Olympic Flag Bearer in Sochi.

My friend Valery was one of the 8 flag bearers of the Olympic Flag at the opening ceremony in Sochi.  I am very proud of him and was thrilled by the honor bestowed during the opening ceremony.

A wonderful man and a great loss to many...

Phil Woosnam's Desk...

Sometimes physical items possess the energy of their owners.  At least that is how I have felt about Phil Woosnam NASL Commissioner's desk which has been with me through most of my domestic and international career. Phil, a mentor, passed away on Friday.

In 1985, Ted Howard called me and said they were putting up Phil's desk for sale, which was more recently occupied by Howard "the Horse" Samuels and Clive Toye.  I bought it on my own while the insolvent US Soccer was still located at the Empire State Building.

Phil Woosnam

USSF then moved to JFK airport in a suite of hotel rooms prior to their big move to the US Olympic training center in Colorado Springs.  The desk only spent a couple of months there before it moved home to Westchester.

By the end of 2006, the desk was the foundation on which Clive Toye, Gordon Bradley and I formed the new ASL (American Soccer League). Months later, we opened offices in Eastchester with Clive as Chairman and me as Commissioner.

The desk moved home while I temporarily lived in Miami to run the Miami Sharks.  The Brazilian owner ran out of money.  I missed Phil's desk and returned home to it in New York.

Following Miami, I stepped away from soccer and got involved in banking. So, the Desk made its move to Fifth Avenue, where it has lived on that famous Avenue ever since.  

In the 24 years since its move to Manhattan, the Desk witnessed the birth of the Gold Cup, the CONCACAF Champions League, the FIFA RAP (Referee Assistance Program), the Women's World Cup, CONCACAF Women's and Youth Tournaments, the growth of the membership base, pioneering the streaming of live matches free on the internet while growing the value of the treasury.

Phil would have been proud that the Desk played a roll in chairing more World Cups than any other elected at FIFA.  On its wooden surface hundreds of decisions were made or considered on Players Status or as Single Judge. As the desk of the Chair of the FIFA Marketing and TV, FIFA's values rose to record breaking levels.  

For six years, my Deputies sat behind the Desk and equally were imbued by the creative environment which was so important in arriving at today's popular state of American Soccer

At the end of 2011, the desk moved home where its next great projects were put on the table.  Phil, thank you for the inspiration of your desk. Thank you for what I learned from you in the 80's. Rest in Peace.

Remembering Elaine Kaufman...

Thinking of Elaine on her birthday. We still miss her.

Time to blow out the candles...

Following a great dinner at The Dutch, a hot New York eatery at 131 Sullivan Street in SOHO, it was time for Guillermo Cañedo White to blow out the candles on his birthday cake. Accompanied by his wife Adriana and their 3 sons, Mary Lynn and I had a great time introducing them to one of the city's 'top ten' restaurants.

FIFA Players' Status Committee

1. The Players’ Status Committee shall set up and monitor compliance with the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players and determine the status of Players for various FIFA competitions. Its powers of jurisdiction are governed by the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.

2. It shall also be responsible for the work of the Dispute Resolution Chamber in accordance with the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players and the Rules Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber.



Theo Zwanziger takes the chair for the first time. In addition, six new members were added to the committee, meeting for the first time since appointments were made in December. Geoff Thompson and myself, immediate past chairman and deputy chair respectively, were designated as Single Judges to handle routine cases on an individual basis for the upcoming term. Both Geoff and myself have served in that capacity already and appreciate the confidence of the committee, having now been formally re-appointed by the new chairman.

Super Bowl Sunday...

Curtis Martin, newly elected to the NFL Hall of Fame, Chuck Blazer and Curtis' brother Jason in the NFL Hall of Fame Suite at the Super Bowl in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Pre-game coin toss with introduction of newly elected Hall of Famers. Curtis got the biggest around of applause from the audience at the game.

Don Shula watching the Halftime Show from the Hall of Fame suite as Madonna performs onstage in a spectacular performance after which Shep Messing and Curtis take time out to pose for a pix.

Wrapping up the day, Curtis gave it all a big Thumbs Up. Congratulations Curtis for a spectacular career and the worthy recognition of your accomplishments.

FIFA Conference on Women's Football Development...

Women's Olympic Qualifying - Vancouver 2012

FIFA Club World Cup 2011 Final Ceremony...

Happy Halloween, Ho, Ho, Ho...

Statement from Petrus Damaseb

Reacting to allegations from Jack A. Warner against him, Petrus Damaseb has issued the following statement :

"The only thing I remember is an invitation to dinner at the palatial residence of Mr Bin Hammam while I was attending a FIFA Congress in Qatar in 2003, together with other FA presidents, and receiving a watch from Bin Hammam (a customary gift in football) which I still have and treasure and which I accepted to be a gift to me as Namibian FA president and a token and expression of his hospitality and friendship. As NFA president I received many watches as gifts either from host Associations or their functionaries or from FIFA. I was not the president of the NFA when Blatter was first elected in 1998 and had never met Blatter, Warner and Bin Hammam while they were on a ‘worldwide crusade’ (as Warner puts it) for Blatter’s election or re-election as the case may be. It is a pity that Warner has chosen to engage in a smear campaign founded on falsehoods and to cast aspersions on my character for doing my job as a volunteer to World football."

PT Damaseb
Deputy Chairman
FIFA ETHICS COMMITTEE
19 October 2011

Happy Birthday Shep...

Shep Messing (born October 9, 1949 in The Bronx, New York) is a former American soccer goalkeeper and current broadcaster. He played seven seasons in the North American Soccer League and six in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He was also a member of the U.S. soccer team at the 1972 Summer Olympics. He is a really good guy; he knows the sport and is a great friend. Enjoy this birthday. You and this day are both special.

Welcome Miss Universe to New York...

50th High School Reunion...

It seemed quite impossible, but here it was, my 50th High School Reunion. Last night at the Edison Ballroom in New York City, the Class of 61 joined together in a celebration of a half century of memories and accomplishment. For me, it was my first class reunion. While I have had very little contact with my fellow high school graduates, it was a refreshing opportunity to relive memories and hear the stories of the roads people have taken to the present. It was a really nice evening and an extraordinary experience.

A very cool young lady...

Irene in New York... All rain. No pain!

Since my Birthday...

Since my birthday in April, I have only made posts on my blog a couple of times. Once to show a video interview of me on the way into FIFA for the meeting of the Executive Committee in May following the initial suspensions of the Warner/Bin Hammam case brought by me to the Ethics Committee; and the other set of videos coming from the CONCACAF website dealing with the magic of this year's Gold Cup competition.

I considered both of those very important and broke my self imposed silence on the blog to see that I memorialized those two watershed events.

Once the issue of the Elections and the Trinidad meeting became news, my blog became the source of pictures of a lifestyle that many bloggers found objectionable. I was proud to know and happy to share those moments with you the readers of this blog. Instead, others used them to poke fun at me and my family and the pictures gave them a wealth of material to draw whatever fanciful conclusions they wished to make about many of the people found on these pages.

As a consequence, at least during the period from when the cases were initiated on May 29th, I chose to avoid doing my normal writing and posting of pictures to allow the legal process the greatest latitude of working independently of any influence or noise from me. I had done my part. The Ethics Code required me in Article 14.1 as follows: Officials shall report any evidence of violations of conduct to the FIFA Secretary General, who shall report it to the competent body.

The cases brought on May 29th are closed. No longer am I inhibited by those open issues. There are new issues on the table daily and new things that I am learning. CONCACAF has been inhibited in expressing its position due to the action taken in the Bahamas Court by Lisle Austin and therefore has not been able to respond to many of the issues which are being faced by the organization.

I expect, in my role as a member of FIFA's Executive Committee, I will be able to continue to express myself on important topics which face our region and plan to do so over the coming days and weeks. I look forward to filling the vacuum with real information.

Gold Cup Final Highlights...

A Taste of Gold Cup 2011...