Iran coach Branko Ivankovic has confirmed that veteran striker Ali Daei will start the team’s opening World Cup game with Mexico on June 11.
The 37 year-old is the world’s leading international goalscorer with 109 goals from 149 games but there are fears that, given his age, he will struggle to make an impact at the highest level.
The Croatian boss has no such doubts.
'He will start,' he said. 'Of course he is not the best age, he is 37 now but he is a very important player for us. He is a leader in our team and hopefully he will play well in the World Cup.'
Perhaps of more concern to Iranian fans is the Mehdi Mahdavikia’s back -one that is making the
In happier news, Bayern Munich star Ali Karimi is fit, despite missing a friendly against a local amateur side.
'Karimi is healthy. We just did not want to make any more risks. He will be there against
The possibility that Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may visit the national team in Germany if it progresses past the first round could create security headaches for the organizers.
The controversial statesman told the players before they left that he may make it to Germany.
"We met the president yesterday and told him that he should come to Germany to see the games of the Iranian team," said Mohammad Dadgan, the Iranian Football Federation’s president. "He said if he has time he could come to Germany."
Recently a number of European MP’s called for Team Melli to be banned from the World Cup and the possibility of a visit from Ahmadinejad, after his remarks about Israel, the Holocaust and the ongoing nuclear issue, would be likely to spark a series of protests in Germany.
In all, a total of 52 internationals from 23 teams involved ply their trade in Germany, a scenario that will not only allow them to prepare their team-mates for the forthcoming event, but also to welcome them to the host country.
Switzerland have the largest contingent of players based in Germany, with coach Jakob 'Kobi' Kuhn placing his trust in seven Bundesliga men: Philipp Degen (Borussia Dortmund), Ludovic Magnin (Stuttgart), Tranquillo Barnetta (Bayer Leverkusen), Christoph Spycher (Eintracht Frankfurt), Marco Streller and Ricardo Cabanas (both Cologne) and Raphael Wicky (Hamburg).
Five Bundesliga players - Tomas Rosicky, Jan Koller, David Jarolim, Jiri Stajner and Jan Polak - figure in Karel Bruckner's Czech Republic squad, while Croatia coach Zlatko Kranjcar has the same number in Ivan Klasnic, Josip Simunic, Marko Babic, Jurica Vranjes and Nico Kovac.
The German top flight is also represented in Iran's final 23, with Mehdi Mahdavikia, Ali Karimi, Vahid Hashemian, and Ferydoon Zandi all included. Even world champions Brazil are getting in on the act, putting their faith in a quartet of German-based players as they go in search of back-to-back titles. Ze Roberto and Lucio won the German league and cup double with Bayern Munich this season while Gilberto is at Hertha Berlin and Juan at Bayer Leverkusen.
Another South American team, Paraguay, meanwhile, will line up with a trio of forwards from the Bundesliga after coach Anibal Ruiz named Bayern team-mates Julio Dos Santos and Roque Santa Cruz, as well as Werder Bremen's Nelson Valdez in his squad.
Players in Germany's lower divisions will also be represented at this summer's showpiece event between 9 June and 9 July. One such player is Australian Joshua Kennedy, who was surprisingly included in Guus Hiddink's final 23. Kennedy has just been relegated with Dynamo Dresden from the German second division to the regional league, though he will be lining up for Bundesliga outfit Nuremberg next season.
Elsewhere, Togo's German coach Otto Pfister is putting his faith in two players from the regional league: Karim Guede (Hamburg's B team) and Assimou Toure (Bayer Leverkusen's B team).
The 52 foreign players from the German leagues selected for the 2006 FIFA World Cup are as follows:
Group A
Poland Jacek Krzynowek (Bayer Leverkusen), Ebi Smolarek (Borussia Dortmund)
Group B
England Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich)
Paraguay Julio Dos Santos, Roque Santa Cruz (both Bayern Munich), Nelson Valdez (Werder Bremen)
Sweden Fredrik Stenman (Bayer Leverkusen)
Group C
Côte d'Ivoire Guy Demel (Hamburg)
Serbia and Montenegro Mladen Krstajic (Schalke), Danijel Ljuboja (Stuttgart)
Netherlands Rafael van der Vaart, Khalid Boulahrouz (both Hamburg)
Group D
Iran Mehdi Mahdavikia (Hamburg), Ferydoon Zandi (Kaiserslautern), Ali Karimi (Bayern Munich), Vahid Hashemian (Hanover)
Portugal Fernando Meira (Stuttgart)
Group E
Ghana Matthew Amoah (Borussia Dortmund), Hans Sarpei (Wolfsburg), Otto Addo (Mainz)
USA Kasey Keller (Borussia Monchengladbach), Steven Cherundulo (Hanover)
Czech Republic Tomas Rosicky, Jan Koller (both Borussia Dortmund), Jan Polak (Nuremberg), David Jarolim (Hamburg), Jiri Stajner (Hanover)
Group F
Brazil Ze Roberto, Lucio (both Bayern Munich), Juan (Bayer Leverkusen), Gilberto (Hertha Berlin)
Croatia Ivan Klasnic, Jurica Vranjes (both Werder Bremen), Niko Kovac, Josip Simunic (both Hertha Berlin), Marko Babic (Bayer Leverkusen)
Australia Joshua Kennedy (Dynamo Dresden, next season Nuremberg)
Japan Naohiro Takahara (Hamburg, next season Eintracht Frankfurt)
Group G
France Willy Sagnol (Bayern Munich)
Switzerland Philipp Degen (Borussia Dortmund), Ludovic Magnin (Stuttgart), Tranquillo Barnetta (Bayer Leverkusen), Christoph Spycher (Eintracht Frankfurt), Marco Streller, Ricardo Cabanas (both Cologne) and Raphael Wicky (Hamburg)
Korea Republic Jung-Hwan Ahn (Duisburg)
Togo Karim Guede (Hamburg B), Assimiou Toure (Bayer Leverkusen B)
Group H
Ukraine Andriy Voronin (Bayer Leverkusen)
Tunisia Adel Chedli, Jawher Mnari (both Nuremberg)
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After playing his part in Brazil's impressive march to that particular trophy, the impish forward now wants to do it all again at the FIFA World Cup™ and help his country celebrate a sixth world title on 9 July in Berlin.
"Not making the final would be hard to take, as Brazil are expected to win every competition, especially the World Cup," Robinho told FIFAworldcup.com. Nevertheless, while the snake-hipped front man is setting his sights justifiably high, he is also taking nothing for granted, insisting that Brazil's tag as hot favourites guarantees nothing.
"For me, teams can only be favourites off the pitch," he said. "Once the game gets going it's 11 versus 11. I believe that Brazil can beat any team out there, but I also believe we could lose to any of them, which is why we have to remain humble and keep our feet on the ground.
"We know there are some very strong teams who always perform well at these tournaments, countries like Argentina, England, and Germany, who also have the advantage of playing at home in front of their passionate supporters. That said, Brazil are good enough to beat anyone."
Praise from Pele
By the time Robinho was six years old, he was already raising eyebrows with his sensational ball skills, and it was no surprise that Santos brought him into their youth academy at the first opportunity. When asked recently about the youngster's prospects, the great Pele, himself a Santos graduate, said modestly: "He has all the qualities needed to be better than me."
When we mention this to a clearly embarrassed Robinho, the player replies: "I don't like comparisons much, although it makes me proud to hear things like that. However, Pele is Pele - incomparable and truly one of a kind."
On a personal level, it has been a particularly good year for the Brazilian. "I think it's gone quite well considering it was my first season although I still have a lot more to give," he said. "I'm capable of doing much more and will continue working hard with this end in mind. Spain is a country that enjoys a very close affinity with Brazilian football, and the more I play here the more I'll benefit from this."
By contrast, things have not gone so well for his Madrid and Seleção team-mate Ronaldo, who has endured an injury-plagued season and had his form and fitness called into question ahead of this summer's showpiece tournament. Robinho, however, is quick to dispel any doubts about his colleague.
"Ronaldo is the best striker in the world," he insisted. "People were also worried about him before the last World Cup as he was recovering from a very serious injury, yet he finished up being the tournament's best player. The fans have to realise that even though he hasn't been at his peak this season physically, when he arrives in Germany he'll be back to his best, doing his utmost to play well and score. Ronaldo is Ronaldo."
In 2002, Robinho followed Ronaldo's exploits on TV, scarcely imagining that three years later he would be wearing the prized Verdeamarelha shirt and dazzling fans en route to glory at the FIFA Confederations Cup. He said of the tournament: "It was a very important experience for the national team, and a tough competition. Of course, it's not as challenging as a World Cup, but even so, it was an excellent learning experience."
The joy of football
With Carlos Alberto Parreira's side extremely close-knit both on and off the pitch, Robinho's time with the national team has given him the opportunity to learn from, and enjoy the company of, his team-mates. "Get-togethers with the Brazilian squad are not tense, nervy affairs," he revealed, "even though we’re obviously very focused. At the end of the day, football is what we enjoy most, which is why we're always very happy."
"We often have music before our games and joke around. When we're playing football out on the pitch, we try to convey the same infectious pleasure that we get from being friends off it," he explained.
Yet, for all their good humour and inner confidence, even the mighty Brazilians look to a higher power before taking to the field. "We always ask the Lord to help and protect us, as well as the opposition, in the hope that no-one gets injured," said Robinho. "Only then do we run out and play."
Given his jovial and outgoing nature, Robinho is very much in his element in this milieu. "I've always been like that. My family are happy and healthy, and I'm doing what I like best - playing football. It's enormously satisfying. You know I'm a cheerful guy by nature, so when I'm among friends, it's only natural that people can see just how happy I'm feeling."
And what of his short-term objectives? "My personal goal is to win the World Cup," he said without hesitation. "After that I'm sure I'll have other dreams to fulfil, like winning the player of the tournament award..."
With just four weeks left before Iran take on Mexico in the opening game of Group D, Iranian coach Branko Ivankovic wants to forget politics and focus on football though he is positive about the idea of women attending matches in the country.
Team Melli is currently training in Switzerland and even in the neutral European state, it is hard for the team to avoid politically-charged questions with the nation’ s controversial president the focus of the international media.
"Obviously people can ask the players about anything that they want - we don't have any restrictions - but I would rather people built a clear wall between sport and politics," Branko told Reuters and added. "Of course it is hard for the players to switch off completely from what is going on with Iran , but we have a young ambitious squad who I am convinced will only be thinking about the football."
Unsurprsingly, the Croatian was reluctant to answer questions regarding the nuclear issue but was happier to talk of whther women should be allowed to attend football matches in the Islamic State. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced recently that women would be permitted to enter stadiums but that ruling was overturned earlier this week by the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
"I haven't heard about the latest decision but I am sure this issue will be discussed again,” said Branko, in his second spell with the Iranian team.
"All I can say is that the women in Iran are crazy about football - they are always coming up to me and asking why I didn't choose a particular player or why I don't use a particular formation. When some women made it into our match against Bahrain a year ago the atmosphere was excellent. FIFA have said they want football to be for everybody and I completely agree with that."
From the straightforward - Germany's "We are football" - to the rhythmical - France's "Liberté, egalité, Jules Rimet" – you, the FIFAworldcup.com users, have spoken by selecting the individual slogans that will adorn the buses of each of the 32 countries competing at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™.
Voting was furious ahead of Friday night's deadline and, while some choices were near-unanimous and others closely contested, the following messages have been decided upon to adorn the side of the Hyundai coaches transporting the world's best teams around Germany.
The winning slogans:
Angola - "Angola lead the way – our team is our people"
Argentina - "Get up, Argentina are on the move"
Australia - "Australia Socceroos – Bound for glory"
Brazil - "Vehicle monitored by 180 million Brazilian hearts"
Costa Rica- "Our army is the team, our weapon is the ball. Let's go to Germany and give it our all"
Côte d'Ivoire - "Come on the Elephants! Win the cup in style"
Croatia – "To the finals with fire in our hearts"
Czech Republic – "Belief and a lion's strength, for victory and our fans"
Ecuador – "Ecuador my life, football my passion, the cup my goal"
England - "One Nation, One Trophy, Eleven Lions"
France – "Liberté, egalité, Jules Rimet"
Germany - "We are football"
Iran - "Stars of Persia"
Italy – "Blue pride, Italy in our hearts"
Japan - "Light up your Samurai spirit!"
Korea Republic - "Never-ending legend, united Korea"
Ghana – "Go Black Stars, the stars of our world"
Mexico - "Aztec passion across the world"
Netherlands – "Oranje on the road to gold"
Paraguay – "From the heart of America... this is the Guarani spirit"
Poland – "White and red, dangerous and brave"
Portugal – "With a flag in the window and a nation on the pitch. Força Portugal"
Saudi Arabia - "The Green Hawks cannot be stopped"
Serbia and Montenegro - "For the love of the game"
Spain – "Spain. One country, one goal"
Switzerland – "2006, it's Swiss o'clock"
Sweden – "Fight! Show spirit! Come on! You have the support of everyone"
Togo – "A passion to win and a thirst to succeed"
Trinidad and Tobago - "Here come the Soca Warriors – the fighting spirit of the Caribbean"
Tunisia – "The Carthage Eagles... higher and stronger than ever"
Ukraine – "With our support, Ukraine cannot fail to win!"
USA - "United we play, United we win"
Never previously known for his risk-taking, Eriksson has not given up on the prospect of Rooney recovering from his broken metatarsal in time for the latter stages of the tournament, despite Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson's admission over the weekend that it was looking a "forlorn hope".
After naming Rooney as one of four forwards in his squad, the Swede said: "I would be absolutely crazy not to pick Wayne Rooney when you think he might be available for the World Cup. We have other world-class players but we don't have another Wayne Rooney and if you had my job you would take him."
Rooney's inclusion, if a risk, is hardly a surprise but the same cannot be said of Eriksson's decision to call up Arsenal teenager Walcott. The 17-year-old has just 13 league starts and five senior goals to his name, all with Southampton, the second-tier club he left to join Arsenal in January.
Eriksson defended his decision to call up a player still waiting for his Arsenal debut, while leaving out altogether the Premiership's leading English scorer, Darren Bent, who struck 18 goals this season for Charlton Athletic. "I know it is a gamble but I am excited to see him," Eriksson told reporters at London's Café Royal. "He is a big talent and pace in football today is worth a lot."
However, Eriksson stressed his top scorer would have a B international against Belarus on 25 May and friendlies against Hungary and Jamaica in which to hone his fitness. With Jermain Defoe and Andrew Johnson consigned to the standby list - along with goalkeeper Scott Carson, right-back Luke Young and midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker - Eriksson's one other recognised striker is Liverpool striker Peter Crouch.
The tall target man could have a bigger part than first imagined by those who envisaged him wreaking havoc in the 'supersub' role in which he was deployed to such good effect in the recent wins over Argentina and Uruguay.
Tactical question
Despite his preference for a 4-4-2, in Rooney's absence and with doubts persisting over Owen, Eriksson may have no choice but try out an alternative system against Hungary and Jamaica. The most obvious Plan B would be using Crouch as a lone striker with an attacking midfielder – possibly his free-scoring Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard or Chelsea's Joe Cole – operating just behind.
Eriksson admitted that Joe Cole would "probably be used both ways" – that is, as midfielder and forward – in Germany and also said that Gerrard and Frank Lampard "might have more freedom" to get forward. This would suggest he is considering five men in the midfield with the holding role going to Tottenham Hotspur's Michael Carrick in the absence of his Spurs colleague Ledley King - one player on whose injured metatarsal Eriksson was not prepared to gamble.
Also among the midfield options are Bayern Munich's Owen Hargreaves and the in-form if inexperienced wingers Stewart Downing and Aaron Lennon. "Both those players have pace and are in great shape at the moment," said Eriksson.
If Eriksson has been willing to take a chance on youth in certain areas, this is certainly not the case in defence where he has included the experienced Arsenal duo of Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole as well as Chelsea left-back Wayne Bridge, three players who have missed considerable chunks of the season through injury.
England squad:
Goalkeepers: Paul Robinson (Tottenham Hotspur), David James (Manchester City), Robert Green (Norwich City)
Defenders: Gary Neville (Manchester United), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), John Terry (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Arsenal), Sol Campbell (Arsenal), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Wayne Bridge (Chelsea)
Midfielders: David Beckham (Real Madrid), Michael Carrick (Tottenham Hotspur), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham Hotspur), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham Hotspur)
Forwards: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Michael Owen (Newcastle United), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Theo Walcott (Arsenal)
On standby: Scott Carson (Liverpool), Luke Young (Charlton Athletic), Nigel Reo-Coker (West Ham United), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur) Andrew Johnson (Crystal Palace).
23 April 2006Ivankovic told AFP that they will play Croatia in Osijek on 28 May, Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Iranian north-eastern city of Mashhad on 31 May and the local team at their FIFA World Cup base in Friedrichshafen, southern Germany on 5 June.
"We will have a training camp in Switzerland from May 8-18 and again from May 25-29 in Croatia," explained Ivankovic.
Meanwhile the Iranian football federation on Sunday unveiled the team's FIFA World Cup kit which was inspired by the national green, white and red tricolour flag.
"The home jersey is all white with a red stripe on the back shoulder, and the away jersey is all red with a green stripe on the back shoulder," Puma's retailer in Iran, Mohammaed Khalilpour said.
Iran open their FIFA World Cup campaign against Mexico in Nuremberg on 11 June with further Group D games against Portugal and Angola.
Perhaps most striking of all, however, is that, just as in England 40 years ago, it will be a Brazilian coach who will be entrusted with steering Portugal through the invariably perilous waters of a FIFA World Cup™. Read on as FIFAworldcup.com takes a closer look at the parallels between that team of latter-day legends Eusebio, Jose Torres and Mario Coluna and the modern-day hopefuls such as Luis Figo, Pauleta and Cristiano Ronaldo - players who will this summer attempt to emulate or even eclipse their fabled predecessors.
The Brazilian coach
In the qualifying rounds for the 1966 FIFA World Cup and at the finals themselves, Portugal were managed by Otto Gloria, a Brazilian who, though born in Rio De Janeiro, had made his name, both as a coach and a player, in Portugal. It was there, certainly, that he gained a reputation as a master-tactician by winning five league championships and six cups with Benfica, Belenenses and Sporting Lisbon.
Gloria, who died in 1986 at the age of 69, just six years after leading Nigeria to glory at the CAF African Cup of Nations, was renowned for his hard-line approach. However, though this strict disciplinarian was often to be seen bawling at his team from the sidelines during training, he was also a connoisseur of attacking football and made a point of giving free rein to his forwards. It is important to point out, however, that while it was Gloria who coached that famous Portugal team of 1966, the starting XI were in fact selected by Manuel da Luz Afonso.
It was thus during his time as coach of Gremio, and in the face of fall-outs with the press and unrelenting criticism of his 'ugly, functional football', that he lifted the Copa Libertadores in 1995. Plenty more honours followed, and when his record was recognised by the call to take charge of Brazil, he showed no intentions of adopting a more conciliatory tone.
Famously, he invoked the wrath of the Seleção fans by not taking the hugely popular Romario to the finals of Korea/Japan 2002, only to be fully vindicated when, with his attacking trio of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho in irresistible form, Brazil stormed to their fifth world title. Criticism has also followed him to Portugal, particularly when he took a gamble on the Brazilian-born midfielder Deco, whose inclusion in the Portuguese fold has subsequently proved to be a masterstroke.
Furthermore, during the qualifying stages for the 1966 FIFA World Cup, Gloria's team appeared as conservative as that of Scolari. Grouped with Turkey, Romania and Czechoslovakia, the Portuguese won their first four matches, practically ensuring qualification with games to spare. They were later to draw with Czechoslovakia and lose the final game against Romania, but still finished top of the group to secure their first appearance on the world stage.
The front men
Without doubt, the star of the side that secured third place four decades ago was the . One of the game's all-time greats, he was named player of the tournament in England after finishing as top scorer with nine goals from six games.
This time around, Portugal are banking on potential match-winning wingers like Figo and Ronaldo, coupled with the renowned goalscoring prowess of Paris Saint-Germain striker Pauleta. The link between Pauleta and Eusebio is that the forward from the Azores recently broke his famous predecessor's international goalscoring record, an achievement which Eusebio himself took the time congratulate him on, wishing him good luck for the finals in Germany.
And the parallels between the two teams do not stop there, with the last likely to be of particular interest to the superstitious among you. Intrigued? Well, here it is. The only time Portugal made it past the first stage of the FIFA World Cup, it was after facing a former colony in the group stage, an event that will repeat itself this summer when they meet Angola.
It should be acknowledged, however, that the colony defeated in 1966 was none other than Brazil, a considerably more imposing opponent given that the South Americans were going for their third successive world title and boasted such greats as Pele and Garrincha within their all-star ranks.
History shows that Eusebio and Co recorded a historic victory over the world champions before falling at the semi-final stage to the tournament's eventual winners, England. This raises the question of how far the current team can go at Germany 2006 and, while not everyone agrees that Scolari's men can emulate the team of '66, many believe they can make a significant impact.
In a recent interview with FIFAworldcup.com, the veteran winger Figo said: "As far as I'm concerned, the only really successful outcome would be to win the tournament. Any professional footballer has to have that attitude, while also taking into account that there are other teams out there who are more likely to win than we are. We all have high hopes of winning, although it goes without saying that if we reach the last four then it won't have been a bad tournament for us."
Echoing Figo's sentiments Scolari has made it clear that even if Portugal were to repeat 1966 by falling at the semi-finals, it would be an achievement of which to be proud. Football fanatics throughout Portugal tend to agree, but they all reserve the right, first and foremost, to dream of finishing as world champions. Can their heroes rewrite history and go one step further than the previous generation? We can only speculate for now, but all will be revealed in Germany before long.
Iran's Croatian coach Branko Ivankovic said his team would take on his fellow countrymen in Zagreb on 28 May followed by a match against Bosnia-Herzegovina at home in Tehran on 31 May.
"By then we will have played enough warm-up matches and will be ready for the World Cup," Ivankovich told Iranian state television.
Arranging FIFA World Cup warm-ups has been a problem for Iran, particularly on home soil, with many international sides apparently reluctant to travel to Iran amid mounting tensions over the country's disputed nuclear programme.
Iran begin their FIFA World Cup campaign against Mexico in Nuremberg on 11 June with further Group D games against Portugal and Angola.
Emirates becomes the sixth and final FIFA Partner, joining adidas, Hyundai, Sony, Coca-Cola and Visa in the top tier of the world football governing body's new sponsorship programme that awards six blue-chip corporations the highest level of affiliation to FIFA over an eight-year period.
Emirates will enjoy core sponsorship rights to all FIFA competitions, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ and the 2014 FIFA World Cup™, as well as to the world football governing body's special events and development initiatives. Emirates' association with FIFA began in 2003 when it was an Official Partner of the FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates. Soon after, the Dubai-based airline signed up as one of 15 Official Partners of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™.
"I am immensely proud that this prestigious and successful airline has once again decided to place its faith in FIFA and football – this time at an even higher level and with a longer-term commitment," said FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter. "We look forward to working with such a dedicated partner who shares our ideals and mission to develop and intensify the global appeal of football even further.
"We believe sport is an ideal vehicle to communicate with our passengers and football is a perfect platform for us to share and enjoy their passion and commitment. This Partnership will enable us to achieve global awareness of our brand at football events all around the world as well as in our home territory of Dubai," said Emirates Group Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum.
The FIFA Partnership aligns Emirates with other global master brands and will boost its brand awareness through a consistent presence in world football the year round. FIFA will stage at least four competitions each year during the 2007-2014 rights period, including events as diverse as the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup and the FIFA Interactive World Cup. Emirates' portfolio of sponsoring almost reads like an A to Z of sports, starting with Australian Rules Football and ending with yachting. Emirates is already a prominent force in football sponsoring, but this new FIFA Partnership represents the airline's biggest investment in football – and sport - to date.
With the six FIFA Partners all on board, FIFA Marketing & TV now moves into the second phase of negotiations for the 2007-2014 rights period to find up to eight FIFA World Cup™ Sponsors. These will have global rights to both the FIFA World Cup™ and the FIFA Confederations Cup during this period.
