May 6, 2002

TBILISI, May 6 (DSA)- Today one Tbilisi's weekly newspaper The Georgian Times published an exclusive interview with FIFA president Joseph S. Blatter. The FIFA president discussed FIFA projects in Georgia and in other countries in the Caucasus. Also, Blatter indicated his favorites in World Cup 2002.

(Q): Is their an exact date already announced for your visit to Georgia?
(A): It is my strong wish to visit Georgia as well as the two neighboring countries of Armenia and Azerbaijan since I know the football talents and potential which exist in this region. However, my very heavy schedule has thus far prevented me from visiting Tbilisi and the Georgian Football Federation. I am really hopeful that the year 2002 will give me this opportunity.

(Q): What is your opinion about today's Georgian football?
(A): It is difficult for me to judge precisely the levl of football in Georgia. But I know that Georgians players are very skillful and technically strong. And the club of Dinamo Tbilisi is very well known because of their big successes nationally and internationally.

(Q): Apart from constructing a new building for the Georgian Football Federation what other projects can be implemented under the Goal Program?
(A): The project in Georgia in the framework of FIFA Goal Program is to build a technical center of which FIFA is contributing $400,000. Furthermore, the Federation is using some money from FIFA Financial Assistance Program (1 Million $ for the period 1999-2002) to complete this important project. Others project necessitating financial aid from the Goal Program will not be possible for the time being, as many other National Associations are in similar need. It is important also to try to mobilize local and national support for football. FIFA cannot do everything.

(Q): Does FIFA have any projects to introduce the field of juniors' soccer?
(A): Not in that concrete sense, however, from all the efforts FIFA is undertaking with the Goal program or the Financial Assistance Program, the youth should be the main beneficiaries, since the juniors are the future and football is very important as an educational tool. Therefore FIFA is using all possibilities to convince governments to support football and to integrate football officially in schools, as it is the case for example in Ukraine.

(Q): Who in your opinion are favorites in the 2002 Japan - Korea world championship?
(A): I think this World Cup will be different from all the previous tournaments, since this Word Cup will take place for the first time out of Europe and the Americas, which always provided the winner from the organizing continent, with the exception of 1958 with Brazil. This time everything is different, different facilities, mentalities, customs, etc. Therefore I think we will live some surprises. Nevertheless, the favorites are more or less always the same like Argentina, Brazil, France, England or Germany.

Dailysoccer