Football News - Boom or Bust

Tourism Set to Rise

The Japan Tourist Bureau (JTB) predicts an 8.7% rise in overseas visitors in 2002 on the 2001 figure of 5.14m and a 2.7% rise in travelers going overseas on last year's 16.64m partly based on Japanese soccer fans visiting Korea.

FIFA to Sue AXA

FIFA is threatening to press ahead with litigation against French insurer AXA, which pulled its insurance cover for the tournament seeking increased premiums in the light of the terrorist attacks on the US.
FIFA subsequently negotiated a new agreement with US-based National Indemnity Company.

Tickets - Hard Sell in Korea

As of mid-January only 12% of tickets have been sold for the June 12 Slovenia v Paraguay game in Seogwipo. In Daegu only a quarter of the tickets available for the Denmark v Senegal have been sold and a mere 21% of the Slovenia v South Africa tickets have gone. A similar story in Daejeon, where 50% or more of the tickets are still available for the 3 games in the city. Tickets are being given away as prizes in an attempt to stimulate interest.
Seoul has sold out and tickets are selling well in Incheon, Suwon and Gwangju, however, and tickets for the China v Brazil clash are selling on the black market for up to US$800.

Foreign Office Warns England Fans

The British Foreign Office has issued a warning to England fans to be on their best behavior when visiting Japan in June. The FO cautioned against ‘loud and boisterous behavior in public', shirtlessness, sleeping in streets and displaying tattoos, which are associated with Yakuza gangsters in Japan. The directive also proscribed drug taking, drinking to excess (surely not?) and tipping.

Sex Fears

The Japanese newspaper, the Mainichi Daily News, has reported that the weekly Shukan Jitsuwa, has issued a warning to Japanese girls to beware the lascivious attentions of visiting foreigners during the World Cup. The weekly mag also quotes the fears of Sapporo and Osaka commercial sex shop operators over foreign customers, who they fear may spread diseases and not pay up. Shukan Jitsuwa also refers to the Miyagi Prefectural Assembly minutes of June 2000 detailing the host prefecture's concerns over violence and other evils. "… expect people running off without paying hotel or restaurant bills and evil foreigners arrested for sneakily selling drugs like cocaine or heroin. In the irregular atmosphere of the occasion, it's even possible we'll have the problem of unwanted babies borne by women raped by foreigners."

Hard Cheese

If as expected Italy emerge from Japan as Group G winners they will play their next match in Korea and could find themselves deprived of Parmesan cheese, due to a Korean ban on the import of fresh milk products. High-level discussions between the two countries' big cheeses are underway to find a solution.

Dual Hosting

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has spoken out again against future co-hosting of the World Cup. Attending the African Nations Championship in Mali in January Blatter said: " You have two sets of expenses but only one income. If co-hosting is done in future we will have only one organizing committee." Co-hosting of the European championships looks set to continue after Holland and Belgium's successful Euro 2000. Scotland and Ireland and Greece and Turkey have submitted joint bids for future tournaments.

England Cross

The English FA complained to the local authorities on Awaji Island, where the English team will prepare for the World Cup, over a sticker showing the St. George's Cross with incorrect dimensions. 2,000 stickers had been distributed to local business and shops on the island. The local town council promised to issue new stickers.

Training Camps

Spain will begin their preparations at the Seobu Training Center in Ulsan, Korea from May 20.
Coach Jose Antonio Camacho will name his 22-player squad on May 13.

Security

South Korea will ban rallies and demonstrations near its 10 World Cup venues for the duration of the tournament. Korea's often militant Labor unions have agreed to re-schedule pay talks to avoid confrontations during the World Cup.
Up to 700 police officers will be on duty for England's three group games and a policy of zero tolerance has been announced by the Japanese Police agency. Fans who break the law face arrest and detention for up to 27 days while police investigate the case.
As many as 400 convicted British hooligans are free to travel to the World Cup as they escaped banning orders from UK magistrates. About 900 fans have so far received banning orders since new legislation came into force following Euro 2000.

Brazilians Confident

Despite seeing their team struggle to qualify 62% of Brazilians polled by the country's Instituto Sensus believe Brazil will triumph in 2002. Argentina rated second favorite with 10% of the poll.

Pele ‘Scores' with Viagra

Pele will endorse the ‘performance-enhancing' drug Viagra in an advertising deal with the makers Pfizer Inc.

Players to be Tested for EPO

Players at the 2002 World Cup will face unannounced tests for the endurance-boosting drug EPO. Teams will have two players tested after every match.

Kobe City May Screen Korea Games

Kobe municipal government will seek permission from JAWOC to screen Korea's games in a 5,000 seat hall. Kobe is home to over 25,000 ethnic ‘Korean' residents. FIFA has been reluctant to allow ‘secondary broadcasting', unless games are shown only at a limited number of venues.
Yokohama is planning a similar venture for residents in its 18 wards to catch the Japanese national team in action and games held in the city.
Shizuoka hopes to arrange a screen mounted on a truck that will travel around the prefecture.

Scalping

JAWOC is concerned that its expensive Prestige Ticket packages are finding their way on to Internet auction sites. Packages range in cost from US$1,400 - US$12,400. Visit Airtrack for Prestige packages from the UK.

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