualifi ers are also described as “key” fi xtures by striker Blas Pérez, whose ten goals for Los Canaleros have formed a major contribution to the team’s successful run, but the forward believes it is Panama’s performances on home soil that will prove decisive.

“We know that if we win all the points at home, we’ll be almost halfway to the World Cup,” Pérez calculates. “We want to pick up three points in every home game and try to add as many points as we can away. We believe we have the quality, and we are prepared physically, mentally and emotionally to be at the top of our game.”

If the Panamanians can secure qualifi cation, it will be a monumental achievement, but their coach is not yet daring to think that far ahead.

“I wouldn’t even like to imagine it,” Dely Valdés says. “There’s no way for me to put in it in words. It would be crazy. If Panama qualifi ed, there would be a carnival all the way to the World Cup.”


qualifying point at the Azteca since 1997. “Our gameplan was simple: we wanted to squeeze the midfi eld and force Mexico to keep the ball up off the ground. When they started trying the aerial attack, we knew we were in good shape.”

The result went down less well with the Mexico fans, however, with El Tri having now drawn all three of their opening matches, to leave them languishing in fi fth place above only the Jamaicans.

A busy period in June will now see the six teams each contesting three further matchdays, with Panama facing a stern test of their leadership credentials when they start at home to Mexico before travelling to the USA and Costa Rica.

Taking shape in EuropeThe European qualifi ers were the last to get underway, but several clear patterns have also started to emerge as the nine groups reach or pass their halfway point.

Three-time world champions Germany and three-time runners-up the Netherlands are certainly looking in strong shape to qualify, with both sides picking up six points in March to go eight and seven points clear respectively at the top of their groups – though Sweden could reduce the

German lead to just two points if they win their two games in hand in June.

The Netherlands have now made it six wins from six starts, bouncing back from their disastrous UEFA EURO 2012 campaign in style, with their latest victories coming at home against Estonia (3-0) and Romania (4-0).

“I thought it was the best match in this period under me,” said Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal after the Romania game. “We are on our way to the World Cup in Brazil, and I think the objective of the Dutch Football Association would be to make the semi-fi nals, but we are not there yet.”

Besides the Dutch, Russia are the only other European team to have won all of their matches so far, but Fabio Capello’s side were unable to play in March after

Dutch masters: the Netherlands maintained their perfect start to the qualifying campaign with wins over Estonia and Romania in March.

“We are on our way to the World Cup in

Brazil, but we are not there yet.”

Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal following his side’s sixth win in six games.

Hotshots

Alongside the race to qualify for the FIFA World Cup™, there is also always the separate contest to fi nish as top scorer in qualifying. Belize striker Deon McCaulay still leads the way with his impressive tally of 11, but could well be overtaken by the chasing pack now that his country’s qualifying campaign is over.

Below are the players who have scored seven goals or more in their respective qualifying competitions, with scorers from teams who are still in contention shown in bold:

Player Team Goals scored

Deon McCaulay Belize 11

Blas Pérez Panama 10

Peter Byers Antigua & Barbuda 10

Gonzalo Higuaín Argentina 9

Georges Gope-Fenepej New Caledonia 8

Lionel Messi Argentina 8

Luis Suárez Uruguay 8

Álvaro Saborío Costa Rica 7

Chris Wood New Zealand 7

Clint Dempsey USA 7

Lê Công Vinh Vietnam 7

Edin Džeko Bosnia-Herzegovina 7

Hassan Mahmoud Jordan 7

Jacques Haeko New Caledonia 7

Jerry Bengtson Honduras 7

Shinji Okazaki Japan 7

Younis Mahmoud Iraq 7

Panama’s Blas Pérez is the leading goalscorer still in contention for a place at Brazil 2014.


QUALIFIERS

State of play – UEFA

Group A Played PointsBelgium 6 16Croatia 6 16Serbia 6 7Wales 6 6FYR Macedonia 6 4Scotland 6 2

7 June Croatia v. Scotland Belgium v. Serbia

Group B Played PointsItaly 5 13Bulgaria 6 10Czech Republic 5 8Denmark 5 6Armenia 4 3Malta 5 0

7 June Armenia v. Malta Czech Republic v. Italy11 June Denmark v. Armenia

Group C Played PointsGermany 6 16Austria 5 8Sweden 4 8Rep. of Ireland 5 8Kazakhstan 6 1Faroe Islands 4 0

7 June Rep. of Ireland v. Faroe Islands Austria v. Sweden11 June Sweden v. Faroe Islands

Group D Played PointsNetherlands 6 18Hungary 6 11Romania 6 10Turkey 6 7Estonia 6 6Andorra 6 0

No Group D matches taking place in June

Group E Played PointsSwitzerland 5 11Iceland 5 9Albania 5 9Norway 5 7Cyprus 5 4Slovenia 5 3

7 June Iceland v. Slovenia Albania v. Norway8 June Switzerland v. Cyprus

Group F Played PointsRussia 4 12Israel 6 11Portugal 6 11Northern Ireland 5 3Azerbaijan 6 3Luxembourg 5 2

7 June Portugal v. Russia Azerbaijan v. Luxembourg

Group G Played PointsBosnia-Herzegovina 5 13Greece 5 10Slovakia 5 8Lithuania 5 5Latvia 5 4Liechtenstein 5 1

7 June Latvia v. Bosnia-Herzegovina Liechtenstein v. Slovakia Lithuania v. Greece

Group H Played PointsMontenegro 6 14England 6 12Poland 5 8Ukraine 5 8Moldova 6 4San Marino 6 0

7 June Moldova v. Poland Montenegro v. Ukraine

Group I Played PointsSpain 5 11France 5 10Georgia 5 4Belarus 4 3Finland 3 2

7 June Finland v. Belarus11 June Belarus v. Finland

heavy snowfall caused the postponement of their scheduled match in Northern Ireland (now due to take place on 14 August).

As a result of that forced inactivity, the Russians are now just one point ahead of chasing duo Israel and Portugal, who both picked up four points in March – including a point each from their thrilling 3-3 meeting with each other in Ramat Gan. The Portuguese could even overtake Russia at the top of the group in June if they can beat the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ hosts in Lisbon, although the Russians would still have two games in hand.

A number of exciting two-way tussles are also taking shape across the continent, with the duels between Belgium and Croatia in Group A, Italy and Bulgaria in Group B and Montenegro and England in Group H all involving pairs of teams who are yet to lose a game this campaign.

Belgium and Croatia are both due to play at home in June – against Serbia and already-eliminated Scotland respectively – while Italy will open up a six-point lead over the Bulgarians should they win their game in hand away against third-placed Czech Republic. After missing the chance to overtake Montenegro in March, when they were held to a 1-1 draw in Podgorica, England could fi nd themselves fi ve points behind their rivals in June, with the Montenegrins due to host fourth-placed Ukraine while England travel to Brazil for a friendly.

Despite having lost their unbeaten record in March following their 1-0 home defeat against reigning world champions and Group I rivals Spain, 1998 FIFA World Cup™ winners France also remain in contention with just a single point separating them from Vicente del Bosque’s men. Neither side are in qualifying action in June, however, offering Finland and Belarus a chance to pull themselves closer to the leading pair.

A full review of the June qualifi ers, including profi les of the fi rst teams to qualify for Brazil 2014, will be published in the next issue of FIFA World.


The report, covering all international transfers conducted in 2012, is the second of its kind – following on from the inaugural report covering 2011 – and is therefore the fi rst in which comparisons to the previous year can be made.

It shows, for example, that the total number of international transfers (transfers

which involved a player moving to a club in a different member association than that of his former club) increased slightly in 2012 – with a total of 11,552 such transfers taking place over the course of the year compared to 11,481 in 2011.

At the same time, overall spending on those transfers fell to USD 2.53 billion, a

ten per cent drop from the USD 2.82 billion shelled out during the previous year*.

The report points out, however, that “although the overall international transfer activity for 2012 was in line with 2011, 2012 witnessed a greater involvement of intermediaries”. Player intermediaries (whether agents, lawyers or family

Football clubs spent ten per cent less on international transfers last year, but paid 28 per cent more to intermediaries, according to the latest annual Global Transfer Market report published by FIFA Transfer Matching System GmbH (FIFA TMS) in April.

Real Madrid’s signing of Croatian international Luka Modrić from Tottenham was one of the biggest international transfers of 2012 – but the majority of cross-border moves involve no money changing hands at all.

Clubs cut back on international transfer spending


members) were involved in 15 per cent of the year’s transfers – an increase in activity of nine per cent – while club-paid intermediaries were involved in six per cent of deals, marking a 19 per cent increase in comparison to 2011.

Despite the decrease in overall spending on cross-border transfers, these club intermediaries enjoyed an average 28 per cent rise in the fees they received, with the clubs spending a total of USD 163 million – an increase of USD 36 million – for their services.

Accurate fi gures While the amount of money involved in f ootball transfers as a whole is generally subject to wild speculation, the fi gures in the FIFA TMS report are sourced directly from the mandatory information that clubs and associations have to enter into FIFA’s electronic Transfer Matching System in order for an international transfer to be approved. The report therefore provides a highly accurate global view of the international transfer market, covering over 200 countries and 5,600 professional clubs around the world.

“I’m happy that we can give the clubs information so that they can ask questions about the industry as well,” said FIFA TMS General Manager Mark Goddard on the day of the report’s publication. “Compared to other industries, what we are doing here for football is the equivalent of … hammering a stake in the ground – because now, for the fi rst time, we can track the data on these topics.

“We don’t yet have the data to go back ten years to track trends. That will have to wait. But the fact that we can quantifi ably say ‘this is accurate information’ allows so many different stakeholders to make a lot more decisions in a more informed fashion. And that information is not just useful for FIFA. It’s for clubs and even the players themselves.”

Not all millionairesThe Global Transfer Market report also serves as a reminder that not all footballers are millionaires and that not all international transfers involve big money deals. In fact, a

surprising 86% of the moves completed in 2012 did not involve any money changing hands whatsoever. The main reason for this is that 70 per cent of the players in question were free agents (either because their previous contracts had expired or been terminated, or because they were signing their fi rst professional contract). The remaining 16 per cent involved loan deals or permanent moves in which no money was paid by the player’s new club.

In the deals that did involve transfer fees, the average amount of club-to-club compensation was USD 1.6 million, down from the 2011 average of USD 1.8 million. However, this mean average fi gure is skewed upwards by a small number of big money transfers, with the median transfer fee just USD 280,000.

The report also found “substantial” differences in the salaries paid to players who switched countries in 2012 – with a wide variety even among the countries with the largest amount of international transfer activity. Italian and English clubs paid the most (with average annual fi xed

Ins and outsBrazilian clubs generated the highest net receipts from international transfers, while English clubs were the biggest net spenders.

Net recipients Net spenders

Brazil 121 million England 314 million

Portugal 103 million Russia 256 million

Italy 91 million Turkey 78 million

Netherlands 86 million China PR 49 million

Spain 50 million Germany 43 million

salaries of USD 720,000 and USD 680,000 respectively) while players heading to clubs in Brazil and Argentina received an average of USD 80,000 and USD 40,000 respectively.

To fi nd out more…A 60-page summary containing highlights from the Global Transfer Market report can be downloaded free of charge from the FIFA TMS website (www.fi fatms.com).

For the fi rst time, FIFA TMS is also offering a 250-page fee-based full report, aimed at professionals within the sports industry. This includes more detailed statistics – such as breakdowns of the individual transfer streams between specifi c countries and regions, country-level statistics on club spending and players’ salaries, case studies including interviews with leading football stakeholders and a full appendix with data featuring over 190 countries.

Brazil

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France

Uruguay

Nigeria

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Portu

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Ghana

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782

507

394334 331 319 287 285

232 213 212 188 177 174

* The 2011 report (featured in the March 2012 issue of FIFA World) contained an infl ated value of USD 3.1 billion for club-to-club compensation, based on data incorrectly entered by clubs in the Transfer Matching System. This has now been revised for the 2012 report.

In demandBrazilians led the way once more when it came to the top nationalities represented in international transfers.

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8%

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Transfer typesThe vast majority of international transfers involved out-of-contract players.

* includes players from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales


The past few weeks have been a busy time for the organisers of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2013, with the tournament’s group-stage draw and the fi nal confi rmation of the 24-team line-up among the recent milestones.

The draw for the 21 June to 13 July event, held at the Grand Tarabya Hotel in

Istanbul on 25 March, was always likely to produce some balanced groups – with the six confederation champions evenly divided among the six groups of four – but that didn’t prevent the drawing of a number of eye-catching early encounters.

Perhaps the most striking was the pairing of European heavyweights France and

Spain in a tough Group A, which also includes North American giants the USA and FIFA U-20 World Cup 2009 winners Ghana.

The Turkish hosts were also handed a tricky set of opponents in Group C, where they will face South American U-20 champions Colombia, FIFA U-20 World

Stage set for Turkey 2013

Passionate crowds, fantastic venues and an early clash of two European giants are among the anticipated highlights as Turkey counts down the days to its hosting of the FIFA U-20 World Cup.


Cup regulars Australia and a talented El Salvador team who are preparing to make their tournament debut (along with fellow newcomers Cuba and Greece) after a third-place fi nish in this year’s CONCACAF U-20 Championship.

“We’re getting to be good friends with the Spanish,” said a smiling Willy Sagnol, head of the French national youth teams, in reference to the fact that the two countries are also competing against each other in the race to qualify for the senior FIFA World Cup™. Describing Turkey as an “incredible footballing nation”, the former French international also expressed his delight that France had been drawn to play in the “fantastic city” of Istanbul.

Spain U-20 joint coach Juan Carlos Gómez Pelado was in no doubt that his team had been handed the “toughest draw”, warning that “France and the USA are very strong, and you can never rule out the African teams”.

Satisfi ed hostsAs coach of the host team, Feyyaz Uçar declared himself “satisfied” with the outcome of the draw, picking out Colombia and El Salvador as the toughest-looking sides in his team’s group, before turning his attention to the importance of the event as a whole.

“This tournament is an excellent opportunity for fans to meet the global stars of the future,” said the former Turkey international, “as well as helping my country to forge a great reputation for itself.”

The plans of the Turkish Local Organising Committee (LOC) to stage the “best FIFA U-20 World Cup ever” were also frequently emphasised during the colourful one-hour show leading up to the draw itself. Presented by popular television star Defne Samyeli and featuring a rousing rendition of the tournament’s offi cial song by Ankara rock band Gece, the programme offered a sample of the sights and sounds that will greet visitors to the seven host cities during the 23-day event.

“We will show the beauty of our country and our love for football,” LOC President Servet Yardımcı told the audience of more than 450 guests and media representatives.

“It’s the biggest tournament we’ve ever put on in Turkey, both in terms of the standard of the football and the scope of the organisation,” added Turkish goalkeeping legend Rüştü Reçber, who joined former coaches Fatih Terim and Mustafa Denizli and Turkey’s all-time top scorer Hakan Şükür to assist FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke with the draw.

“As you know, we’re unbelievably passionate about football. The people here love the game and talk about hardly anything else for days on end. So you can expect warm hospitality, powerful emotions and stirring passion.”

Line-up completeThe identity of the 24 teams taking part in the tournament was not fully known at the time of the draw, with slots being left empty for the four African representatives and the Oceania champions, pending the completion of both confederations’ U-20 championships in the days following the Istanbul gathering.

In the end, it was Egypt who took top honours in Africa, winning a penalty shoot-out against Ghana in the fi nal to consign the West Africans to that tricky berth in Group A. Nigeria secured third place – and a spot in Group B alongside two-time U-20 world champions Portugal, Asian U-20 champions Korea Republic and FIFA U-20 World Cup debutants Cuba – after beating fellow qualifi ers Mali 2-1.

New Zealand’s Junior All Whites booked their tickets to Turkey as Oceania champions with a 4-0 win over Fiji in the confederation fi nal. It will be the New Zealanders’ third appearance in four editions, following on from their earlier qualifi cations for the 2007 and 2011 editions.

The surprise qualifying failure of Argentina and Brazil – the tournament’s most historically successful teams with 11 U-20 trophies between them – has further heightened speculation as to the likely champions at this year’s event, with only three previous winners (Portugal, Spain and Ghana) having made it through to the Istanbul draw.

“This tournament is an excellent opportunity for fans to meet the global stars of the future, as

well as helping my country to forge a great

reputation for itself.”Turkey U-20 coach Feyyaz Uçar

FIFA U-20 World Cup 2013 groups:

Group A (Istanbul, Kayseri):France, Ghana, USA, Spain

Group B (Kayseri, Istanbul):Cuba, Korea Republic, Nigeria, Portugal

Group C (Trabzon, Rize, Gaziantep):Turkey, El Salvador, Colombia, Australia

Group D (Gaziantep, Trabzon):Mexico, Greece, Paraguay, Mali

Group E (Antalya, Bursa):Chile, Egypt, England, Iraq

Group F (Bursa, Antalya):New Zealand, Uzbekistan, Uruguay, Croatia

Home draw: Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim handed his compatriots a tough set of opponents in Group C.

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It had only been a few weeks since Vicente del Bosque picked up the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men’s Football award, but the amiable Spaniard was already back in Zurich, expounding upon the importance of teamwork – just as he did in his award acceptance speech.

This time, however, the 62-year-old coach was not addressing a gala audience, but a camera crew who had come to FIFA headquarters to fi lm a new segment for the “FIFA 11 for Health” programme.

The distinguished coach took his time, carefully and quietly explaining the principles of respect and fair play – qualities that are invaluable on the football pitch, but which also form one of the key messages in this global campaign to promote health, and healthy attitudes within local communities.

“Those who don’t play fair don’t get far,” insisted Del Bosque. “Unethical

Five more international football stars have been recruited to the “FIFA 11 for Health” programme, as the campaign to educate youngsters about major health concerns takes its messages worldwide.

By Jennifer Davies, Zurich

New faces sign up to “11 for Health”

victories achieved without fair play hold no value and mean nothing. We are all about protecting, nurturing, looking after and promoting football and there’s nothing better you can do than play fair.”

Already well ingrained in the minds of the Spanish national team, Del Bosque’s views are now set to fi nd a much wider audience, as part of the 11 messages contained in the teaching material now being distributed to classrooms all over the planet.

Impressive line-upDel Bosque is one of five new representatives to have joined the “11 for Health” programme this year, with fellow FIFA Ballon d’Or winner Marta and South American shooting stars Diego Forlán, Falcao and Neymar also lending their support to the health education programme. The “new signings” join an

already impressive line-up of stars, from Lionel Messi to Thierry Henry, who have all taken time out to fi lm messages for the programme (see full list on page 32).

Developed by the FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre (F-MARC) for children aged between 11 and 12, the programme includes 11 simple health statements, based on the most pressing global health issues (as identifi ed by

“Ball control is very important in football.

You need to be in shape to control the ball, so watch your weight.”

Falcao


the World Health Organization) with one football star assigned to each topic. Marta, for example, talks about the importance of drinking clean water, while Falcao warns against excessive weight gain and Neymar focuses on protection from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Each of the health messages is tied to a footballing skill, such as passing, heading or shielding, with the campaign drawing attention to the fact that the football stars are “playing on the same side” in the battle to reduce disease. By recruiting so many well-known fi gures, F-MARC plans to

The “FIFA 11 for Health” messages:

The 11 football skills:

The risk factors infl uenced:

The football stars:

1 Play football Warming up High blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index, physical inactivity

Javier Hernández,Benni McCarthy

2 Respect girls and women

Passing Unsafe sex Diego Forlán,Thierry Henry

3 Protect yourself from HIV and STDs

Heading Unsafe sex Neymar, Michael Essien

4 Avoid drugs, alcohol and tobacco

Dribbling Use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs

Cristiano Ronaldo

5 Control your weight/ Use treated bed nets

Controlling/Shielding

Being under or overweight, inadequate fruit and vegetable intake/Malaria

Falcao/Samuel Eto‘o,Carlos Vela

6 Eat a balanced diet Building fi tness Being under or overweight, inadequate fruit and vegetable intake

Lionel Messi

7 Wash your hands Defending Poor sanitation and hygiene Carles Puyol

8 Drink clean water Trapping Contaminated water supply Marta,Portia Modisse,Natalia Gaitan

9 Get vaccinated Shooting Inadequate health protection

Didier Drogba

10 Take your prescribed medication

Goalkeeping Inadequate health protection

Gianluigi Buffon,Sandra Sepulveda

11 Fair play Teamwork Lack of family/social support Vicente del Bosque/Fabio Capello

harness the global popularity of football to make the project appeal to young people of every culture and nationality.

“When famous players speak, young people around the world really do listen,” explains FIFA Chief Medical Officer Professor Jiří Dvořák.

Simple and scalableLaunched in 2009, “FIFA 11 for Health” has already enjoyed a healthy growth spurt of its own, having now been rolled out in 19 countries on fi ve continents, reaching an estimated 50,000 children.

The success of the scheme has been attributed to its simplicity and scalability. Whenever a new roll-out takes place, local community teachers are invited to a fi ve-day course where they receive personal instruction from Professor Colin Fuller and Dr Astrid Junge, the F-MARC offi cials in charge of the “11 for Health” training programme. The teachers then go back to their schools to incorporate the programme in their curricula.

Over the course of 11 lessons, each lasting around 90 minutes, the schoolchildren are then taught football skills, combined with the all-important health message.

As well as helping to quickly spread the programme, the use of local community teachers is intended to ensure that each region’s specifi c cultural values are adhered to and that classes are taught in a way that is age- and gender-appropriate.

“In all of the 19 countries we have visited so far, our intention has been to establish a sustainable preventative health programme,” Prof. Dvořák explains, “and to do this successfully, we recognise that we must be sensitive to the local culture.”

Five-time FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year Marta is one of the stars supporting the campaign.

“In football, ball control is extremely important.

And, in life, looking after your body and

drinking clean water is important too.”

Marta


Fun and effectiveThe strategy appears to be paying off, with post-programme follow-ups suggesting a strong retention of the health messages among the participating children. A survey of 25,000 participants in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mauritius between 2009 and 2010 showed that their awareness of health issues had risen by an average of 25 to 30 per cent. Similar improvements have been observed in subsequent studies carried out in Ghana, Namibia, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Mexico and Colombia. Just as importantly, over 90 per cent of the children who have taken part in the programme described it as “fun”, and said that they would recommend it to their friends.

Though still in the early stages of assessment, the initial results of the “FIFA

11 for Health” have been published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and have also been well received by

the international medical community. Discussions are now under way to bring the programme to even more countries – in particular to Brazil, where F-MARC is planning a pilot project to tie

in with the country’s staging of this year’s FIFA Confederations Cup and next year’s FIFA World Cup™. The ambitious aim of the programme’s administrators is to have reached a worldwide total of around two million children by the end of 2015.

While the emphasis is obviously on the benefi ts gained by the children, it is clear, listening to Vicente del Bosque back at FIFA headquarters, that the stars are also getting quite a kick from their involvement in the programme.

“I think those of us who are prominent fi gures in big clubs and major national sides have a great responsibility,” says the Spain coach after completing his fi lming session. “Sport is health, sport should unite us and sport is a universal phenomenon, so it’s essential that we use it to help people lead cleaner, healthier lives.”

“With football, I use my head to win: in life, I

use my head to protect myself from sexually

transmitted diseases.”Neymar

The “FIFA 11 for Health” programme combines health education with fun football exercises.


NEWS

The offi cial social legacy campaign of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ reached its halfway point in April, as the tenth centre of the “20 Centres for 2010” campaign opened its doors in a poverty-stricken corner of western Mozambique.

By Junior Mpisane, Manica

Half-time in Mozambique

Rain is considered a blessing across most parts of sub-Saharan Africa and it was for this reason that the people of Manica, a rural town in western Mozambique, continued to sing and dance despite the afternoon showers that fell during the opening of the Manica Football for Hope Centre.


The building is the latest to open its doors as part of FIFA’s ongoing “20 Centres for 2010” campaign, which is creating 20 such Football for Hope Centres across the continent as one of the lasting social legacies of the fi rst FIFA World Cup to have been played on African soil. Combining football facilities with classrooms, computer equipment and public health lessons, the centres are intended to make a tangible difference to disadvantaged communities.

The Manica centre will be operated by Grupo Desportivo e Recreativo de Manica (GDM), a non-governmental organisation that uses sport, and specifi cally football, to promote social improvement in the town and surrounding province. GDM has been changing lives and mindsets in Manica since 1980, but director Chot Chikwandingwa believes the opening of the new centre will allow his organisation to reach even more people.

“This centre provides us with a hub that we can use to promote youth participation in football, education and healthy living,” Chikwandingwa told FIFA World on the day of the opening. “Our main objectives are to get young people involved in sport and to encourage balanced life skills, healthy living and equal gender participation, along with increased computer literacy and internet access, and environmental awareness.”

Local optimismIt’s an ambitious set of targets, but optimism seems high among the crowd of fi rst-day visitors who have thronged to see the new facilities.

“I can’t express how happy I am to see a centre like this being opened in my community,” said 14-year-old Mavis Augustina, as she checked out the 40 by 20 metre artifi cial turf pitch, complete with solar-powered lights provided by FIFA World Cup Sponsor Yingli Solar.

“This feels like a dream because I never imagined our small town could have something like this. We are facing many challenges, like poverty, gender inequality and limited access to education, and a lot of people here don’t believe they can ever become something or add value to

their society. But projects such as this will empower us and help us learn to respect ourselves and each other.”

In keeping with the design of the other centres, the Manica project combines the look and feel of both the past and the present, with traditional, locally sourced building materials – such as earth bricks and bamboo ceilings – being integrated within the centre’s modern design.

While the youngsters’ eyes are naturally drawn to the state-of-the-art football pitch, there is also clearly plenty of excitement about the centre’s educational facilities.

“There wasn’t much to do around here in the past, and a lot of young people used to just go around destroying things,” recalled 13-year-old budding footballer Manuel Armando. “Now, though, everyone is

“This feels like a dream because I never

imagined our small town could have something

like this.”Manica schoolgirl Mavis Augustina

Song and dance: two local boys celebrate during the Mozambique centre opening.

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Mauritania: Nouakchott

Focus: Reduction of poverty and promotion of good governance and human rights

Mali: Baguinéda, Bamako

Focus: Empowerment of girls and young women in the community

Cape Verde: Santiago

Focus: After-school opportunities for vulnerable young people

Ghana: Cape Coast

Focus: Health and social development

Cameroon: Besongabang, Mamfe

Focus: Counselling programmes for out-of-school children

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Kalebuka, Lubumbashi

Focus: Education, health and life skills

Kenya: Mathare, Nairobi

Focus: Awareness of sport, health and the environment

Rwanda: Kimisagara, Kigali

Focus: Peace-building and reconciliation

Tanzania: Iringa

Focus: HIV/AIDS and environmental education

Mozambique: Manica

Focus: Creating networks of social coherence and promoting healty living

Namibia: Katutura, Windhoek

Focus: Empowerment of people with intellectual disabilities

Botswana: Ramotswa, South East District

Focus: HIV/AIDS prevention, leadership skills training and empowerment of girls

Zimbabwe: Luveve, Bulawayo

Focus: HIV/AIDS prevention and education

Lesotho: Maseru


South Africa: Khayelitsha, Cape Town


South Africa: Alexandra, Johannesburg


South Africa: QwaQwa, Free State


South Africa: Mokopane, Limpopo

Focus: Youth development, peer education and public health

South Africa: Edendale, Pietermaritzburg


Ethiopia: Addis Ababa

Focus: Street children

Building for hopeWhere the 20 centres are being constructedWhile the opening of the Football for Hope Centre in Mozambique brings the total of open centres to ten, that number is set to rise rapidly in the coming weeks and months – with all 20 centres due to be operational by the end of this year.

In the second half of April, as this issue of FIFA World went to print, a further centre was due to open in Botswana, with two more opening their doors in Tanzania and Cape Verde in May.

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really excited about this new centre and the skills that we can learn here. We’ll have a place to play and to study, and we’ll take whatever we learn here and make sure we share it with children from other areas.”

Gold challengeIronically, given the striking poverty which confronts most of its citizens, Manica is known for its abundance of subterranean gold. While that might sound like an obvious source of wealth, extracting the precious metal is diffi cult and has often exacerbated the region’s problems.

An infl ux of equally impoverished gold panners from across the country and from neighbouring Zimbabwe has put a further strain on resources, and the haphazard digging carried out by the panners has also caused extensive damage to the topsoil required for farming, and even to the scarce supplies of drinking water.

In a country still battling to overcome the devastating legacy of the 15-year civil war that raged until 1992, opportunities for youngsters are also hard to come by, and many of Manica’s children are also tempted to skip school in order to pan for tiny fl akes of gold, usually worth only a few cents.

Progress is being made, however, with the average annual growth rate of Mozambique’s GDP now among the highest in the world, albeit from an extremely low starting point. The hope now in this part of the country is that new investments such as the Manica Football for Hope Centre can help bring about further positive change, for Manica and Mozambique at large.

“Since its creation in 2005, Football for Hope has been emphasising the power of football far beyond the boundaries of

a football pitch,” FIFA Corporate Social Responsibility Programme Manager Cornelia Genoni pointed out during April’s opening-day festivities. “As the most popular game in the world, football ignites passion and brings people together in a way that few other activities can.

“It also offers a unique opportunity for communities to engage with their children and their youth and we at FIFA are very proud to see the legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup becoming a reality in Manica in exactly that manner.”

Children line up as part of the opening-day festivities.

The centre’s facilities include a state-of-art football turf pitch.


From its humble beginnings as a friendly event organised by Scandinavian teams during their lengthy winter break, the Algarve Cup has grown into a prestigious and well-run tournament which now attracts the cream of international women’s football. The origins of the event can actually be traced to Cyprus, where Sweden, Norway and Denmark fi rst organised winter training tournaments at the start of the 1990s, before moving the tournament to Portugal’s southern coast in 1994.

Taking part in that inaugural edition as the fi rst non-European participants were an American national team who have since gone on to dominate the event. Reaching the fi nal at their fi rst attempt – before losing 1-0 to Norway – the USA have now appeared in 13 of the tournament’s 20 fi nals, winning the title a record nine times.

Their latest victory in March was secured thanks to a 2-0 win over Germany in the fi nal, with prolifi c young striker Alex Morgan grabbing both goals to end their European rivals’ impressive 22-match unbeaten run

“It always feels good to win, and it’s great to continue the winning tradition that the US team has here,” said new USA coach Tom Sermanni following his successful fi rst attempt at the Algarve Cup.

Algarve Cup joy for USA

The Algarve Cup women’s football tournament celebrated its 20th edition in March, with the USA winning the prestigious invitational event for a record ninth time.

By Rainer Hennies, Faro


“Of course it’s always important to try to win tournaments, but for this tournament I’m just glad we’re here, because I’m continuing to evaluate and assess my players. I’ve seen some very good things, but also some things to work on, so it’s been very valuable.”

This year’s tournament also provided a welcome warm-up for some of the main contenders for July’s UEFA Women’s EURO. While defending European champions Germany made it all the way to the fi nal, there were also top-four finishes for Norway and EURO 2013 hosts Sweden. The Scandinavian neighbours both fi nished as runners-up in their respective groups – with former USA coach Pia Sundhage steering the Swedes to an impressive 1-1 draw with the Americans – before the Norwegians narrowly won the match for third place in a penalty shoot-out.

Since 2002, the Algarve Cup has operated as a 12-team event, split into three groups – with the third group comprising “emerging” national teams, including the Portuguese hosts.

“For us, it’s a great honour to be able to host the event,” Portuguese Football Association President Fernando Gomes told FIFA World after seeing his side secure 11th place with a fi nal-day penalty shoot-out win over Wales. “For one week, the Algarve

Development goalsWhile many of the world’s leading women’s teams appreciate the Algarve Cup as an early season preparation for subsequent continental, Olympic or World Cup

campaigns, the event’s organisers have also been at pains to help in the general development of the women’s game.

The USA celebrate their ninth Algarve Cup title triumph.

“It’s a great partnership, which also strengthens women’s football as a

whole.” FIFA Head of Women’s Refereeing

Sonia Denoncourt

Algarve Cup 2013 fi nal standings1. USA2. Germany3. Norway4. Sweden5. Japan6. China PR7. Denmark8. Mexico9. Iceland10. Hungary11. Portugal12. Wales

American dominanceThe full list of Algarve Cup winners

Team Number of titlesUSA 9 (2000, 2003, 2004, 2005,

2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013)

Norway 4 (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998)Sweden 3 (1995, 2001, 2009)Germany 2 (2006, 2012)China PR 2 (1999, 2002)


The USA were not the only national women’s team celebrating in March, with England also celebrating a morale-boosting win at the Cyprus Cup.

Taking place on roughly the same dates as the Algarve Cup, and following a similar 12-team format, the Cyprus Cup has been used by leading teams since 2008 as part of their early season preparations.

England were one of four teams at the 2013 edition (alongside Finland, Italy and the Netherlands) to have qualifi ed for this year’s UEFA Women’s EURO. Beaten fi nalists at the last European Championship in 2009, Hope Powell’s side boosted their confi dence for their next campaign by topping their Cyprus Cup group and then beating 2012 Olympic bronze medallists Canada 1-0 in the Nicosia fi nal.

Oceania champions New Zealand took third place with a 2-1 win over Switzerland after coming from behind to score two late goals.

England shine in Cyprusbecomes the world capital of women’s football as we welcome the world’s best teams, players, coaches and referees.”

The presence of the world’s best female referees is due to FIFA’s nine-year involvement with the event, with world football’s governing body providing the match offi cials in what has become a win-win situation for everybody.

“FIFA invests around CHF 500,000 in the Algarve Cup each year, which helps the organisers of course, but it’s also a great opportunity for FIFA,” explained FIFA Head of Women’s Refereeing Sonia Denoncourt, who oversaw a team of 42 referees and assistant referees being put through their paces in Portugal this year.

“All 14 of the referees taking part at this year’s Algarve Cup are also on the shortlist of offi cials for the next FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015, so this tournament gives us the perfect opportunity to test out their knowledge, their fi tness, their language skills and all the other attributes that are required in modern-day refereeing – all within a top-class international setting. We get to combine off-the-fi eld theory sessions with real match practice, so it’s a great partnership, which also strengthens women’s football as a whole.”

Ongoing efforts to develop the women’s game were also the focus of a special two-day symposium staged at the beginning of the tournament’s anniversary edition, with experts from Mexico, Wales, Iceland, Japan and FIFA all giving presentations on the measures currently being undertaken

to grow the women’s game around the world.

“It was a very interesting exchange of ideas, because every country has different sporting conditions, which therefore require different development strategies,” said Leonardo Cuéllar, the

former Mexican international who has coached the Mexican national women’s team since 1998. “Getting together with people from other countries at events like this makes you aware of the different types of diffi culties, but also helps to throw out different types of solutions.”

Women in the middle: the referees and assistant referees at this year’s Algarve Cup


FIFA briefs

New Interactive recordThe latest edition of the FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) has once again smashed participation records, with more than 2.5 million gamers having taken part in the qualifi ers for FIWC 2013. Launched in 2004, the football video game tournament really took off with the introduction of online qualifying in 2005. In 2010, the competition was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest online gaming tournament after attracting 775,000 players – a fi gure which grew to 900,000 in 2011 and over 1.3 million in 2012. A review of this year’s Grand Final in Madrid, which took place as this edition of FIFA World was going to print, will be included in our next issue.

Bidding openedA bidding process has been opened for fi ve competitions taking place in 2016 and 2017, with FIFA inviting its 209 member associations to submit their interest in hosting the FIFA U-20 and U-17 Women’s World Cups in 2016, and the FIFA U-20 and U-17 World Cups and FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2017. Associations have been asked to submit declarations of interest by 15 May, with hosting agreements and complete bid books due to be returned by 15 November. The fi nal host decisions are currently scheduled to take place at a FIFA Executive Committee meeting in December.

UAE 2013 shapes upReigning FIFA U-17 world champions Mexico will be back to defend their title in the United Arab Emirates this year, after securing qualifi cation for the event with victory at April’s CONCACAF U-17 Championship in Panama. The Mexicans, who will be bidding for their third U-17 world title, are set to be joined by fellow CONCACAF representatives Panama, Canada and Honduras – but not by the USA who missed out on qualifi cation for the fi rst-ever time after suffering a 3-1 defeat to the Hondurans in the quarter-finals of the regional competition. The line-up for UAE 2013 is set to be completed in May by the six European teams who qualify from the UEFA U-17 Championship in Slovakia.

Debutantes impress on road to Canada 2015

The growing depth of the women’s game was highlighted once again in April as the preliminary round of European qualifying for the next FIFA Women’s World Cup™ saw three fi rst-time participants progressing to the next stage.

World Cup-qualifying debutantes Albania, Montenegro and the Faroe Islands joined Malta in Europe’s main group stage after successfully emerging from a preliminary round that consisted of two four-team mini-tournaments played in Malta and Lithuania.

The Maltese hosts were taking part in their third qualifying campaign – having previously attempted to reach the 2007 and 2011 fi nals – but also made history after celebrating their fi rst wins in the competition (over Latvia and Luxembourg) and topping their group, ahead of Albania on goal difference.

The Faroe Islanders took top honours at the other mini-tournament played in Lithuania, drawing their opening match against Montenegro before beating Lithuania and Georgia to fi nish two points clear of the second-placed Montenegrins.

“We’re very satisfi ed with the results we achieved in Lithuania,” said Montenegro

coach Zoran Mijović, whose team were only formed in March of last year. “Now we have to get ready for the group stage and our opponents in qualifying. We don’t have a lot of time and we still have a lot of work to do in order to prepare the team for the upcoming challenges.”

The four teams did not have to wait long to discover the t, with the European group stage draw taking place just one week later at the Nyon headquarters of European football’s governing body UEFA.

The Albanians, who have won six and drawn one of the seven internationals they have played since making their senior debut in November 2011, were handed a particularly tough assignment after being drawn in a group that includes former world champions Norway, along with the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal and Greece (see full list of groups on page 75).

Europe’s group stage is set to run from September 2013 to September 2014, with the seven group winners earning automatic spots at the 2015 fi nals. The four best runners-up will then contest a series of play-off matches for Europe’s last remaining berth in October and November 2014.

Malta celebrate after topping their group in the European preliminaries.

The long journey to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015™ got under way in April, with eight European teams getting the ball rolling.

Tomorrow brings usall closerTo new people, new ideas and new states of mind. Here’s to reaching all the places we’ve never been.

Fly Emirates to 6 continents.

emirates.com


ONE2ONE

Ghanaian international Kevin-Prince Boateng took on a new role in March, when he became the fi rst active player to join FIFA’s new Task Force Against Racism and Discrimination. The 26-year-old attacking midfi elder was invited onto the task force by FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter following a meeting at FIFA’s Zurich headquarters. Boateng had arrived in Switzerland the previous day to take part in the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination – telling the Geneva delegates about his own experiences of racism, and his headline-making decision to walk off the pitch after suffering racist abuse during a supposed “friendly” match in Italy on 3 January.

FIFA World: What do you think the football community can do to help eradicate racism?Kevin-Prince Boateng: First of all, we have to realise that it’s a very complicated subject. It’s not always easy to sanction someone or give a punishment, but I think that because we

KEVIN-PRINCE BOATENGAC MILAN AND GHANA MIDFIELDER

have so many intelligent people behind this now, we will fi nd a way. Hopefully, things will start from today.

You have just attended the UN conference on racial discrimination in Geneva. What did you learn from it?It was an unbelievable experience, something which was totally different for me. At the end of the conference I felt confi dent about the future and I believe it’s bright because I could see that a lot of people want to help, that others have been in the same situation as myself and that together we can push and win this battle against racism.

Do you feel an obligation to fight against racism, because you are a role model for young people too?I hope I’m a role model. But [when I walked off the pitch], it was an emotional reaction. I didn’t think it would make such a big statement. But I am happy that people saw what I did,

they liked it and supported me in that. From there, we’re going to go forward to win this battle.

Tell us how you were feeling when you walked off the pitch…It’s diffi cult to put it into words. There were so many emotions: sadness, anger, disappointment. When I left the pitch, I know it wasn’t the right decision, but at that moment I was very angry and very emotional. I don’t want anyone to feel like that again. That’s for sure.

When you were growing up in Berlin, did you suffer any discrimination?Oh yes, even though it’s a city which embraces a lot of different cultures and nationalities, I suffered. But when I was younger, I just tried to ignore it because I didn’t want to confront the issues. Now I’m a little bit older and I have a child myself, I want to do my best so that my child can grow up in a world without racism. That would be a perfect world.

It has been suggested that a points deduction may serve as a potential deterrent to fans thinking about making racist chants. What do you think about that?I’m not sure that I’d like the fact that some fans would have the power to take points from my team. Another option may be to play matches behind closed doors. But in the end, we have to be strict and hard, we have to maintain the fi ght against racism somehow and we must never lose focus from that.


SPECIAL

Champions set for Brazilian showdown

45 FIFA WORLD I SPECIAL

It may not have come as much consolation to the distraught Italian squad immediately after their 4-0 thrashing by Spain in the fi nal of UEFA EURO 2012 last July, but simply by reaching the tournament fi nal, the Azzurri had already made history – albeit for an event which would only take place a year later.

With Spain already qualifi ed for the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 as the reigning world champions, Italy’s status as European runners-up was enough to also earn them a Confederations Cup berth, ensuring the presence, for the fi rst time, of no fewer than four current and former world champions when the “Festival of Champions” kicks off on 15 June.

Brazil and Uruguay are the other two former World Cup winners competing for the trophy – the Brazilians as Confederations Cup hosts and the Uruguayans as reigning South American champions. In total, the four sides have won 12 FIFA World Cups between them: one for Spain, two for Uruguay, four for Italy and fi ve for Brazil.

The ninth edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup is set to be one of the most eagerly anticipated yet, combining the footballing passion of the Brazilian hosts with a historic line-up that includes no fewer than four FIFA World Cup™ winners.

“The Confederations Cup is vital for us to determine how we

will play [in 2014] and which players to select. We hope to determine at least 80 per cent of the squad that will be

playing at the World Cup next year.”

Brazil technical director Carlos Alberto Parreira

There is no guarantee, however, that any of these four will be celebrating after the 30 June fi nal, with an additional quartet of continental champions out to spoil the favourites’ party. Mexico, Japan and Nigeria – the champions of the CONCACAF region, Asia and Africa respectively – all have previous Confederations Cup experience, with the Mexicans having even won the event on home soil in 1999, while the Japanese were runners-up, also at home, in 2001.

As the only debutants, surprise Oceania champions Tahiti will continue a recent tradition of there being at least one unexpected team at the event, following on from Iraq four years ago and Greece and Tunisia in 2005 – all three of whom arrived at the tournament as fi rst-time continental champions.

Gearing up for 2014Beyond the shared ambition of winning the Brazil 2013 title, the eight participating teams are likely to arrive at the competition with widely varying intentions.

Brazil, for example, have already qualifi ed for next year’s FIFA World Cup as tournament hosts and will therefore be using this year’s competition as the start of their fi nal preparations for the “main event”.

“The Confederations Cup is vital for us to determine how we will play [in 2014] and which players to select,” the team’s technical director Carlos Alberto Parreira acknowledged in April. “During the competition, we hope to determine at least 80 per cent of the squad that will be playing at the World Cup next year.”

Barring a major collapse in June’s fi nal set of Asian qualifying matches, Japan should also have made sure of their place at Brazil 2014 by the time the Confederations Cup kicks off. Spain and Italy are also likely to have at least one eye on their World


The contenders, and how they qualifi edTeam How they qualifi ed… … and when

Brazil As hosts of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ 30 October 2007

Spain 2010 FIFA World Cup™ winners 11 July 2010

Japan AFC Asian Cup champions 29 January 2011

Mexico CONCACAF Gold Cup winners 25 June 2011

Uruguay Copa América winners 24 July 2011

Tahiti OFC Nations Cup winners 10 June 2012

Italy UEFA EURO 2012 runners-up 28 June 2012

Nigeria CAF Africa Cup of Nations winners 10 Feb 2013

Cup preparations – with the Spanish having edged ahead of their main rivals France in European qualifying Group I and the Italians currently sitting comfortably at the top of Group B.

“[The Confederations Cup] is going to be a fantastic competition, especially with the World Cup coming up next year,” Prandelli told FIFA.com in February. “And obviously it will be an advantage to play in this competition, as it will give us a chance to get more experience – especially for the younger players – and to get a feel of what the atmosphere will be like at the World Cup.”

A break from qualifyingThe mood of the Nigerian, Mexican and Uruguayan camps is much more likely to depend upon how they have fared in

the World Cup qualifi ers taking place just before they catch their fl ights to Brazil – with Mexico and Uruguay, in particular, desperately in need of some wins to revive their faltering campaigns.

At the other end of the scale from Brazil, Tahiti are the only other team not concerned about World Cup qualifi cation, although only because they are already out of the running for next year’s extravaganza.

The Tahitians’ exit, during the fi nal round of Oceania qualifying, has at least ensured that the amateurs from the Pacifi c Islands are now fully focused on the Confederations Cup and relishing the opportunity of causing an upset – even of the smallest kind.

“It’s amazing for us, a little country of 250,000 people, to be going up

against Uruguay and the Spanish world champions,” said Tahiti coach Eddy Etaeta after learning the identity of his team’s group-stage opponents at last year’s tournament draw. “Winning the OFC Nations Cup sparked incredible joy in Tahiti, but we have to be aware we are playing with the big boys now. As for our objectives, we need to be realistic, but it would be an incredible feeling if we could score against Spain at the Maracanã.”

Surprises in store?While the idea of the Tahitians lifting the Confederations Cup trophy on 30 June might be seen as fanciful – even by the Tahitians themselves – lesser surprises certainly cannot be ruled out, with previous editions of the competition having already witnessed plenty of sporting shocks.

Last time around, for example, Spain were considered strong favourites for the title, only for Vicente del Bosque’s men to suffer a wholly unexpected 2-0 defeat against the USA in the semi-fi nals, bringing an abrupt end to La Roja’s record run of 35 matches unbeaten.

Having now gone another 20 games unbeaten, and with three friendlies scheduled for New York in June before they head south to Brazil, Spain will certainly be keen to avoid a similar slip-up this time as they go in search of one of the few international trophies to have eluded their grasp.

“Having fi nished third in South Africa [in 2009], we want to go into this year’s competition in the best possible shape and have a good campaign,” said Del Bosque. “We’re also looking forward to going to Brazil – the country which has the greatest feeling and passion in the world for football. On top of that, it’s a tournament that features the champions of several different competitions, so we’re certainly going to treat it with the importance it deserves.”

Brazil eye hat-trickSpain are not the only ones out to break records, however, with their Brazilian hosts aiming for their fourth Confederations Cup

Japan were the fi rst continental champions to book their place at Brazil 2013.


“This will be impossible to repeat for the FIFA World Cup … which is an infi nitely more complex and demanding job than staging the FIFA Confederations Cup … and requires a minimum six-month operational set-up.”

As well as the regular organisational checks, the organisers of this year’s FIFA Confederations Cup will also be integrating two new projects, with goal-line technology and biological anti-doping profi les both being rolled out at Brazil 2013 (for more details, see page 16).

While FIFA and the Brazilian Local Organising Committee press on with their work behind the scenes, however, supporters at the Confederations Cup will be able to simply enjoy the football.

“I am sure the Brazilians will offer the participating teams and the millions watching on television an unforgettable experience, and a fl avour of what awaits them next June and July,” said Valcke. “The offi cial slogan ‘All in one rhythm’ encapsulates our hope for the Confederations Cup, combining fi rst-class sport and a joyous coming together of nations.”

Same time next yearWhile the attention of the fans will be fi rmly on the sporting action at this year’s FIFA Confederations Cup, it is the activities around and beyond the pitch that will be of foremost interest to the tournament organisers.

Since 2001, the event has been used as an organisational “warm-up” by the hosts of the following year’s FIFA World Cup™, offering a valuable opportunity to test out some of the stadiums earmarked for the main event as well as to check on other important aspects such as ticketing, security and transportation.

The usefulness of having this year’s Confederations Cup as a test event for Brazil 2014 has already been borne out by the fact that two of the six stadiums being used at this year’s tournament were still racing to be completed as this edition of FIFA World went to print. While expressing confi dence that Brazil would have both the Estádio Nacional in Brasília and Rio de Janeiro’s legendary Maracanã open in time for the “Festival of Champions”, FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke warned that similar delays will not be feasible when it comes to the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ itself.

“For the FIFA Confederations Cup, we will make it – it will be a fantastic tournament – but not all operational arrangements will be 100 per cent,” Valcke noted, following the opening of Salvador’s Arena Fonte Nova on 5 April. “It is impossible to expect this in the shortened preparation time – in most cases, less than two months instead of the scheduled six.

Belo Horizonte’s Mineirão stadium has undergone a complete overhaul in time

for the FIFA Confederations Cup and next year’s FIFA World Cup.

title, while also attempting to become the fi rst side to win the event three times running.

Just like the Spanish, though, Brazil have also been surprised at the tournament before. In 2003, they became the fi rst reigning world champions to crash out in the group stage (a “feat” repeated by Italy four years ago) and they will face some familiar opponents as they try to avoid the same fate in Group A this year.

As well as being reunited with the Italians – in a “rematch” of the 1970 and 1994 FIFA World Cup™ fi nals – the South Americans must take on a Mexico side who boast a 2-1 record from their three

previous Confederations Cup encounters with Brazil, including the Mexicans’ epic 4-3 win in the competition’s 1999 fi nal.

Japan cannot point to quite as good a record against the Brazilians, having lost seven and drawn two of their nine previous meetings with the Seleção, but they might take heart from the fact that those two draws both came at the Confederations Cup. The fi rst came in 2001 when a goalless draw with Brazil in the group stage preceded a Japanese run to the fi nal. Then, in Germany in 2005, the two teams shared a 2-2 draw to fi nish the group stage in joint second place – although Brazil went on to the knockout

stage on account of their superior goal difference.

While records are there to be broken, and history does not always repeat itself, one Confederations Cup statistic stands out in particular, namely the World Cup “jinx” whereby none of the tournament’s previous winners have yet gone on to win the following edition of the FIFA World Cup.

The eventual winners of this year’s Confederations Cup will no doubt be confronted with that statistic as soon as they have stepped off the podium – offering a timely reminder that once the festivities of Brazil 2013 are over, the next challenge will already be clear.


Saudi Arabia 1992 – Argentina clinch opener

Argentina used this four-team tournament, known at the time as the “Intercontinental Championship”, as a successful dress rehearsal for the following year’s Copa América. Brushing aside Côte d’Ivoire 4-0 in the semi-fi nals, Alfi o Basile’s side then beat their Saudi hosts 3-1 in the fi nal to become the tournament’s fi rst champions. Three of the four participants – Argentina, Saudi Arabia and the USA – went on to feature in the 1994 FIFA World Cup™, but all three went out in the round of 16. Final match: Argentina 3-1 Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia 1995 –Great Danes

Defending champions Argentina were back in Riyadh three years later, but it was European champions Denmark who

From Riyadh to Johannesburg

ran the show this time around. Despite needing a penalty shoot-out to get past Mexico in their last group-stage match, Richard Nielsen’s side lived up to their top billing in the fi nal when they beat the Argentinians thanks to an early Michael Laudrup penalty and a second-half Peter Rasmussen strike.Final match: Denmark 2-0 Argentina

Saudi Arabia 1997 – Enter Brazil

Organised by FIFA for the fi rst time in 1997, and now renamed as the FIFA Confederations Cup, the tournament’s third edition was the fi rst to involve eight national teams, including representatives from all six confederations. It also signalled the Confederations Cup debut of world and South American champions Brazil, who were about to embark on a long love affair with the “Festival of Champions”.

Boasting a spectacularly talented squad, which included the likes of Cafu, Dunga, Ronaldo, Romário and Roberto Carlos, the South Americans began as they meant to go on – topping their group before easing past the Czech Republic 2-0 in the semi-fi nals. Oceania Football Confederation champions Australia, who had held the Brazilians to a 0-0 draw in the group stage, exceeded all expectations when they also reached the fi nal but were unable to repeat their earlier heroics, succumbing 6-0 to the rampant Seleção with Ronaldo and Romário grabbing three apiece.Final match: Brazil 6-0 Australia

Mexico 1999 – New territory, new champions

Mexico were the proud hosts as the FIFA Confederations Cup moved beyond its Saudi birthplace for the fi rst time, and they more than lived up to their fans’ expectations with a stirring string of results that ended with El Tri securing their fi rst senior FIFA title. The Mexicans’ semi-fi nal against regional rivals the USA was a particularly nail-biting affair that was eventually decided by a Cuauhtémoc Blanco golden goal. Any fears of an anti-climax in the fi nal were swiftly allayed, as the Mexicans edged Brazil in a seven-goal thriller played out in front of 110,000 ecstatic home fans.Final match: Mexico 4-3 Brazil

Korea/Japan 2001 – French polish

The 2001 edition was the fi rst to be staged as an organisational “dress rehearsal” for the following year’s FIFA World Cup™ – a dry run made all the more useful for the fact that the 2002 FIFA World Cup™ would be the fi rst to involve two host countries. As well as proving exemplary hosts, Japan and Korea Republic fared well on the pitch, with Japan making it all the way to the

A look back at the eight FIFA Confederations Cup tournaments to date…

Mexico stunned Brazil on home soil in 1999.


fi nal and the Koreans being unlucky to go out at the end of the group stage on goal difference, after having fi nished level on points with both France and Australia. There was no stopping the French, though, who went into the tournament as world and European champions and left it in possession of the same major “treble” achieved by the Brazilians four years earlier. Final match: Japan 0-1 France

France 2003 – Tragedy overshadows French defence

Following a dismal showing at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where they had become the fi rst defending champions to crash out in the group stage, France made no such mistake as they set about defending the FIFA Confederations Cup title they won in 2001. Winning all fi ve of their matches and scoring 12 goals along the way, Les Bleus also became the fi rst side to win the competition twice. Sadly, however, this was a tournament where sporting statistics and even the identity of the winners was largely forgotten due to the sudden cardiac death of Cameroon midfi elder Marc-Vivien Foé near the end of his team’s semi-fi nal victory over Colombia. The fi nal was an understandably poignant encounter and began with both sides walking onto the pitch beneath a giant image of Foé before leading the crowd in a minute’s silence. Following the match itself, decided by a Thierry Henry golden goal in the 97th minute, France captain Marcel Desailly

invited his Cameroon counterpart Rigobert Song to help him lift the trophy – a fi tting tribute to the football community’s shared grief on a day when results were of secondary importance.Final match: Cameroon 0-1 France a.e.t.

Germany 2005 – South American showdown

France 2003 turned out to be the last FIFA Confederations Cup not linked to a FIFA World Cup the following year, with Germany 2005 marking the start of a new four-yearly format in which the event would be staged exclusively by the next World Cup hosts. Just as in 1997, Brazil arrived as world and continental champions and once again they were able to clinch the treble. This time around, they beat arch-rivals Argentina 4-1 in an all-South American tournament fi nal, one of only three continental derbies to have been played in the competition to date. The talented young Germany squad who would go on to fi nish third at the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ gave an early indication of their potential by also making it onto the Confederations Cup podium, thanks to a barnstorming 4-3 win over Mexico in the match for third place.Final match: Brazil 4-1 Argentina

South Africa 2009 – Brazil end American dream

The FIFA Confederations Cup touched down on African soil for the fi rst time in 2009, one year ahead of the continent’s fi rst staging of the FIFA World Cup, and promptly provided some of the biggest surprises in the tournament’s emerging history. World champions Italy were shock group-stage casualties – suffering the same fate as Brazil in 2003 – but it was the team who pipped them to second place in Group B who caused the biggest upset of all. The USA had looked out of contention after losing their opening match against the Italians 3-1 and then going down 3-0 to Brazil in their second game, but they rallied with a 3-0 win over Egypt to squeeze into the semi-fi nals, where they then pulled off an improbable 2-0 win over a Spanish side that had not lost any of their previous 35 matches. Against Brazil in the fi nal, Bob Bradley’s men surged into a 2-0 fi rst-half lead to put the Stars and Stripes on the brink of their fi rst senior men’s FIFA title. Brazil had clearly not read the Hollywood-style script, however, and stormed back in the second half with two goals from Luís Fabiano and a late headed winner from defender Lúcio.Final match: USA 2-3 Brazil

Brazil won the title for a record third

time in 2009.

Les Bleus celebrate their maiden triumph at Korea/Japan 2001.

Spain (ESP)Uruguay (URU) Tahiti (TAH)Nigeria (NGA)

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BELO HORIZONTEEstadio Mineirao

FORTALEZAEstadio Castelao

BRASILIAEstadio Nacional

MATCH SCHEDULE FIFA CONFEDERATIONS CUP BRAZIL 2013

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Few countries, if any, can match Brazil when it comes to the manner in which the general population identifi es itself with the national football team. As the South Americans prepare to host the FIFA Confederations Cup – and next year’s FIFA World Cup™ – Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari speaks exclusively to FIFA World about the expectations that will be placed on him and his team in the weeks and months to come.Interview by Bruno Sassi, Geneva

INTERVIEW WITH LUIZ FELIPE SCOLARI

“The Confederations Cup is crucial for us”

The passion of the Brazilian people for “futebol” and in particular the Seleção – as the country’s national football team is known – is legendary. Whenever the side are contesting a major tournament, wherever it is in the world, Brazilians converge and tune in en masse to support their heroes, as well as to scrutinise and discuss each player’s every step.

Now consider the fervour when Brazil actually plays host to such an event, a scenario that is set to unfold on 15 June


in Brasília when the Seleção take to the pitch at the Estádio Nacional to face Japan in the opening match of the FIFA Confederations Cup. Marking Brazil’s fi rst hosting of a major intercontinental tournament since their haunting loss to Uruguay in the decisive match of the 1950 FIFA World Cup, the atmosphere will be hard to imagine. Fortunately, the man charged with overseeing the national team does have some idea of what lies in store. Now in his second stint as Brazil coach, Luiz Felipe Scolari has already led his country to World Cup success in 2002. He has also experienced the pressure of coaching the host team of a major tournament, having steered Portugal all the way to the fi nal of the European Championship on home soil in 2004.

Following Brazil’s thrilling 2-2 draw in a friendly with fellow Confederations Cup contenders Italy in Geneva in March, Scolari found time to sit down with FIFA World and talk about home crowd pressure and the importance of the FIFA Confederations Cup to Brazil’s overall World Cup preparations.

FIFA World: You’ve coached Brazil to World Cup glory already, back in 2002, and you’ve experienced the pressure of coaching a team on home soil, leading Portugal to the final of UEFA EURO 2004. How important will those experiences be going into your upcoming campaigns with Brazil?Luiz Felipe Scolari: I think it will certainly help. I have actually coached two national teams during their hosting of international tournaments, fi rst with Kuwait at the Gulf Cup of Nations [leading them to victory in the 1990 edition] before going on to coach Portugal at the Euro, and it’s a whole different thing. The pressure that comes from the environment you’re working in – from the media and especially from the general population – forces you to approach things differently than you would if you weren’t playing at home. In that sense, both this year’s Confederations Cup and next year’s World Cup will place extra demands on

the team. We’ll have to come up with special strategies with regard to the players, to the training sessions and to how we shield the team from the public glare. It’s all about maintaining a good environment within the squad.

There must also be plenty of excitement among the players and coaching staff about being the host team?Yes. Of course, on the one hand, the team will just be focusing on the results, plain and simple, which is always the approach no matter where in the world you’re playing. But on top of that, there is also the pride of hosting such important events. Brazil must work really hard both before and during these tournaments so that everyone who visits the country gets the feeling that it’s not just the nation of football, but also a friendly, welcoming place that is able to host great events. With this feeling and the Seleção playing well, we should enjoy unconditional popular support. And that is something that is priceless.

You certainly received huge support from the Portuguese people in 2004. How much of a difference did that make on the pitch?The support of the people was so passionate and intense that they virtually drove us to victory in a couple of our matches. I still remember vividly how we lost our opening match to Greece and

were under pressure to win our next two games against Russia and Spain just to get through the group stage. We only did it [beating Russia 2-0 and Spain 1-0] because we were at home. And then there was the quarter-fi nal clash against England, which felt like we had 65,000 fans carrying us on their shoulders. We ended up equalising in the last few minutes of regular time and then there was that legendary penalty shoot-out when our goalkeeper, Ricardo, saved a penalty and then scored one himself. That kind of epic situation grows out of the atmosphere that was being generated all over the country: the parades that followed our team bus on the way to the stadium every matchday, the displays of affection from the fans. It’s those things that boost the team’s morale in ways you cannot imagine – and that is certainly the atmosphere we want to generate in Brazil, starting with the Confederations Cup.

Does the unique situation of playing at home mean you need to pay special attention to the psychological aspect of preparing your team?Defi nitely. Take Portugal in 2004 as an example. After we lost that opening game, our captain Luís Figo took charge with an amazing display of leadership. He went up to Cristiano Ronaldo – who was still only 19 years old – and told him: ‘Listen, kid, feel free to take risks, to do your fl icks even if you miss them. When things seem to get complicated, just leave it with me and let me take over. I already have enough credit with the people here for that. You concentrate on playing freely, the way you normally do.’ And that is just what happened. Whenever there was a critical moment on the pitch, Figo took over. He knew we were playing in front of our home crowd and that he had to support some of the other players, because he already had the stature and personality to do it. I always mention him as an example of someone who knew how to guide a team and rise to the occasion, which

“Brazil must work really hard so that everyone who visits the country gets the feeling that

it’s not just the nation of football, but also a friendly, welcoming

place that is able to host great events.”

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is just what I expect to see from the leaders in our Brazil team now.

Does the rarity of playing such a big tournament on home soil make the FIFA Confederations Cup even more important as a “big stage” test for evaluating the players ahead of next year’s World Cup?Of course, because when it comes to friendly matches – which is all we’ve been playing recently – the involvement is not the same. Especially when we are playing abroad. You can’t create the

same elements of pressure or the same urge to win. So the Confederations Cup is crucial for us to see how the players react, both positively and negatively. How they perform in that home setting will provide plenty of key information when it comes to making the selection decisions going into the World Cup.

You spent seven years living away from Brazil, between 2003 and 2010. What has been your

impression of the country since coming back? The last 15 years or so have been a time of great change in Brazil, changes that started off under the former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso and which were then continued by his successor, President Lula. Today’s Brazil enjoys a decent economic situation and conditions have clearly improved for a sizeable portion of the population. This is something you can clearly sense, both with regard to people’s sense of citizenship and with the emergence of a new middle class. So, good work has been done over the past 15 or 20 years. As for football, I also sense a general evolution in terms of how clubs

are being organised. Quite a few nice projects have blossomed, even though there’s still a long way ahead to reach the standards of club football you see in Germany, England or Spain. We seem to be on the right track, though.

Do you think Brazil’s hosting of the FIFA Confederations Cup and the FIFA World Cup can help to further raise the level of Brazil’s domestic game?I believe that the clubs will benefi t a lot from these events if they can follow the examples of what FIFA and the Brazilian government are doing in the country right now. It’s a great opportunity for Brazilian clubs to improve their situation. And I think the two tournaments can also be tools for promoting other improvements in Brazil. Progress that should have been made years ago will now become reality, at least partly. That, for me, is the best aspect of these tournaments: that they can create a legacy for Brazil that goes beyond the football events themselves. But for that to happen, we all have to work hard and cohesively: the football world, the government and every institution involved in this huge occasion.

“The pressure that comes from playing at home forces you to approach things

differently.”

Seasoned campaigner: after winning the FIFA

World Cup with Brazil in 2002 and reaching the

fi nal of UEFA EURO 2004 with Portugal, Scolari is now aiming for further

success in his second spell with the Seleção.


Brazil may well be the most successful nation in the history of football, but you wouldn’t always know it from listening to the constant arguments among the country’s fans and media concerning the current state of the national team. Debates are always raging over what it would take for the Seleção to return to the greatness of the old days – even if those “old days” refer to what many outside of Brazil would consider the very recent past.

Within all the passionate criticism, however, lies one common assertion about Brazilian football: it’s got history. Supporters of the fi ve-time FIFA World Cup™ winners cling onto their team’s glorious past primarily as a means to bolster national pride, but also to exert pressure on the current crop of players, in the hope of ensuring an equally bright future.

The extent of the pressure to succeed became apparent in November 2012, when head coach Mano Menezes was sacked just a few months after taking a young Brazil team to the fi nal of the London 2012 Olympic Football Tournament. Menezes had come close to ending Brazil’s lengthy wait for the only major international title still to elude them, but their 2-1 defeat to Mexico was enough for the Brazilian Football Association (CBF) to rethink their plans.

Back to the futureGiven the country’s rich footballing history, there was little surprise when the CBF decided to delve into that past and appoint not just one but two former FIFA World Cup-winning coaches – handing the top post to 2002 FIFA World Cup™ winner Luiz Felipe Scolari, with Carlos Alberto Parreira (Brazil’s head coach at USA 1994) also coming on board as Scolari’s technical director.

“They’ve gone for Brazil’s last World Cup-winning coach and that says an awful lot,” said Barcelona’s Brazilian wing back Dani Alves of Scolari’s reappointment. “I hope he can come in and give us the

stability we have perhaps been lacking. To my mind, the kick you get out of playing for your country in such big competitions more than makes up for any problems it might involve.”

One of the potential problems to which Alves may have been alluding is the relative youth of the current Brazil line-up. Scolari is likely to head into the FIFA Confederations Cup relying on two 21-year-olds – Santos forward Neymar and Chelsea playmaker Oscar – as his main attacking threats. The rest of the squad contains only a few players with previous World Cup experience, and Brazil’s automatic qualifi cation as tournament hosts means that they have not played a competitive match since crashing out in the quarter-fi nals of the 2011 Copa América.

With the added pressure of now preparing for two major tournaments in front of their loving but demanding home supporters, Brazil’s young guns know it’s time to start fi ring. “We need to make the most of the Confederations Cup by building a team with a new coach and getting used to a totally different approach,” says Neymar. “For the good of the team, we need to do that as quickly as possible.”

GROUP A

BRAZIL


The coach: Luiz Felipe Scolari

It is clear why Luiz Felipe Scolari was chosen to oversee Brazil’s campaign for World Cup glory on home soil. Big-stage pressure is nothing new for a coach who has accumulated a vast haul of accolades in both club and international football. His fi rst stint in charge of Brazil’s national team began in 2001, when the Seleção were in danger of missing out on the World Cup fi nals for the fi rst time ever, but Scolari turned the qualifying campaign around – before steering the side to their fi fth World Cup title the following year. He then exported his experience to Portugal, leading the team to a runners-up spot as hosts of UEFA EURO 2004, followed by an impressive run to the semi-fi nals of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™.

Thiago SilvaFollowing a first dreadful experience in Europe that included a four-month hospitalisation with tuberculosis in Russia, Thiago Silva returned to Brazil and soon had Fluminense fans vowing that the centre back was one of the best in the business. But it was not till his transfer to AC Milan in 2009 that the 28-year-old fi nally gained international recognition, substantiated by his blockbuster signing for Paris Saint-Germain last year.

OscarDespite his tender years, attacking midfi elder Oscar has already taken a fi rm grip on the Seleção’s main playmaking duties after ably demonstrating his talent and strong personality in a number of impressive displays for club and country. Exploding onto the international scene with his majestic hat-trick during Brazil’s 3-2 win over Portugal in the fi nal of the FIFA

Group-stage opponents, head-to-head recordMP W D L GF GA

JPN 9 7 2 0 24 4

MEX 37 21 6 10 69 36

ITA 15 7 3* 5 26 21

Key players

Possible line-up (4-3-3):

GK Júlio CésarDF Dani Alves DF Thiago SilvaDF David LuizDF MarceloMF FernandoMF RamiresMF OscarFW LucasFW NeymarFW Fred

Did you know?Brazil are the most successful team in the history of the Confederations Cup, both in terms of qualifying for the event, and winning it. The Seleção will be making a record seventh appearance at the competition this year and they have

lifted the trophy three times (in 1997, 2005 and 2009). They are also one of only two teams (along with France) to have successfully defended the title, and a further victory this year would make them the fi rst side to win the event three times in succession.

* includes 0-0 draw in 1994 FIFA World Cup™ fi nal, which Brazil went on to win in a penalty shoot-out

U-20 World Cup in Colombia in 2011, Oscar seems to have had little diffi culty adapting to the demands of English Premier League football following his July 2012 move to Chelsea – even scoring a brace on his fi rst start for the club, in a UEFA Champions League meeting with Juventus, no less.

NeymarIt has been a long time since any South American player has created as much of an international buzz while still playing on the continent as Neymar has done over the past few years. Leading Santos to a string of accolades, including their fi rst Copa Libertadores title in nearly 50 years, he has also stockpiled an impressive show-reel of tricks, fl icks and amazing goals – the latter earning him three consecutive nominations for the FIFA Puskás Award, including his trophy win in 2011.

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It has now been almost ten years since Japanese football fans were basking in the glory of their “golden generation” of national team players who lit up major tournaments at the turn of the new century. In a dazzling six-year spell, Japan celebrated two senior continental titles, an AFC U-16 Championship victory, a runners-up spot at both the FIFA U-20 World Cup 1999 and the FIFA Confederations Cup 2001 and a fi rst appearance in the knockout stage of a FIFA World Cup™ fi nals.

After those intoxicating times, however, came the hangover, with the following six years failing to produce any major titles.

It was dubbed, somewhat poetically, by Japan’s long-suffering supporters as the “cold foot era”, but signs of a thaw are now thankfully emerging.

Since the appointment of Italian coach Alberto Zaccheroni, the Japanese have gone on to win their fourth Asian Cup title – ending a seven-year wait for continental glory – and fi nish fourth at the London 2012 Men’s Olympic Football Tournament. As Samurai Blue prepare to head for Brazil for this year’s FIFA Confederations Cup, some are already describing Japan’s current squad as the “new golden generation”.

Talent and tenacityBorn out of the highly professional Japanese football academy system and nurtured within the country’s domestic J.League, the current crop of stars boast a level of technical ability that has already enabled the majority of them to move to some of Europe’s top divisions. As well as encouraging these young talents,

Zaccheroni seems to have instilled a sense of confi dence and resilience that had appeared lacking from the squad in previous years. The 2011 Asian Cup victory, for example, was no simple stroll, with Japan fi ghting back from 2-1 down to beat Qatar 3-2 in the quarter-fi nals, overcoming Korea Republic on penalties in the semi-fi nals, and then beating Australia in the decider thanks to a Tadanari Lee winner scored in the 19th minute of extra time.

As with any young team, questions still remain over Japan’s relative lack of international experience, with almost half of the side’s regular starters having been brought in since the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. But it is exactly that type of experience that Zaccheroni’s players will now have the chance to acquire at the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013, with group-stage opponents Brazil, Italy and Mexico certainly providing a stiff test of the Asian champions’ abilities ahead of next year’s main event.

GROUP A

JAPAN


The coach: Alberto Zaccheroni

Following a 27-year coaching career in his native Italy, with highlights including his 1999 Serie A title with AC Milan, Alberto Zaccheroni is now making great strides in his fi rst foray into the international game. Appointed as Japan’s head coach in August 2010, he made a dream start to the new job when his side beat a full-strength Argentina team 1-0 in their fi rst friendly under him. Focusing immediately on a rejuvenation of the squad, the Italian reaped even greater rewards at the start of 2011, when he led Japan to their fi rst AFC Asian Cup title in seven years. While team honours will, of course, be his priority in Brazil, Zaccheroni could also make individual history at the FIFA Confederations Cup – a tournament which has never been won by a team with a foreign coach.

Maya YoshidaStill aged just 24, Maya Yoshida is fast earning a reputation as one of Asia’s fi nest central defenders. As well as being able to disrupt opposition attacks, he is skilled at building up his own team’s moves from the back. A graduate of the Nagoya Grampus youth team, he has since gone on to impress in the Dutch top division with VVV-Venlo and for his current English Premier League side Southampton, whose former manager Lawrie McMenemy has described the Japanese star as “one of the few who almost immediately came across as a fi rst-class player”.

Shinji KagawaArguably Japan’s most exciting prospect, Shinji Kagawa is an attacking midfi elder with a great knack for goals. Bursting onto the professional scene with some fantastic teenage displays for Cerezo Osaka, Kagawa joined German side Borussia Dortmund in 2010 and impressed once again as Dortmund celebrated back-to-back Bundesliga titles.


BRA 9 0 2 7 4 24

MEX 4 1 0 3 5 7

ITA 2 0 1 1 1 9

Key players

Possible team line-up (4-2-3-1):

GK Eiji KAWASHIMA DF Atsuto UCHIDADF Maya YOSHIDA DF Yasuyuki KONNO DF Yuto NAGATOMOMF Yasuhito ENDŌMF Makoto HASEBEMF Shinji OKAZAKIMF Keisuke HONDAMF Shinji KAGAWAFW Ryoichi MAEDA

Did you know?Japan conceded only one goal as co-hosts of the FIFA Confederations Cup 2001. After managing clean sheets against group-stage opponents Canada, Cameroon and Brazil

and against Australia in the semi-fi nals, the Asians were fi nally undone by Patrick Vieira’s looping header in the 30th minute of the Yokohama fi nal.

Unfazed by the attention surrounding his subsequent move to Manchester United – as the club’s fi rst-ever Japanese player – Kagawa adapted well to the English game and scored his fi rst hat-trick for the Red Devils in March. After missing out on selection for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the 24-year-old hotshot is now preparing for his fi rst senior FIFA tournament.

Yasuhito EndōForming a link between Japan’s “golden generation” and its current crop of young stars, midfi elder Yasuhito Endō is his country’s most-capped player of all time. A member of the talented teenage side who fi nished runners-up to Spain at the FIFA U-20 World Cup 1999, Endō is also the only player to have featured in Japan’s two most recent Asian Cup victories – in 2004 and 2011. Already a veteran of two FIFA World Cups, Endō will be savouring the chance to impress at the Confederations Cup ahead of his team’s expected return to Brazil next year.

Mexico are old hands when it comes to the FIFA Confederations Cup. As one of the “giants” of the CONCACAF region, El Tri are preparing for their sixth appearance at the tournament – a record bettered only by seven-time participants Brazil. They are also former champions, having beaten the Brazilians 4-3 on home soil in the thrilling fi nale to the 1999 edition, and boast the joint top goalscorer in the history of the competition, with Cuauhtémoc Blanco’s nine-goal tally putting him on top alongside Brazil’s Ronaldinho.

The North Americans secured their latest return to the tournament by overcoming

arch-rivals the USA 4-2 in the fi nal of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup. That victory was just one of many recent highlights, with Mexico also winning that year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup and then going on to even greater glory last year with their triumph at the London 2012 Men’s Olympic Football Tournament.

The senior team’s march towards the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ also seemed unstoppable last year, as José Manuel “Chepo” de la Torre’s men romped through CONCACAF’s penultimate qualifying round, with six wins from their six games against Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guyana.

Recent woesThings have been going less well in 2013, however, with Mexico’s fi rst three matches in the fi nal six-team “hexagonal” round yielding just three draws, and leaving the team languishing in fi fth place. The fi rst half of June could now prove vital

for De la Torre’s team, who are set to play three more qualifi ers in the space of eight days – away to Jamaica and surprise early leaders Panama, and at home against Costa Rica – before heading to Brazil for the Confederations Cup.

Having always taken the “Festival of Champions” very seriously, the Mexican fans will be hoping that their team can get their World Cup qualifying campaign back on track before being able to focus fully on the Brazil 2013 campaign.

De la Torre has already announced his desire to win the tournament, despite seeing his side drawn in a highly competitive group, alongside the Brazilians, Italians and Japanese. Even against such stiff opposition, the coach knows he can rely on a potent combination of veteran players, including Guillermo Ochoa, Carlos Salcido and Andrés Guardado, and the younger players of the “golden generation”, such as Giovani dos Santos, Héctor Moreno and Javier Hernández.

GROUP A

MEXICO


The coach: José Manuel de la Torre

A former player with Chivas, Cruz Azul and Puebla in Mexico, and with Real Oviedo in Spain, José Manuel de la Torre was also capped 28 times for the Mexican national team. Still aged just 47, he has been equally impressive as a coach – winning three league titles with Chivas and Toluca in the space of fi ve seasons, before being put in charge of the national team in October 2010. “Chepo”, as he is popularly called, made an immediate winning start with El Tri, steering the team to victory in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup to regain regional supremacy over losing fi nalists and long-time rivals the USA.

Javier HernándezDespite failing to establish himself as a regular in Manchester United’s starting line-up, “Chicharito” remains one of the most dangerous centre forwards in the world. His strike rate with Mexico is the highest in the national team’s history and he is once again expected to be El Tri’s star player in Brazil this year.

Héctor MorenoAnother member of the talented crop who were crowned U-17 world champions in Peru in 2005, Moreno emigrated as a very young player to Europe, where he has established himself as an extremely reliable defender, initially in the Dutch league with AZ Alkmaar and then in the Spanish league with RCD Espanyol. This 25-year-old centre back has become an essential pillar of the Mexican national team’s defence and a worthy inheritor of the position formerly held by Rafael Márquez.


BRA 37 10 6 21 36 69

JPN 4 3 0 1 7 5

ITA 11 1 4 6 9 26

Key players

Possible line-up (4-2-3-1)

GK Guillermo OchoaDF Severo MezaDF Francisco Javier RodríguezDF Héctor MorenoDF Jorge Torres NiloMF Carlos SalcidoMF Jesús ZavalaMF Andrés Guardado MF Giovani dos Santos MF Javier AquinoFW Javier “Chicharito” Hernández

Did you know?Mexico were responsible for the biggest attendance fi gure in the history of the FIFA Confederations Cup, with 110,000 spectators packing into Mexico City’s

cavernous Azteca Stadium on 4 August 1999 for that year’s fi nal between the home side and Brazil. The crowd were amply rewarded as El Tri secured a thrilling 4-3 win.

Giovani dos SantosA perfect strike partner for Hernández in the Mexican front line, this RCD Mallorca forward has been a consistently strong performer for various Mexican national teams in recent years. A U-17 world champion in Peru in 2005 and an Olympic champion in London last year, Dos Santos spearheads the new generation of players aiming to bring Mexico into the elite of world football.


Under Cesare Prandelli, Italy are currently undergoing a spectacular transformation, a process that started following the country’s disastrous campaign at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. Before that, the Azzurri had primarily been known for their pragmatic, defensive style of play, which they had elevated to an art form. Gently, but with a real sense of purpose, Prandelli is in the throes of starting a new chapter with an objective that he is not afraid to express: “My aim is to get results playing attractive football.”

Reaching the fi nal of UEFA EURO 2012 was a surprise, since Prandelli had initially

announced his desire to “create a team of the people” by “educating the players and teaching them to be humble”, while stressing that “results are not a priority”. He also asked clubs to make more of an effort to utilise the country’s many talented young players, rather than just relying on big-name foreign “imports”.

“Investing in young players is the most important thing,” is how Il Mister sums up his philosophy. “I am happy with the way things are going but there is still plenty of room for improvement. We must trust in the new generation, who give us optimism and enthusiasm.”

Youth and experiencePrandelli has certainly been practising what he preaches with the Italian national team, particularly up front, where his main strikers – Stephan El Shaarawy and the gifted but diffi cult to manage Mario Balotelli – are still just 20 and 22 years old respectively. Despite their tender years, the

pair are starting to create a formidable-looking partnership, which should grow even further in strength now that they are both also team-mates at AC Milan.

The coach clearly values experience too, however, with veteran keeper Gianluigi Buffon and experienced midfielders Andrea Pirlo and Daniele De Rossi still essential to Prandelli’s plans. The team’s formation also seems to have been settled now, with a previous experiment with 4-3-1-2 now abandoned in favour of a more adventurous 4-3-3, which relies heavily on players from Juventus and Milan.

With Italy’s qualifying campaign for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ running smoothly, Prandelli has great expectations of the FIFA Confederations Cup, which he sees as a full-scale dress rehearsal for the main event. His only regret is that the tournament overlaps with this year’s UEFA EURO U-21, for which he is leaving Italy’s young starlets in the hands of coach Devis Mangia.

GROUP A

ITALY


The coach: Cesare Prandelli

As a player, Cesare Prandelli enjoyed a solid if unspectacular career in Serie A, turning out 89 times in the Juventus midfi eld and picking up a European Cup medal after coming on for the last six minutes of the team’s win over Liverpool in the tragic 1985 fi nal. It was in his subsequent fi ve seasons at Atalanta, however, that the snappily dressed Lombardian started to learn the tools of the coaching trade. His emphasis on investing in young talent and penchant for attacking football soon brought him to national attention during two seasons in charge of Parma, but it was at Fiorentina where he made his biggest mark, spending fi ve consistently successful seasons at the club and twice being voted Serie A Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2007. In 2010, he took charge of an Azzurri squad still reeling from the country’s inglorious group-stage exit from that year’s FIFA World Cup, and turned their fortunes around with impressive speed.

Stephan El ShaarawyThe “little pharaoh” – his father is Egyptian – is the ace in the pack for Cesare Prandelli. Blessed with outstanding technique, El Shaarawy can play in any attacking position with the same level of efficiency. In Prandelli’s 4-3-3 formation, he plays wide on the left but he can also support the lone striker during the match in a freer attacking role. He shows a remarkable maturity for a 20-year-old and is the perfect foil for the capricious Balotelli, with whom he has an excellent understanding, including in the haircut department...

Mario Balotelli “Super Mario” is an unpredictable talent, who is powerful, blessed with unbelievable technique, supple and fast – the archetype of the modern striker. Of Ghanaian extract, he took Italian nationality on the day he turned 18 in August 2008. His fi rst international appearance came two years later, in London against Côte d’Ivoire, but he had to wait for over a year before he


BRA 15 5 3* 7 21 26

JPN 2 1 1 0 9 1

MEX 11 6 4 1 26 9

Key players


GK Gianluigi Buffon DF Christian MaggioDF Andrea BarzagliDF Giorgio ChielliniDF Mattia De SciglioMF Andrea PirloMF Daniele De RossiMF Claudio MarchisioFW Mario BalotelliFW Stephan El ShaarawyFW Pablo Osvaldo

Did you know?Italy’s opening match against Mexico will be the fi rst game played by the Azzurri on Brazilian soil in more than half a century. Their last appearance in Brazil was for a July 1956 friendly, which ended in a 2-0

win for the home side. The Italians’ only two other matches in Brazil to date both came in the group stage of the 1950 FIFA World Cup™, and consisted of a 3-2 defeat by Sweden and a 2-0 win over Paraguay.

* includes 0-0 draw in 1994 FIFA World Cup™ fi nal, which Brazil went on to win in a penalty shoot-out

scored his fi rst international goal against Poland on 11 November 2011. Balotelli launched his career at Inter Milan and then left – some would say too soon – for the English Premier League, where he alternated between fl ashes of genius and wild indiscretions for three years at Manchester City. He returned to Italy to play for AC Milan in January of this year, where he has quickly established himself as a fi xed starter for both club and country.

Andrea PirloNicknamed “the architect” for the way he builds up the Italian play, Pirlo is a vital playmaker at Juventus and for the Azzurri, where he seems to attract the ball like a magnet before serving up some exquisite opportunities for his team-mates. After being called up for the fi rst time by Giovanni Trapattoni in Azerbaijan on 7 September 2002 (a 2-0 win for Italy), he quickly became a fi xture of the team, dictating the tempo and proving remarkably effi cient at dead-ball situations.


Looking back now, it seems almost unbelievable that Spain were once derided as Europe’s perennial footballing under-achievers. A formidable four-year spell in which the Spaniards won back-to-back European titles, either side of their 2010 FIFA World Cup™ triumph, has ended all talk of Spain underperforming, with Vicente del Bosque’s men having now won nearly everything there is to win.

Nearly, but not quite everything, because there is still some unfi nished business for La Roja. The FIFA Confederations Cup is the one tournament that this talented generation of players have yet to win, falling short in South Africa in 2009 when

they made their fi rst and only appearance to date in the “Festival of Champions”.

Four years ago, Spain were seen by many as heavy favourites for the title, only to see their record run of 35 matches unbeaten come to a surprise end with a 2-0 defeat to the USA in the South Africa 2009 semi-fi nals. This time around, they will no doubt still be many people’s favourites, but, once again, Spain may not have things all their own way.

Changes afoot?Since taking charge of the squad following the UEFA EURO 2008 victory, Del Bosque has made very few changes to his basic line-up. But with the backbone of the side (the likes of Iker Casillas, Carles Puyol, Xavi and David Villa) all now in their thirties, the coach knows that he has to look to the future.

Del Bosque’s emphasis on midfi eld play has also been questioned of late. While the team still boast an impressive array of top-class midfi elders, Spain’s trademark style

based on short passing, swift combinations and skilful ball retention seems to be proving less effective than in the past.

A good example of this is their 2014 FIFA World Cup™ qualifying campaign. While Spain are still top of European Group I, they have managed only one emphatic win, over Belarus. Their other matches have been home draws (against France and Finland) or narrow 1-0 away wins (over Georgia and France). Certainly no cause for panic, but a long way from the ten straight victories and 28 goals that saw Spain cruise through their South Africa 2010 qualifying campaign.

Del Bosque may well use the FIFA Confederations Cup to try out some different options, but will also be aware of the fans’ desire to fi ll this rare space in Spain’s trophy cabinet. Neutrals will meanwhile be relishing the possibility of seeing this historic generation of Spanish players measuring themselves against Brazil in the tournament’s later stages – with the two sides still not having played each other this century.

GROUP B

SPAIN


The coach: Vicente del Bosque

Voted FIFA World Coach of the Year in 2012 following Spain’s second consecutive EURO trophy in Poland and Ukraine, Vicente del Bosque now has his sights set on the only major international title to have eluded his team. Maintaining the reputation for discretion and peacemaking that earned him great success while managing Real Madrid, Del Bosque has managed to keep the talented Spanish squad at the top of their game for the last fi ve years, all the while perfecting and renewing a team that is dedicated to short passing and combination play.

Iker CasillasAn agile goalkeeper with feline refl exes and a very cool nerve, Iker Casillas is the captain of this gifted generation. With more than 140 caps for the national team, he has had the honour of lifting the last three major trophies won by La Roja. Despite losing his undisputed position in the starting line-up with Real Madrid, and missing Spain’s last two World Cup qualifi ers with a broken fi nger, Casillas remains the leader of the Spanish squad and has his sights set on Brazil to secure Spain’s missing title.

XaviA passing maestro who is capable of conjuring up the most unlikely of assists, Xavi is the brains behind the game for La Roja and Barcelona, where only Lionel Messi can eclipse him. Working with Andrés Iniesta to create a midfi eld engine that dictates play for the rest of the team, Xavi can also lay claim to a powerful long-range shot, which he puts to use both at set pieces and in open play.


URU 9 4 5 0 14 7

TAH 0 0 0 0 0 0

NGA 1 0 0 1 2 3

Key players

Possible line-up (4-2-3-1):

GK Iker CasillasDF Jordi AlbaDF Sergio RamosDF Gerard PiquéDF Álvaro ArbeloaMF Sergio BusquetsMF Xabi AlonsoMF Andrés IniestaMF XaviMF David SilvaFW David Villa

Did you know?While no team has yet managed to win the FIFA Confederations Cup and then go on to win the FIFA World Cup™ in the following year, Spain were able to put

their experiences at the 2009 edition to good use one year later, with no fewer than 18 members of their Confederations Cup squad returning to South Africa to be crowned world champions in 2010.

Andrés IniestaAn instant hero in Spain after scoring the only goal in the 2010 World Cup fi nal, Iniesta dazzles around the penalty area where he controls the ball like no one else and fi nds seemingly impossible gaps. His talent and generosity make him the sidekick that every striker dreams of, as Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi will readily confi rm. Extremely shy off the pitch, this midfi elder loses all inhibitions when on it to create great combination play, feints and assists.


Two-time former world champions Uruguay have long been accustomed to punching above their weight. And while they no longer dominate the international football scene in the way they did during the early years of the FIFA World Cup™, it’s unlikely they’ll be underestimated by any of their opponents at this year’s FIFA Confederations Cup.

The Uruguayans will, of course, be making the short trip north to neighbouring Brazil as the reigning South American champions, having followed up their run to the semi-fi nals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup

with a convincing triumph at the following year’s Copa América. That tournament also involved a trip to one of the continent’s traditional powerhouses, with hosts Argentina among the sides conquered by Uruguay during their unbeaten march to the title.

Coach Óscar Tabárez is widely seen as the architect of the team’s current success. Appointed in 2006 following Uruguay’s third World Cup qualifying failure in four attempts, he has crafted a stable and balanced squad who are solid in defence and lethal in attack, and all without losing an ounce of the country’s legendary garra or “grit”.

Winning and losing streaksUruguay head to Brazil in something of a tailspin, however, with their impressive start to the latest World Cup qualifying campaign having gone dramatically awry in recent months. After winning three and

drawing two of their fi rst fi ve qualifi ers – as part of an impressive 18-match, 14-month unbeaten run – Tabárez’s men have now failed to win any of their last six, losing four times and drawing twice.

Currently lying outside even the South American play-off spot, La Celeste will play one more qualifying match (away to Venezuela) in June before turning their attention to the “Festival of Champions”, knowing that another defeat could seriously jeopardise their chances of making it back to Brazil in 2014.

Uruguayans pride themselves, however, on their ability to fi nd strength in adversity. In that sense, the FIFA Confederations Cup could provide great motivation just when it is most needed. A strong run of results in the coming weeks – perhaps even culminating in a new addition to the team’s trophy cabinet – could just be the tonic needed to get Uruguay’s World Cup qualifying campaign back on track.

GROUP B

URUGUAY


The coach: Óscar Tabárez

Oscar Tabárez had already won the Uruguayan fans’ trust when he led Uruguay through a successful qualifying campaign for the 1990 FIFA World Cup™ in Italy and subsequently into the round of 16 at the tournament itself – where they were fi nally stopped by the hosts. That feat catapulted Tabárez into stints at several major clubs, including Boca Juniors and AC Milan. His greatest successes have come during his second spell with La Celeste, however, which has so far seen the South Americans reach the semi-fi nals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ and win the 2011 Copa América. Nicknamed El Maestro (The Teacher), this refl ective 66-year-old is considered by many Uruguayans as the man who put their country back on the football world map.

Edinson CavaniDespite not having yet discovered the same rich vein of scoring form for his country that he regularly fi nds for Napoli, the 26-year-old former Danubio player is a key component of Uruguay’s attacking game. As well as providing a latent threat for any opponent, he is also a talented playmaker who is particularly adept at creating space for his team-mates.

Diego ForlánAlmost three years after receiving the adidas Golden Ball in South Africa as the best player of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Diego Forlán is readjusting to football in South America, having returned to the continent to play with Brazilian giants Internacional after ten years in Europe. While no longer scoring at the rate he managed before, the 33-year-old remains a leading fi gure for La Celeste, often helping to build attacks from a deeper-lying position.


ESP 9 0 5 4 7 14

TAH 0 0 0 0 0 0

NGA 0 0 0 0 0 0

Key players


GK Fernando MusleraDF Maxi PereiraDF Diego LuganoDF Diego GodínDF Álvaro PereiraMF Álvaro GonzálezMF Egidio Arévalo RíosMF Nicolás LodeiroMF Diego ForlánFW Edinson CavaniFW Luis Suárez

Did you know?Uruguay have established something of an “all or nothing” reputation at the FIFA Confederations Cup, where they are one of only three sides (along with France and Spain) to have played at least fi ve games at the tournament without having drawn

any of them. Winning three and losing two of their appearances at the 1997 edition, Uruguay have also shown a penchant for leaving things late – with all three of those victories featuring goals scored in the 88th minute or later.

Luis SuárezNow aged 26, the former Nacional player has reinforced his reputation as a brilliant goalscorer following another season of strong performances for both his club, Liverpool, and his national team. After being named best player at the Copa América 2011, Suárez has carried his form into the latest World Cup qualifying campaign. Uruguay’s leading marksman in the competition is also the joint second-best scorer for the entire region – level on eight goals with Lionel Messi and just one behind Messi’s Argentina team-mate Gonzalo Higuaín.


Asked recently how his side would cope with being comprehensively outgunned at this year’s FIFA Confederations Cup, Tahiti goalkeeper Mikael Roche simply shrugged and said, “If you don’t have a tank, then you do what you can with your knife.” It’s a colourful metaphor, but also one that aptly summarises the challenge facing the French Polynesians – and their resolve to meet that challenge.

To qualify for the FIFA Confederations Cup, the Tahitians have already had to succeed against the odds, albeit on a far smaller scale than what now awaits them

in Brazil. When the islanders proudly walk out onto the Belo Horizonte pitch on 17 June to face Nigeria, it will be just over a year to the day since Tahiti’s improbable triumph at the 2012 OFC Nations Cup.

Overcoming higher-ranked opponents and the debilitating heat of the Solomon Islands, Eddy Etaeta’s team exceeded all expectations – including their own – by making it all the way to the fi nal and then eking out a 1-0 win over Francophone rivals New Caledonia. Tahiti’s historic win marked the fi rst time that any nation had managed to break the 39-year stranglehold on the competition of New Zealand and former Oceania Football Confederation members Australia.

Rich historyThough remotely located – they are the most easterly of Oceania’s member nations – Tahitians have a rich footballing history, thanks in part to their French roots. While

always operating in the shadow of the “big two” during their early days, the national team fi nished runners-up at the fi rst three editions of the Nations Cup (1973, 1980 and 1996).

They were also the second Pacifi c Island nation to take part in a FIFA World Cup™ qualifying competition, with their 1992 debut preceded only by Fiji. They have not yet, however, come anywhere close to reaching the fi nals, and have already had their hopes of reaching the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ dashed – with four straight defeats at the start of the region’s fi nal qualifying round ruling out a quick return to Brazil. Still, Tahiti could perhaps benefi t from being the only team at this year’s tournament not distracted by thoughts of next year’s main event. And while their amateur status might seem like an anomaly in the modern game, they will certainly not lack for team spirit and unity in the face of their technically superior opponents.

GROUP B

TAHITI


The coach: Eddy Etaeta

A proud Tahitian who was at the heart of the midfi eld when the national team made its FIFA World Cup qualifying debut in 1992, Eddy Etaeta is now set to lead Tahiti onto a stage they could never have dreamed of treading all those years ago. Following the end of his own relatively modest playing career, Etaeta was called upon by the Tahitian Football Association to take charge of a team still reeling from their group stage exit in the fi rst round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Instilling a sense of unity and organisation that had been lacking in previous campaigns, Etaeta set his team the target of a top-four fi nish at the 2012 OFC Nations Cup in order to guarantee themselves a place in the fi nal round of qualifying for Brazil 2014. That target was, of course, surpassed in style, as the Pacifi c Islanders stunned the region by winning their maiden continental title.

Nicolas VallarTahiti’s team captain is the undisputed “rock” of the team. One of the few Tahitians to have played professionally overseas, most notably for French Ligue 2 outfi t Sète, the 29-year-old cuts a tall and athletic fi gure in the heart of his national team’s defence. Returning to his homeland in 2009 to play for Tahitian fi rst division side AS Dragon, Vallar then skippered his country to the greatest moment in their footballing history – the victory at last year’s OFC Nations Cup.

Marama Vahirua Though named Oceania Footballer of the Year in 2005 and born in the Tahitian capital of Papeete, Vahirua has, at the time of writing, yet to represent the Pacifi c nation. Club commitments during a lengthy career in France, which most notably included a Ligue 1 crown with Nantes, combined with the tyranny of distance, have to date prevented Vahirua from donning the red shirt. Hopes are


ESP 0 0 0 0 0 0

URU 0 0 0 0 0 0

NGA 0 0 0 0 0 0

Key players


GK Mikael RocheDF Teheivarii LudivionDF Nicolas VallarDF Vincent SimonDF Angelo TchenDF Tamatoa WagemannMF Teaonui TehauMF Heimano Bourebare MF Jonathan TehauMF Steevy Chong HueFW Marama Vahirua

Did you know?This will be Tahiti’s second appearance in the fi nals of a FIFA tournament, following the success of the country’s talented teenagers in qualifying for the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2009. Coincidentally, the

Tahitian U-20 team were drawn in a group that included two of their opponents at this year’s FIFA Confederations Cup – going on to lose 8-0 and 5-0 to Spain and Nigeria respectively.

understandably high in Tahiti, however, that this pacy, experienced 33-year-old forward – a cousin of former France winger Pascal Vahirua – will accept a belated international call-up in time for the country’s historic trip to Brazil.

Steevy Chong Hue Already a regular under coach Eddy Etaeta, Steevy Chong Hue became a household name in Tahiti when he headed in the only goal of last year’s continental decider. The 23-year-old winger hails from the island of Raiatea, and is thus the only member of the squad not to originate from the main island of Tahiti itself. Of Chinese extraction, albeit from several generations ago, Chong Hue had a brief stint in Belgium prior to his 2012 OFC Nations Cup goalscoring heroics.


As Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria has had designs on joining the elite of international football since fi rst making a splash on their FIFA World Cup™ debut in 1994. They have certainly kept themselves in the mix since then, qualifying for three of the four subsequent World Cup fi nals and performing consistently at continental level. Until recently, however, they had failed to make the kind of major impact that their fans had expected following their dramatic gold-medal win at the 1996 Olympic Football Tournament in Atlanta.

Now, though, Nigerian hopes are on the rise once more, buoyed by the appointment of no-nonsense coach Stephen Keshi at the

end of 2011 and by the team’s Africa Cup of Nations victory in South Africa earlier this year – a triumph that ended a wait of almost two decades for continental glory.

Keshi, known affectionately in Nigeria as “Big Boss”, gambled bravely on the omission of several established international stars for the South African campaign, relying instead on a young squad, a surprising number of whom were domestically based. The gamble paid off, of course, with previously unheralded fi gures such as tournament top-scorer Emmanuel Emenike and fi nal match goalscorer Sunday Mba proving themselves ready for the big stage.

Back next year?Like many of the teams who have qualifi ed for the FIFA Confederations Cup, Nigeria have not had things all their own way since winning the continental title. Their 1-1 draw at home to Kenya during World Cup qualifying in March – secured thanks to an 88th-minute Nnamdi Oduamadi equaliser

– has kept them top of their group, but only ahead of second-placed Malawi on goal difference.

Before heading to Brazil for the “Festival of Champions”, Nigeria have another two qualifi ers to play in June, away to Kenya and Namibia. Depending upon how they fare in those matches, the Confederations Cup may well offer an important chance for the team to fi ne-tune their tactics ahead of their potentially decisive home tie against the Malawians in September.

The tournament will also offer Nigeria the opportunity to test themselves against the leading teams from around the world ahead of their hoped-for return to Brazil next year. Against the minnows of Tahiti in their opening game, the Africans will no doubt be looking to make a statement of intent. The real tests are likely to come only in the following group-stage matches against Uruguay and world champions Spain. If Keshi’s men can hold their own in those encounters, then Nigeria fans will really start to believe that a new dawn is breaking.

GROUP B

NIGERIA


The coach: Stephen Keshi

A much-travelled defender, Stephen Keshi was a respected captain for Nigeria in his playing days, leading his country to continental glory at the Africa Cup of Nations in 1994. He has coached Togo on three separate occasions, helping them reach the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ in Germany, although he was sacked ahead of the fi nals. Winning the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations made him the fi rst Nigerian to coach the Super Eagles to the continental title and only the second man ever to win the event as both a player and coach (following in the footsteps of the late Mahmoud El-Gohary of Egypt).

Victor MosesAlthough he left Nigeria when he was a youngster and played for various England youth teams, Victor Moses has managed to maintain a stereotypically Nigerian style. The kind of thrillingly direct winger that the reputation of the Super Eagles was built on during the 1990s, Moses is powerful, pacy and a constant threat in terms of both shooting and crossing. With his confi dence only boosted further by last year’s move to Chelsea, the 22-year-old is considered one of Africa’s most promising talents.

Vincent EnyeamaIn a side given to risk-taking, Vincent Enyeama has often been forced, quite literally, to maintain Nigerian hopes single-handedly. Although occasionally suffering from lapses in consistency, the Super Eagles goalkeeper is capable of spectacular saves, as already demonstrated at the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, where he won two Man of the Match awards in three appearances. Nigeria’s number one for over a decade,


ESP 1 1 0 0 3 2

URU 0 0 0 0 0 0

TAH 0 0 0 0 0 0

Key players


GK Vincent EnyeamaDF Uwa Elderson EchiéjiléDF Godfrey OboabonaDF Kenneth OmeruoDF Efe AmbroseMF Victor MosesMF John Obi MikelMF Ogenyi OnaziMF Sunday MbaFW Ikechukwu UcheFW Emmanuel Emenike

Did you know?Nigeria will be making their second appearance at the FIFA Confederations Cup. Their maiden appearance came at the 1995 edition in Saudi Arabia, when the Africans made it all the way to the

last four. Beating Japan and drawing with Argentina in the group stage, Shaibu Amodu’s team also held Mexico to a 1-1 draw in the match for third place, before fi nally succumbing 5-4 in the subsequent penalty shoot-out.

“The Cat” also provides strong support for the team’s relatively inexperienced backline.

John Obi MikelLong the great hope for Nigerian football, John Obi Mikel turned 26 this year and is fi nally coming into his own as the central cog in the Super Eagles midfi eld. The athletic Chelsea player is capable of controlling large areas of the pitch, and his solidness and experience provided invaluable leadership role at the Africa Cup of Nations, where he protected a young backline and fed the ample attacking machinery.

72

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Asia Africa North & Central America and Caribbean

Member associations


Member associations wishing to submit news items to FIFA World can send e-mails to feedback-fi faworld@fi fa.org. Please bear in mind that items should be submitted more than a month in advance of the issue in question.

The next edition of the AFC Asian Cup is starting to take shape with organisers announcing the host venues and unveiling the match schedule for the 2015 tournament in Australia. The Asian Football Confederation announced at the end of March that Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Newcastle will all stage matches at the three-week event, with Melbourne’s Rectangular Stadium holding the opening match on 9 January and Sydney’s 84,000-capacity Stadium Australia providing the setting for the final. The 2015 edition will mark the first time that the Asian championship has been hosted by Australia, following their move from the Oceania Football Confederation in 2006. The Socceroos are one of four teams to have already qualified for the tournament, with defending champions Japan and Korea Republic also receiving automatic places as a result of their performances at the 2011 edition, and Korea DPR qualifying as the winners of last year’s AFC Challenge Cup.

Asian qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015™ is set to get under way on 21 May with the start of the qualifying competition for next year’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup. Sixteen teams are competing for four remaining spots at the continental championship (alongside direct entries Australia, Japan, China PR and Korea Republic), with the five top finishers at the finals earning automatic berths at Canada 2015.

Issa Hayatou was re-elected as the President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in March after standing unopposed at the organisation’s 35th General Assembly in Marrakech, Morocco. The 66-year-old Cameroonian is now into his seventh term as head of the organisation, having served as CAF President for a record 25 years.

Uganda and Rwanda have both parted company with the European coaches of their respective national teams following disappointing starts to the latest round of African qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™. The Ugandans, who have taken two points from their first three matches in Group J, announced the dismissal of Scottish coach Bobby Williamson on 8 April, while Rwanda – bottom of Group H with just one point from their first three games – confirmed the departure of Serbian coach Milutin Sredojević ten days later. Sierra Leone, who are currently second in Group B but five points adrift of leaders Tunisia, have meanwhile appointed Northern Ireland’s Johnny McKinstry as the caretaker coach of their national team following the resignation in March of Swedish coach Lars-Olof Mattsson.

CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb was re-elected unopposed onto the FIFA Executive Committee in April as part of a series of elections held during the confederation’s 28th Ordinary Congress in Panama City, Panama. Webb will be joined on the FIFA executive by United States Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati who prevailed over Mexico’s Justino Compeán in the election for the position vacated by outgoing FIFA Executive Committee member Chuck Blazer. The Congress was also presented with a detailed report by the chairman of CONCACAF’s new Integrity Committee into the activities of the confederation’s previous leadership, with Webb describing the Panama meeting as “a defining moment for CONCACAF’s vision of a truly transparent future”.

CONCACAF also used the opportunity of the Congress to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), in which both organisations promised to work together and engage football in the region’s response to AIDS. As part of the agreement, CONCACAF is lending its support to the UNAIDS “Protect the Goal” campaign, starting with April’s CONCACAF U-17 Championship in Panama, which saw HIV prevention messages being distributed to spectators.

75

South America

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FIFA WORLD I SUMMARY

Peruvian newcomers Real Garcilaso continued their extraordinary rise through South America’s footballing ranks in April when they qualified from the group stage of the 2013 Copa Libertadores to reach the last 16 of the continent’s leading club competition. Founded just four years ago by former students of the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega University, Real are based in the historic Andean city of Cusco, which is located some 3,400 metres above sea level. Altitude appeared to play little part in their latest success, however, with two of their three group-stage wins coming away from home – against Colombian side Deportes Tolima and Paraguay’s Cerro Porteño. Real’s reward for making it past the group stage was a round-of-16 tie against Uruguayan league champions and three-time Copa Libertadores winners Nacional, which was due to be completed as this issue of FIFA World went to print.

Venezuelan Football Association President Rafael Esquivel was re-elected for a further four-year term in March, keeping him on course for an impressive three decades at the helm of the organisation. First elected in 1987, at a time when Venezuela were widely seen as the whipping boys of South America, Esquivel has overseen a steady improvement in the national team’s fortunes since then – with the hosting of the 2007 Copa América, a run to the semi-finals of the 2011 edition and a first-ever win over Brazil in 2008 among the recent highlights. Venezuela are still the only South American team never to have played at a FIFA World Cup™, but remain in strong contention for a berth at Brazil 2014 thanks to wins over Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Colombia in the current qualifying campaign.

Two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup™ champions Germany will begin their bid for a third world title in September, as the group stage of the European qualifiers for Canada 2015 gets under way. Silvia Neid’s team will be taking on Russia, the Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia after being placed in Group 1 during the 16 April group-stage draw at UEFA’s Nyon headquarters. Norway, world champions in 1995, face a quick reunion with upcoming EURO 2013 opponents the Netherlands in Group 5, while Sweden, who finished third at the last FIFA Women’s World Cup, can look ahead to an interesting meeting with a Scotland team coached by Swedish national Anna Signeul.

European qualifying groups:Group 1: Germany, Russia, Republic of

Ireland, Slovakia, Slovenia, CroatiaGroup 2: Italy, Spain, Czech Republic,

Romania, Estonia, FYR MacedoniaGroup 3: Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland,

Serbia, Israel, MaltaGroup 4: Sweden, Scotland, Poland,

Northern Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Faroe Islands

Group 5: Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Greece, Albania

Group 6: England, Ukraine, Belarus, Wales, Turkey, Montenegro

Group 7: France, Finland, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan

Tahiti’s preparations for their historic hosting of September’s FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup have been proceeding well both on and off the sand – thanks to some strong showings by the home team and a successful recent inspection visit. The Tiki Toa, as Tahiti’s national team are known, followed up on a three-match series win (8-3, 5-4, 7-2) over former world champions France in February with another impressive set of victories (5-4, 8-6, 9-3) against 2013 qualifiers the Netherlands in April. As they prepare to stage the first-ever FIFA competition organised by a Pacific Island nation, Tahiti have also won praise from FIFA Senior Manager of Futsal and Beach Soccer Competitions Jaime Yarza following the latest inspection of the Stade Tahua To’ata – an existing structure which is being renovated specifically for the tournament before being left intact as a permanent legacy to the Tahitian game. “It will probably be the best stadium we have ever had for a Beach Soccer World Cup, we are very pleased,” Yarza said.

The past few weeks have seen a number of important boosts for women’s football across the Pacific region, with the Cook Islands staging a week-long FIFA Women’s Coaching Course for 13 coaches in April and Vanuatu launching a new Centre of Excellence for its female players in March. Perhaps the most ambitious announcement, however, concerned New Zealand Football and its new eight-year programme to have all women’s elite football in the country played, officiated, coached and managed by women by 2021.


FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking

Croatia and Ecuador on a high

fi rst time after following up a friendly win over El Salvador with a World Cup qualifying victory over Paraguay.

In addition to Ecuador, Venezuela (36th, up 7), Panama (38th, up 3), Albania (48th, up 16), Equatorial Guinea (59th, up 45), Tajikistan (112th, up 40) and Afghanistan (139th, up 2) all achieved their highest-ever ranking.

A total of 120 “A” international matches were taken into account for the April edition

Croatian striker Eduardo celebrates with team-mate Ivica Olić after scoring a late winner against Wales in March.

of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, the majority of them qualifi cation matches for either the 2014 FIFA World Cup (83 matches) or the AFC Challenge Cup (20 matches), with the remaining 17 matches being friendlies.

The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking was due to be published on 9 May, just as this edition of FIFA World was coming out.

An online version can be accessed via our webpage www.fi fa.com/fi faworld.

The April edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking brought a number of changes to the top ten, mainly as a result of the previous month’s 2014 FIFA World Cup™ qualifi ers. While the leading trio of Spain, Germany and Argentina remain unchanged, they are now being pursued by Croatia, who climbed fi ve places to fourth thanks to World Cup qualifying wins over Serbia and Wales in March.

The Croatians’ rise has seen them equal their highest-ever position in the ranking, having last held fourth place following their third-place fi nish at the 1998 FIFA World Cup™ in France. Portugal (5th, up 2) are just behind Croatia, in fi fth place, after reviving their Brazil 2014 qualifi cation hopes by taking four points on the road from their two qualifying games in Israel and Azerbaijan.

Losing ground in the top ten, meanwhile, were England (7th, down 3), Italy (8th, down 3) and the Netherlands (9th, down 1), while Russia (11th, down 1) slipped out of the top ten altogether, as a result of only playing one friendly match in March – their 1-1 draw with Brazil. Taking Russia’s place were Ecuador (10th, up 1), who entered the top ten for the

Rank Team

+/- RanksMarch–April 13

Rankend of

2012

+/- PointsMarch–April 13

1 Spain 0 1538 -722 Germany 0 1428 -453 Argentina 0 1292 -174 Croatia 5 1191 1115 Portugal 2 1163 306 Colombia 0 1154 -57 England -3 1135 -398 Italy -3 1117 -569 Netherlands -1 1093 -13

10 Ecuador 1 1056 1911 Russia -1 1052 -1212 Côte d’Ivoire 1 1008 -1413 Greece -1 986 -4714 Mexico 1 971 -2415 Switzerland -1 967 -5216 Belgium 3 953 6117 Uruguay -1 932 -1818 France -1 914 -7

Rank Team


Rankend of

2012


19 Brazil -1 909 120 Denmark 5 900 8621 Bosnia-Herzegovina 2 896 7122 Ghana -2 874 -923 Chile -1 870 4124 Sweden -3 838 -1125 Czech Republic 2 829 2026 Mali -2 826 1127 Montenegro 1 789 -128 USA 5 779 4629 Japan -3 773 -3830 Norway -1 760 -2431 Nigeria -1 757 -1832 Peru 9 752 12833 Hungary -1 749 -334 Romania -3 746 -2235 Algeria -1 735 1336 Venezuela 7 708 86

Rank Team


Rankend of

2012


37 Ukraine 11 675 7738 Panama 3 663 3939 Republic of Ireland 1 662 3540 Serbia -5 659 241 Tunisia 3 647 2842 Korea Republic 5 644 4343 Paraguay -5 643 344 Turkey 1 634 1845 Zambia -9 632 -1146 Australia -7 624 -1047 Costa Rica 6 606 2948 Albania 16 596 8649 Wales 22 589 9850 Burkina Faso 0 587 -151 Bulgaria -5 583 -3252 Honduras -3 581 -1153 Jamaica 1 564 -1254 Slovakia 1 563 -11

77 FIFA WORLD I SUMMARY FIFA WORLD I SUMMARY

Note: Teams inactive for more than four years do not appear in the table.

Rank Team


Rankend of

2012


55 Slovenia 1 560 -756 Iran 1 538 -257 Bolivia -20 537 -10458 Israel 16 536 5159 Equatorial Guinea 45 535 20060 Cameroon 19 533 8061 Haiti -10 532 -5262 South Africa -2 530 -163 Poland -2 529 064 Central African Republic -12 528 -5365 Libya 0 524 1766 Uzbekistan -7 521 -1567 Sierra Leone -4 517 068 Egypt 7 512 3469 Belarus -7 502 -2270 Guinea 2 480 -971 Austria 8 472 1972 Togo -5 470 -3073 Iceland 19 469 7774 Morocco 3 466 -975 Cape Verde Islands -18 464 -7676 Jordan 14 462 6877 Congo 24 459 101

Scotland -11 459 -4279 Canada -11 457 -3980 Gabon -5 450 -2881 Trinidad and Tobago -12 446 -4882 Finland 5 444 2183 FYR Macedonia -10 441 -4684 El Salvador -1 440 885 Congo DR -4 435 -286 Cuba -8 433 -25

New Zealand 2 433 1488 Senegal -6 430 -489 United Arab Emirates 9 423 5990 Armenia -6 421 -1091 Georgia -22 417 -7792 Uganda -7 413 -1493 Estonia -4 411 394 Angola 1 401 20

Guatemala -3 401 896 Dominican Republic 0 396 1896 Iraq -2 396 998 China PR 11 388 7399 Benin -13 381 -43

100 Niger -7 362 -27101 Zimbabwe -1 349 -12102 Qatar -4 346 -18103 Oman 2 344 15104 Liberia 14 334 69105 New Caledonia -2 333 -3106 Mozambique 1 330 9107 Ethiopia 5 328 21108 Saudi Arabia -2 324 -3

Rank Team


Rankend of

2012


109 Malawi 2 323 13110 Latvia -2 322 3111 Lithuania 4 316 29112 Tajikistan 40 312 158113 Kuwait 0 311 17

Suriname -3 311 0115 Korea DPR -13 310 -31116 Tanzania 3 305 42117 Bahrain 0 291 20118 Antigua and Barbuda -4 288 0119 Northern Ireland -22 285 -82120 Azerbaijan -4 276 -10121 St Vincent and the Grenadines -2 271 8122 Kenya 4 266 19123 Cyprus 10 262 37124 Burundi 0 261 8125 Botswana -3 257 -3

Namibia -4 257 -4Puerto Rico -2 257 0

128 Guyana -3 248 0129 Lebanon 1 242 8130 Belize -2 239 -1131 Turkmenistan 9 235 28132 Vietnam -3 234 -5133 Sudan -6 224 -17134 Tahiti 4 221 6135 Rwanda -3 219 -9136 St Kitts and Nevis 1 218 -1137 Syria -3 215 -7138 Moldova -7 214 -18139 Afghanistan 2 210 20140 Thailand -5 208 -12141 Grenada -6 207 -13142 Kyrgyzstan 59 206 187143 Philippines 2 204 31144 Kazakhstan -5 199 -13145 Barbados -3 188 0146 Gambia -2 187 11147 Liechtenstein 10 182 39147 Luxembourg 4 182 25149 India -6 178 1150 Hong Kong 9 176 35151 Palestine -1 170 9152 St Lucia -6 168 0153 Aruba -4 163 0154 Bangladesh 3 161 18155 Myanmar 0 155 8156 Lesotho 10 154 33157 Malta -10 153 -13158 Maldives 3 152 16159 Nicaragua -5 150 0160 São Tomé e Príncipe -4 144 0161 Faroe Islands -8 143 -8162 Solomon Islands -15 142 -24

Rank Team


Rankend of

2012


163 Malaysia 1 141 12164 Bermuda -4 139 0165 Singapore -3 133 0166 Chad -4 131 -2167 Dominica -2 124 0168 Laos 0 118 0

Pakistan 3 118 21170 Indonesia -4 117 -4171 Nepal 4 108 23172 Sri Lanka 1 103 11173 Vanuatu -4 102 0174 Yemen -4 100 -1175 Mauritania -3 94 0176 Chinese Taipei -2 90 1177 Fiji -2 85 0178 Samoa -1 74 0179 Mongolia -1 67 -5180 Bahamas -1 66 0

Guinea-Bissau 3 66 3Montserrat -1 66 0

183 Curaçao -1 65 0Guam -4 65 -1Swaziland 0 65 2

186 Brunei Darussalam 0 52 0Timor-Leste 0 52 0

188 Madagascar 0 51 2189 Cambodia -4 50 -8

Mauritius 0 50 2191 Tonga -1 44 0192 Comoros 0 41 3193 US Virgin Islands -2 39 0194 Papua New Guinea -2 38 0195 British Virgin Islands -1 34 0196 Cayman Islands -1 33 0197 American Samoa -1 30 0198 Eritrea -1 24 0199 Seychelles -1 22 0200 South Sudan 0 20 0201 Cook Islands 1 16 0202 Macau -4 14 -8

Somalia 1 14 0204 Djibouti 0 11 0205 Andorra -1 9 -2206 Anguilla 0 4 0207 Bhutan 0 0 0

San Marino 0 0 0Turks and Caicos Islands 0 0 0

WHAT COUNTS TOWARDS THE RANKING?The results of all matches at “A” international level are taken into account by the world ranking. These matches include:• FIFA World Cup™ fi nal competition matches• FIFA World Cup™ qualifying competition matches• Continental championship fi nal competition matches• Continental championship qualifying competition matches• Friendly matches

Ranking points are calculated on the basis of the following criteria:• Points for a win, draw or defeat• Type of competition (multiplication factor)• Strength of opponents (multiplication factor)• Strength of confederation in question (multiplication factor)

To ensure that the FIFA / Coca-Cola World Ranking reflects the reality of world football, the results a team has recorded in the previous 12 months are the most important. Results from previous years are also taken into account, but their value decreases on an annual basis until four years after the match was played (100% of ranking points for matches in last 12 months, 50% for matches played 12-24 months previously, 30% for 24-36 months and 20% for 36-48 months) at which point the result no longer has any impact on the ranking.


FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking

USA celebrate fi ve years on top

While Panama (62nd), Cyprus (104th) and Belize (121st) have resumed playing matches after a long break and hence re-entered the ranking, nine teams (Uzbekistan, Fiji, Tahiti, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Cook Islands, Suriname, American Samoa and

Megan Rapinoe receives a lift from Abby Wambach after scoring during the USA’s 3-3 friendly draw with Germany in April.

Just a few days after clinching their ninth Algarve Cup title (see report on page 38), the United States’ national women’s team marked another major achievement as they celebrated fi ve consecutive years at the top of the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking.

Boosted by their 2-0 victory over Germany in the fi nal of the March tournament, the Americans stretched their lead over their European rivals to 52 points in the latest ranking, published on 22 March.

Germany, the only other team to have topped the ranking since its introduction in 2003, were also able to consolidate their position, after slightly extending their points lead over third-placed Japan. The Japanese world champions, who fi nished the Algarve Cup in fi fth place after using the tournament to try out several new players, remain ahead of Brazil, France and Sweden in an unchanged top six.

England were responsible for the only movement in the top ten, joining Canada in seventh place after their 1-0 win over the Canadians in the fi nal of the Cyprus Cup. Further down the ranking, New Zealand (20th, up 1) and Scotland (21st, up 2) both managed to match their highest-ever position since the start of the ranking.

Rank Team

+/- RanksDec.–

March

Rankend of

2012RatingMarch

+/- RatingDec.–

March

1 USA 0 1 2215 62 Germany 0 2 2163 -83 Japan 0 3 2096 -144 Brazil 0 4 2038 -65 France 0 5 2027 -66 Sweden 0 6 2025 47 England 1 8 1992 16

Canada 0 7 1992 -149 Australia 0 9 1943 0

Korea DPR 0 9 1943 011 Norway 1 12 1932 2312 Italy -1 11 1913 -1813 Denmark 0 13 1910 814 Netherlands 0 14 1881 -1415 Iceland 0 15 1845 -816 Korea Republic 0 16 1835 -8

Rank Team

+/- RanksDec.–

March

Rankend of

2012RatingMarch

+/- RatingDec.–

March

17 China PR 0 17 1829 418 Spain 0 18 1824 119 Finland 0 19 1805 020 New Zealand 1 21 1802 1521 Scotland 2 23 1794 1522 Russia -2 20 1783 -823 Ukraine -1 22 1780 024 Mexico 0 24 1761 -725 Switzerland 1 26 1714 626 Czech Republic -1 25 1708 -327 Belgium 0 27 1660 128 Colombia 0 28 1650 029 Thailand 0 29 1641 030 Vietnam 0 30 1640 031 Poland 0 31 1638 032 Nigeria 0 32 1622 0

Rank Team

+/- RanksDec.–

March

Rankend of

2012RatingMarch

+/- RatingDec.–

March

32 Republic of Ireland 2 34 1622 734 Austria -2 32 1618 -435 Romania 0 35 1611 036 Argentina 0 36 1609 037 Hungary 0 37 1593 438 Wales 1 39 1580 539 Belarus -1 38 1576 040 Costa Rica 0 40 1561 -741 Chinese Taipei 2 43 1555 042 Portugal 4 46 1551 943 Serbia 1 44 1546 044 Slovakia -3 41 1545 -2045 Chile 0 45 1544 046 Myanmar 1 47 1536 047 Trinidad and Tobago 1 48 1509 948 Papua New Guinea 1 49 1476 0

Bermuda) have been inactive for a lengthy period and are no longer ranked.

The next edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking is due to be published on 21 June.


* team provisionally listed in ranking** team inactive for more than 18 months and therefore not ranked

Rank Team

+/- RanksDec.–

March

Rankend of

2012RatingMarch

+/- RatingDec.–

March

49 Cameroon 1 50 1467 050 Ghana 1 51 1459 051 India 1 52 1441 052 Iran 1 53 1437 653 South Africa 3 56 1429 454 Equatorial Guinea 0 54 1429 055 Northern Ireland 0 55 1416 -1056 Bulgaria 1 57 1412 057 Jordan 1 58 1398 -658 Haiti 1 59 1397 059 Greece 1 60 1391 -560 Slovenia 1 61 1390 561 Israel 1 62 1367 062 Panama 1364 -1563 Croatia 0 63 1363 464 Turkey 0 64 1353 065 Kazakhstan 0 65 1350 066 Hong Kong 0 66 1347 067 Indonesia 0 67 1346 068 Côte d’Ivoire 0 68 1344 069 Bahrain 1 70 1340 070 Uruguay -2 68 1330 -14

Morocco 1 71 1330 072 Faroe Islands 0 72 1325 0

Tunisia 0 72 1325 074 Algeria 0 74 1320 075 Guatemala 1 76 1318 876 Tonga -1 75 1316 077 Estonia 1 78 1302 078 Lithuania 1 79 1295 179 Guam 0 79 1294 080 Laos 1 81 1293 081 Egypt 1 82 1289 082 Bosnia-Herzegovina 1 83 1282 1483 Philippines 0 83 1268 084 Malaysia 1 85 1258 085 Senegal 1 86 1247 086 Dominican Republic 2 88 1226 087 Latvia 2 89 1219 088 Zimbabwe 4 92 1212 1589 Mali 1 90 1204 090 Cuba 1 91 1201 091 Palestine 3 94 1189 092 Singapore 5 97 1180 0

Rank Team

+/- RanksDec.–

March

Rankend of

2012RatingMarch

+/- RatingDec.–

March

93 Luxembourg 5 98 1172 094 Ethiopia 6 100 1163 095 El Salvador 1 96 1160 -2196 Honduras 6 102 1153 -497 Vanuatu 6 103 1139 098 Malta 6 104 1136 099 Congo DR 6 105 1132 0

100 Nicaragua 9 109 1111 17101 Samoa 5 106 1110 0102 Armenia 5 107 1104 0103 Nepal 5 108 1095 0104 Cyprus 1087 64105 FYR Macedonia 5 110 1078 0106 Guinea 6 112 1063 0107 Namibia 6 113 1017 0108 Bangladesh 6 114 988 0109 Sri Lanka 6 115 965 0110 Lebanon 7 117 944 0111 Maldives 7 118 942 0112 Zambia 7 119 941 0

Tanzania 7 119 941 0114 Pakistan 7 121 937 0115 Syria 7 122 927 0116 Dominica 7 123 906 0117 Afghanistan 7 124 899 0118 Iraq 7 125 882 0119 Mozambique 7 126 873 0120 Malawi 7 127 840 0121 Belize 813 -1122 Bhutan 6 128 785 0123 Antigua and Barbuda 6 129 757 0124 Botswana 6 130 708 0

Uzbekistan ** 41 1565 0Ecuador ** 1484 0Peru ** 1450 0Paraguay ** 1430 0Azerbaijan ** 1341 0Jamaica ** 1339 0Venezuela ** 1338 0Fiji ** 77 1306 0Guyana ** 1256 0Congo ** 1238 0Tahiti ** 87 1238 0Bolivia ** 1236 0

Rank Team

+/- RanksDec.–

March

Rankend of

2012RatingMarch

+/- RatingDec.–

March

Solomon Islands ** 93 1195 0New Caledonia ** 95 1188 0Benin ** 1187 0Moldova ** 1177 0Barbados ** 1173 0Cook Islands ** 99 1170 0Suriname ** 101 1159 0Kyrgyzstan ** 1143 0Angola ** 1134 0Sierra Leone ** 1132 0Bahamas ** 1111 0Puerto Rico ** 1108 0American Samoa ** 111 1075 0Georgia ** 1071 0St Lucia ** 1061 0Eritrea ** 1060 0Gabon ** 1031 0Grenada ** 1029 0St Vincent and the Grenadines ** 1008 0Burkina Faso ** 1003 0St Kitts and Nevis ** 974 0Turks and Caicos Islands ** 963 0Bermuda ** 116 950 0Guinea-Bissau ** 927 0Liberia ** 877 0Swaziland ** 863 0Lesotho ** 858 0Cayman Islands ** 847 0Curaçao ** 831 0Aruba ** 803 0Comoros ** 534 0United Arab Emirates * 1665 0Albania * 1424 0Montenegro * 1154 0Qatar * 1046 0Uganda * 965 0US Virgin Islands * 885 0British Virgin Islands * 867 0Kenya * 816 0Kuwait * 768 -28

FIFA Calendar May-June 2013

19 May OFC Champions League fi nal, Auckland24 May UEFA Congress, London25 May UEFA Champions League fi nal, London28 May FIFA Executive Committee meeting, Port Louis29 May CONMEBOL, OFC Congresses, Port Louis30-31 May FIFA Congress, Port Louis

4 June Friendly matchday7-11 June International matchdays14-18 June International matchdays15-30 June FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 201321 June – 13 July FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013

Elections The following member associations have elected presidents since the last issue of FIFA World:

Italy Giancarlo ABETE (re-elected)Algeria Mohamed RAOURAOUA

(re-elected)Brunei Darussalam Sufri BOLKIAHVenezuela Rafael ESQUIVEL (re-elected)

Sri Lanka Ranjith RODRIGOEstonia Aivar POHLAK (re-elected)Guyana Christopher MATTHIASEritrea Tesfaye GEBREYSUS DIFUE


FIFA Archive Zurich, Switzerland25 May 1995

An important anniversary was being celebrated just as this issue of FIFA World went to print, with the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup marking its 75th birthday. Since it was founded by Zurich’s Blue Stars FC in 1939, this youth tournament has provided many well-known footballers with a stage for some of their fi rst international showdowns.

Grasshopper Club Zurich claimed the title at the tournament’s fi rst edition, with Austria Vienna becoming the fi rst foreign team to win the cup in 1947. English clubs have been a force to be reckoned with since 1951, when Wolverhampton Wanderers were the fi rst English side to compete, followed by many of England’s top teams in subsequent years. Manchester United are the most successful team, winning the cup 18 times out of 41 appearances.

Spanning over 50 years, Manchester United’s relationship with the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup has produced quite a few anecdotes – starting in 1956 when Bobby Charlton made an appearance. Helmut Haller was also on the pitch that day, playing for BC Augsburg, who fi nished runners-up to Grasshopper Club Zurich. Ten years later, Charlton and Haller met again in a

David Beckham and his team-mates at the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup in 1995.

tournament, this time the 1966 FIFA World Cup™ fi nal in England.

This photo was taken during a more recent but just as successful era for Manchester United. The team that included David Beckham (foreground), Gary and Phil Neville, and Nicky Butt (background) took part in the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup from 1992 to 1995. They went on to form the core of Manchester United’s golden generation who defeated Bayern Munich in injury time of the 1999 UEFA Champions League fi nal and became the fi rst English club to win “the treble”.

Over the years, the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup has seen countless icons of world football; players such as Kaká, Lars Ricken, Jay-Jay Okocha, Roy Keane, Markus Babbel, Pep Guardiola, George Best and Klaus Augenthaler have all represented their teams and shown the world their potential. Even FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter once took part with FC Sierre’s youth team.

So the tournament’s motto “Where stars are born” is certainly not an exaggeration and there are sure to be a few rising stars playing at this year’s anniversary edition. The next issue of FIFA World will include a report on the 75th Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup.


82

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FIFA World – No. 36,

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Offi cial monthly publication of

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Coming up In the next issue of FIFA World

Champion of championsFIFA Confederations Cup winners crowned

First past the postFirst qualifi ers for 2014 FIFA World Cup™ revealed

75 years youngAnniversary celebrations at Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup

Publication date:19 July 2013

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