Blazer skips Beijing to work on Champions League...

The email below that I sent to FIFA President Sepp Blatter last night is self-explanatory. I wish our teams the best and will watch them in the middle of the night from New York and Miami.

Dear President:

Thank you for the invitation to the Olympic Games. I obtained the credentials for Mary Lynn and myself and had intended to arrive on 11 August in Beijing.

We have just finished two days of staff meetings in Miami as we are preparing for the CONCACAF Champions League, our new event to qualify our entry for the FIFA Club World Cup. It will kick off on 26 August, a mere 18 days from now.

What was clear during these meetings was that we still had much to do in final preparation of the matches, with 8 games being played each week and with our producing all the television for the entire competition. As you can imagine, the launch of this event and its success is all in the details. Given what remains to be done, I regret that I need to stay here and work with our team in final preparations.

I regret my inability to be present during the games and do appreciate the invitation to participate.

I will see you next month in Zurich.

Best regards,
Chuck