Deadline for submitting list of 23 players remains 15 May 2006

Meeting of the Bureau of the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup™ The 32 participating associations at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ will be obliged to submit their list of 23 players by 15 May at the very latest. This decision was confirmed by the Bureau of the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup™ at its meeting in Zurich today.

During the World Cup workshop in Düsseldorf from 6 to 8 March, several associations had requested postponement of the deadline for naming the final squad. Under the chairmanship of FIFA vice-president Lennart Johansson (Sweden), the committee reaffirmed an earlier decision. This course of action is intended to afford the players concerned adequate recovery time, although injured players may be replaced after this date following a specific procedure. The decision is also intended to avoid falsification of domestic competitions. The FIFA executive body’s decision to allow an adequate relaxation period for the players chosen for the World Cup concerns every competition and club involving these footballers. Granting a larger squad and a later deadline for the definitive list of players would mean that any players who were not then taken into account would be missing from their clubs.

In the fight against illegal betting, the Bureau confirmed that every player, official and match official would be required to sign a declaration before the World Cup, pledging not to take part in betting of any kind in connection with the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ matches. This action is one of the many precautions recently passed by the Working Group for Financial Matters of the Task Force "For the Good of the Game".

Citing Law 3, the Bureau furthermore declined the request to allow more than six substitutions to be made in friendly matches played in the run-up to the World Cup. Another request to allow more than one person to give instructions simultaneously in the technical zone was also rejected. The committee was of the opinion that the Laws had to be observed and that no exception should be made for the World Cup.

On the other hand, the Bureau agreed to a proposal from several associations to allow for the number of officials receiving accreditation to be raised from 45 to 50. However, FIFA will bear the costs of no more than 45 persons per delegation, in accordance with the World Cup regulations.

Furthermore, the committee noted the media guidelines announced to the teams at the workshop in Düsseldorf. These guidelines will now be sent to the 32 associations concerned in the form of a circular.