Altitude ban to be rethought
Afp, Zurich
FIFA said on Thursday it would decide within days whether or not to allow World Cup qualifiers to be played in Bolivia's high altitude capital, La Paz, after a request from Bolivian President Evo Morales.Morales made the formal request during a meeting with governing body president Sepp Blatter at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, a spokesman said. "FIFA is well disposed to the request," FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot told AFP. The footballing body's emergency committee is likely to make a decision early next week, he added. FIFA's executive committee on Wednesday eased its recent ban on international matches at high altitudes following protests from several Latin American nations. However the decision to tolerate World Cup qualifying matches at altitudes up to 3,000 metres -- instead of the 2,500 metres announced in May -- still left Bolivia's main stadium at 3,577 metre-high La Paz out of the reckoning.
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