Sports Reporters Cautioned

(Mamudu Gariba, GNA Correspondent, Abidjan)
Abidjan, (CV) May 10, GNA - A FIFA Instructor, Hedi Hamel has advised accredited Sports Journalists covering the World Cup to respect the rules and regulations of the 2006 Mundial in Germany or risk being thrown out of the competition.
He said the official countdown to the World Cup, that included a checklist for match organisation, teams, start list, booking order list and match summary were to be strictly enforced.
Mr Hamel said this at the second day of the three-day seminar organised by FIFA in conjunction with the Union of African Sports Journalists for Sports Journalists drawn from Ghana and Cote d' Ivoire at Abidjan.
He said since football remained the most popular sporting event in the world, FIFA was desirous of ensuring that the World Cup impacted positively for the enjoyment and satisfaction of all.
The FIFA Instructor said the Seminar had therefore been organised to make sports journalists covering the event to understand their responsibilities by adhering to the regulations, procedures and disciplinary codes that govern the games.
Mr Hamel said interviews of players and officials could only be arranged through their Media Officers assigned for the Games and no journalists would be allowed to have direct contact with them either at their hotels or training grounds while the use of mobile phones would be restricted.
He said three players per match would be randomly selected to undergo doping tests before or after each match.
The Instructor advised the participants to be precise and do what was required of them by organising their thoughts and sticking to the Programme, adding that exceptional issues should however, be covered if there was only one sports journalist covering the event.
Ms. Christelle Sibilla, FIFA Instructor said that coverage of the 2006 Mundial was strictly by accreditation and Sports journalists were expected to respect FIFA 2006 rights for the matches and rules of the games.
She said the Main Press Centre was a restricted area that offered optimum conditions for the media to work for timely delivery of FIFA related news with the aid of up-to-date facilities and competent supporting staff.

(Mamudu Gariba, GNA Correspondent, Abidjan)
Abidjan, (CV) May 10, GNA - A FIFA Instructor, Hedi Hamel has advised accredited Sports Journalists covering the World Cup to respect the rules and regulations of the 2006 Mundial in Germany or risk being thrown out of the competition.
He said the official countdown to the World Cup, that included a checklist for match organisation, teams, start list, booking order list and match summary were to be strictly enforced.
Mr Hamel said this at the second day of the three-day seminar organised by FIFA in conjunction with the Union of African Sports Journalists for Sports Journalists drawn from Ghana and Cote d' Ivoire at Abidjan.
He said since football remained the most popular sporting event in the world, FIFA was desirous of ensuring that the World Cup impacted positively for the enjoyment and satisfaction of all.
The FIFA Instructor said the Seminar had therefore been organised to make sports journalists covering the event to understand their responsibilities by adhering to the regulations, procedures and disciplinary codes that govern the games.
Mr Hamel said interviews of players and officials could only be arranged through their Media Officers assigned for the Games and no journalists would be allowed to have direct contact with them either at their hotels or training grounds while the use of mobile phones would be restricted.
He said three players per match would be randomly selected to undergo doping tests before or after each match.
The Instructor advised the participants to be precise and do what was required of them by organising their thoughts and sticking to the Programme, adding that exceptional issues should however, be covered if there was only one sports journalist covering the event.
Ms. Christelle Sibilla, FIFA Instructor said that coverage of the 2006 Mundial was strictly by accreditation and Sports journalists were expected to respect FIFA 2006 rights for the matches and rules of the games.
She said the Main Press Centre was a restricted area that offered optimum conditions for the media to work for timely delivery of FIFA related news with the aid of up-to-date facilities and competent supporting staff.