FIFA – Paris/Zurich: The FIFA Club World Championship will replace the Toyota Cup from 2005 onwards. With a new six-team format, the tournament will next be held in Tokyo from 11 to 18 December 2005.
Following negotiations with all of the contractual partners of the Toyota Cup, the FIFA Executive Committee, meeting in Paris today, Monday, 17 May under the chairmanship of FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, ratified the agreements that had been reached.
From 2005 onwards, the FIFA Club World Championship will take place each year with annual prize money of USD 15 million. In addition, FIFA will bear all of the costs for the teams and confederation/FIFA delegations.
The confederations’ representatives on the FIFA executive also confirmed that their regulations for the corresponding international club competitions would be amended to stipulate that the winning teams are obliged to participate in the FIFA Club World Championship. These amendments will be made in line with the FIFA competition regulations, which will be drafted in the coming weeks.
The FIFA Executive Committee had already approved the format for the FIFA Club World Championship during its meeting in London in February 2004, with the six confederations’ champions to play a total of seven matches over an eight-day period. The European and South American teams will each play only two matches.
With regard to club football and the complaint lodged by the G-14 with the Swiss Competitions Committee (COMCO), the executive decided to create a club football task force together with all the confederations and to involve the associations in this area.
Switching their attentions to the World Anti-Doping Code of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the executive members confirmed that FIFA would only sign the Code once WADA had given its written acceptance of the conditions elaborated together with FIFA.
Furthermore, the Executive Committee approved the dates for the FIFA competitions in 2005 and ratified a change to the schedule for the FIFA Futsal World Championship Chinese Taipei 2004:
– FIFA Futsal World Championship Chinese Taipei: 21 November – 5 December 2004
– FIFA World Youth Championship Netherlands: 10 June – 2 July 2005
– FIFA Confederations Cup Germany: 15 – 29 June 2005
– FIFA U-17 World Championship Peru: 15 September – 2 October 2005
With regard to the future strategy for the sale of marketing and television rights, the Executive Committee ratified the decision taken by the Board of FIFA Marketing & TV AG, whereby as of 2007, the television rights to each tournament will be open to separate public tender. Four new categories for FIFA’s marketing partners were also approved: 1. FIFA Partner. 2. FIFA World Cup Partner. 3. National Supporter. 4. Global Supplier. Furthermore, each product category will be redefined.
The status of “observer” for the President of the Oceanian Football Confederation was also confirmed until further notice, as Oceania’s elected representative on the FIFA executive is not the President of OFC.
In other matters, the Executive Committee ratified the decision taken by the Emergency Committee’s on 7 March 2004 regarding eligibility to play for Association teams. The corresponding amendment to article 15 of the Regulations Governing the Application of the FIFA Statutes will be presented to the delegates at the Centennial FIFA Congress in Paris on 20/21 May with the recommendation that it be approved.
The suspension of the Guatemalan football association was also officially lifted. The executive had provisionally lifted the suspension during its meeting in London in February 2004.
Finally, the Executive Committee took note of the positive developments in Iraqi football. Iraq is a prime example of the unifying power of football, because despite the ongoing problems in the country, the domestic league championship is still underway and the U-23 national team has qualified for the Olympic Football Tournament in Athens.