By David Gold
March 16 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter has opened a new football academy in Myanmar and spoken of the country’s potential to play a “very active role” in the development of football in Asia.
A seven-man delegation saw Blatter open the academy in the town of Mandalay.
It was the FIFA President’s first trip to the country, where football is the most popular sport, and the Myanmar Football Federation chairman Zaw Zaw said that Blatter’s trip was “essential for the development of our football standard.”
Blatter added that “Myanmar can play a very active role, first in ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), then in Asia.
The FIFA supremo is today meeting the country’s leader Thein Sein, in a country where football and politics have often been linked.
In 2009 Senior General Than Shwe instructed businessmen and associates friendly to the ruling military regime to take control of professional football teams, according to a leaked US diplomatic cable.
Blatter will be hoping to encourage Shwe to help strengthen football in Myanmar in the coming years.
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