POSTED: Thursday September 3rd 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“More fair play, please!”

Official FIFA Fair Play Days - 5 to 9 September

   

 

   

FIFA     President Joseph S. Blatter is urging footballers around the world to show     “More fair play, please!”. He is using this weekend’s FIFA World Cup™     qualifying matches and the official FIFA Fair Play Days from 5 to 9     September to send out a strong message calling for fair play on and off     the pitch. “Fair play should come before anything else in football.”    

   

 

   

Joseph     S. Blatter has always been resolute in his support for FIFA’s “My Game is     Fair Play” campaign, pointing towards the vital role of fair play in     football and the need to increase fair play in sport, especially among     children and young people. “Through football, we protect and communicate     the strong basic values that children and young people need, such as     solidarity, tolerance, respect and discipline. Football is a school of     life,” said Blatter. “It teaches us how to win as a team, but also how to     lose as a team.”

   

 

   

The     fair play principles of world football’s governing body will be the focus     of attention once again this weekend, with points up for grabs in dozens     of stadiums around the world in the race to qualify for the 2010 FIFA     World Cup™ in South     Africa. “I expect players, officials and     fans to set a perfect example of fair play,” emphasised Blatter. He added     that it was even more important in vital matches such as these to uphold     the values of fair play. “These qualifying matches must epitomise fair     play,” underlined the FIFA President. They should encapsulate the     sporting, moral and ethical principles for which FIFA has always stood and     leave a lasting impression.

   

 

   

Note     to editors:

   

The     FIFA Fair Play Days, which are being held for the 13th time     this year, have come to feature prominently on the international match     calendar in the past few years. Many associations around the world have     taken advantage of FIFA’s annual support to promote fair play on and off     the pitch. In all, 69 associations have announced that they will be     staging fair play events at football matches in the next few days, using     promotional material such as flags, T-shirts, caps and stickers provided     to them free of charge by FIFA. FIFA has also issued instructions for a     fair play ceremony to be held before the matches, a declaration to be read     by the captains of both teams and a message to be announced in the     stadiums.

   

 

   

Information     for the media:

   

Link     to the FIFA Fair Play Campaign:

   

http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/worldwideprograms/footballforhope/fairplay/index.html

   

Link     to the FIFA Fair Play Code:

   

http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/worldwideprograms/footballforhope/fairplay/code.html

   

 

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Keywords · FIFA · FAIR PLAY · Sepp Blatter · football

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Name: Nicolas Maingot
Organization: FIFA
Email:
Phone: +41-43/222 7272
URL: http://www.fifa.com/index.html

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