From Donald Duff in Nassau, The Bahamas
The opening ceremony of the Internationale de Football Association’s (FIFA) 59th annual congress held at the Imperial Ballroom of the Atlantis Hotel on Paradise Island came close to matching the name of the island itself.
Three giant screens in the Imperial Ballroom brought the performers of the opening dance act up close and personal and was followed by clips of spectacular goals scored in matches ranging from beach football to the ultimate – World Cup football.
Then a stunning beauty named Jennifer Santiago was introduced as the master of ceremonies.
Santiago, an Emmy-award winning journalist thanked FIFA for allowing her to “look like a queen” when on previous visits to the island she was continuously drenched in sweat as she chased down story after story.
Then the internationally renowned Royal Bahamas Police Force Band did a piece accompanied by hundreds of children complete with footballs making their way first to and then off the stage.
Finally it was time for FIFA president Sepp Blatter to deliver the welcome address to the 208 National Associations from six Confederations.
“Let me express gratitude and welcome to the personalities present tonight here to honour us with their presence to the opening of the 59th FIFA Congress, starting with the right honourable Hubert Ingraham, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas accompanied by the First Lady, welcome,” Blatter declared.
He thanked the people of The Bahamas for their hospitality and the Prime Minister and other members of the cabinet and Jack Warner and Chuck Blazer of the host confederation for making the congress a reality.
He spoke of the economic challenges facing the world and said football will play its part to help overcome the crisis and to bring people together and said the protection of the game and protection of the players especially the young players was chief among the objectives of his organisation.
He thanked the Minister of Tourism for “giving us what we wanted to have …in this Paradise of The Bahamas you have given us sunshine, you have given us wind and you have given us rain.”
Prime Minister Ingraham thanked FIFA for staging the congress in The Bahamas and spoke of the benefits of participation in sport adding that The Bahamas had developed a history of excellence in sport.
Anton Sealy, president of the Bahamas Football Federation said it was a “tremendous honour for his country to stage the 59th congress of FIFA.
He traced the beginning of the Bahamas Football Federation and detailed the growth of football in The Bahamas which he said came about mainly as a result of the policies, programmes (Futuro and others) and financial assistance from FIFA.
The congress will begin this morning and among the topics to be discussed is the 6+5 rule which will see Blatter attempting to restrict the number of overseas players in club matches to five.
Apart from the 2008 financial report the congress will also deal with anti-doping legislation, the protection of minors from big clubs and the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.
