Sepp Blatter expects to get in trouble with the FIFA medical service for the La Paz waiver, he quipped to IOC delegates in Guatemala City. (Getty) (ATR) International Soccer Federation president Sepp Blatter has yielded to a Bolivian campaign to get FIFA recognition for matches at the high-altitude capital of La Paz.
His July 6 announcement comes after sustained protest in the Andes to FIFA's May ban on matches in high-altitude stadiums. Bolivian president Evo Morales called the ban a violation of human rights and organized the pressure on Blatter.
"I had a good visit with Evo Morales - a good soccer player, I have to say - and he asked me for an exception for La Paz, and I can make that exception,"
Blatter did not mention other high-altitude cities. He also told his audience at the IOC meeting in Guatemala City that other South American teams will have to approve the waiver.
The original FIFA declaration banned matches above 2,500 meters above sea level. La Paz sits 3,600 meters above sea level.
Players from low-altitude countries sometimes have trouble breathing in the thin air of the Andes.
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