By Paul Nicholson in the Bahamas
April 16 – Speaking at the opening of the CONCACAF Congress in the Bahamas today (Thursday) FIFA president Sepp Blatter told his audience of national federations their confederation should have four automatic places at the FIFA World Cup.
Praising the performance of CONCACAF nations, and Costa Rica in particular, Blatter said that in 2014 in Brazil “CONCACAF has written a big big story in this competition”.
“When it comes to distribution of (World Cup) slots,” he said, “my personal opinion is CONCACAF should, I underline ‘should’, have definitely four starters. That is my opinion.”
CONCACAF currently has three automatic places and a half slot play off position. Turning their half slot into an automatic starting place would most likely come at the expense of UEFA’s allocations. Michel Platini, UEFA’s president, was sitting right behind Blatter on the stage but wasn’t clapping with the rest of the crowd.
Blatter referenced CONCACAF’s difficult past which, though fading away with time still casts an albeit diminishing shadow over the present, by complimenting the federations and their leadership on the strides they have made. “In 2012 it was a different situation in this confederation. Then the new President Webb took over and established with remarkable leadership a new orientation to the confederation. Congratulations to all of you.”
He even found words of praise for US football, saying: “I mean soccer, it doesn’t matter to us (what they call it) as long as they play according to our rules”.
Outlining the confederation’s lead in women’s football, and the dominance of the US Women’s team in FIFA competitions, Blatter said the 2015 World Cup in Canada was an “important opportunity to develop women’s football in the world…It is the right time now to attack and attach more importance to women’s football. Not all countries do women have the same rights they have in this region. But when playing football, they do have the same rights.”
To address this Blatter spoke of the women’s U17 world cup to be organised in Jordan in 2017. Jordan’s Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein who is a FIFA executive committee member and is a rival to Blatter in the presidential elections at the end of May, was also sitting behind him on the stage.
Turning to the topic of development and funding, Blattter said: “Our objective number one is not to organise the World Cup. Our obligation is development.” But this doesn’t come without money. In the CONCACAF region since 1999 FIFA has spent “over $330 million on 118 Goal projects and different courses. We forecast next year and for the next four years $150-180 million for CONCACAF.”
Ending with another call for unity and solidarity, Blatter said: “Football shall connect and not divide. We have 300 million participants and 1.6 billion people directly involved in the game…
“We need unity and solidarity in all regions of FIFA. There must be the same feeling we are in the same family. Solidarity gives us unity and with unity we are strong.
“I wish CONCACAF unity and solidarity. You have a big part to play in the FIFA family. You represent different cultures and powerhouses in football, which is exactly what FIFA is.”
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