Sepp Blatter

KHAYELITSHA, South Africa (Reuters) - On a brand-new soccer field in South Africa's second-largest township, teenage boys and girls kick balls and run round hurdles in games soccer authorities hope will help them avoid the scourge of AIDS. The center, officially launched by soccer's world governing body FIFA on Saturday, is the first of 20 "Football for Hope" hubs to be formed across Africa, meant to use the power of football to help children overcome the continent's multitude of social problems. "There is no need to play football... if you don't do anything for the health of the young people," FIFA President Sepp Blatter ... Read Full Story

Talk about shooting the messenger. Soccer's guardians took the cowardly route with their double decision this week to a) set their police on Thierry Henry for his notorious hand ball and b) do absolutely nothing to prevent such cheating from spoiling the next World Cup. Henry's famous fondle, a double hand ball that set up the goal that qualified France for next year's tournament, sent a message heard by everyone around the world except FIFA: Referees cannot keep track of everything in today's ultra-fast game and urgently need additional help — with urgently underlined. The solution is not rocket science. Two extra match officials ... Read Full Story

FIFA paid a symbolic tribute Thursday to the role football played in shaping resistance at one of the most notorious penal colonies of the last century. In an historic move, they held an executive committee meeting on Robben Island, now a popular tourist attraction, ahead of the draw for the 2010 World Cup Friday . It was a gesture that highlighted how the game played an important role in the lives of political prisoners, most famously Nelson Mandela and Jacob Zuma, jailed by South Africa's old apartheid government. Many of them were passionate about football and used the game to help find relief from ... Read Full Story

Irish football chiefs on Wednesday criticised FIFA President Sepp Blatter for making public details of their request for a '33rd' place at the World Cup in the wake of the Thierry Henry handball row. In a statement, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) said it had asked for the request to be taken off the agenda for Wednesday's scheduled meeting of FIFA's executive committee in Cape Town. "The Football Association of Ireland acknowledges that the suggestion of an additional place at the World Cup is not a possibility and has requested yesterday that it will not be raised at today's FIFA executive committee meeting," ... Read Full Story

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has apologized to the Irish soccer federation for his comments on Ireland's loss to France in a World Cup playoff. Blatter had defended Thierry Henry, whose hand ball led to a goal that eliminated Ireland from the World Cup, saying it wasn't the forward's responsibility to tell the referee. The federation also criticized Blatter for making public Ireland's request to be allowed into the World Cup as an extra team. Blatter says he's "sorry about these headlines. It is a pity that it has been communicated in this way. Sorry again." The federation wanted Blatter to "issue a clear statement ... Read Full Story