FIFA ban international matches at high altitude.

[amacpher]

quote:Originally posted by VPjr

based on a news story on FSC this evening, it looks like this new regulation is going to be thrown out the window. The Bolivians et al did a good lobbying job and it looks like FIFA will reconsider.

I think the new rules had merit actually....altitude gives some countries (i.e Mexico) a huge advantage. Canada should start scheduling WCQ matches in Fort McMurray in November against Central American sides so we can have an advantage too.

*LOL* 'Personally I'm tired of that argument. It is a terrible analogy! La Paz is the capital city</u> of Bolivia! There are lots of places in Bolivia that are higher above sea-leval than La Paz.

If anything, Canada playing so many matches in Edmonton is more dodgey. Why Edmonton? Not exactly the warmest place in Canada. In fact, its the furthest northern major city we've got.

[georg]

FIFA changes altitude ban to matches above 3,000 metres

http://www.therecord.com/sports/soccer/R062763AU.html

ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) - Faced with widespread protests across South America, FIFA blinked Wednesday and adjusted its ban on high altitude games.

FIFA eased the restrictions to World Cup qualifiers above 3,000 metres rather than 2,500 metres.

The change, brought on by protests from South American countries, means international matches can still be played in the capitals of Colombia and Ecuador, but rules out Bolivia's capital, La Paz. While the initial decision applied to all international games, the new rule will be limited to World Cup qualifiers.

The announcement by FIFA President Sepp Blatter came after the world soccer body's executive committee heard a complaint from CONMEBOL, the 10-nation South American soccer confederation, which voted unanimously two weeks ago to press FIFA to overturn the ban.

"This turned out to be a huge political discussion on a subject that was solely aimed at protecting players' health," Blatter acknowledged. "We do not want to keep people from playing football at altitude ... (but) we do not want casualties on the field."

The FIFA limit was adjusted 500 metres higher.

"Our medical committee has acknowledged there is a certain measure of flexibility in its recommendations," Blatter added.

Citing medical concerns for players and an unfair home advantage for highland teams, FIFA last month prohibited international tournaments and World Cup qualifying matches in stadiums above 2,500 metres.

The original ruling eliminated all international matches in the capitals of Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador, and in the stadiums of leading teams in Peru, Chile and Mexico. Wednesday's ruling will still block World Cup matches from being held in La Paz, which sits at 3,600 metres above sea level, or in Cuzco, Peru.

But World Cup matches will now be allowed in Bogota, Colombia, 2,640 metres above sea level, and in Quito, Ecuador, at 2,800 metres above sea level.

Blatter also noted that club matches and any non-World Cup games could still be held in stadiums above 3,000 metres.

"For all matches not related to the World Cup, we will not intervene," Blatter said.

Wednesday's announcement was met with a mixed reaction in South America at the Copa America, welcomed by nations like Colombia but criticized by Bolivia, which accused its lowland counterparts of compromising on principle.

"In the heart of CONMEBOL, there's something rotten smelling," Bolivian soccer federation president Carlos Chavez said. "We cannot understand how, if the 10 countries had agreed to support playing at altitude, FIFA made this decision."

Regardless, those who will not be affected by the new ban were ecstatic.

"We moved the whole world of sport," crowed Bogota Mayor Luis Eduardo Garzon, who ran up a mountain near the Colombian capital to protest the ruling. "We're happy, happy, happy for the decision to remove the ban on playing in Bogota."

Andean doctors at a CONMEBOL conference two weeks ago insisted there were "no major problems" with playing at altitude. Other medical experts disagree, however, saying that playing at higher elevations can cause headaches, nausea, fatigue and insomnia.

FIFA's announcement Wednesday won't please Bolivian President Evo Morales, who led the campaign to fully overturn the FIFA ban and was flying into Zurich to meet Thursday with Blatter. Morales says the FIFA altitude ban discriminates against players born in the mountains and has played a soccer game on Bolivia's highest peak in protest.

Blatter said Bolivia has lower-altitude stadiums it could use.

"This has to do with sports ethics," Blatter said. "In World Cup competitions we must have a level playing field."

Soccer powerhouses Argentina and Brazil have complained previously about the disadvantages of having to play at altitude, including not getting players released from European clubs early enough to acclimate.

FIFA also announced it was holding a medical conference Oct. 25-28 in Zurich to examine all issues that affect players' health - including the effects of high altitude, heat and cold. Andean nations had complained that matches played in extreme heat - like some in Brazil - could also be dangerous for players but noted FIFA has not sought to ban those games.

© The Canadian Press, 2007

[amacpher]

In other words, FIFA admit the rule is stupid yet they still don't want to get rid of it completely. [)]

[terpfan68]

Canada should schedule all home matches against CONCACAF teams for a fall day in Newfoundland. Seems to me we did play one game there a few years ago. They can use their heat and humidity for an advantage and we can use our cold and freezing rain.

[georg]

Never mind Newfoundland ..... try cut it like a knife ....Yellowknife....winner gets the Gold at the end of the rainbow.....Oh, and some longjohns too...

[georg]

Updated: June 29, 2007

FIFA excludes La Paz from altitude ban - report

LA PAZ, June 28 (Reuters) - FIFA will allow international soccer games to be played in the Bolivian capital of La Paz even though it lies above 9,800 feet (3,000 metres), the president of the country's soccer federation told local radio on Thursday.

Soccer chief Carlos Chavez said he had received a statement from world soccer's governing body that said the stadium in La Paz would be eligible.

'The winner is our country, the winner is La Paz. La Paz is going to carry on being the venue for World Cup qualifiers,' Chavez told radio Panamericana from the Venezuelan city of San Cristobal, where Bolivia are taking part in the Copa America.

'The presence of our president in Zurich was a deciding factor,' he added.

Bolivian President Evo Morales visited FIFA headquarters in Zurich on Thursday and won assurances from FIFA president Sepp Blatter that he would reconsider the altitude ban, which had excluded La Paz because it lies at some 11,800 feet (3,600 metres) above sea level.

Blatter's pledge to reconsider La Paz's position came less than 24 hours after he announced FIFA would raise its controversial altitude limit from 2,500 metres (8,200 feet) above sea level to 3,000 metres.

FIFA introduced its original ban in May following concerns expressed by its medical committee over the health of visiting players and over possible unfair advantages for the home side.