Blattering about Plan B

If FIFA isn't looking to the U.S. as its number one Plan B option, they're truly incompetent. No other country has the infrastructure a World Cup demands ready to go. After all, the last time a World Cup needed to be rescheduled in a hurry (2003 WWC in China, because of SARS), that's exactly where FIFA turned.

More WWC buzz

J. Torres has a nice blog detailing his observations of the Women's World Cup. Check it out.

Humanitarian efforts

Most of us associate FIFA with the World Cup, international events and on-the-field action. But the sport's powerful governing body also has a humanitarian side to it, as well it should. FIFA has the potential to be an influential force well off the pitch and part of those efforts paid off earlier this week.

As part of its 6 Villages for 2006 campaign, FIFA unveiled its first village earlier this week. This one hit close to home for me. It was in Morelia, capital of my parents' home state of Michoacan.

The unveiling ceremony attracted a large crowd of luminaries, including Tri coach Hugo Sanchez. FIFA constructed a place where children who had been living in extreme poverty can now live safely and hopefully will now have a chance at a decent future.

According to this story on FIFA's web site, future villages will be constructed in Brazil, Nigeria, South Africa, Vietnam and Ukraine.