"I HAVE TO COMPLETE MY PLANS"

By tradition, FIFA President Joseph Blatter arrived in Moscow for the final match of the CIS Cup this year, too. During this visit, he also met Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev, the heads of the football federations of Commonwealth countries and held a news conference on his visit. As a rule, Blatter rarely gives exclusive interviews to journalists. But this time, we were lucky. Despite his tight schedule, the president of FIFA kindly agreed to spend 10-15 minutes with us and answer questions from Region Plus. Blatter shared his vision of the future of the Commonwealth Cup with us and spoke about his meeting with the president of the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA), Rovnaq Abdullayev, and the ongoing developments in world football.

- Mr Blatter, do you not think that the future of the Commonwealth Cup is vague? In my opinion, the football public is losing interest in this tournament year by year. Can FIFA support the CIS Cup?

- The CIS Cup is not a simple tournament. It is of special significance to the CIS countries and this year, it was held for the 18th time. Every year we visit Moscow to watch the final game. Taking the opportunity, I meet the leaders of the football federations of Commonwealth countries. The Football Union of Russia is doing a great job by holding this tournament. As head of FIFA, I will do everything in my power to ensure that the Commonwealth Cup is held in the future. You can change the rules, but the tournament has to live.

- In Moscow, you also met the president of AFFA, Rovnaq Abdullayev. What issues were raised at the meeting?

- President of AFFA Rovnaq Abdullayev told us about the work carried out in Azerbaijan for the development of football. In recent years, your country has carried out many projects in this direction. Of course, FIFA supports all these efforts. Azerbaijan wants to host the final stage of the Beach Soccer World Cup in 2011 and 2013, and the final stage of the world championship for women aged 17-20 in 2012. We are pleased with this desire of the Azerbaijani side.

- How do you assess Azerbaijan's chances of hosting these tournaments?

- The objective decision will be made after all documents are submitted to the relevant committees. The most worthy applicant will be selected. In any case, by putting forward its candidacy, Azerbaijan demonstrated its intentions.

- Do you follow developments in Azerbaijan football?

- Of course, football is not standing still, and as everywhere, it is developing. In Azerbaijan, people are fond of this sport. Every visit to your country makes a very favourable impression on me. But big changes take time.

- In 2011, your tenure as president of FIFA expires. Who do you see as a real candidate for your post?

- (Smiles) As president of FIFA, I still have much to do. I need to complete my plans.

- Recently, referees have been making a lot of mistakes in various tournaments. What changes can we expect in the work of referees?

- Referees are humans as well, and they are not immune to mistakes. Who among us has never made a mistake? Therefore, referees cannot be judged harshly. However, work to improve the level of judges continues. We intend to apply a system of video replay during matches.

- Does this mean that video replay will be applied at the World Cup?

- At the World Cup in South Africa, video replay will not be applied. This idea is still to be discussed for some time. We want to install special cameras on the goal line. Videotapes will help the referees to clarify whether the ball has crossed the goal line or not. But this does not mean that the use of video replay will rule out referee errors. Football would be boring without mistakes. This is a game, after all.

- What team do you see as the favourite at the World Cup?

- Football is developing. Along with the favourites, there are other teams capable of becoming a headache for stronger teams. At the World Cup, I expect surprises from African teams. The host team will be trying to show good performance. Naturally, you cannot write off traditional favourites. Our task is to organize a championship everyone will watch with pleasure. I am confident that the 2010 World Cup will be no worse than in previous years.

- Whom does Mr Blatter himself want to see as the world champion?

- It is a provocative question, but ... FIFA supports fair play. Let the strongest team become the world champion.