issue 22/2015, 5 june 2015 english editionstadium in vancouver, the biggest sporting arena in...

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ISSUE 22/2015, 5 JUNE 2015 ENGLISH EDITION

Fédération Internationale de Football Association – Since 1904

WORLD CUP FEVERCanada 2015

BRAZIL FRED

IS BACK

FIFA PROJECTS 2014

IN NUMBERS

CHILE CHAMPIONS FROM THE MOUNTAINS

T H I S W E E K I N T H E W O R L D O F F O O T B A L L

North and Central America 35 members www.concacaf.com

South America 10 members www.conmebol.com

The FIFA Weekly app

FIFA’s magazine The FIFA Weekly is published in four languages every Friday and is also available free of charge on smartphone and tablet. http://www.fifa.com/mobile

6 Canada 2015

Ahead of the kick-off at the FIFA Women’s World Cup on 6 June, Perikles Monioudis explores the high standing the game enjoys in Canada. You can also find out everything you need to know about the title favourites and their stars, while the complete match schedule is on page 15.

18 Vera Pauw The coach of South Africa’s women’s national team on missing out on the World Cup and the euphoria in Canada.

23 Sepp Blatter The FIFA President said: “What matters to me more than anything is that when all of this is over, football is the winner.”

37 Turning point Fabio Coltorti was initially ridiculed for moving to Leipzig, but now the goalkeeper has his sights set on the Bundesliga.

24 Chile Cobresal’s success is a boon for football across the country.

17 Brazil Fred fires Fluminense to a 3-2 win over Flamengo.

World Cup feverThe photo on our cover page was taken on 30 May 2015 in Edmonton. It shows an oversize jersey signed by numerous Canadians with the aim of motivating their national team.

Amber Bracken

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Group A

USA

Ukraine

New Zealand

Myanmar

Groups A + B

Group B

Ghana

Austria

Argentinien

Panama

2 T H E F I FA W E E K LY

T H I S W E E K I N T H E W O R L D O F F O O T B A L L

Europe 54 members www.uefa.com

Africa 54 members www.cafonline.com

Asia 46 members www.the-afc.com

Oceania 11 members www.oceaniafootball.com

16 Germany Hamburg survive the relegation play-offs thanks to coach Bruno Labbadia.

10 Japan Homare Sawa, the reigning champions’ star player.

FIFA U-20 World Cup

30 May – 20 June 2015, New Zealand

All results at http://tinyurl.com/2nlph2Get

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Group C

Portugal

Colombia

Senegal

Qatar

Groups C – F

Group D

Serbia

Mali

Uruguay

Mexico

Group E

Hungary

Nigeria

Brazil

Korea Republic

Group F

Germany

Honduras

Fiji

Uzbekistan

3T H E F I FA W E E K LY

U N C O V E R E D

There is no escaping the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ in the host nation. Larger-than-life, prominently placed posters adorn every corner in the city hosting the Opening Match. Canadian newspapers are launching

supplements with insightful reports and essays on women’s football both in their country and worldwide. The form and playing style of the sport’s biggest stars – Homare Sawa, Abby Wambach, Marta and Nadine Angerer, to name just four – is constantly being analysed. The stage is set for kick-off here in Edmonton, capital of the Canadian state of Alberta, on 6 June.

Then again, there are few signs of people wanting to escape the fun. Canadians are excited about their home World Cup, keen to pack out the stadiums and watch the games on television. Many have been eagerly awaiting this moment for years.

The Women’s World Cup is the most important football tournament this vast and varied country has ever hosted. Last summer’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup proved to be a huge success, taking the momentum generated by Canada’s bronze medal-winning women at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and raising it a notch.

As the greatest competition in women’s football finally arrives on these shores, we are here in Canada to bring you all the biggest stories from this incredible event. Å

Perikles Monioudis

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THE STAGE IS SET

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With kick-off at the FIFA Women’s World Cup fast approaching, Perikles Monioudis reports from Edmonton on the high standing the game enjoys in Canada, and the ambitious aims of the host nation. Photographs by Amber Bracken.


Selfie time Canada goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc .

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Anika throws herself into a tackle, expertly pokes the ball away from her classmate, shapes to shoot and un-leashes an effort that flies through the net-less goal and rolls over the wide expanse of grass towards the distant horizon in this flat, broad, green Alberta landscape. A lively 12-year-old who lives for football, Anika har-bours ambitions of playing professionally one day. She trains with her club Southwestern United three times a week and plays matches regularly. Football is hugely popular at her school, Mount Pleasant, and not only during break time. Soccer, as the game is called here, has been well established for some time now,

especially at Anika’s school in Edmonton, where it outranks the more heavily publicised sports such as basketball and American football, as well as the ubiquitous national game of ice hockey, which stands as a symbol of Canadian sports in general and the country as a whole.

Soccer is generally accepted in schools here for practical reasons: anyone can enjoy having a kickabout and they do not need ice or basketball hoops to do so. Anika started playing the game at an early age and her parents are also soccer enthusiasts. “It took a few steps to get here but I joined Southwestern United 18 months ago,” she said on an overcast morning at her school. “It’s a club with sev-eral girls’ teams. I also have private soccer lessons, my coach is called Thomas. And as I switch between playing as a striker and in goal, I also signed up for the ‘Last line of Defence’ goalkeeping academy. My dad used to play in goal too.”

Anika cannot spend all her time solely on football, however, as Mount Pleasant, a public elementary school, has an excellent repu-tation, with pupils travelling from across the city to attend. As such, her parents keep a close eye on her school work.

Hosts aiming high

Schools have played no small part in football becoming widely accepted in Canadian society. The image people here have of the game is a positive one – obscene transfer fees and fan protests are unheard of. Yet for all the game’s popularity it is primarily a sport people play in their free time; there is no tradition of regularly going along to watch games in stadiums here.

Most school children will watch the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ on television. Extensive media coverage has made both Christine Sinclair, the outstanding captain of Canada’s women’s team, and Sophie Schmidt well known figures. Just a few days ago the latter, an energetic midfielder, scored the only goal of the game in a warm-up fixture against England, curling in a well-placed first time effort from the edge of the penalty area. Goalkeeper Erin McLeod is an Edmonton native and was welcomed by her grandmother at the local airport when the Canadian team arrived.

Anika will pay close attention to McLeod throughout the tour-nament, especially at the opening game, which she will attend with her entire family. “We’ve also got tickets for matches in other cities,” she said. “We’ll take a trip to go watch them.”

The sense of anticipation ahead of the World Cup kick-off is tangible in this vast expanse of a country, which stretches majesti-cally between two oceans and is blessed with stunning landscapes and natural resources. In fact, as the opening game approaches, the

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The image people here have of the game is a positive one.

Waiting for her heroes A Canadian girl with two policemen at the airport.

Warm welcome Canada's Erin McLeod is hugged by her grandmother.

New arrivals The Dutch team after landing at Edmonton airport.


No pain no gain 12 year old Anika trains three times a week with her club.

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Top stars, exciting match-ups

Everything is ready for the start of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™. No less than 552 players from 24 countries have their eyes on

the title, but only one side will acheve their goal and only a few favourites stand out.Defending champions Japan and striker Homare Sawa want to hold onto their trophy. The 36-year-old will be taking part in her sixth World Cup

and after a year out of international football, Sawa is expected to lead her

team to glory. Head coach Norio Sasaki says: “If we are not careful, aggressive and persistent, then we will not be World Cup winners again. Sawa’s attitude contains all of that.”

Brazil are another team that can call on a lot of experience. Formiga is also set to play in her sixth World Cup and the midfielder will do all she can to realize the dream of her country’s first title. A Seleção’s hopes lie firmly with

superstar Marta though. “She has the same importance to us as Neymar does for the men,” says head coach Vadão.

Old foes meet againNadine Angerer and Abby Wambach are the leading stars of Germany and the USA respectively. Both countries are also tipped for the title. The eye-catch-

ing game in Group B is Germany against Norway, a repeat of the 2013 UEFA Women’s European Championship final when Angerer was the heroine.

The USA also face a Scandinavian challenge in Group D where they take

on Sweden for the fourth consecutive time at a World Cup. The sides know each other well and Swedish head coach Pia Sundhage is very familiar with her opponents. She twice led the US Women’s team to Olympic gold as well as to the 2011 World Cup final. “Of course it is a special game for me, one where two hearts are beating in my chest,” admitted Sundhage.

“Mar ta has the same impor tance to us as Neymar

does for the men.” Brazil head coach Vadão.

Playmakers Brazil’s Marta (l.) and Japan’s Homare Sawa.

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Another eagerly anticipated game is France against England. At the 2011 World Cup, England made the quarter-finals before losing a penalty shoot-out to Les Bleues. Also of note is the fact that France were England’s stumbling block at the 2013 UEFA Women’s European Championships and in the final of the 2014 Cyprus Cup.

Perfect stage for the final“As hosts we have no choice. We have to be in the final,” said Canada’s head coach John Herdman ahead of the tournament. His side must show they are capable of doing so in the tournament’s opening game against China in the 56,000-capacity Commonwealth Stadium n Edmonton. The play-off for third

place will also be held there while the final will be staged in the B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver, the biggest sporting arena in British Columbia and Canada’s top football venue. The world-class stadium in the middle of Vancou-ver’s entertainment district has already seen 27 million fans come through its gates. This year’s World Cup will enable the newly crowned world champions to celebrate in front of 54,267 fans.

sst

Team leaders Germany’s Nadine

Angerer (o.) and USA star Abby Wambach

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tournament has moved into increasingly sharp focus here. Despite the Stanley Cup Final between Tampa Bay Lightning and the noto-rious Chicago Blackhawks, and the NBA championship final between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers, interest in the Women’s World Cup has long since dominated the media’s output. That has intensified in the build-up to the opening game on 6 June here in Edmonton and will continue as the tournament progresses in the other host cities, from Vancouver in the west to Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton in the east.

Canada will face China PR in the World Cup curtain-raiser in the

imposing, and brightly coloured, Commonwealth Stadium. The hosts’ opponents may be a young side, but China have plenty of World Cup experience. They have already staged the tournament twice themselves, in 1991 and 2007, and reached the final at USA 1999 only to lose to the hosts on penalties in front of 90,185 fans at the legendary Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena.

The honour of scoring the first ever goal at a Women’s World Cup also went to a Chinese player, with Li Ma netting the opener in a 4-0 victory over Norway on 16 November 1991. Although China have nev-er managed to win the title, only USA and Germany have a better tournament record on average.

The large Chinese community in Edmonton gave a warm wel-come to their national team upon their arrival at the local airport, but a much louder reception was given to Sinclair, Schmidt, McLeod and the rest of the Canadian squad when they landed a few days later. “I’m in the form of my life,” said Schmidt, reflecting a mood of confidence within the camp. “I’ve never been as good as I am now.” Opponents would do well to take heed, as Schmidt and Sinclair have what it takes to make waves at the tournament. “There used to only be five teams that could win the title,” added McLeod. “Now there are 15. Everyone’s got a chance.” Coach John Herdman went even further, saying: “We have to reach the final.”

FIFA backing for 640 projectsThe final on 5 July in Vancouver will be the 52nd match at Canada 2015, meaning more games than ever before will be played to deter-mine the world’s best side. It is a sign of the steadily increasing popularity of the women’s game across the globe that the number of participating teams was increased to 24 for this tournament. The host nation’s place is guaranteed, but the other 23 teams had to go through a qualifying campaign in which a total of 128 countries participated.

Only 12 teams – half as many as this year – took part at the in-augural Women’s World Cup in China in 1991, while just 45 nations entered qualifying; a third of this year’s tally. There were also 12 sides at Sweden 1995, before FIFA expanded the number of partici-pants to 16 for the subsequent finals at USA 1999, USA 2003, China 2007 and Germany 2011.

This year several national associations whose men’s side are already among the world’s elite will make their competition debuts in Canada: Costa Rica, Ecuador, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, the Neth-erlands, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand. The women’s game has become extremely competitive and each of those teams will be eager to participate at future finals too. Since 2004 there have been

“I ’m in the form of my life. I ’ve never been as good as I am now.”

Sophie Schmidt, Canada international

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Common goal An oversize jersey with signatures and well-wishes could provide Canada with extra motivation.

Edmonton City Hall Visitors can pose for a photo as goalkeeper Erin McLeod.


development programmes in place that are tailor-made to each individual country, and those initiatives are nowhere near finished yet, with over 30 million girls and women worldwide now playing football.

FIFA provided financial support to more than 640 projects be-tween 2011 and 2014. In 2013 and 2014, 45,000 girls and young women took part in Live Your Goals festivals and this year the campaign, which started in 2011, was taken to a 50th FIFA member association. Such projects aim to improve the image of women’s football and con-tinue increasing the number of women and girls playing the game.

For the period between 2015-2018, FIFA has doubled its financial support for women’s football to USD $22 million. And as FIFA requires all member associations to invest at least 15 per cent of any FIFA aid in the women’s game, the total amount invested stands at almost USD $70 million. This year alone FIFA is supporting 400 different projects in over 120 countries.

Over 30 million gir ls and women worldwide now play football.

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22 cameras at the finalNot only is women’s football now being played more often, it is watched in increasingly large numbers too. Over 400 million viewers followed the 32 matches at Germany 2011, and at both the opening game and the final at Canada 2015 there will be a record-breaking 22 cameras in the stadium to provide footage for the global audience. Canadian elementary schools and Anika have played their part in the growing popularity of women’s football and there will be plenty of children watching from the stands or at home on television when the World Cup gets under way. Nicole Jessica Panas, a graduate of Mount Pleasant School, will do likewise, having already gone a remarkably long way in the game for her age: last year Panas played in goal for Poland at the U-17 European Championship in Estonia. There is a huge sense of pride in Panas in this country of immigrants and this school filled with football-crazy children, despite the fact she does not play for Canada. One day, however, Anika just might. Å

June 6! An advertisement promoting the Women’s World Cup at the Commonwealth Stadium.


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MATCH SCHEDULE FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP CANADA 2015™

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GROUP MATCHES1 Sat June 6 16:00 Edmonton A CAN v. CHN2 Sat June 6 19:00 Edmonton A NZL v. NED3 Sun June 7 16:00 Ottawa B GER v. CIV4 Sun June 7 13:00 Ottawa B NOR v. THA5 Mon June 8 19:00 Vancouver C JPN v. SUI6 Mon June 8 16:00 Vancouver C CMR v. ECU7 Mon June 8 18:30 Winnipeg D USA v. AUS8 Mon June 8 15:00 Winnipeg D SWE v. NGA9 Tue June 9 19:00 Montreal E BRA v. KOR10 Tue June 9 16:00 Montreal E ESP v. CRC11 Tue June 9 14:00 Moncton F FRA v. ENG12 Tue June 9 17:00 Moncton F COL v. MEX Wed June 10 REST DAY

13 Thu June 11 19:00 Edmonton A CAN v. NZL14 Thu June 11 16:00 Edmonton A CHN v. NED15 Thu June 11 16:00 Ottawa B GER v. NOR16 Thu June 11 19:00 Ottawa B CIV v. THA17 Fri June 12 19:00 Vancouver C JPN v. CMR18 Fri June 12 16:00 Vancouver C SUI v. ECU19 Fri June 12 19:00 Winnipeg D USA v. SWE20 Fri June 12 16:00 Winnipeg D AUS v. NGA21 Sat June 13 16:00 Montreal E BRA v. ESP22 Sat June 13 19:00 Montreal E KOR v. CRC23 Sat June 13 14:00 Moncton F FRA v. COL24 Sat June 13 17:00 Moncton F ENG v. MEX Sun June 14 REST DAY

25 Mon June 15 19:30 Montreal A NED v. CAN26 Mon June 15 18:30 Winnipeg A CHN v. NZL27 Mon June 15 15:00 Winnipeg B THA v. GER28 Mon June 15 17:00 Moncton B CIV v. NOR29 Tue June 16 16:00 Winnipeg C ECU v. JPN30 Tue June 16 15:00 Edmonton C SUI v. CMR31 Tue June 16 17:00 Vancouver D NGA v. USA32 Tue June 16 18:00 Edmonton D AUS v. SWE33 Wed June 17 20:00 Moncton E CRC v. BRA34 Wed June 17 19:00 Ottawa E KOR v. ESP35 Wed June 17 16:00 Ottawa F MEX v. FRA36 Wed June 17 16:00 Montreal F ENG v. COL Thu June 18

REST DAYS Fri June 19

REST DAYS

REST DAYS

REST DAYS

ROUND OF 1637 Sat June 20 17:30 Edmonton 2A v. 2C 38 Mon June 22 18:00 Edmonton 1D v. 3B/E/F 39 Sat June 20 16:00 Ottawa 1B v. 3A/C/D40 Sun June 21 16:00 Montreal 1F v. 2E41 Sun June 21 14:00 Moncton 1E v. 2D42 Tue June 23 19:00 Vancouver 1C v. 3A/B/F43 Mon June 22 17:00 Ottawa 2B v. 2F44 Sun June 21 16:30 Vancouver 1A v. 3C/D/E Wed June 24 Thu June 25

QUARTER FINALS45 Fri June 26 19:30 Ottawa W37 v. W3846 Fri June 26 16:00 Montreal W39 v. W4047 Sat June 27 14:00 Edmonton W41 v. W4248 Sat June 27 16:30 Vancouver W43 v. W44 Sun June 28 Mon June 29

Semi Finals49 Tue June 30 19:00 Montreal W45 v. W4650 Wed July 1 17:00 Edmonton W47 v. W48 Thu July 2 Fri July 3

3/4 PLACE51 Sat July 4 14:00 Edmonton L49 v. L50

FINAL52 Sun July 5 16:00 Vancouver W49 v. W50

Group DGroup BGroup A Group C Group E Group F

USA (USA)

Australia (AUS)

Sweden (SWE)

Nigeria (NGA)

Germany (GER)

Côte d’Ivoire (CIV)

Norway (NOR)

Thailand (THA)

Japan (JPN)

Switzerland (SUI)

Cameroon (CMR)

Ecuador (ECU)

Brazil (BRA)

Korea Republic (KOR)

Spain (ESP)

Costa Rica (CRC)

France (FRA)

England (ENG)

Colombia (COL)

Mexico (MEX)

Canada (CAN)

China PR (CHN)

New Zealand (NZL)

Netherlands (NED)

O N T H E I N S I D ET A L K I N G P O I N T S

several weeks at the bottom of the table and only stayed up via the relegation play-offs. Hamburg’s lowest ebb this term was an 8-0 thrashing away to Bayern Munich on Val-entine’s Day, a result that tested even the most die-hard fans’ love for the club.

Labbadia may well have taken the job because he had been out of work for 20 months, but also because Hamburg are a club close to his heart. He used to lace his boots for them as a player and was previously coach there for almost a season. “Life’s too short to always think about whether or not you’re making the right decision,” the 49-year-old said.

With the team on the ropes and battling to avoid a maiden relegation from the top flight, time was very much of the essence. There was even talk of a species going extinct, of the death of the ‘Bundesliga dinosaur’, as Hamburg are known due to their status as the

G e r m a n y : B u n d e s l i g a

The c lub that won’t go dow n

Alan Schweingruber is a staff writer on The FIFA Weekly.

On 14 April 2015 Bruno Labbadia had his bags packed ready for a holiday in Mallor-

ca, where he was planning on taking his wife for her birthday celebrations. Few people would have begrudged him the getaway, as the weather at the time was typical of central Europe in April: sporadic periods of rain, wind and sunshine. Just before take-off, however, the unemployed coach received a phone call from Hamburg asking whether he would take over first team duties at the club. Labbadia did not need long to make up his mind and a few hours later he flew in to Hamburg, the wettest city in Germany, instead of Mallorca.

Labbadia had been brought in to save the club, but few among the city’s 1.8 million inhabitants truly believed they could avoid the drop. A series of poor performances had shredded their faith in a side that spent

only ever-present club in Germany’s highest division. Powerful terminology indeed, and exactly the kind of challenge that appeals to Labbadia.

He somehow managed to steer Hamburg clear of relegation, doing so in dramatic fashion while simultaneously condemning other Bundesliga sides to the second tier. Freiburg dropped into the automatic relega-tion places on the final day of the season after Hamburg beat Schalke 2-0 in an entire-ly unexpected turn of events, much like a wounded bear suddenly waking up from anaesthetic just in time, right when the vet is reaching for the scalpel.

Hamburg went on to draw 1-1 with Karlsruhe in the first leg of their relegation play-off tie, setting up an extraordinary second leg on 1 June. HSV’s prospects appeared dim going into the away fixture: with no advantage to fall back on, their lack of quality was a real concern. Yet what they did have was plenty of energy and a referee who awarded a contro-versial stoppage-time free-kick with Hamburg 1-0 down. Marcelo Diaz converted it to take the game into extra-time, and Nicolai Muller sealed a 2-1 win in the 115th minute. It was scarcely believable, but the club that refuses to go down had survived once more. Å

Hamburg’s saviour Coach Bruno Labbadia said avoiding the drop in Karlsruhe was “an indescribable feeling.”

Hamburg’s fate appeared to be sealed.

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Fred l ights up the Ma raca na

Sven Goldmann is a leading football correspondent at Tagesspiegel newspaper in Berlin.

For Frederico Chaves Guedes, known popularly as Fred, last

Sunday was a personal triumph, and not just because he scored twice on week four of Brazil’s Campeonato Brasileiro. What made it that much more special was that he was the match-winner in Rio de Janeiro’s famous Fla-Flu derby between city rivals Flamengo and Fluminense. Yet there was also some-thing symbolic about the occasion for the veteran striker. In front of 25,000 fans at the Maracana, he had inspired a 3-2 win against a team wearing red and black stripes.

One year ago Fred was in the Brazil side that faced another team sporting the

aforementioned black and red. A Seleção were up against Germany in the semi-final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ in Belo Hori-zonte, where they were suffered a 7-1 humil-iation. It was a shock result that shook Brazil, the land of the beautiful game, to its core, and much of the blame was laid squarely at the feet of one man. Fans whistled Fred and reporters vilified him, and since that fateful night in the Estadio Minerao he has never played for his country again.

Yet Fred still plies his trade in Brazil and continues to score goals for Fluminense. On Sunday, the 31-year-old found the net with a coolly taken penalty and an expert close range finish, as well as forcing Flamengo defender Para into an own goal. Thanks to him, Flumin-ense were able to celebrate their 128th victory in the 400th Fla-Flu derby, despite having been reduced to ten men for almost the entire second half following a red card for Giovani. His colleagues fought like lions for every ball, and Fred also played his part with some tenacious defensive work. Such abnegation was

the perfect response to the statisticians who had mockingly calculated that he had only just covered more ground than Germany’s goal-keeper Manuel Neuer in the semi-final a year before. When the final whistle arrived this time around, the former Lyon man gathered his team-mates in front of the supporters, who spontaneously broke out into the club song of ‘Time de Guerreiros’. Fluminense have indeed become a ‘team of warriors’ again, with Fred as their leader. “We have to show this kind of spirit all the time,” he said afterwards, visibly feeling at peace with himself and with the world, a feeling for which he had had to wait over a year to rediscover.

A win such as this in the Rio derby will not erase the memories of the debacle in the World Cup, but for many supporters, not much tops beating your local rivals. In Rio de Janeiro, football is indeed more than a reli-gion, and Flamengo vs. Fluminense is its pinnacle, ever since the first duel back in 1912, continuing on from 1963, when 194,603 fans are reported to have attended the derby, and right up to the present day. ‘Fla-Flu’, a term coined by the legendary journalist Mario Filho, is now a world-famous brand in its own right, and one that has eclipsed its inventor in terms of recognition. Few people actually realise that the Maracana is named after Filho; its full name is Estadio Journalista Mario Filho. These days, though, it is the derby itself that grabs people’s attention. Å

Fred The Fluminense striker is making amends for his role in Brazil’s disappointing World Cup in 2014.

F luminense fought for every ball, with Fred, whist led by fans across Brazil af ter last year ’s

Wor ld Cup, also put ting in a defensive shif t .

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T H E I N T E R V I E W

NameVera PauwDate and place of birth18 January 1963, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsPositionDefenderClubs played forCF Modena Puck Deventer SV Saestum Teams coached1998–2004 Scotland Women2004–2010 Netherlands Women2011-2013 Russia WomenSince 2014 South Africa WomenNational team Netherlands89 caps, 2 goals

Who is going to win the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015™? Will there be surprises in Canada?

Vera Pauw: It’s a very difficult one to predict, of course. You have the sides we know well like Japan, Germany, France, and the USA, but with the expansion of the World Cup to 24 teams there can be many changes. For example, there are now eight European teams and Europe is the big force in women’s football. Canada have home advantage, which hopefully takes them through the group phase.

Are Canada among the favourites?They’ll be really happy to survive the

group stage, but after that it will be very difficult for them. It means there is really now a much more competitive field and a lot of teams with a legitimate chance to go to the second round. And of course, we all know that once you get to the knockout stages, with a bit of luck, before you know it… you can find yourself in the final!”

So what are you expecting to happen?It is much less predictable which will

make this tournament very interesting and it will also bring a lot more variety into the play. We used to have same teams dominat-ing there at the top and so it was a bit predictable how the play would unfold. I’m very curious to see how it will develop now.

Is the gap between the Europeans and the North Americans, and the rest of the women’s football world, beginning to close and will we see evidence of that at this tournament?

Nigeria now have 12 players in the top women’s leagues in Europe and the US and definitely can take a big step up. They can close the gap.

The last FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germa-ny in 2011 was such a huge success in terms of audience, both in the stadiums and also on TV. Can Canada come close?

Canada will definitely have full stadi-ums, from what I’ve heard they have some matches sold out already. The thing about Germany is they have a historical football public and we’ll see whether Canada can have the same. In terms of TV the audience has grown, there are more cameras, better productions … everything has improved and grown since 2011. It will definitely be as successful as Germany but the reaction in the stands might be different because in Canada there will be a lot of people who are not regular football supporters and who might react differently.

How much of a change has there been for women’s football since you started out as player more than two decades ago?

Incomparable, incomparable. If you look at my own country, Holland, I played about five international games a year, always against the same opponents. In the first European Championships there were only four teams who played just a semi-final and final. It has grown to a full, top level of sport environment in which our players, after we set up a Premier League connected to men’s football in Holland, are now all professional. There are nine who have a chance to play abroad and they are all able to just concentrate on their game.

How does that differ from the past?In my day, we had to try and find time

off work to train. I hope the players of today realise what a big fight the generations before them had to help get them what they have now. I don’t get the feeling many of the current players appreciate that. But it is

unbelievable. Without FIFA the game would not have grown like it has.

The team that you coach now, South Africa, came so close to a first-ever qualification, only for it to slip away at the last hurdle. How difficult will that make it for you to watch the Women’s World Cup in Canada?

Everyday the pain is getting bigger! We really should have been there, we deserved to be there. We had it in our own hands. The pain will not go away for the rest of my life. Å

Vera Pauw was speaking to Mark Gleeson

South Africa coach Vera Pauw narrowly missed out on Women’s World Cup qualification with her side. Here the Dutch tactician speaks about her disappointment,

her favourites for the title and developments in the women’s game.

“The stadiums will be full”

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P l a c e : N g w e S a u n g B e a c h , M y a n m a r

Da t e : 7 F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5

T im e : 6 . 0 3 p . m .

Ph o t o g r a ph e r : M a r i o W e i g t

First Love

Anzenberger20 T H E F I FA W E E K LY

FOOTBALL FOR HOPE

To fi nd out more, visit the Sustainability section on FIFA.com.

Football for Hope is our global commitment to building a better future through football. To date, we have supported over 550 socially-responsible community projects that use football as a tool for social development, improving the lives and prospects of young people and their surrounding communities

P R E S I D E N T I A L N O T E

Best wishes, Sepp Blatter

I have been reflecting deeply about my presidency and about the forty years in which my life has been inextricably bound to FIFA and the great sport of football. I cherish FIFA more than anything

and I want to do only what is best for FIFA and for football. I felt compelled to stand for re-election, as I believed that this was the best thing for the organisation. That election is over but FIFA’s challeng-es are not. FIFA needs a profound overhaul.

While I have a mandate from the membership of FIFA, I do not feel that I have a mandate from the entire world of football – the fans, the players, the clubs, the people who live, breathe and love football as much as we all do at FIFA.

Therefore, I have decided to lay down my mandate at an extraor-dinary elective Congress. I will continue to exercise my functions as FIFA President until that election.

Since I shall not be a candidate, and am therefore now free from the constraints that elections inevitably impose, I shall be able to focus on driving far-reaching, fundamental reforms that transcend our previous efforts. For years, we have worked hard to put in place administrative reforms, but it is plain to me that while these must continue, they are not enough.

The Executive Committee includes representatives of confeder-ations over whom we have no control, but for whose actions FIFA is held responsible. We need deep-rooted structural change.

The size of the Executive Committee must be reduced and its members should be elected through the FIFA Congress. The integri-ty checks for all Executive Committee members must be organised centrally through FIFA and not through the confederations. We need term limits not only for the president but for all members of the Executive Committee.

I have fought for these changes before and, as everyone knows, my efforts have been blocked. This time, I will succeed.

It is my deep care for FIFA and its interests, which I hold very dear, that has led me to take this decision. I would like to thank those who have always supported me in a constructive and loyal manner as President of FIFA and who have done so much for the game that we all love. What matters to me more than anything is that when all of this is over, football is the winner.

Football must win

Watch Sepp Blatter's speech in full at http://tinyurl.com/pb9vjt2

Reflecting the work of the FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre (F-MARC), the focus of discussions at the Medical Confer-ence was on the measures to be adopted across all member asso-

ciations to prevent some of the major health threats for our sport, including the prevention of injuries on the pitch, the prevention of sudden cardiac arrests and the prevention of doping to name just a few. Participants also discussed the unique potential of football as a tool for the improvement of public health.

Since its establishment in 1994, F-MARC has conducted a number of scientific studies and developed innovative programmes to tackle health issues. Regular implementation of the complete warm-up programme ‘FIFA 11+’, which has already been successfully imple-mented in a number of member associations, can reduce injuries by up to 50 per cent and is being extended further. Moreover, seeing that football itself can be a fantastic tool for improving general health, F-MARC has progressively moved from a concept of ‘Medicine for Football’ to ‘Football for Health’. The ‘FIFA11 for Health’ pro-gramme was extended to Asia and Latin America and is now being introduced in the Caribbean and Europe. Five years after its launch, more than 200,000 children in 20 countries have benefited from the programme.

The Medical Conference was also an opportunity to discuss the latest advances in the fight against doping with all member associa-tions. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Secretary General David Howman underlined the long term collaboration of FIFA and WADA and the introduction of new measures such as the Athlete Biological Passport programme. Å

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Medical Conference focuses on prevention

Medical representatives and experts from FIFA’s 209 member associations gathered in Zurich ahead of the FIFA Congress for the third FIFA Medical Conference.

F I F A C O N G R E S S 2 015

Cuiaba, Brazil Children benefiting from the ‘FIFA 11 for Health’ programme.Buda

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C H I L E

Stars of the desert

El Salvador in Chile is a miners’ settlement situated just a few kilo-metres from the copper mine of the same name. The layout of the town resembles a helmet, an irony that would be more amusing if the mining industry were not such a serious business. The setting for this functional community is the Atacama Desert, nestled at the foot of the Andes some 2,400 metres above sea level. Fewer

than 9,000 people live in this remote corner of the globe, far away from everything and everyone, battling against the hardness of the stone to extract the red ore that puts food on their tables.

The landscape consists of sand as far as the eye can see, interrupted only by the streets connecting this outpost with Chile’s most important cities. Although it is said that this is the driest place on Earth, the Ata-cama roses made famous by Chilean author Luis Sepulveda somehow grow here, as he explains: “Here they are. They are the desert roses, the Atacama roses. The plants are always here under the salty earth. First the ancient Indians of the Atacama, then the Incas, Spanish conquista-dors, Pacific War soldiers and saltpetre workers saw them. They are always here and bloom once a year.” The story of the Atacama roses is one of hope, success against the odds, joy in adversity and wonder,

Chilean club Cobresal hail from a small mining town 2,400 metres above sea level. The new league

champions’ surprising success has given football in this South American country a new boost,

writes Emanuele Giulianelli.

Small club hits the big time Cobresal win their first championship title. Goo

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C H I L E

sentiments which all now apply to the mining town’s football club. This year Cobresal clinched the Chilean Primera Division trophy for the first time in the team’s history, defying all expectations to amass 34 points in 17 games and end their Clausura campaign with a two-point advantage over historic club Colo Colo, who have won a record 30 titles.

A welcome diversion for minersThe story goes that the club was founded in 1979 at the behest of Chile’s then-dictator Augusto Pinochet, who decided to use funds from state mining company Codelco to establish a new football team that would entertain and distract miners who were increasingly rebelling against the regime – the classic policy of “bread and circuses”.

“ The Copa América will contribute to the continued development of Chilean football as the infrastructure has been expanded too.”

Cobresal Coach Dalcio Giovagnoli

Until this year, the biggest highlight for the local community was when Cobresal won the Chilean Cup – then called the Copa LAN Chile – in 1987. Under the guidance of coach Manuel Rodriguez Araneda, the Mineros defeated Colo Colo 2-0 in the final, with 20-year-old Ivan Zamorano providing the first goal.

As if plucked from the pages of a Roberto Bolano book, fantasy has now become reality – or to put it another way, it is difficult to tell the difference between the two. Cobresal play their home matches at the Estadio El Cobre, opened in 1980 after just a year of construction; the club were later forced to install a grass pitch to be able to take part in the country’s second tier, the Primera B.

Bird’s eye view From above, El Salvador looks as though its street layout was modelled on a Roman centurion’s helmet.

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An average crowd of 800The arena holds 20,752 spectators – more than double the population of El Salvador. The joke around the village is that Estadio El Cobre must be the biggest stadium in the world, and with an average attendance of 800 for each home game, it is almost impossible to imagine the stadium ever reaching full capacity.

The team is currently managed by Argentinian coach Dalcio Giovag-noli. Born in 1963, the former defender spent the majority of his playing career with Rosario side Newell’s Old Boys during the 1980s. He later began his coaching career in the same town by taking the reins at Club Renato Cesarini in 1996. This marked the start of a South American odyssey with stops in Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Chile, and even a stint at the helm of the Bolivian national team in 2003. His first Chilean club was Rangers de Talca, a side he steered through the 2012/13 season. He then returned to Argentina to work with Sportivo Belgrano before heading back across the Andes to Cobresal.

When Giovagnoli arrived, the club were right at the bottom of the Apertura championship, but then came the turning point, “primarily in terms of motivation”, as he explained to us in an interview. The team

Mr. Giovagnoli, what does this triumph mean to you?Dalcio Giovagnoli: Sealing the title is the result of careful

planning. It is the reward for the creative efforts of the technical parts of the team, as well as those of the individual and the collec-tive. When my staff and I took over at Cobresal, the team were in the relegation places of the Apertura championship round. We put together short-term goals and step by step created long term ones. The key to our success lies in everyone at the club, the board, the players and the staff, working to this plan.

When did you realize that you could win the title?The turning point was without doubt the away game against

Colo Colo, which we won 2-1 despite going a goal down. In that moment, we realized we could be champions.

“The calmness here reminds me of life back in the 1980s,” said Argentinian manager Dalcio Giovagnoli, the man behind Cobresal’s success.

“Beating Colo Colo was the turning point”How did you set-up during the title-winning season?

We mostly played 4-2-3-1, but it varied. My staff and I have worked hard on a number of tactical systems and can transfer those to the players.

How would you rate the quality of the league?I would almost go so far as to label it irregular, because the

most important teams, the ones that have traditionally dominated Chilean football, were heavily involved in international competi-tions. Nevertheless, I can still proudly say that our opponents were not on the same level as us. They were surprised by our confidence and unity. I was never disappointed with my team and was im-pressed at the harmony in the changing room.

What goals have you set yourself for next year?I have yet to decide whether I will stay in Chile. In terms of

Cobresal, a new squad is needed as 80 percent of the players’ contracts are set to expire.

What does it mean to you to represent the “Mineros”?To be a “Minero” means hard work, suffering, hardship and a

willingness to make sacrifices. All of our group, be they players, assistants, directors or coaches have shown they have these quali-ties. That’s why people can connect with our team, particularly the miners. El Salvador is one of the few remaining mining cities left in the world. Even though the work here is very much a present day way of life, the calmness and rhythm reminds me of life back in the 1980s. I’m very happy here. More than the joy and celebration, our success is a source of recognition for the community. It’s about thinking of success, recognising it is possible to achieve it even in the face of obstacles and that your own strength can make you a champion.

Dalcio Giovanoli was speaking to Emanuele Giulianelli

C H I L E

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Chilean footballPopulation: 17.3 millionCapital: Santiago de ChileRecord champions: Colo Colo (30 titles)National coach: Jorge Sampaoli (ARG)National captain: Claudio Bravo (Barcelona)World Cups: 9 appearancesBest result: 3rd place at 1962 World Cup (in Chile)

FIFA in ChileBetween 2010 and 2013 FIFA provided around $1.5 million of support for Chilean football. Two artificial turf pitches were built in Concepcion and Constitucion as part of the Goal programme, while the headquar-ters of the Football Federation of Chile in Quilin were also expanded. In 2014 FIFA invested $500,000 in the country’s football, including youth and women’s football.

also benefited from the fact that the league’s biggest sides, Colo Colo and Universidad de Chile, faced the double burden of also playing in the Copa Libertadores.

These international commitments had a particularly negative effect on Universidad’s performances. The 2014 Apertura champions could only manage a fifth-place finish in the 2015 Clausura, seven points behind Cobresal.

Copa America provides momentumThis triumph for the Mineros is a sign of renewal for football in Chile, where the 44th edition of the Copa America is taking place between 11 June and 4 July. “This tournament will contribute to the continued de-velopment of Chilean football as the infrastructure has been expanded too,” Dalcio Giovagnoli explained. “But first and foremost it is strength-ening people’s sense of belonging in this country.”

The 52-year-old knows the South American football landscape ex-tremely well and views Chile as home to the continent’s third-best league and national side after Argentina and Brazil. The Primera Division’s ris-ing standards are also reflected in the successes of the country’s inter-national representatives, coached by another Argentinian in the form of Jorge Sampaoli. Of the 58 players to have made the Chile squad in the past 12 months, no fewer than 26 play in the country’s own top flight.

However, this proportion is considerably lower in the provisional Copa America squad, with only three of the 26 nominated players under con-tract with Primera Division sides – second and third-choice goalkeepers Johnny Herrera and Paulo Garces of Universidad de Chile and Colo Colo respectively, and Jean Beausejour, who has returned to his homeland and Chile’s most successful side of all time after four seasons in England with Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic.

The formatLast season 18 teams took part in the Primera Division, seven of them based in the capital Santiago. The season is divided into two separate tournaments: the Apertura championship from July to December and the Clausura, which runs from January until May. According to the rules, an overall table is drawn up that weights the teams’ table positions in both championships based on their respective coefficient. The three last-placed sides are relegated to Primera B, even though this year only San Luis de Quillota were promoted, returning for their 18th season of top-flight football.

As a result, the Primera Division has been reduced from 18 to 16 sides for the upcoming Apertura championship while the second division has expanded from 14 to 16 teams. Å

C H I L E

When Giovagnoli arr ived, the club were r ight at the bot tom

of the Aper tura championship.

Eyes on the prize The “Mineros”on the streets of El Salvador.

Turning point Colo Colo goalkeeper Justo Villar conceded twice against Cobresal.

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Inspire her passion. Use your Visa Card to purchase tickets to the FIFA Women’s World Cup™.

Every dream needs a kick-off.

The week ly column by our s t a f f wr iters

F R E E K I C K S P O T L I G H T O N

GENERAL INFORMATION

Country:

SwedenFIFA Trigramme:

SWEContinent:

EuropeCapital:

Stockholm

GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

Surface area:

449,964 km²Highest point:

Kebnekaise 2,117 mNeighbouring seas and oceans:

Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia

MEN’S FOOTBALLFIFA Ranking:

39thWorld Cup:

11Best performance:

2nd, 1958

WOMEN’S FOOTBALLFIFA Ranking:

5thWorld Cup:

6Best performance:

2nd, 2003

LATEST RESULTSMen’s:

Sweden - Iran 3:1 31 March 2015

Women’s:

Sweden - Netherlands 2:1 30 May 2015

FIFA INVESTMENTSSince 2010:

$ 2,550,000

Some people celebrate their disinterest in sport. Winston Churchill was one of them. “No sports” he apparently responded to a

journalist when asked about the secret to old age, despite his excessive tobacco consump-tion. Britain’s Prime Minister was in a good position to judge - he lived until the age of 90. Another to whom the question may justifiably be asked is Helmut Schmidt. The former Ger-man Chancellor is now 96 and still a chain smoker. In years gone by, Schmidt took short breaks to go and have a cigarette when making public appearances. These days, however, when giving interviews (sadly now a rare oc-currence) he can light up a cigarette in any TV studio in Germany.

Smokers enjoy seeing Mr. Schmidt lighting up on television as it legitimises their own smoking. "If their willpower dwindles and they're unable to follow through on those arro-gant plans they made to quit, it doesn't matter. They need only look at Helmut Schmidt, a chain smoker who is still going strong.

It comes as no surprise that most chain smokers do not last so long. However, it is pos-sible to match the longevity of the Churchills and the Schmidts of this world, just as it is pos-sible to guess every number on a lottery ticket correctly, or be struck by lightning when going for a walk (even if the latter is far more likely). Statistics like these are certainly interesting. Indeed, more people die from being kicked by a donkey than in a plane crash.

What are the chances of dying in the gar-den of a restaurant, you might ask? The sun is

shining, the beer tastes good, it’s a lovely, warm day and you’re sat in the shade. But then your peace and quiet is interrupted when Ryan Giggs pops into your head. The legendary Welshman that set football alight with Manchester United for 24 years and, even at the age of 40, ran rings around younger plays as if he himself were still 17 – what was his secret? It certainly wasn’t chain-smoking: “Without yoga, I’d never achieved all that I did.”

Yet in the dressing rooms of professional football clubs, yoga is becoming less and less popular. Bikram yoga is a common type of practice, but it is not without its risks. It in-volves stretching the body for 90 minutes in a room heated to 38 degrees, and there is also the somewhat crazy 30-day challenge, a com-petition against oneself: yoga for 30 days straight, 30 minutes per day. So you may find that taking the healthy option isn’t always the best course of action, and on days when the sun is shining and friends are sitting in the shade waving for you to join them, that’s when things like yoga are even tougher. It’s the Churchills and Schmidts that are sitting out-side, arrogantly making those well-inten-tioned plans to quit smoking. Your only con-solation for making such sacrifices is that you’ll probably outlive them. Å

Alan Schweingruber

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T H E N

Frankfurt, Germany

1962

Nothing gets in the way of a game of table football with the family after Sunday lunch.

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Fans test their foosball skills after the match between Liverpool Ladies and Manchester City Women.

Widnes, England

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RB global print 2_English ver.indd 1 15. 4. 29. �� 4:14

T H E A R T O F F O O T B A L L Q U O T E S O F T H E W E E K

“ I t f i t s the team and the cit y l ike

a r ing on a f inger.”Juande Ramos on Sevilla and

the UEFA Europa League

“ I ’d come f rom Swindon to

Chelsea, so I ’m think ing the

f acil i t ies would be much bet ter.

I asked the chief scout ,

‘ Where’s my of f ice? ’.

He laughed and said, ‘ I ’ l l t ake you’.

So he took me to the s t a f f room.

I had to phone Ron Atk inson

to do a deal for £2.2m.

And the of f ice was li terally a

BT phone! They ’d t aken

the bot tom of the phone out .

I had to put 50p in!”Glenn Hoddle on becoming Chelsea manager in 1993

“Even my gir l f r iend says

somet imes, ‘C an you be like

Chr is t ian, he’s sweet ’.

That ’s the funny par t o f i t .

He c an be ver y cute.”Leandro Bacuna on Aston Villa team-mate Christian Benteke

“ You don’ t speak English, mate!

Three years here and you don’ t

speak English!”Cesc Fabregas interrupts an Oscar interview

to rib his Chelsea team-mate

The world’s most enjoyable ball game wouldn’t be nearly as popular if the action didn’t take place within a strict-

ly delimited territory. It could even be claimed that a major part of football’s ap-peal lies in the relatively narrow confines within which the sport is played.

If a coach ventures out of his dugout area, he risks being cautioned by the ref-eree. Conversely, if a player has had to leave the pitch following an injury, he is not allowed to re-enter the field of play without the consent of the match officials. And let’s face it, a goal is essentially just a large net. Finding the target, hitting the onion bag – whatever you want to call it, the aim of the game is to capture the ball.

It can certainly be highly frustrating when the ball makes a bid for freedom. If it flies out of play during a kickabout on the village square, finding it in the long grass of the surrounding meadows could prove difficult, and if it bounces from a back yard onto a busy street, running after it could put lives at risk. An impromptu game on a tarmac pitch wouldn’t be half as enjoyable for city-dwelling youngsters without a three-metre high metal fence to prevent the ball from escaping and proceedings grinding to a halt.

It hasn’t always been that way, of course. La soule, an early form of football played in France and England in the Mid-dle Ages, didn’t really have a defined play-ing field as such. The game was started by kicking the ball into the air or throwing it off a church tower. The two competing teams, which often comprised members of neighbouring parishes or groups of single versus married men, would hoof the ball about until it was returned to a predeter-mined location. This could be a wall, a church portal, a river bank or even the hearth of a house. La soule was an aggres-sive sport and it was not uncommon for serious injuries to occur during a game.

Surely it’s a sign of cultural progress that the game of football was eventually confined within an enclosed area and tamed by the civilising influence of a clearly defined playing field? While serv-ing time in Paris’s St. Lazare prison in 1793, the French artist Hubert Robert painted a scene of a match in the insti-tution’s courtyard. All appears calm on the canvas. Indeed, some spectators are even taking in the action from the best box seats – the only difference being that they cannot return home after the final whistle. Å

The beauty of boundaries

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FIFA PARTNER

In Turning Point , personali t ies re f lec t on a decisive moment in their l ives .

T U R N I N G P O I N T

NameFabio ColtortiDate and place of birth3 December 1980, LocarnoPositionGoalkeeperClubs played for1999-2001 Kriens2001-2003 Schaffhausen2003-2005 Thun2005-2007 Grasshoppers2007-2011 Racing Santander2011-2012 Lausannesince 2012 RB LeipzigSwitzerland national team8 caps

After an unsatisfactory season with Lau-sanne in the Swiss Super League, I spent the summer of 2012 in Marbella with my wife Patricia and daughter Adriana. My wife is Spanish; I met her while playing in Santander. My family

stayed in Spain for the sake of Adriana’s edu-cation, so I was often apart from them. That was hard, and I was toying with the idea of retiring so that I could be closer to them.

The telephone rang one day during this hol-iday in Marbella. It was Peter Pacult, the coach of RB Leipzig. At that point his team were play-ing in the Regionalliga, the fourth tier of Ger-man football. Pacult expressed his interest in signing me, and although I was initially very sceptical about the prospect given their league position, I flew there to get the full picture. The club’s vision was clear – to establish a Bunde-sliga side in eastern Germany. A suitable stadi-um had already been built in Leipzig for the 2006 World Cup, and there was a huge desire for top-flight football in the city given that their last representatives in the Bundesliga were VfB Leipzig in the 1993/94 season.

I was given an overview of their infra-structure and listened to the plans of the club’s officials. I was quickly convinced by their professional efforts and signed a con-tract until 2014 with the option to extend it by a further year if we were promoted two seasons running. I believed that reaching the top tier was a realistic target, something I was often ridiculed for at the start. Nevertheless, if I hadn’t been sure that the right conditions existed, I would never have agreed to another period of separation from my family.

Looking back, I can see that my decision was completely justified. We were promoted into the third tier in my first season after a dramatic second play-off match against Sportfreunde Lotte. That was an emotional moment in my career because moving up to the next division was so difficult and such a

hugely important achievement for RB Leip-zig. We repeated the feat in my second season to rise to the 2. Bundesliga. Beating Saar-brucken 5-1 at home in front of 42,700 fans to seal our promotion gave me goosebumps all over again.

After a 15-year career in football, I can now really enjoy and appreciate my time in Leipzig. All my hopes have been fulfilled, and as the oldest player at the club I can bring my experience and personality to the dressing room. Nevertheless, when I talk about enjoy-ing life here, that doesn’t mean I’m not giving my all every day to deliver my best perfor-mances. I’m still dreaming of the top flight – it would be another reward for being apart from my family. Å

As told to Peter Eggenberger

Swiss goalkeeper Fabio Coltorti made the switch from his home-land’s top flight to German fourth-tier side RB Leipzig. It was a brave move that paid off.

“Pacult’s call was invaluable”

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1 Germany 0 1775

2 Belgium 1 1509

3 Argentina -1 1496

4 Colombia 0 1435

5 Brazil 0 1392

6 Netherlands 0 1378

7 Portugal 0 1229

8 Uruguay 0 1183

9 France 2 1164

10 Spain 0 1147

11 Switzerland -2 1146

12 Romania 0 1115

13 Italy 0 1101

14 Costa Rica 1 1056

15 England -1 1051

16 Czech Republic 2 1036

17 Slovakia 2 1012

18 Croatia -1 992

19 Chile -3 989

20 Austria 5 946

21 Algeria -1 941

22 Wales -1 929

23 Mexico -1 926

24 Côte d’Ivoire -1 916

25 Greece -1 899

26 Russia 1 833

27 USA 1 823

28 Scotland 2 818

29 Tunisia 2 808

29 Denmark 0 808

31 Ecuador 3 806

32 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 802

32 Poland 3 802

34 Ghana -8 800

35 Ukraine -2 784

36 Senegal 0 782

37 Iceland 1 769

38 Cape Verde Islands -1 746

39 Sweden 0 737

40 Israel 6 725

41 Iran -1 717

42 Hungary 1 685

43 Nigeria 2 681

44 Northern Ireland -2 676

45 Guinea -4 673

45 Serbia -1 673

47 Congo 2 666

48 Slovenia -1 653

49 Cameroon -1 641

50 Equatorial Guinea 11 635

51 Albania 6 624

52 Japan -2 623

52 Mali 4 623

54 Panama -1 597

55 Egypt -4 596

56 Congo DR -2 591

57 Turkey -5 590

58 Korea Republic -1 587

59 Gabon -4 583

60 Republic of Ireland 2 581

61 Peru 2 546

62 Bulgaria 5 537

63 Australia 1 532

64 Norway 6 528

65 Jamaica 9 524

66 Burkina Faso 0 520

67 Trinidad and Tobago -2 519

68 Zambia -8 517

69 South Africa -10 515

70 Montenegro 5 513

71 Uganda 0 504

72 Venezuela -3 497

73 United Arab Emirates -5 496

74 Uzbekistan -2 479

75 Honduras 1 462

76 Haiti 3 442

77 Togo 3 438

78 Finland 0 410

79 China PR 3 409

80 Belarus 3 400

81 Mozambique 5 391

82 Latvia 3 390

83 Sierra Leone 5 387

84 Armenia -7 383

85 Paraguay -4 382

86 Iraq 0 381

87 Cyprus 9 377

88 Angola 1 374

89 Bolivia 3 371

89 El Salvador -5 371

91 Estonia 2 370

92 Morocco -2 369

93 Guatemala -3 348

94 Rwanda -21 346

95 Malawi 2 345

96 Lithuania 4 341

97 Qatar 2 334

98 Saudi Arabia -3 329

99 Ethiopia 2 324

100 FYR Macedonia 5 321

101 Oman -4 319

102 Faroe Islands 0 318

103 Jordan 0 316

104 Antigua and Barbuda 2 313

105 Namibia 9 303

106 Bahrain 2 299

107 Cuba 2 295

108 Sudan 3 292

109 Canada 6 290

110 Benin -16 289

111 Botswana -7 285

112 St Vincent and the Grenadines -2 279

113 Madagascar 37 278

114 St Kitts and Nevis -2 275

115 Azerbaijan 1 272

116 Dominican Republic 2 257

117 Niger 2 251

118 Palestine 23 242

119 Zimbabwe 4 238

119 Libya -7 238

121 Syria 4 234

122 Lesotho -1 226

123 Kenya -6 220

124 Moldova -4 219

125 Kuwait 1 218

126 Bermuda 2 217

127 Vietnam -3 215

127 Tanzania -20 215

129 Thailand 13 207

129 Liechtenstein -2 207

131 Luxembourg 6 201

132 Barbados -2 196

133 Kazakhstan 1 195

134 Burundi -12 194

135 Lebanon 9 188

136 St Lucia -5 186

137 Philippines 0 183

138 New Zealand 6 180

139 Georgia 0 173

139 Tajikistan 4 173

141 Central African Republic 3 161

141 India 6 161

143 Myanmar 15 160

144 Curaçao 4 159

145 Malta 4 154

146 Timor-Leste 5 151

146 Korea DPR 10 151

148 Liberia -16 149

149 Mauritania -20 146

150 Suriname 5 141

151 Aruba -15 138

151 Afghanistan -16 138

151 Nicaragua 3 138

154 Singapore 8 136

155 Guinea-Bissau -23 131

155 Indonesia 4 131

155 Belize 4 131

158 Guyana 5 129

159 Bhutan 4 128

160 Gambia -3 124

160 Grenada 11 124

162 Swaziland 14 121

M E N ’ S W O R L D R A N K I N G

Rank Team +/- Points

162 Malaysia 4 121

164 Hong Kong 5 118

165 Yemen 3 117

166 Bangladesh 3 116

167 Puerto Rico 0 114

168 Dominica -3 112

169 New Caledonia 6 111

170 Pakistan 3 106

171 US Virgin Islands 3 104

172 Chad -20 100

173 Turkmenistan -14 99

174 Guam 2 97

175 Laos 3 94

176 Mauritius 9 90

177 Kyrgyzstan -24 89

178 Maldives -38 86

178 Cambodia 1 86

178 Chinese Taipei 1 86

181 Montserrat -9 74

182 Tahiti 3 71

183 Nepal -2 70

184 Brunei Darussalam -2 69

185 Macau -2 66

186 Sri Lanka 2 64

187 Seychelles 2 60

188 São Tomé e Príncipe 2 58

189 Cayman Islands 2 48

190 Comoros -5 44

190 Solomon Islands 2 44

192 San Marino 2 40

193 Turks and Caicos Islands -10 33

194 British Virgin Islands 4 29

195 Fiji 1 28

196 Bahamas 2 26

197 South Sudan -4 24

198 Samoa -2 21

199 Mongolia 1 19

200 Vanuatu -5 17

200 Tonga 1 17

202 Papua New Guinea 0 13

203 American Samoa 0 12

204 Andorra 0 8

204 Eritrea 0 8

206 Somalia 0 6

207 Djibouti 0 4

207 Cook Islands 0 4

209 Anguilla 0 2

http://www.fifa.com/worldranking/index.html

Rank Team +/- Points Rank Team +/- Points Rank Team +/- Points

LeaderMoves into top tenMoves out of top tenMatches played in totalMost matches playedBiggest move by pointsBiggest move by ranksBiggest drop by pointsBiggest drop by ranks

Germany (unchanged)France (9th, up 2)Switzerland (11th, down 2)44Madagascar, Namibia (6 matches each)Madagascar (up 122 points)Madagascar (up 37 ranks)Rwanda (down 128 points)Maldives (down 38 ranks)

Last updated:4 June 2015


P U Z Z L E

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The objective of Sudoku is to fill a 9x9 grid with digits so that each of the numbers from 1 to 9 appears exactly once in each column, row and 3x3 sub-grid.

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HANDSHAKE FOR PEACE

The Handshake for Peace is an initiative between FIFA and the Nobel Peace Center combining the global reach of football with a simple handshake – a Handshake for Peace – that seeks to set an example of friendship to society. The handshake forms an integral part of all FIFA events, giving a strong platform for this positive gesture of peace, respect and solidarity.

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