The FIFA Weekly Issue #27

ISSUE 27/2015, 10 JULY 2015

ENGLISH EDITION

Fédération Internationale de Football Association – Since 1904

Canada 2015

Festival of records

COPA AMERICA A TRIUMPH FOR HOSTS CHILE

CARLI LLYOD LEARNING FROM THE DARK TIMES

SEPP BLATTER FIFA’S FUTURE IS AT STAKE W W W.FIFA.COM/ THEWEEKLY

THIS WEEK IN THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL

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North and Central America 35 members www.concacaf.com

C anada 2015 The Women’s World Cup in Canada came to an end with a momentous final between USA and Japan. The North Americans impressively prevailed to claim their third World Cup and make history in the process. We look back on four weeks of top quality football and a tournament that broke all previous records.

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Sweden The final round of matches in the first half of the Allsvenskan season includes a showdown between leaders Goteborg and chief pursuers Norrkoping.

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Miguel Estrada Mexico keeper Miguel Estrada is reaching for the skies at the Beach Soccer World Cup in Portugal. “I want a place in the history of beach soccer,” declared the 32-year-old shot-stopper.

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S epp Blatter The FIFA President issues an urgent appeal to Executive Committee members prior to their meeting on 20 July: “FIFA’s future is at stake – nothing more and nothing less.”

Festival of records Our cover picture shows the USA celebrating their record-breaking third Women’s World Cup triumph.

South America 10 members www.conmebol.com

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Carli Lloyd The USA captain led her side to glory at the Women’s World Cup, “but it’s unreal and still hasn’t sunk in,” she said.

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Copa America Hosts Chile claimed the trophy for the first time in the 99-year history of the tournament.

Franck Fife / AFP (picture)

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 2

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FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup

FIFA U-17 World Cup

9 – 19 July 2015, Portugal

17 October – 8 November 2015, Chile

Getty Images (4)

The FIFA Weekly app

THIS WEEK IN THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL

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

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South Korea Brazilians are storming the K League, contributing significantly to the success of leaders Jeonbuk (Pictured: Leonardo Rodriguez Pereira).

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Babak Rafati The top German match official attempted to take his own life while preparing to referee a Bundesliga match.

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No place like home for new world champions

Mario Wagner / 2Agenten

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he US Women’s soccer team have made history. In a pulsating final at the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ Canada 2015, Jill Ellis’ team defeated Japan to become the first country to lift the trophy for a third time. Such a remark­able achievement was, of course, more than enough reason to enjoy some memorable celebrations in Vancouver, where the game was played, but there is nothing quite like savouring the taste of victory on home soil.

Arriving at the airport in Los Angeles the day after the final, the players were given a welcome on the runway by the Fire Dept before being promptly whisked away to their hotel for a spot of rest. Not that the team were able to relax for long, however, with the singing from the supporters, many of whom had been lining the streets below from the early hours of the day, drawing them outside once again to commence a victory procession. “It feels so good to be home again!” said goalkeeper Hope Solo to the applause of the 10,000 or so screaming fans.

Captain Carli Lloyd – scorer of a hat-trick in the final and the winner of the golden ball award for the tournament’s best player – summed the day up even more succinctly: “This is just an unbelievable moment.”

With emotions running high, there were tears in the eyes of one world ­champion winner. Lauren Holiday, who was also on the scoresheet in the final, has since announced her retirement from the national team, but she admitted nothing would detract from the joy she was feeling. “These aren’t tears of ­sadness – I’m happy. My target was to win a national league title and the World Cup, and I’ve done both. For the last ten years I’ve put this team first. Now it’s time to put my family first.” Å Sarah Steiner T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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A great spectacle

Incredible US support Captain Carli Lloyd (l.) and Hope Solo celebrate winning the Women’s World Cup at the B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver.

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C AN ADA 2015

At the end of a record-breaking tournament, we look back at Canada 2015, where the USA became the first team to lift the Women’s World Cup trophy for a third time.

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Erich Schlegel / USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

t is almost a year to the day since the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014™ ended in Rio de Janeiro with the drama of Germany’s extra-time 1-0 win over Argentina in the final.

Now another footballing feast in the form of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ has come to an end. Lit up by the likes of golden glove winner Hope Solo and the tournament’s best player Carli Lloyd, the competition wrote a new chapter in women’s football history.

No country had ever managed to win the Women’s World Cup three times until Solo and Lloyd helped inspire the USA to inscribe their names in the record books. Lloyd left a truly an indelible mark on the competition. Not only did the 32-yearold US skipper win the golden ball award, she also scored a hat-trick in the final against Japan. The last of her three strikes – an outrageous lob from the halfway line over Japanese keeper Ayumi Kaihori - was one of the best of the tournament.

Those exploits also helped her finish second behind Germany’s Celia Sasic in the goalscoring table.

The similarites between this year’s spectacle in Canada and last summer’s showpiece in Brazil are numerous and striking.

Prior to the 2014 tournament, some harbingers of doom had predicted the intense summertime heat would stifle any attacking football. Before kick-off in Canada, some members of the media expressed fears that the competitiveness of the competition would drop and results be distorted because the format had been changed to permit 24 teams instead of 16.

Happily, both predictions proved to be well wide of the mark.

Just as was the case last year, the standard of football on show at Canada 2015 exceeded all expectations.

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An inventive England side were a case in point. Coached by Mark Sampson and led by tireless captain Steph Houghton, the Three Lionesses were ranked sixth in the world going into the tournament yet ended up going home with a well deserved bronze medal. The event threw a host of teams into the ­spotlight who proved they were not there to merely make up the numbers. Nations making their debuts at the competition p ­ erformed admirably, with Cameroon (ranked 11th), the Netherlands (13th) and Switzerland (15th) all reaching the knockout rounds.

Fun for all the family Germany 2011 saw big advances in terms of viewing figures and digital coverage, but Canada 2015 broke all those records to become the most successful Women’s World Cup ever. The country’s most popular team sport among females, football is also on the rise among men and enjoys growing appeal throughout the land. The beautiful game is also the simple game: to play football there is no need for huge American football goals, basketball hoops or indeed rinks for ice hockey, Canada’s national sport.

It came as no surprise, then, that Canadian families headed through the turnstiles in their droves to witness the action on their doorstep. The numbers of children and young people in the stands at matches across the country was astonishing, as was the opening ceremony on June 6, where girls dressed in national team kits ­performed a triumph of choreography with balls at their feet.

Marta’s prophesy The hosts, coached by Paul Herdman and built around the leadership of veteran striker Christine Sinclair, have long been taken into Canadian hearts and were thus able to count on vociferous support during the course of their campaign. Other nations also had impressive backing, especially the US, whose fans had comparatively shorter distances to travel.

Brazil, led by record appearance-maker Formiga and striking superstar Marta, were given a rousing reception by their fans right from their first group game in Montreal. Sadly for Marta, a maiden World Cup title eluded her once more following a 1-0 defeat to ­Australia in the last 16. The 29-year-old five-time FIFA Women’s World Player of Year had begun the tournament strongly by scoring in a 2-0 win over South Korea in Brazil’s first match, but no doubt already sensed it would be hard for her side to go all the way. She was later to be proven right when she predicted that Germany, ­Japan and the USA were favourites to lift the trophy.

Perhaps then, the final parallels to be drawn between Brazil 2014 and Canada 2015 are that the Verdeamarela failed to hit their targets on both occasions and that the burden of hosting proved too much in the end. Canada were unable to build on a 1-0 win over debutants Switzerland in the Round of 16, losing in the quarter-­ finals to England. Expectation can be a heavy load indeed. Å Perikles Monioudis

Canada proved the perfect setting for the seventh Women’s World Cup.

imago, Bianca Litscher (Illustration)

Early exit The joy was short-lived for Marta (c.) and Formiga (2nd l.) as Brazil were knocked out in the Round of 16.

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She’s a record-breaker Now aged 36, Homare Sawa made a series of cameo appearances in her sixth World Cup for Japan.

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he seventh FIFA Women’s World Cup™ began in record-breaking style, with 24 teams lining up for the very first time in the competition’s history, and ended on a similarly momentous note as USA became the first nation to lift the Trophy three times. Just for good measure, Canada 2015 also yielded an all-time-high of 112 goals, one more than the previous best, set at Germany 2011.

Despite failing to retain the title, Japan have plenty of reasons to be cheerful. Coach Norio Sasaki seemed to agree, saying that it was a success in itself to reach the Final. Canada 2015 was veteran Japanese midfielder Homare Sawa’s sixth World Cup, a record for the competition, which she now shares with Brazil’s Formiga, who also became the tournament’s oldest markswoman.

With her strike against Korea Republic in the group phase, Formiga’s team-mate Marta became the highest all-time scorer in the Women’s World Cup with 15 goals, one more than the great German striker Birgit Prinz. The Brazilians advanced from the group phase as the only side along with Japan to win all their group matches, but exited the competition in the Round of 16, going down 1-0 to Australia.

Third place went to England, their best finish in the competition. The Three Lionesses secured the last place on the podium courtesy of a 1-0 win over Germany, a victory that

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broke a 20-game winless run against their old foes. England’s ground-breaking run featured a quarter-final defeat of the hosts, who advanced beyond the group phase for only the second time, much to the delight of the more than 1.3 million viewers who followed their progress on TV. Germany again missed out on a place in the top three, just as they had done on home soil four years ago, when they fell in the quarter-finals. With legendary goalkeeper Nadine Angerer having now retired from international football and coach Silvia Neid set to hand over the reins to former international Steffi Jones at the end of 2016, the Germans face a transitional phase.

Judging by the talented youngsters they unveiled in Canada, however, Die Mannschaft would appear to have grounds for viewing any generational handover with optimism. FIFA Fair Play Award winners France can also look forward to a bright future. Though dejected to lose on penalties to the Germans in the quarter-finals, with Eugenie le Sommer, Louisa Necib and Camille Abily in their ranks, Les Bleues have plenty of talent to sustain them in the years ahead.

Coast to coast Perfectly encapsulating the tournament slogan ’To a Greater Goal™’, the eight debutants (Côte d’Ivoire, Costa Rica,

Adam Pretty / FIFA via Getty Images

A record-breaking tournament

C AN ADA 2015

Franck Fife / AFP

Sweet success Nadine Angerer (right) and Celia Sasic (centre) after Germany's shootout victory over France in the last eight clash in Montreal.

­ cuador, Spain, Thailand, the Netherlands, Switzerland and E Cameroon) mostly acquitted themselves well on their first appearances on the big stages, with the Dutch, Swiss and Cameroonians all reaching the Round of 16.

Boasting players of the calibre of Asisat Oshoala, Veronica Boquete and Shirley Cruz, Nigeria, Spain and Costa Rica respectively brought a breath of fresh air to the competition and showed that the women’s game is on the up and up around the world.

Canada’s national motto is A Mari Usque Ad Mare (From Sea To Sea), which is entirely appropriate for a tournament in which games were staged from Moncton in the east all the way to Vancouver in the west and across five time zones in all, a first in the history of the game.

“This World Cup should serve as inspiration to all the member associations,” commented Lydia Nsekera, Chairwoman of the Committee for Women’s Football and the FIFA Women’s World Cup, at the tournament’s closing press conference. Nsekera also urged the champions not to rest on their laurels – while the seventh women’s world finals are now over, the eighth are already hoving into view.

So it’s goodbye Canada 2015 and salut France 2019! Å

Award

Player

No

Golden Ball Adidas

Carli Lloyd

10

Silver Ball Adidas

Amandine Henry

6

France

Bronze Ball Adidas

Aya Miyama

8

Japan

Award

Player

No

Golden Boot Adidas

Celia Sasic

13

Germany

Silver Boot Adidas

Carli Lloyd

10

USA

Bronze Boot Adidas

Anja Mittag

11

Germany

Award

Player

No

Golden Glove Adidas

Hope Solo

Award

Player

Hyundai Best Young Player

Kadeisha Buchanan

Award

Avg. Points / Matches

FIFA Fair Play Trophy

869 / 5

1 No 3

Team USA

Team

Team USA Team Canada Team France

Thanh Nguyen

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A World Cup winner at last!

Abby Wambach and the FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy.

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C AN ADA 2015

Finalists in a league of their own

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John Todd / isiphotos, Matthew Lewis / FIFA via Getty Images

he FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ came to a spectacular end on Sunday as the USA cruised to a 5-2 victory over Japan to lift their third World Cup and secure their place in tournament history. Despite the relatively short history of the women’s game, it is fast becoming a tradition for these two nations to lock horns in major finals: Japan beat their American counterparts 3-1 on penalties in the 2011 World Cup final in Germany, but the USA gained revenge against the Nadeshiko the following year, winning 2-1 at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. “All good things come in threes” was the slogan that accompanied the latest instalment of a blossoming rivalry between the two countries in Vancouver.

“You can have all the titles from all the championships you want, but none of them matter as much as the World Cup,” admitted USA striker Abby Wambach, whose side started the 2011 showpiece as overwhelming favourites against a Japan outfit that were given little hope of lifting the trophy, despite having reached the final for the first time in their history. Against all the odds, however, the Americans had to settle for second place four years ago.

“A remarkable achievement” Not so in Vancouver. Team USA went into the game as favourites once again, but this time they were on top of their opponents right from the first whistle. Cheered on by a raucous crowd at the BC Place Stadium, they raced into a 4-0 lead with just 16 minutes on the clock, Carli Lloyd grabbing a 13-minute hat-trick and Lauren Holiday netting another. Yuki Ogimi’s 27th-minute strike, an own goal by Julie Johnston and the introduction of talisman Homare Sawa gave the Japanese the scent of an unlikely comeback, but those faint hopes were dashed when Tobin Heath scored to make it 5-2 and complete the scoring nine minutes after half-time.

Having emerged triumphant in the 1991 and 1999 editions of the tournament, the USA have now won three of the seven Women’s World Cups to date - more than any other nation. The match in Vancouver will also go down in history as the highest-scoring Women’s World Cup final, largely thanks to hat-trick hero and winner of the tournament’s Golden Ball, Lloyd. “What we’ve done is remarkable,” the 32-year-old enthused afterwards. “It’s a historic performance.”

Though obviously disappointed, Japan striker Ogimi was gracious in defeat. “We have to admit that we weren’t at our best today,” she said. Her coach Norio Sasaki, meanwhile, chose to put a more positive spin on the loss, declaring: “This does not spell the end of Japanese women’s football.” Sasaki is probably already planning for the next meeting between the two countries in a major final. Before then, though, the US women’s team have a different appointment to look forward to: President Barack Obama has invited the newly crowned world champions to the White House. Å Annette Braun

Gracious in defeat Japan coach Norio Sasaki knew it would be difficult for his team in the final against the USA.

Europe’s finest head to Rio via Canada As well as crowning the new queens of women’s football, the recent FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 doubled up as UEFA’s qualifying competition for the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Rio de Janeiro 2016, with three berths up for grabs for Europe’s teams.

In reaching the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively at Canada 2015, France and Germany both booked their places in Rio. Though England finished third, the Three Lionesses will not be appearing in Rio, as England does not participate as a nation in its own right at the Olympics.

The last European slot will go the winners of a six-match minitournament between the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and ­Sweden, the four European teams to lose in the Round of 16 at Canada 2015. The play-off competition will be held between 29 February and 9 March 2016.

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TALK ING POIN T S

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Sweden: Allsvenskan

G ot h e nb u r g b a c k on the map Roland Zorn is a Frankfurt-based football correspondent.

If the test of producing a fixture list is to determine the perfect moment for the best game, then the people behind the creation of this year’s Allsvenskan calendar in Sweden have passed with flying colours.

On matchday 15 of the new top-flight season – the final round of games before the mid-season break – a potential title-decider between league leaders IFK Gothenburg and second-placed IFK Norrkoping tops the bill. Just three points currently separate the powerhouses of Swedish football, but victory for Gothenburg will mean they head into the second half of the season with at least a sizeable five-point cushion over their pursuers.

Many of that heralded 1982 side were actually amateurs, such as Nilsson, a trained chef, and Todd Holmgren, who worked as a plumber.

The current squad are all full professionals, 14

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Gunning for the title Tom Pettersson (l.) of IFK Gothenburg competes with Sundvall’s Leo Englund.

but just like their predecessors, they are contributing to a renaissance for IFK Gothenburg, eight years after the club last won the league.

This term Lennartsson has focused on making his side defensively solid and the plan appears to be reaping dividends. Gothenburg have conceded just seven times in 14 matches, the last two of which came after they let slip a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at GIF Sundsvall. It was evident the Gothenburg players looked jaded and out of rhythm following the division’s four-week break at the beginning of June.

Since then, Sweden has put itself on the footballing map once more. The country’s Under 21 national team, displaying age-old Swedish qualities of organisation, mental toughness and physical strength, won a first ever international trophy by winning the 2015 European Championships in the Czech Republic.

The very same traits can be identified in Lennartsson’s side. With just one defeat all season and boasting the best defensive record in the division, Gothenburg are firmly on course for that record-breaking 19th title, however long and arduous the road to glory may be. Å

imago

Nevertheless, the Anglarna (Angels) dare not begin planning for a 19th title just yet, nor forget they could yet be upset by a third horse in the race, IF Elfsborg, who sit third in the standings, just two points adrift of 13-time champions Norrkoping.

Elfsborg have pedigree to speak of too, winning the last of their six titles as recently as 2012. That was under the stewardship of coach Jorgen Lennartsson, the same tactician who has now restored Idrottsforeningen Kamraterna Gothenburg to the role of potential champions. With 18 championships, the Angels share the honour of being Sweden’s record title-winner with Malmo FF. On the international scene, however, they are Scandinavia’s best-known export and remain the only club from the region to have lifted a European trophy. In 1982, a team coached by Sven-Goran Eriksson and containing the likes of Torbjorn Nilsson, Dan Corneliusson and Glenn Hysen played some dazzling attacking football en route to winning the UEFA Cup. The Swedish outsiders then repeated the feat five years later.

Korea Republic: K-League Classic

Bra zi l ia ns lead ing by exa mple Annette Braun is an editor at The FIFA Weekly

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors F.C.

In spite of a quota limiting each club’s squad to only four foreign players, Brazilians are causing quite a stir in the K-League Classic, Korea Republic’s top-flight. For the current season, which runs until November, half of the valuable ‘foreign-player places’ are occupied by footballers from the country, which hosted the 2014 FIFA World Cup™. That is not to say, however, that Brazilians plying their trade in South Korean football is a new occurrence: as far back as 1983 and the advent of the country’s professional league, pioneering duo Jose Roberto Alves and Sergio Luis Cogo turned out for POSCO Dolphins (now Pohang Steelers). Many others have followed their lead since.

Edu, Leonardo and Eninho are three such Brazilians, all performing admirably for the K-League’s current leaders, Jeonbuk Hyundai.

The team from Jeonju top the 12-club top-flight

Jose Roberto Alves and Sergio Luis Cogo were trailblazers back in 1983. and, with 43 points, boast a seven-point cushion over second-placed Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

On 5 July Jeonbuk overcame the league’s basement boys, Daejon Citizen, 4-3 in a thrilling encounter, with the league leaders going ahead on three separate occasions, only to be pinned back each time. It took until the 95th minute for

Jeonbuk finally to put the game to bed, when Dong-Gook Lee netted the winner. A 1-1 draw with Gwangju FC followed three days later.

The results move coach Choi Kanghee’s troops closer to a fourth league title to go alongside those of 2009, 2011 and 2014, an outcome which would also inch Jeonbuk towards Seongnam FC’s record of seven domestic crowns. With 11 goals to his name, Edu is known to European fans for his time in the German Bundesliga with Mainz and Schalke. He is closing in on the league’s Golden Boot award, although his team-mates Lee (eight goals) and Leonardo (seven goals) are nipping at his heels.

The Jeonju-based outfit also remain firm contenders in the AFC Champions League, where they face Japanese side Gamba Osaka in the quarter-finals. With only one triumph in the competition, in 2006, Kanghee’s famous ‘Dak-Gong’ attacking philosophy has tasted less joy continentally than domestically, yet with a goal-hungry, Brazilian-led attack, there is every chance that could be about to change. Å

Leonardo The Brazilian has already struck seven times this season for Jeonbuk Hyundai.

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BEACH SOCCER

Miguel Estrada The Mexico goalkeeper is in the prime of his beach soccer career.

“I want to go down in history” Widely considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in beach soccer, Mexico’s Miguel Estrada now has lofty ambitions for the upcoming World Cup in Portugal.

Dean Mouhtaropoulos / FIFA via Getty Images

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here was a time when Miguel Estrada saw beach soccer in much the same way as he saw its 11-a-side cousin. Four months after making the switch from grass to sand, the ex-Pachuca goalkeeper found himself contesting a FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup final, courtesy of Mexico’s surprise run at Rio de Janeiro 2007, an achievement that he viewed at the time as payback for the way he left his former employers.

These days he looks at the game in an entirely different light. About to contest his fourth beach soccer world finals in Portugal from 9 to 19 July 2015, the Mexico custodian and cornerstone has a vision he wants to fulfil. “I want to go down in the history of beach soccer,” he said. “I used to see this sport as a springboard for me to get back into professional 11-a-side football, but now I’m looking to push myself and achieve things. I want to be up there with the likes of Benjamin, Buru, Amarelle, Mao and Madjer, people who have made their names by playing this game. I’d love to be part of that elite.”

Recognised for his goalkeeping Now 32, the experienced Estrada is in excellent form, having been named the most outstanding goalkeeper at the CONCACAF qualifying competition for Portugal 2015 in April. Mexico coach Ramon Raya, who also doubles up as El Tri’s futsal boss, regards him as one of the team’s main-

stays, and rates him so highly between the posts that he gave him a starting place at the FIFA Futsal World Cup Thailand 2012.

Since breaking on to the global beach soccer scene in Rio eight years ago, Estrada has gone from strength to strength on sand. “I really felt that I was one of the best keepers at that World Cup, but I still haven’t won the Golden Glove,” he commented. “I’d like to have that recognition now.” Though those words might sound egotistical, they are anything but: “I know that if I focus on doing my job as well as I can, then I’m going to give my team 20 per cent more chance of winning. It’s important for us all to have individual goals. If everyone aspires to having a great World Cup, things will fit together like a jigsaw.”

Meeting Brazil once more As Estrada acknowledged, El Tri will not have it easy in a group containing four-time world champions Brazil, Tahiti 2013 runners-up Spain and a powerful Iran side. It will mark the fifth time Mexico have played A Seleção in four World Cups – and so far Brazil have always won. Å Giovanni Alcocer

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Friday 10 July

Saturday 11 July

Sunday 12 July

Espinho

Thursday 09 July

Group Matches

01 13:00

05 13:00

09 13:00

13 13:00

ITA v.

CRC

ESP v.

IRN

OMA v.

ITA

MEX v.

ESP

02 14:30

06 14:30

10 14:30

14 14:30

POR v.

JPN

RUS v.

PAR

SEN v.

POR

MAD v.

RUS

03 16:00

07 16:00

11 16:00

15 16:00

ARG v.

SEN

TAH v.

MAD

JPN v.

ARG

PAR v.

TAH

04 17:30

08 17:30

12 17:30

16 17:30

SUI v.

OMA

BRA v.

MEX

CRC v.

SUI

IRN v.

BRA

Stadium

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Portugal (POR)

Switzerland (SUI)

Brazil (BRA)

Russia (RUS)

Japan (JPN)

Oman (OMA)

Mexico (MEX)

Paraguay (PAR)

Argentina (ARG)

Italy (ITA)

Spain (ESP)

Tahiti (TAH)

Senegal (SEN)

Costa Rica (CRC)

Iran (IRN)

Madagascar (MAD)

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C

18

P

A 19

J

S

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S

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MATCH SCHEDULE

FIFA BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP PORTUGAL 2015

JPN v.

SEN

17:30

SUI v.

ITA

Thursday 16 July

Wednesday 15 July

29 17:00

31 17:00

MEX v.

IRN

1st C v.

2nd D

W27 v.

W28

L29 v.

L30

22 14:30

26 15:30

30 18:30

32 18:30

RUS v.

TAH

1st A v.

2nd B

W26 v.

W25

W29 v.

W30

23 16:00

27 17:00

PAR v.

MAD 24 17:30 BRA v.

ESP

1st B v.

2nd A 28 18:30

Friday 17 July

25 14:00

1st D v.

2nd C

W = Winner, L = Loser

16:00

Sunday 19 July

POR v.

ARG

Saturday 18 July

14:30

3/4 Place and Final

Rest day

OMA v.

CRC

Semi Finals

21 13:00

Rest day

13:00

Tuesday 14 July

Monday 13 July

Quarter Finals

First Love

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Place: Anam達, Brazil Date: 27 May 2015 Time: 2.29 p.m.

Reuters

Photog rapher: Br uno Kelly

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Developing football everywhere and for all

Organising inspiring tournaments

Caring about society and the environment

For the Game. For the World.

FIFA is committed to developing football for the benefit of all. Our mission is to: Develop the game FIFA’s primary objective is to develop the game of football in our 209 member associations. The FIFA World Cup™ gives us the resources we need to invest USD 550,000 per day in football development across the globe.

Touch the world FIFA’s aim is to touch the world through its international football competitions and events, uniting and inspiring people everywhere.

FIFA.com

Build a better future Football is much more than just a game. Its universal appeal gives it a unique power and reach which must be managed carefully. FIFA believes it has a duty to society that goes beyond football.

WOMEN’S FOO TBALL

PRESIDENTIAL NOTE

6th FIFA Women’s Football Symposium in Vancouver

FIFA’s future is at stake

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FIFA via Getty Images

IFA has set itself the ambitious goal of inspiring and motivating all member associations in their work in order to increase the number of girls and women playing football globally from 30 to 45 million ahead of the next FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in France in 2019.

There is a lot of work to do to make this happen. The sixth FIFA Women’s Football Symposium, which took place from 3-5 July, invited all member associations to come together and discuss the challenges faced in every country in relation to promoting the women’s game and accomplishing this objective. In the end, representatives from 172 associations were in attendance, including 58 presidents and 37 secretaries general.

The significance of the occasion was summed up by Lydia Nsekera, the chairwoman of the Committee for Women’s Football and the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and a FIFA Executive Committee member: “This symposium is part of FIFA’s commitment to promote, develop and invest in women’s football. It is an extraordinary opportunity for the football community to define a vitally important global strategy for this sport’s future.”

While circumstances vary in every country, sharing individual experiences paved the way for the identification of common tools to help achieve a range of goals. The symposium combined talks and presentations with small-sized working group sessions, in which issues mentioned on stage and possible solutions could be discussed at greater length.

After all this and more, the sixth FIFA Women’s Football Symposium concluded with several recommendations being put forward to guide the work of FIFA and its member associations in the coming years, based on three core objectives: Increasing the number of women in decision-making roles in the football community; Improving plans and structures to guarantee a level playing field for access to football, free from gender discrimination; Developing commercial and communications strategies to boost the value of women’s football. Å tfw

Learn more about the sixth FIFA Women’s Football Symposium: http://tinyurl.com/q5mk7hw

he Executive Committee meeting in Zurich on 20 July will determine the timetable leading to the extraordinary elective Congress. In European circles there is only one topic: the presidential election.

However, the reforms we have not yet been able to implement are in fact more important. This requires a clear statement of intent on the part of the Executive Committee and Congress. We need to change structures so they are above reproach. The Executive Committee should be elected and controlled by Congress. We require independent integrity checks – for example by the Ethics Committee. This would give the Executive Committee more authority and responsibility.

The popular outrage concerning FIFA in recent weeks has mainly been directed at me personally. I have no problem with this.

I can defend myself. However, I would appeal for fairness: I bear no responsibility for members of a government (the FIFA Executive Committee) I have not myself elected. The FIFA President must work with the people allotted him by the confederations. I therefore also bear no responsibility whatsoever for the behaviour of these ExCo members on their home turf.

We cannot change people’s morals, but we can better control human behaviour. This is where I will invest my energy. I am against age limits for officials, because they are an encroachment on personal freedom. If you feel someone is too old, you do not vote for them again. What I am definitely striving for is term limits for those in office.

I have worked for FIFA for 40 years and have experienced almost everything there is to experience in football. However, there remains one thing I still do not understand. When we introduce a change to the Laws of the Game, it is immediately enforced and adhered to by everyone. Yet when the very same FIFA moves to implement an ethical code of conduct for the entire organisation, it is blocked by all the confederations with the exception of Asia.

To this day, UEFA has no ethics committee, and the German association has no ethics committee.

Filling the office of President is ultimately only a sideshow, albeit staged in a glaring spotlight. I hope the Congress is not blinded by this, because FIFA’s future is at stake, no more and no less.

Best wishes, Sepp Blatter T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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C O PA A M E R I C A 2015

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C O PA A M E R I C A 2015

Chilean hosts triumph at last

Gabriel Rossi / LatinContent / Getty Images

Sven Goldmann reports from Santiago where 2015 Copa America hosts Chile lifted the trophy for the very first time in their history.

The winners Gonzalo Jara, Gary Medel and Eduardo Vargas (from left to right) with the Copa America trophy.

T

he sun had long since set and the Andes were gradually disappearing from view, but there was no question of the lights going out in Santiago, not on this memorable first weekend of July, when they shone brightly enough to make the people of Chile forget that winter is upon them. From Arica and the Atacama Desert in the north down to Puerto Williams at the extreme southern tip of Tierra del Fuego, the entire population was seized by a sense of joy, but it was in the capital city, at the heart of the country, where the celebrations were the most fervent. They spread from the Estadio Nacional to the Plaza Italia, where local football fans traditionally gather to celebrate landmark achievements. Here, men, women and children danced the night away as fireworks light up the sky and cars ceaselessly sounded their horns at the most famous crossroads in the Chilean capital.

Chile has never known a night like it. Having spent 99 years trying to win the Copa America, La Roja finally achieved it at the 44th attempt, doing so in front of their own fans at the Estadio Nacional, and against Argentina, their unloved neighbours from the other side of the Andes.

It was a final decided on penalties, after normal and extra time had failed to produce a goal.

The Chileans had good reason to be reticent about their chances in a shootout, having lost on penalties to Brazil at last year’s FIFA World Cup™. The man who missed on that occasion was Gonzalo Jara, who sat out the meeting with the Argentinians following his unseemly contretemps with Uruguay’s Edinson Cavani in the quarter-finals. His teammates were up to the task, however, with Matias Fernandez, Arturo Vidal, Charles Aranguiz and Alexis Sanchez all getting the better of Albiceleste keeper Sergio Romero from the spot.

In contrast, Lionel Messi was the only Argentinian to convert his penalty, leaving him to contemplate a second defeat in a major final in the last twelve months. Such was La Pulga’s disappointment that he quickly removed the silver medal hanging round his neck and headed off to the dressing room without sharing a word with anyone. It also transpired that he turned down the award for the player of the tournament. “Leo is feeling very down,” commented his team-mate Javier Mascherano. “This is real torture. How is it possible that we can’t win a title with this team?”

A holiday for all!

While their old rivals frowned, the Chileans partied, the celebrations fanning out from the stadium across the city. Still sporting their sweatdrenched shirts, the players made straight for La Moneda, the presidential palace, and an audience with Michelle Bachelet. “Holiday! Holiday!” chanted Vidal, Sanchez, Bravo et al., pressing the president to reward their historic achievement with a national public holiday.

President Bachelet promised to give some thought to their proposal, aware that the national team’s trophy-winning campaign had given her three weeks of respite at a time when her education reforms are meeting with strikes and nationwide resistance. “We deserved it and the whole of Chile should benefit from it,” said goalkeeper and team captain Claudio Bravo.

The breathless final brought to an end a tournament that has seen a shift in the South American hierarchy. While Chile are on the rise, Argentina are treading water and their Uruguayan neighbours have hit T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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C O PA A M E R I C A 2015

Scenes of jubilation in Santiago Fans gathered at the Plaza Italia to celebrate Chile’s win.

Dejection Lionel Messi is still waiting to win a major title with Argentina.

Elvis Gonzalez / Keystone, Martin Bernetti / AFP, Ivan Alvarado / Reuters

Safe hands Chile’s Claudio Bravo was named the best goalkeeper of the Copa America.

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T H E F I FA W E E K LY

C O PA A M E R I C A 2015

Neymar’s suspension revealed just how much Brazil depend on their No10. a worrying dip. World champions in 1930 and 1950, La Celeste underperformed in the absence of suspended star striker Luis Suarez, and will now have to rebuild in preparation for 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia qualifying. Yet as Brazil showed at the Copa America, transitional phases can be problematic. In their first major tournament since their calamitous World Cup campaign on home soil last year, the one-time kings of world football have been forced to acknowledge that they still have much to do if they are to reign supreme once more.

Brazilian woes continue Seleção coach Carlos Dunga had overseen a run of ten wins in ten matches heading into the competition, and while his side extended that sequence to 11 with a 2-1 defeat of Peru in their Group C opener, it was a far-from-fluent performance, with victory only secured by an injury-time goal.

The winning streak came to an end three days later via a 1-0 defeat to Colombia, a game that ended with Neymar picking up a red card and a subsequent suspension that would rule him out of the rest of the tournament. Realising just how dependent they are on their No10, the Brazilians managed to see off Venezuela without him before being held

Host nation Chile Duration 11 June to 4 July 2015 Number of teams 12 (10 CONMEBOL nations, plus guests Mexico and Jamaica) Number of matches 26 Goals scored 59 (2.27 per game) Attendance 655,902 (average 25,227) South American champions Chile Top scorer Paolo Guerrero (Peru) and Eduardo Vargas (Chile), both four goals Best Young Player Jeison Murillo (Colombia) Best Goalkeeper Claudio Bravo (Chile) Fair Play Award Peru

to a 1-1 draw in normal time by quarter-final opponents Paraguay, who held their nerve to edge the tie on penalties and send the tournament favourites out.

La Albirroja were one of the revelations of Chile 2015, reaching the semi-finals before suffering an emphatic 6-1 defeat to La Albiceleste. Coached by the Argentinian Ramon Diaz, Paraguay rediscovered their touch on their run to the last four, a marked improvement on their bid to qualify for Brazil 2014, when they finished ninth and bottom of the South American group. Peru, whose last World Cup appearance came in 1982, also look to be a team reborn. Led by Paolo Guerrero, who struck four goals, the Peruvians took third place, reprising their performance in Argentina four years ago.

Chile scale the heights It remains to be seen whether Peru can enjoy the kind of sustained improvement Chile have made in recent years. Despite seeing his side knocked out by Brazil at the last two world finals, Chile’s Argentinian coach Jorge Sampaoli has kept his side on a steady course, taking them to a level reached by only a few of the nation’s players in the past, among them strike legends Marcelo Salas and Ivan Zamorano.

In ending their 99-year wait for Copa America glory, La Roja de Todos (“The Red That Is Everyone’s”, as Chile’s national team is known by its fans), has never looked so assured, in every department. Named the goalkeeper of the tournament, Claudio Bravo turned in a string of superb displays, while Gary Medel, affectionately and respectfully nicknamed “Pitbull”, manned the centre of defence with aplomb, blunting the threat posed by opposing strikers. The midfield trio of Jorge Valdivia, Aranguiz and Vidal also excelled, the latter proving so important to the side that Sampaoli refused to drop him even after he caused a car accident while drunk at the wheel of his Ferrari, right in the middle of the tournament.

And while Sanchez was not quite his usual incisive self up front, he displayed plenty of nerve in taking the winning penalty in the shootout that decided the final, showing his class by sending a delicate Panenka-style chip arcing into the Argentina goal, which was no mean feat considering the keeper’s performance in the Brazil 2014 semi-final shootout against the Netherlands.

With Sanchez slightly off his game, it was Eduardo Vargas who popped up as Chile’s main goal threat, an unexpected turn of events even for Roja fans. Though once regarded as one of the brightest talents in Chilean football, the 25-year-old managed just four goals in 21 appearances last season with Queens Park Rangers, the Premier League’s bottom club, and it came as no shock to see him start the tournament in the bench. Yet after opening his account in the 2-0 defeat of Ecuador and getting on the scoresheet again in the 3-3 draw with Mexico, it was Vargas who sent his team through to the final by scoring both goals in the 2-1 semi-final win over the Peruvians. Those four goals left him tied with Peru’s Guerrero as the leading marksman at Chile 2015.

Surrounded by his team-mates and exultant fans on the pitch at the end of the final, the surprise hero said what everyone else was thinking: “We’ve earned a place in history today, but I don’t know if it’s really sunk in yet.” Å T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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GENER AL INFORMATION Country: Tunisia FIFA Trigramme: TUN Continent: Africa Capital: Tunis

GEOGR APHIC INFORMATION Surface area: 163,610 km² Highest point:

“Yes, I do!”

Jebel ech Chambi 1,544 m Neighbouring seas and oceans: Mediterranean Sea

MEN’S FOOTBALL FIFA Ranking:

Sarah Steiner

Mario Wagner / 2Agenten

F

ootball and love are inexorably intertwined.

The football fan loves his club, the footballer loves the game. Emotions are a key component of victory and defeat in any sport, and sometimes they can boil over, but football can also concocts a few love stories of its own.

Every so often, a football stadium becomes an ideal setting for a marriage proposal.

FC Rostov player Ivan Novoseltsev decided to pop the question following his side’s 1-0 victory over Torpedo Moscow in April. Bathed in sweat, the defender sank to one knee in front of his girlfriend, who had been beckoned onto the pitch, and pulled a ring box out from behind his back. Who can say no to that? Not Katarina Keyru at any rate. The basketball player immediately said yes, kissed her future husband and threw her arms in the air in delight.

Cupid made another fleeting appearance during a Belarusian league match at the end of June. Having just put his side 4-0 ahead against FC Nemen, FC Slutsk midfielder Sergey Levitskiy sprinted across the pitch to where his girlfriend was sitting, waved to attract her atten­tion, grabbed the ring from one of his team-mates and went down on one knee.

Thankfully, she also said yes.

29th World Cup:

Even board members have been known to pop the question in front of the prying eyes of the TV cameras. Following the UEFA Champions League quarter-final draw in 2012/13, Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo was being interviewed by Sky Italia presenter Anna Billo, the former Brazil international’s girlfriend. Thrilled at being handed a glamour tie with FC Barcelona, Leonardo asked Billo to marry him live on television. The presenter was clearly flustered. “We will see,” was her curt response. “Let us speak about it at home, ok?

But thanks!” It was only when pressed for a firm answer by her co-presenter that she finally said: “Yes!” After cutting to an ad break, Billo began fanning herself with a piece of paper and shuddered: “He’s gone mad!” All’s well that ends well, though: the pair tied the knot in autumn 2013 and have been happily married ever since. Å

4 Appearances 1978, 1998, 2002, 2006 Best performance: Group stage

WOMEN’S FOOTBALL FIFA Ranking: 81st World Cup: no appearances

L ATES T RESULTS Men’s: Tunisia - Libya 0:1 18 June 2015 Women’s: Tunisia - Algeria 2:3 8 June 2014

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The weekly column by our staff writers

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29

THE INTERVIEW

“You learn more from the bad times” The US Women, haunted by the memory of their defeat to Japan in the 2011 Women’s World Cup final, waited four long years for the chance to take revenge.

They are now world champions for the third time, in no small measure thanks to their captain Carli Lloyd, named Best Player at Canada 2015.

You started the final as if you had it all mapped out in your head. Did you ever imagine scoring a hat-trick like that?

Carli Lloyd: (laughs) Oh yes. I pictured it a few times, but I have to say I never thought it would work out so well. I’m so happy with the way things have ended. It’s what the team and everyone who’s been involved in this win deserves. We’re so proud. It’s unreal and it still hasn’t sunk in. It’s hard to believe that everything could have gone so well.

Was it just one of those rare days where everything you touched turned to gold?

It’s a bit like that, something that maybe just happens once in your career, when everything you try comes off and nearly every shot goes in the back of the net. Perfor­ mances like that – and not just mine – come down to a lot of hard work and hours and hours of training and preparation for the big occasion. We always visualise games and what we want to do on the pitch, and you learn to be focused for the whole tournament.

We were on a mission today. I wanted to win the World Cup, and with the support of the team I just did what had to be done to make that happen.

Your coach Jill Ellis said she had to pinch herself after the first quarter of an hour because she couldn’t believe what was ­happening. Were you surprised at how well you were playing?

It’s pretty amazing and we didn’t believe we could do something like that. We’ve shown in every match that we were ready and we’re very proud of our victories, but we made history in getting off to a start like that against the world champions, and we took the trophy home.

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T H E F I FA W E E K LY

Japan are an integral part of your career now.

You missed a penalty against them in the shootout at the Germany 2011 final. You then scored twice against them in the final of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament London 2012. And now you’ve scored this hat-trick.

That’s right, though that penalty miss is a long time ago now. That’s the way it is. That’s what happens. I never really dwelt on it and I just turned the page and looked to keep moving forward in my career. We’ve spent every day trying to get better, and that’s what’s brought us here.

After a performance like that, is it true to say that this is the greatest team US women’s football has ever produced?

I’m convinced it is. What we’ve done is just legendary. We started so well, especially up front, but we stayed focused and solid. We stuck to our gameplan and we scored five goals in the final. It wasn’t an easy road but we finished first and unbeaten in the so-called group of death. We weren’t the best, and we came into the tournament second in the world ranking. We knew that nothing was going to be easy. What we’ve done is remarkable. It’s a historic performance.

After all your exploits and awards in this tournament, you’re now front-page news around the world. Are you ready for the spotlight?

I think my career has gone up a level, that’s for sure. There’s always room for im­ provement though, and I know I have to keep on working hard.

You were just one goal or one assist away from winning the adidas Golden Boot.

I know what I’ve got left to achieve. I’ll be going for it at the next World Cup.

Does a day like today make up for all the disappointments you’ve had and the sacrifices you’ve made?

No, I don’t really see it like that. I think the bad times are important too. That’s what makes you stronger and better able to aim high. Obviously, it’s great to have the good times but I also think you learn more during the bad. Å Carli Lloyd was talking to Julien Sebbah

Name Carli Anne Lloyd Date and place of birth 16 July 1982, Delran Township, USA Position Midfield Clubs played for (selection) Rutgers Scarlet Knights Chicago Red Stars Atlanta Beat Western New York Flash Houston Dash (since 2015) Honors and awards (selection) Olympic champion 2008, 2012 Algarve Cup winner 2007, 2008, 2010, 2015 Women’s Gold Cup winner 2014 U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year 2008 USA national team

Nike

201 caps, 66 goals

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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MIRROR IMAGE

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London, England

Eileen McCarthy practises a throw-in at South London Ladies’ Football Club.

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Reg Speller / Getty Images

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Temuco, Chile

2008

Alexa Reyes / AFP

Brazil’s Leah Fortune taking throw-ins to a whole new level.

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NET ZER KNOWS!

How good is South American football?

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“I’ve always wanted an experience like this. I had a lot of offers to play outside of Italy, but I didn’t hesitate picking New York.”

Andrea Pirlo on his transfer from Juventus to New York City.

“I’d like to dedicate it to my teammates and all the coaches that have stood by me all this time, in good times and bad.”

USA shot-stopper Hope Solo on winning the Golden Glove for the best goalkeeper at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada™.

“My child was born here, I made the step up to international football playing here, and I made a lot of friends here.

That is why I will always come back and why I will never be able to forget my time in Hoffenheim.”

Roberto Firmino after his Bundesliga-record transfer from Hoffenheim to Liverpool.

Porsche time: Columnist Gunter Netzer, aged 22.

imago

I

t took a while before South Americans felt comfortable about letting their most talented players head to Europe. That was quite understandable, considering the worldclass stars who made successful careers on the continent. Let it not be forgotten that between 1930 and 1962, Uruguay and Brazil won five of the first nine FIFA World Cups™.

South American football is still of a high standard and retains its good reputation ­because both clubs and players recognized the need to change over the years. In the 1970s, Europe caught up and showed that tactics, organization and strength could also bring success. Talented South American youngsters moved to Europe to develop and returned stronger to represent their respec-

tive countries. The South American stars of today are fantastic athletes with a perfect mix of flair and European discipline.

This year’s Copa America was perhaps the best ever. I was delighted at Chile’s triumph.

I even thought they were in with a chance at last year’s FIFA World Cup™. The Copa demonstrated that South American football is alive and kicking. Å

“This is a joyous moment. In reality it is two. The first came when I saw my name on the squad list for the ­w eekend, the second when we agreed on a contract extension.”

Former Bayern Munich defender Breno on his return to the pitch and his new contract at Brazilian first-division side São Paulo.

“We all wanted to inspire girls and boys to play football. And I think we’ve achieved that.”

What have you always wanted to know about football?

Ask Gunter Netzer: feedback-theweekly@fifa.org

England captain Steph Houghton after England’s third-place finish at the Women’s World Cup. T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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FIFA PARTNER

TURNING POINT

“I didn’t know what I was doing” Four years ago German referee Babak Rafati tried to commit suicide hours before a Bundes­ liga match. He talks of his relief at having survived.

Jannis Chavakis / 13 Photo

O

n 19 November 2011 I was due to referee a Bundesliga match between FC Koln and Mainz. I never made it to the stadium. A few hours before kick-off I tried to commit suicide in my hotel room. I drank virtually everything in the minibar and filled the bath. I took a hundred valerian capsules, lowered myself into the water and cut my veins with a piece of glass. I had hit rock bottom. I didn’t know what I was doing. I’d lost all control over myself. It wasn’t spontaneous and it wasn’t planned. It just happened because I couldn’t take any more. I was ill, depressed.

I’d been harassed at work for the previous year and a half, the pressure in top-level football was huge and I was also a perfectionist, which didn’t help either.

Luckily, my assistants found me in time and saved my life, for which I’m very grateful.

My life turned around. I’d made a lot of mistakes before my suicide attempt. I’d missed a lot of signs that I was ill and I didn’t like myself.

I didn’t know my weaknesses. I wasn’t aware of them. They treated me with medication, therapy and attention training, and my wife helped me a lot too. Giving up refereeing right at the start of my treatment programme was an essential part of my recovery. That took a lot of the pressure off.

My suicide attempt caused a huge shock in the Bundesliga. It came only two years after German national team goalkeeper Robert Enke had taken his own life. Unfortunately, things haven’t changed at all. The situation is just the same, though at least I’ve been able to give counselling to three players and two managers in the league. The media exert a huge amount of pressure and influence. It’s not enough for us to be football world champions. We have to be world champions as people too.

As a freelance speaker in the private sector and at leadership conferences, I like to give people guidance so that they don’t end up in the situation I did on 19 November 2011, and that is what I’ve also tried to do in my biography Ich pfeife auf den Tod! (“I can die for all I care”). One of the biggest discoveries I’ve made is that it’s OK to have weaknesses. By accepting them, we can achieve so many things. If I can help save the life of one person through my talks and my book, then I’ll have achieved a lot.

After retiring, I refereed testimonial matches for Steven Cherundolo in Hannover, Ailton in Bremen and David Jarolim in Hamburg in August 2014 and March 2015. It was a great honour for me. Obviously, they weren’t the most competitive games, but they made me want to be a referee or a mentor again. That won’t be possible in Germany now, but maybe I’ll have the chance abroad. It would also be a great message for all those people in our society who are too scared to take the step forward in their lives. Å Babak Rafati was speaking to Peter Eggenberger

Name Babak Rafati Date and place of birth 28 May 1970, Hannover, Germany Refereeing career 2005–2011: 84 Bundesliga matches 2008–2011: 2 international matches and 6 matches in European club competitions

In Turning Point, personalities reflect on a decisive moment in their lives.

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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MEN’S WORLD R ANKING

Argentina (up 2) Romania (8th, up 4), England (9th, up 6), Wales (10th, up 12) Spain (12th, down 2), Uruguay (13th, down 5), France (22nd, down 13) 213 Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru (7 matches each) Wales (up 226 points) Belize (up 37 ranks) Germany (down 364 points) Central African Republic (down 29 ranks)

Leader Moves into top ten Moves out of top ten Matches played in total Most matches played Biggest move by points Biggest move by ranks Biggest drop by points Biggest drop by ranks Rank Team

+/- Points

Rank Team

1 Argentina

2 1473

55 Egypt

2 Germany

-1 1411

3 Belgium 4 Colombia

+/- Points

Rank Team

0

606

108 Azerbaijan

56 Paraguay

29

603

-1 1244

57 Nigeria

-14

0 1217

58 Guinea

-13

5 Netherlands

1 1204

59 Australia

6 Brazil

-1 1186

60 Congo DR

Last updated: 10 July 2015 +/- Points

Rank Team

+/- Points

7

302

163 Suriname

-13

141

110 Lithuania

-14

301

164 Indonesia

-9

134

601

111 Sierra Leone

-28

300

165 Timor-Leste

-19

130

591

112 Zimbabwe

7

290

166 Bhutan

-7

128

4

559

113 Bahrain

-7

282

167 New Caledonia

2

118

-4

555

114 Namibia

-9

276

168 Malaysia

-6

117

-3

115

7 Portugal

0 1177

61 Mali

-9

550

115 St Vincent and the Grenadines

-3

268

169 Bangladesh

8 Romania

4 1166

62 Panama

-8

549

116 Kenya

7

263

170 Central African Republic

9 England

6 1157

63 Equatorial Guinea

-13

546

117 Syria

4

262

-29

111

171 Yemen

-6

104

10 Wales

12 1155

64 Trinidad and Tobago

3

543

118 Belize

37

257

172 Pakistan

-2

101

11 Chile

8 1129

65 Gabon

-6

524

119 Palestine

-1

255

173 Chad

-1

100

12 Spain

-2 1110

66 Bolivia

23

511

120 St Kitts and Nevis

-6

254

174 Dominica

-6

98

13 Uruguay

-5 1036

67 Norway

-3

495

120 Botswana

-9

254

175 US Virgin Islands

-4

97

14 Croatia

4 1023

68 Bulgaria

-6

489

122 Madagascar

-9

250

176 Maldives

2

87

15 Slovakia

2 1016

69 United Arab Emirates

4

487

123 Kuwait

2

242

177 Laos

-2

86

13

236

178 Montserrat

3

74

0

236

179 Chinese Taipei

-1

72

-10

227

180 Mauritius

-4

71

9

225

181 Cambodia

-3

66

15 Austria

5 1016

70 South Africa

-1

483

124 Philippines

17 Italy

-4 1001

71 Zambia

-3

482

124 Moldova

18 Switzerland

-7

997

72 Burkina Faso

-6

481

126 Dominican Republic

19 Algeria

2

941

73 Uganda

-2

467

127 St Lucia

20 Czech Republic

-4

933

74 Faroe Islands

28

456

128 Mauritania

21

224

181 Macau

4

66

21 Côte d’Ivoire

3

917

75 Uzbekistan

-1

453

129 Korea DPR

17

222

183 Sri Lanka

3

62

22 France

-13

882

76 Jamaica

-11

437

130 Lebanon

5

218

184 Brunei Darussalam

0

61

23 Iceland

14

877

77 China PR

2

436

131 Burundi

3

217

185 Nepal

-2

60

24 Denmark

5

876

78 Rwanda

16

433

131 Lesotho

-9

217

186 Seychelles

1

52

25 Ghana

9

827

79 Haiti

-3

428

133 Guinea-Bissau

22

213

187 Comoros

3

51

26 Bosnia and Herzegovina

6

819

80 Honduras

-5

427

134 Afghanistan

17

212

188 Tahiti

-6

50

27 Ukraine

8

791

81 Montenegro

-11

423

135 Aruba

16

211

189 São Tomé e Príncipe

-1

48

28 Russia

-2

782

82 Estonia

9

420

136 Bermuda

-10

209

189 Cayman Islands

0

48

29 Scotland

-1

774

83 Togo

-6

415

136 New Zealand

2

209

191 Solomon Islands

-1

44

30 Poland

2

769

84 Morocco

8

394

138 Swaziland

24

206

192 San Marino

0

40

31 Hungary

11

763

85 Cyprus

2

391

139 Tanzania

-12

200

193 Turks and Caicos Islands

0

33

32 Tunisia

-3

758

86 Iraq

0

382

140 Thailand

-11

199

194 British Virgin Islands

0

27

33 Sweden

6

752

87 Latvia

-5

377

141 Barbados

-9

198

195 South Sudan

2

24

34 USA

-7

748

88 El Salvador

1

374

142 Kazakhstan

-9

193

196 Samoa

2

19

35 Ecuador

-4

738

89 Armenia

-5

373

143 Gambia

17

188

197 Vanuatu

3

17

36 Albania

15

722

90 Sudan

18

371

143 Nicaragua

8

188

197 Tonga

3

17

7

721

90 Finland

-12

371

143 Vietnam

-16

188

199 Fiji

-4

16

38 Iran

3

716

92 Angola

-4

355

146 Luxembourg

-15

187

200 Bahamas

-4

13

39 Senegal

-3

715

92 Jordan

11

355

147 Liechtenstein

-18

182

201 American Samoa

2

12

40 Mexico

-17

697

92 Saudi Arabia

6

355

148 Tajikistan

-9

181

202 Papua New Guinea

0

9

41 Costa Rica

-27

695

95 Mozambique

-14

354

149 Curaçao

-5

174

202 Andorra

2

9

42 Cameroon

7

672

96 Benin

14

345

150 Puerto Rico

17

169

204 Eritrea

0

8

43 Serbia

2

662

96 Libya

23

345

150 Singapore

4

169

205 Mongolia

-6

6

44 Greece

-19

661

96 Niger

21

345

152 Turkmenistan

21

167

205 Somalia

1

6

45 Venezuela

27

643

96 Qatar

1

345

153 Georgia

-14

165

207 Djibouti

0

4

46 Peru

15

635

100 Belarus

-20

341

154 Hong Kong

10

163

207 Cook Islands

0

4

47 Congo

0

630

101 Ethiopia

-2

333

154 Guam

20

163

209 Anguilla

0

0

48 Turkey

9

627

102 Oman

-1

329

156 India

-15

161

49 Slovenia

-1

626

103 Canada

6

328

157 Kyrgyzstan

20

160

50 Japan

2

621

104 Cuba

3

313

158 Malta

-13

157

51 Israel

-11

620

105 Guatemala

-12

311

159 Guyana

-1

155

52 Cape Verde Islands

-14

608

105 FYR Macedonia

-5

311

160 Grenada

0

153

52 Republic of Ireland

8

608

107 Antigua and Barbuda

-3

303

161 Liberia

-13

152

52 Korea Republic

6

608

108 Malawi

-13

302

162 Myanmar

-19

145

37 Northern Ireland

38

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

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

PUZZLE

Published weekly by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)

President Joseph S. Blatter

1

6

8

2

7

2

9

2

Director of Communications and Public Affairs Nicolas Maingot (a. i.)

8

Chief Editor Perikles Monioudis

9

7

3

9 1

7

8

4

5

3

1

2

2

5

2

4

8

1

6 7

3

7

6

4

Production Hans-Peter Frei

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7 1 3 4

5

6

3

HARD

2

Printer Zofinger Tagblatt AG

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Contact feedback-theweekly@fifa.org

Any views expressed in The FIFA Weekly do not necessarily reflect those of FIFA.

2

6 9

Editorial Assistants Alissa Rosskopf

Reproduction of photos or articles in whole or in part is only permitted with prior editorial approval and if attributed “The FIFA Weekly, © FIFA 2015”. The editor and staff are not obliged to publish unsolicited manuscripts and photos.

FIFA and the FIFA logo are registered trademarks of FIFA. Made and printed in Switzerland.

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3

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Contributors to this Issue Giovanni Alcocer, Peter Eggenberger, Thanh Nguyen, Julien Sebbah

Internet www.fifa.com/theweekly

5

6 9

3

Contributors Ronald Dueker, Luigi Garlando, Sven Goldmann, Andreas Jaros, Jordi Punti, Thomas Renggli, David Winner, Roland Zorn

Translation www.sportstranslations.com

1

MEDIUM

Proof Reader Nena Morf (Lead), Martin Beran, Kristina Rotach

Project Management Bernd Fisa, Christian Schaub

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1 3

2

4

6

4

Art Direction Catharina Clajus

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9

4 1

Staff Writers Alan Schweingruber (Deputy Editor), Annette Braun, Sarah Steiner

Layout Richie Kroenert (Lead), Tobias Benz, Susanne Egli

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7

Secretary General Jérôme Valcke

Picture Editor Peggy Knotz, Andres Wilhelm (Deputy)

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EASY

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3

6 3

4

8 8

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4 1

2 9

4

5 9

7 6

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2 1

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

Puzzles courtesy: opensky.ca/sudoku

Publisher FIFA, FIFA-Strasse 20, PO box, CH-8044 Zurich Phone +41-(0)43-222 7777, Fax +41-(0)43-222 7878

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.

39