Wednesday, June 15, 2005
The Confederations Cup marks the start of the "warm up" for the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany. Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schr?der wishes the teams the very best of luck - and hopes the tournament will produce exhilarating matches for the spectators.
Although the FIFA World Cup is still a year away - in the next two weeks, football will already be moving to the centre of public interest. As today, the Confederations Cup to some degree marks the start of the warm up for the big event of 2006 in our country. This so-called ‘mini World Cup’ has a terrific line up: alongside the current World Cup holders Brazil and European Champions Greece, the champions of the other continents are also amongst the eight participating teams. As is, of course, Germanyas host and organiser of the 2006 World Cup.
The FIFA World Cup 2006 will be the biggest international event in Germany for years to come. We will be host to the world and during the four weeks of competition the entire globe will be looking to Germany. Billions of spectators on every continent will be glued to the television for the 64 matches in the twelve World Cup stadiums. Reason enough to do all we can to ensure that our country shows itself at its best - football crazy, and above all hospitable, open to the world, tolerant, modern and innovative - not only during the tournament itself, but also in the run-up to the event, now, during the so-called 'mini World Cup'.
Naturally, the focus is on the sport, football. Football is perhaps the only truly global sport. It awakens emotions and passion, fosters identification, and links diverse cultures, languages and religions. And the icons of football, such as Yashin, Puskas, di Stefano, Eusebio, Pelé, Beckenbauer, Maradona, Zidane or Ronaldo are much more than national idols. They are symbols of football per se - they don‘t belong to any club or country, they belong to football itself and the fans across the entire globe.
When it comes to football, no one can remain indifferent. There are those who are absolutely fixated by the game, who suffer from football fever. And then there are those who maintain that they are "immune" to football. Yet I predict that when the ball starts rolling in the Confederations Cup and next year at the World Cup in Germany, practically no-one will be able to escape the fascination of football.
Preparations for the World Cup 2006 are well underway and the stadiums are almost finished.
The draw for the groups will take place in Leipzig in December, followed by the final test games; before we‘re off when the opening match will kick off in Munich with the German national team.
Jürgen Klinsmann and his training team have ambitious goals with the young squad. They are after the title and will be playing to win the World Cup. And rightly so, for without a shadow of a doubt, enthusiasm and support in one‘s own country helps tremendously.
I, for one, will be keeping my fingers crossed. But now, to begin with, I‘d like to wish all the teams the very best of luck in the Confederations Cup and hope that the tournament will produce exhilarating matches for the football fans - in excited anticipation of the World Cup finals 2006.
The Confederations Cup marks the start of the "warm up" for the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany. Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schr?der wishes the teams the very best of luck - and hopes the tournament will produce exhilarating matches for the spectators.
Although the FIFA World Cup is still a year away - in the next two weeks, football will already be moving to the centre of public interest. As today, the Confederations Cup to some degree marks the start of the warm up for the big event of 2006 in our country. This so-called ‘mini World Cup’ has a terrific line up: alongside the current World Cup holders Brazil and European Champions Greece, the champions of the other continents are also amongst the eight participating teams. As is, of course, Germanyas host and organiser of the 2006 World Cup.
The FIFA World Cup 2006 will be the biggest international event in Germany for years to come. We will be host to the world and during the four weeks of competition the entire globe will be looking to Germany. Billions of spectators on every continent will be glued to the television for the 64 matches in the twelve World Cup stadiums. Reason enough to do all we can to ensure that our country shows itself at its best - football crazy, and above all hospitable, open to the world, tolerant, modern and innovative - not only during the tournament itself, but also in the run-up to the event, now, during the so-called 'mini World Cup'.
Naturally, the focus is on the sport, football. Football is perhaps the only truly global sport. It awakens emotions and passion, fosters identification, and links diverse cultures, languages and religions. And the icons of football, such as Yashin, Puskas, di Stefano, Eusebio, Pelé, Beckenbauer, Maradona, Zidane or Ronaldo are much more than national idols. They are symbols of football per se - they don‘t belong to any club or country, they belong to football itself and the fans across the entire globe.
When it comes to football, no one can remain indifferent. There are those who are absolutely fixated by the game, who suffer from football fever. And then there are those who maintain that they are "immune" to football. Yet I predict that when the ball starts rolling in the Confederations Cup and next year at the World Cup in Germany, practically no-one will be able to escape the fascination of football.
Preparations for the World Cup 2006 are well underway and the stadiums are almost finished.
The draw for the groups will take place in Leipzig in December, followed by the final test games; before we‘re off when the opening match will kick off in Munich with the German national team.
Jürgen Klinsmann and his training team have ambitious goals with the young squad. They are after the title and will be playing to win the World Cup. And rightly so, for without a shadow of a doubt, enthusiasm and support in one‘s own country helps tremendously.
I, for one, will be keeping my fingers crossed. But now, to begin with, I‘d like to wish all the teams the very best of luck in the Confederations Cup and hope that the tournament will produce exhilarating matches for the football fans - in excited anticipation of the World Cup finals 2006.