FIFA Executive approves standardised calendar framework
Efforts to achieve a standardised international football calendar have received the formal backing of the FIFA Executive Committee with the official adoption of a schedule for the years 2002 to 2004.
The Executive, meeting in Zurich under the chairmanship of FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, studied the conclusions reached the previous day by the Strategic Study Committee regarding the harmonisation of the international
calendar, and approved this committee's recommendations. The calendar foresees:
* 12 dates between mid-February and mid-December for nationalteam matches
* 16 dates in the same period for confederation club
competitions
* a period from mid-June to the end of July for FIFA
competitions and/or the finals of confederation national team competitions, the latter also having an alternative reserved period between mid-January and mid-February
* holiday periods in June/July and December/January
* training periods in January/February and July/August
National league and cup competitions would in principle take place between mid-February and mid-December, but may be extended beyond this period as long as the fixed international dates are respected (i.e. players must be
released for national team duty). Such national competitions could be organised within the constraints according to national criteria.
Precise dates were tentatively fixed for the years 2002-2004 for official competition matches and friendly internationals, and preliminary schedules have also been established for subsequent years. Because of prior commitments, it was not possible to fix dates for 2001.
The dates of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan(tm) were modified to start one day earlier, namely 31 May instead of 1 June, in order to reduce the number of days with four matches in the first round.
Source: FIFA COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION
Enquiries to be addressed to:
FIFA Media Office
Tel: +41-1/384 9595
Fax: +41-1/384 9696
Click here for a direct link to FIFA's website
The Executive, meeting in Zurich under the chairmanship of FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, studied the conclusions reached the previous day by the Strategic Study Committee regarding the harmonisation of the international
calendar, and approved this committee's recommendations. The calendar foresees:
* 12 dates between mid-February and mid-December for nationalteam matches
* 16 dates in the same period for confederation club
competitions
* a period from mid-June to the end of July for FIFA
competitions and/or the finals of confederation national team competitions, the latter also having an alternative reserved period between mid-January and mid-February
* holiday periods in June/July and December/January
* training periods in January/February and July/August
National league and cup competitions would in principle take place between mid-February and mid-December, but may be extended beyond this period as long as the fixed international dates are respected (i.e. players must be
released for national team duty). Such national competitions could be organised within the constraints according to national criteria.
Precise dates were tentatively fixed for the years 2002-2004 for official competition matches and friendly internationals, and preliminary schedules have also been established for subsequent years. Because of prior commitments, it was not possible to fix dates for 2001.
The dates of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan(tm) were modified to start one day earlier, namely 31 May instead of 1 June, in order to reduce the number of days with four matches in the first round.
Source: FIFA COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION
Enquiries to be addressed to:
FIFA Media Office
Tel: +41-1/384 9595
Fax: +41-1/384 9696
Click here for a direct link to FIFA's website