The Hindu : Sport / Football : FIFA agrees to hear South America’s plea

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Friday, Jun 22, 2007
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FIFA agrees to hear South America’s plea

ASUNCION: CONMEBOL President Nicolas Lezo said FIFA has agreed to formally hear a call by the South American soccer federation to overturn a recent ban on international matches at high altitude.

Leoz said on on Wednesday that FIFA had informed him it would formally hear CONMEBOL’S arguments for rescinding the ban as part of a FIFA executive committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday in Zurich, Switzerland.

Leoz said he and the other South American voting members of FIFA’s executive committee — Julio Grondona of Argentina and Ricardo Teixeira of Brazil — would present the “unanimous decision” of the South American confederation to oppose the ban.

“We would like more exhaustive scientific studies to reach the hands of FIFA first,” Leoz said, adding the matter of playing in oxygen-thin mountain elevations requires more serious scrutiny before any final decision is adopted.

He also said South America’s position would be presented in writing to the FIFA medical commission director.

Bolivian President Evo Morales also is planning to travel to Zurich to meet with FIFA president Joseph Blatter next week, seeking to convince the head of soccer’s international governing body to rescind the ban.

Morales will be joined on the visit by the mayors of Cuzco, Peru and Bogota, Colombia, both excluded by the ruling along with cities in Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, and Mexico.

The soccer-loving Bolivian leader has led a spirited campaign to overturn the ban — even playing a game on the icy slopes of Bolivia’s highest Andean peak — but has so far failed to move the game’s highest official.

Last week, CONMEBOL voted unanimously to seek the overturning the ban, which prohibits international tournaments and World Cup qualifiers staged more than 8,200 feet above sea level. — AP

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