FIFA Report: Blatter Meets Japan's World Cup Bid Leaders; Brazil and Ghana Qualify for World Cup

Japanese Football Association chiefs meet FIFA president Sepp Blatter in Zurich to press the country’s credentials to stage the World Cup in 2018 or 2022.

The delegation met with Blatter and senior FIFA officials at the governing body’s headquarters on Monday. JFA president Motoaki Inukai, who is expected to be appointed as bid leader in the coming days, headed the delegation.

“Japan is still in the process of developing its sporting culture,” Inukai told reporters during the visit. “We would like to harness the FIFA World Cup, the biggest sporting event on the planet, to help us in this respect as it can have a major impact on getting people involved in sport. Only football can do that.”

Other members of the group at the meeting included Suminori Gokoh, director of Japan's 2018/2022 bid, and Kunji Matsuda, manager of the JFA's communications team.

Inukai and his colleagues held discussions with Blatter on his country’s 2018/2022 bid plans and developments in Japanese football before posing with the World Cup trophy at the conclusion of their visit.

The next step for Japan and the other 10 candidates in the bid race is submission of the signed bid agreement by the Dec. 11 deadline set by FIFA.

Blatter thanked the Japanese FA for its interest in bidding for the World Cup. “This bid, along with all the others that we have received, is a sign of recognition for the tournament,” he said.

Rivals in the race for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups are Australia, England, Indonesia, Mexico, Qatar, Russia, South Korea and the US, with joint bids coming from Belgium-Netherlands and Spain-Portugal.

Brazil and Ghana Qualify for World Cup

ConfederationGhana have impressed in their World Cup qualification campaign (Getty Images) Cup holders Brazil and African powerhouse Ghana are through to next year’s World Cup finals tournament in South Africa.

South American media headlines focused on Brazil’s emphatic 3-1 away win over arch-rivals Argentina, which gave them sufficient points to claim a berth at the quadrennial football showcase.

Argentina’s loss means World Cup qualification is far from a formality. They will need victory over third-placed Paraguay to hold on to the fourth South American automatic qualification spot they had been on track to claim. Argentina’s national coach Diego Maradona is now under extreme pressure to ensure his side does not fail in its World Cup qualification quest for what would be the first time in 30 years.

Leading African football nation, Ghana, is being widely praised for its exceptional attacking and defensive performance to become the second qualifier from the region – after South Africa, which qualifies as host – and one of the 32 teams at next year’s June 11-July 11 tournament.

The Black Stars progressed by hitting the back of the net twice against Sudan at the weekend. At the other end of the pitch, the performance of Ghana’s experienced keeper, Richard Kingson, has also been impressive. He is yet to concede a goal in the final African group qualifying phase.

“I am overjoyed that one of the continent’s greatest teams will be playing in Africa’s first FIFA World Cup,” South Africa’s organizing committee CEO Danny Jordaan said in a statement.

“A long-standing symbol of hope on the continent, Ghana is sure to win many fans in South Africa. We hope that they will go far in the tournament and do Africa proud.”

The other teams to have qualified for South Africa 2010 are The Netherlands, Australia, Japan, and both North and South Korea.

Platini Backs FIFA’s Chelsea Sanctions

UEFA president Michel Platini has given his support to a FIFA decision to impose strict transfer sanctions on Premier League big spenders, Chelsea.

FIFA last week banned the English Premier League club from signing any players in the next two transfer windows – or 16 months - after finding it guilty of poaching former Lens player Gael Kakuta in 2007.

Chelsea and Kakuta were both fined, and the player was also banned from playing for four months.

Platini says the action was necessary in the campaign to eliminate poaching of young talent. “It’s a FIFA decision but we're interested in what happens,” he told British media. “It is necessary to make rules in the transfer market of young players. I say this not because Chelsea or another team is involved, but the illegal traffic of young players has to be stopped.”

South Africa Launches 'Football Fridays'

South Africans are being urged to wear football jerseys every Friday in the countdown to the World Cup, in a national initiative to build support and enthusiasm for the event.

“We are encouraging everyone to adopt Football Friday and to wear the shirt of their favorite team. Obviously, we’d prefer it if their favorite team were the national team,” Paul Bannister, head of the International Marketing Council of South Africa (IMC), said in a statement.

“By wearing a football shirt to work or just socially each Friday, you’ll be showing your true colors as a supporter of South Africa proudly hosting the biggest sporting event in the world.”

The IMC is spearheading government efforts to promote the World Cup, which have so far included a TV advertising campaign promote the “diski” – a dance which is based on mimicking footballers' moves.

There has also been a campaign encouraging South Africans to learn their national anthem, sung in five of the country’s most spoken languages, leaving many people stuck on some verses. Bannister said a new cell phone ring tone featuring the anthem will be launched as part of the educational effort.

Brazil Top FIFA Rankings

Confederations Cup champions Brazil kept their top spot in the FIFA rankings for a third straight month, with Euro 2008 champions Spain in second position. In third spot was The Netherlands, with world champions Italy gaining enough points to pull even with Germany in fourth place.

Among the moves, the US moved up one place to 11th, its best ranking since the 2006 World Cup, while Australia was the top ranked Asian nation and rose two places to 14th – its best ranking ever.

The latest installment of the rankings was based on 70 matches, including eight World Cup qualifiers.

Written by Anthony Stavrinos