Ecuador, Andeans to protest altitude soccer ban

[DigitaL VampirE]

Ecuador, with Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, seeks to present a joint complaint to soccer governing body, the International Federation of Football Associations's (FIFA's) planned ban on high-altitude soccer games.

"As an Ecuadorian, I am very unhappy with the FIFA decision," the nation's Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa told a Wednesday press conference. "We are speaking to other nations affected by the ban to put together a joint protest campaign," she added.

On Sunday, FIFA said it would ban international matches held above 2,500 meters above sea level, citing possible health risks to players.

Bolivia is the worst hit nation: stadiums in La Paz, Cochabamba, Potosi and Oruro are all above 3,600-meters. Also implicated are Ecuador's capital, Quito which is 2,850 meters above sea level; Colombia's capital, Bogota, at 2,650; and southern Peru city Cusco, at 3,650.

Espinosa said that Ecuador's president Rafael Correa had delivered a solution to the controversy to sport minister Raul Carrion.

Carrion had previously said that "FIFA's statues legally prevent governments from interfering in its decisions".

Alex de la Torre, the interim president of the Ecuador Football Federatoin, said that Ecuador is considering boycotting the Copa America in Venezuela, if FIFA does not reverse its decision.

He said that Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador had formed a bloc and would present their complaint at the June 15 meeting of the South American Football Federation.

Venezuela has already said it will support the nations hit by the measure, and Chile and Uruguay may also do so, he added.

Source: Xinhua
May 31, 2007