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France and the Football World Cup

Announced as far back as 1983, the French candidature for the organisation of the 1998 World Cup was officially confirmed by the French Football Federation (FFF) in 1987 and backed up by the highest authorities of the state.

Historical datas

• January 1989: A candidature committee is set up within the FFF.
• 2 September 1991: The candidature file is handed over to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
• 2 July 1992: The Executive Committee of the FIFA entrusts France with the organisation of the 16th World Cup by 12 votes against 7 for Morocco.
• 10 November 1992: Setting up of the French Organising Committee of the 1998 football World Cup under the aegis of the FFF.
• 12 December 1995: Draw for the preliminary phases of the World Cup at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris.
• 4 December 1997: Draw for the final phase in Marseille.
• 10 June 1998: Opening match in the Stade de France at Saint-Denis.
• 12 July 1998: Final in the Stade de France.

The host cities of the World Cup

Ten cities will be hosting the 16th Football World Cup. These ten cities were jointly chosen by the Government and the French Organising Committee, in agreement with FIFA.

10 Cities for the 64 matches

Bordeaux
Lens
Lyon
Marseille
Montpellier
Nantes
Paris
Saint-Denis
Saint-Etienne
Toulouse

BORDEAUX

THE CITY Population: Inner city: 214,OOO Urban area: 697,000

Mayor: Alain Juppé

THE CLUB Girondins de Bordeaux 4 French League titles

3 times French Cup winners

THE STADIUM (Lescure) Present state: 46,990 places, including 21,300 seats. 2 km from the city centre, 4km from the railway station. After alterations:

capacity will be 36,500 seats, including 15,000 under cover.

DISTANCE FROM OTHER CITIES:
Lens	760 km
Lyon	538 km
Marseille	648 km
Montpellier	486 km
Nantes	323 km
Paris and Saint-Denis	579 km
St. Etienne	507 km
Toulouse	245 km

TGV RAIL LINKS: with Lens*, Lyon*, Paris and Toulouse

(* involves changing)

AIR LINKS:
with Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Paris and Toulouse.

LENS
THE CITY Population: Inner city: 35,280 Urban area: 376,700

Mayor: André Delelis

THE CLUB Racing Club de Lens

I French League title

THE STADIUM (Félix Bollaert) Present state: 49,581 places, including 32,000 standing. The stadium is 10 minutes from the city centre and the TGV station. After alterations:

capacity will be 42,000 seats

DISTANCE FROM OTHER CITIES:
Bordeaux	760 km
Lyon	644 km
Marseille	954 km
Montpellier	941km
Nantes	566 km
Paris and Saint-Denis	199 km
St. Etienne	702 km
Toulouse	880 km

TGV RAIL LINKS: with Bordeaux*, Lyon*, Marseille*, Montpellier* Nantes*, Paris, St. Etienne* and Toulouse*.

(* involves changing)

AIR LINKS: (from Lille):
with Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier and Toulouse.

LYON
THE CITY Population: Inner city: 422,400 Urban area: 1,262,000

Mayor: Raymond Barre

THE CLUB Olympique Lyonnais

3 times French Cup winners

THE STADIUM (Gerland) Present state: 44,000 places. Gerland, classed as an historic monument, has easy access from the city centre. After alterations:

capacity will be 44,000 seats, with two sides under cover.

DISTANCE FROM OTHER CITIES:
Bordeaux	538 km
Lens	644 km
Marseille	313 km
Montpellier	300 km
Nantes	613 km
Paris and Saint-Denis	462 km
St. Etienne	60 km
Toulouse	537 km

TGV rail links: with Bordeaux*, Lens*, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes*, Paris, St. Etienne and Toulouse

(*involves changing)

AIR LINKS:
with Bordeaux, Lille, Marseille, Nantes, Paris and Toulouse

MARSEILLE
THE CITY Population: Inner city: 807,000 Urban area: 1,000,000

Mayor: Jean-Claude Gaudin

THE CLUB Olympique de Marseille Winner of European Champions League 8 French League titles

10 times French Cup winners

THE STADIUM (Stade Municipal) Present state: 46,000 places. It is located right in the city centre and has easy access. After alterations:

Capacity will be 60,000 seats. The stand lay-out will be improved.

DISTANCE FROM OTHER CITIES:
Bordeaux	648 km
Lens	954 km
Lyon	313 km
Montpellier	166 km
Nantes	972 km
Paris and Saint-Denis	773 km
St. Etienne	330 km
Toulouse	404 km

TGV RAIL LINKS: with Bordeaux*, Lens*, Lyon, Montpellier*, Nantes*, Paris and St. Etienne*.

(*involves changing)

AIR LINKS:
with Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Nantes and Paris.

MONTPELLIER
THE CITY Population: Inner city: 210,000 Urban area:350,000

Mayor: Georges Frêche

THE CLUB Montpellier-Hérault S.C.

French Cup winners

THE STADIUM (La Mosson) Present state: 23,500 places with a fourth stand planned. La Mosson Stadium is 6 km from the city centre. After alterations:

capacity will be 35,000 seats after the south stand has been built.

DISTANCE FROM OTHER CITIES:
Bordeaux	486 km
Lens	941 km
Lyon	300 km
Marseille	166 km
Nantes	809 km
Paris and Saint-Denis	760 km
St. Etienne	317 km
Toulouse	241 km

TGV RAIL LINKS: with Bordeaux*, Lens*, Lyon, Marseille*, Paris and St. Etienne*

(*involves changing)

AIR LINKS:
with Lille, Nantes and Paris

NANTES
THE CITY Population: Inner city: 244,500 Urban area: 499,200

Mayor: Jean-Marc Ayrault

THE CLUB F.C. Nantes-Atlantique 7 French League titles

French Cup winners

THE STADIUM (La Beaujoire) Present state: up to 52,000 places with standing room authorised in certain stands. La Beaujoire is 7 km from the centre. After alterations:

capacity will be 40,000 seats.

DISTANCE FROM OTHER CITIES:
Bordeaux	323 km
Lens	566 km
Lyon	613 km
Marseille	972 km
Montpellier	809 km
Paris and Saint-Denis	384 km
St. Etienne	608 km
Toulouse	567 km

TGV RAIL LINKS: with Lens*, Lyon*, Marseille*, Paris, St. Etienne* and Toulouse.

(*involves changing)

AIR LINKS:
with Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier and Paris.

PARIS
THE CITY Population: Inner city: 2,200,000 Urban area: 9,000,000

Mayor: Jean Tibéri

THE CLUB Paris-Saint-Germain F.C. 2 French League titles 4 times French Cup winners

Winner of Cup winners Cup

THE STADIUM (Parc des Princes) Present state: up to 48,725 places, all seated. The Parc des Princes, located to the south-west of Paris, is easily accessible. After alterations:

the stands will be divided into sections.

DISTANCE FROM OTHER CITIES:
Bordeaux	579 km
Lens	199 km
Lyon	462 km
Marseille	773 km
Montpellier	760 km
Nantes	384 km
Saint-Denis	4 km
St. Etienne	520 km
Toulouse	698 km

TGV RAIL LINKS:
direct links with all the other host cities.

AIR LINKS:
with Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes.

SAINT-DENIS
THE CITY Population: Inner city: 95,000 Urban area: see Paris

Mayor: Patrick Braouezec

THE STADIUM (Stade de France) Present state: The Stade de France, currently being built, will contain four elliptical bands of tiered stands with a variable capacity:

80,000 seats for football and rugby, 75,000 for athletics, and between 20,000 and 103,000 for staged shows.

DISTANCE FROM OTHER CITIES:
Bordeaux	579 km
Lens	199 km
Lyon	462 km
Marseille	773 km
Montpellier	760 km
Nantes	384 km
St. Etienne	520 km
Paris	4 km
Toulouse	698 km

TGV RAIL LINKS:
the same as for Paris.

AIR LINKS:
the same as for Paris.

SAINT-ETIENNE
THE CITY Population: Inner city: 200,000 Urban area: 450,000

Mayor: Jean-Michel Thiollière

THE CLUB A.S. Saint Etienne 10 French League titles

6 times French Cup winners

THE STADIUM (Geoffroy-Guichard) Present state: 42,000 places, including 19,000 standing. The stadium is close to the city centre and easily accessible, with a vast parking area. After alterations:

capacity will be 36,000 seats.

DISTANCE FROM OTHER CITIES:
Bordeaux	507 km
Lens	702 km
Lyon	60 km
Marseille	330 km
Montpellier	317 km
Nantes	608 km
Paris and Saint-Denis	520 km
Toulouse	439 km

TGV RAIL LINKS: with Lens*, Lyon, Marseille*, Montpellier*, Nantes*, Paris and Toulouse*. (* involves changing) AIR LINKS:

with Paris.`

TOULOUSE
THE CITY Population: Inner city: 365,000 Urban area: 600,000

Mayor: Dominique Baudis

THE CLUB Toulouse F.C.

French Cup winners

THE STADIUM (Stadium Municipal) Present state: 35,000. The stadium is located on a island between two branches of the river Garonne, and is close to the city centre. After alterations:

capacity will be 37,000 seats after the new tiered stands have been built.

DISTANCE FROM OTHER CITIES:
Bordeaux	245 km
Lens	880 km
Lyon	537 km
Marseille	404 km
Montpellier	241 km
Nantes	567km
Paris and Saint-Denis	698 km
St. Etienne	439 km

TGV RAIL LINKS: with Bordeaux*, Lens*, Lyon*, Nantes*, Paris and St. Etienne*. (*involves changing)

AIR LINKS:
with Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon and Paris.

Tableau recapitulatif des distances entre les villes (en kilomètres)

The Countdown

From now until 10 June 1998, the date of the opening match of the 16th Football World Cup, the activity of the French Organising Committee will be marked by major events full of “Emotion, Universality and Sharing”.

1995

• 14 September: 1,000 days to go!
• Draw for the preliminary phase in the prestigious setting of the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris on 12 December
• Opening of the Minitel 3615 FRANCE 98 service

1996

• Signing of the Agreements with the host cities
• Presentation of the Official Mascot of FRANCE 98 and organisation of a competition among the general public to find a name for it
• Launch of the ticket sales operation

1997

• Presentation of the FRANCE 98 official poster
• 26 January: 500 days to go!
• Tournoi de France
• Draw for the final phase of the competition in December

1998

• 2 March: 100 days to go!
• 1 day to go: Football Festival!
• 10 June: D-Day!
• Opening match of the 16th Football World Cup at the Stade de France at Saint-Denis
• 12 July: Final of the 16th Football World Cup at the Stade de France and closing ceremony.

The Competition

The FIFA rules require that the World Cup takes place in two phases:

• a preliminary competition (from 1 March 1996 to 16 November 1997)
• a final competition (from 10 June to 12 July 1998)

THE PRELIMINARY COMPETITION

Its aim is to qualify in the six confederations of FIFA the 30 countries which will take part in the final competition alongside France (host country) and Brazil (winner of 1994 World Cup).

172 countries take part in this preliminary competition. These national teams belong to six confederations which will themselves decide on their qualification system with the agreement of FIFA.

The draw for the preliminary competition was held in Paris on 12 December 1995 (see table in appendix). The objective was to divide up the countries within each confederation into groups or sub-groups.

THE FINAL COMPETITION

This will take place in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. For the first time, this final competition will play host to 32 countries instead of 24.

The aim of the draw to be held on 4 December 1997 in France is to divide up into 8 groups the 32 countries playing in the first round. The top two teams of each group will qualify for the second-round matches, followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals, match for third place and final.

Altogether, there will be 64 matches over 33 days in the final phase.

Calendar of matches

AN HISTORIC RECORD

With 32 teams competing in a total of 64 matches, which is 8 teams and 12 matches more than in the previous competitions, France will be hosting in 1998 the biggest World Cup ever organised! What may be regarded as the biggest sporting event of the end of the century will take place over 33 days, from 10 June to 12 July 1998.

THE DATES

• First phase: 48 matches featuring 32 national teams
• From 10 to 26 June 1998 :in 8 groups of 4 teams. The 2 best teams of each group will qualify for the second-round matches.
• Round of sixteen: In Bordeaux, Lens, Marseille, Montpellier
• From 27 to 30 June 1998: Paris, Saint-Denis, Saint-Etienne and Toulouse.
• Quarter-finals: In Lyon, Nantes, Marseille and Saint-Denis. 3 and 4 July 1998
• Semi-finals: In Marseille and Saint-Denis. 7 and 8 July 1998
• Match for 3rd place: In Paris. 11 July 1998
• Final: In Saint-Denis. 12 July 1998

A World Cup in each city

64 matches, 33 days and 10 venues make up a richly diverse event, and the match calendar is designed so that Saint-Denis, Marseille, Bordeaux, Lens, Lyon, Montpellier, Nantes, Paris, Saint-Etienne and Toulouse will each host a varied and intense series of matches.

• Each city will host 6 matches, with the exception of Marseille (7) and Saint-Denis (9).
• For the first time in the history of the World Cup, each team will play its first three matches of the first phase in different stadiums. This ensures that each city will host a quality sporting event, with at least two group leaders playing during this first phase.
• And, over the entire competition, each city is guaranteed to host:
• 9 to 12 different teams
• at least 2 group leaders from among the 8 best teams in the world
• at least one second-round or quarter-final match

ENSURING GREATER FAIRNESS

The calendar of the matches gives a perfectly fair treatment to each of the teams going for the title of World Champion. Apart from the fact that the first three matches will be played in different stadiums, each team will be allowed similar rest periods between each match. The time spent on traveling between the venues will also be taken into account in calculating the rest days. Hence, the teams playing in the semi-final in Marseille will be allowed an extra rest day compared to the teams playing at Saint-Denis, to make up for the fatigue of the trip.

The pitches

THE PLAYING FIELD

FIFA’s terms and conditions require the quality of the pitches to be above reproach. So the matches have been spread out over all the ten stadiums with the aim of preserving the quality of the pitches. For this reason, there will be a minimum of one day’s break between two matches in the same stadium. This break will amount to 3 days in most cases.

FOR THE WIDEST POSSIBLE PUBLIC

The 2.5 million spectators expected during the World Cup were the decisive element in the drawing up of the calendar, which has the following objectives:

• to offer the French and visiting public the best possibilities of access to the matches by maximizing the number of matches played on weekends, while respecting the pace of the competition and providing fair treatment for all the teams
• to allow the spectators to attend the greatest number of matches. No matches will be played on the same day in Saint-Etienne and Lyon, nor in Paris and Saint-Denis.
• Its creation

FIFA

CREATION

Founded in 1904 on the initiative of a French journalist, Robert Guérin, to provide football with an international body to ensure its unity, development and control, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) now has 193 affiliated national associations. It is one of the most prestigious sports organisations in the world.

Seven national associations ‹ Belgium, Denmark, Spain through F.C. Madrid, France, Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland ‹ were the first to join on 2 May 1904 in Paris, when they chose Robert Guérin as its President.

Ninety-two years later, football is the most popular sport in the world, practiced by nearly 250 million people, including 30 million women. The number of spectators in the stadiums and of television viewers amounts to billions.

ITS ROLE

The work of FIFA covers the application of the rules of the game, the international transfers of players, the organisation of competitions (World Cup, Under-17 and Under-20 World Championships, Women’s World Championship, Olympic Games Football Tournament, 5-a-side World Championship), and the organisation of courses on administration, training, refereeing and sports medicine, with the goal of developing football throughout the world.

The FIFA headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland. Since 1974, it has had Dr. João Havelange as President.

ITS ORGANISATION
The FIFA Congress

The FIFA Congress, its governing body, meets once a year. It draws up the statutes and the rules and, every four years, elects its President. Each properly affiliated national association has the right to vote (one vote).

The Executive Committee

The Executive Committee is made up of:

• 1 President
• 8 vice-presidents
• 12 members.

The Executive Committee is the executive body of FIFA. It decides on all the questions which do not come within the scope of the Congress, except for those which the statutes reserve for other bodies.

The International Confederations
The national associations affiliated to FIFA and belonging geographically to the same continent have grouped themselves into recognised confederations.

• Conféderation Africaine de Football (CAF, set up in 1956)
• Asian Football Confederation (AFC, set up in 1954)
• Union of European Football Association (UEFA, set up in 1954)
• Confederacion Norte-Centroamericana y del Caribe de Futbol (CONCACAF, set up in 1961);
• Confederacion Sudamericana de Futbol (CONMEBOL, set up in 1916).

Oceania is recognized as an independent geographical group (Oceania Football Confederation, OFC, set up in 1966).