FIFA chief vows to keep bridging gap between rich, poor members

MANILA, Philipppines – The recently opened "Football House" stands as proof that the International Football Federation has been trying to bridge the gap between its richer and poorer members, according to FIFA chief Joseph Blatter. "As a development officer with FIFA for the last 33 years, I have always affirmed that football is a game that should be played by everyone with equal opportunity," Blatter said at at the inauguration of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) headquarters last Saturday. The builiding was built largely through a $400,000 funding (roughly P18.5 million) from FIFA's Goal Project. "Most of the profits from the FIFA World Cup go to football development," Blatter said. "And my goal that each of our 208 members has its own home." Blatter arrived Friday night in the Philippines with Asian Football Confederation chief Mohammed Bin Hamman. At the launching, they were joined by top top sports and government officials, among them PFF president Jose Mari Martinez, Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella (who's first vice president of the Philippine Olympic Committee), POC secretary general Steve Hontiveros, former Philippine Olympic Committee chief Celso Dayrit, Tourism Undersecretary Cynthia Carrion, and Philippine Sports Commission chairman William Ramirez. "We do not want our 'rich' members to be so far ahead of the rest," Blatter said. "There should be parity. And this is what I am devoted to as we promote the world's most popular game." Uthe FIFA Project, most of the 46 AFC members now have a permanent office they can proudly call their own. Of his late courtesy call Friday night with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Blatter said he found her "quite engaging and a highlight of my (second) visit to your country." He also disclosed that one of his major goals was through the transform the youth through football "and making the world better because the sport is good for developing discipline and character." Blatter called attention to the presence of government representatives during the inauguration - Puentevella, Ramirez, and Carreon - "because it (government) plays a huge role in promoting sports." Martinez thanked Blatter and FIFA for fulfilling the PFF's dream of "having a home of our very own." He added that he intends to solicit FIFA's support next for a football development center in Mindanao and to set up a world-class football facility in Metro Manila. In a related development, Hammam announced that the Philippines was now enrolled in AFC's "Vision Asia," a program aimed at upgrading Asian football standards, and that AFC personnel would be coming over next month to assess the country's needs under the plan. Hammam also proudly pointed out that while Asian players still lagged behind with their European and South American counterparts, they were no longer pushovers as before. "On the field, we Asians can now give a tough fight and lose with respect and honor," he said. Hammam said he would not be surprised if Asia did well in the Beijing Olympic Games being hosted by China starting next week. The event also saw the unveiling of the official logo of the Filipino Premier League, which hopes to pave the way for a full-blown professional soccer league in the country. After the inauguration, Blatter and Hammam left Saturday afternoon for Beijing to inspect the preparations for the Olympic Games football championships. - GMANews.TV