World champions attend FIFA Congress

Some 160 world champions hailing from the seven countries that have so far won the FIFA World Cup on one or several occasions were among the personalities attending the 56th FIFA Congress on 7 and 8 June at the ICM in Munich.

According to FIFA.com yesterday, June 7 they were a part of the opening ceremony, which featured various show acts as well as speeches by FIFA President Joseph Blatter and German chancellor Dr Angela Merkel. 13 personalities were honoured with the FIFA Order of Merit, among them Japan FA President Sabura Kawabuchi and USA 1994 World Cup chairman, Alan Rothenberg.

The appearance of an array of former world champions, who will also participate in the opening ceremony of the 2006 FIFA World Cup(tm) on 9 June in Munich, is set to be the largest ever gathering of international football superstars.

All seven nations who have claimed the trophy are represented among the almost 160 participants. Brazil, with their record
medal haul, naturally have the largest contingent and will have 55 past winners present from their five previous FIFA World Cup triumphs.

With Mario Kempes, the top scorer at the 1978 tournament, having agreed to take part, a total of 32 Argentinean champions will feature in the line-up. Sir Bobby Charlton will lead out the English victors of 1966, French captain, Didier Deschamps will be at the head of his conquering team of 1998 and Giancarlo Antognoni, Giuseppe Bergomi and Marco Tardelli will be among the representatives of the three-time FIFA World Cup winners Italy.

Last but certainly not least, Alcides Edgardo Ghiggia, who struck the memorable winner against Brazil in 1950 in Maracana, will represent Uruguay.

On 8 June, the parliament of world football will decide whether to amend the FIFA Statutes to add an Ethics Committee to the world governing body's two existing judiciary bodies, after a proposal submitted by the Swiss football association gained the unanimous support of the FIFA Executive Committee during a meeting in the Bavarian capital on 4 June .

The setting up of an Ethics Committee as a judicial body is just one of the many challenges currently facing football that were identified by the 2005 FIFA Congress in Marrakech, Morocco, last September.

The three working groups of the Task Force for the Good of the Game, a body that the last year's Congress agreed to create upon the proposal of President Blatter, have since drawn up the following concrete proposals, which will be presented to the Munich Congress in 13 motions, in order to raise standards of leadership and increase transparency throughout football.