Fax Info No2

Official Anthem

The French version of the Official Anthem of the 16th World Cup, sung by Youssou N'Dour and Axelle Red, has been available in record shops since the beginning of March. The record is produced by S.M.A.L.L., on the Sony Music France label. An English version is currently being recorded and will be hitting the shops soon.

"La Cour des Grands" ("Do you mind if I play ?") was first performed in public on 4 December 1997 in Marseille during the FRANCE 98 finals draw.

An extract from "La Cour des Grands" can already be heard on the Sony Website (www.sonymusic.fr/worldcup) and will soon be available on the FRANCE 98 Website (www.france98.com).

The Official Anthem video clip filmed at the beginning of March in Paris features children from five different continents. In the clip a football bounces into their urban world and they begin to play, score goals, dream and winall recalling the FRANCE 98 slogan, "C'est beau un monde qui joue!" (The beauty of a world at play).

Volunteer training

On 20 March, at the Parc des Expositions in Paris, the first phase of training for the 12,000 FRANCE 98 Volunteers was brought to a close. Since 24 January, the "Découverte FRANCE 98" (Discover FRANCE 98) programme has provided the Volunteers with a solid grounding in football in general and the World Cup in particular. The last-but-one stage took place on 14 March at Marseille, when 1,311 Volunteers were brought together in the amphitheatre of the Centre de Congrès in the Parc Chanot, in the presence of the Mayor of Marseille, Jean-Claude Gaudin.

Starting at the end of February, the Volunteer programme has moved into a new phase with the next two training stages: one session dedicated to the job each Volunteer is going to perform and another concerning the venue where he/she is to work.

In total, the Volunteer training programme for FRANCE 98 will have involved 2,000 training staff, the drawing up of 90 different training documents, and 250,000 hours of actual training.

Teams' seminar in Paris

At FIFA's instigation, representatives from the 32 qualifying nations got together between 8 and 10 March at the Méridien Montparnasse hotel in Paris. Each delegation was made up of 6 representatives: a World Cup delegation manager, a coach, a doctor, an administrative manager, a head of press and a security manager.

This seminar, presided over by FIFA President Dr João Havelange and the President of the FIFA World Cup Organising Commission for FRANCE 98, Lennart Johansson, provided the participants with all the information they will need on how the forthcoming World Cup is to be organised and run. The seminar also included theme workshops on subjects such as safety and medical treatment.

At the seminar's close, Lennart Johansson, Joseph S. Blatter, General Secretary of FIFA, and Jacques Lambert, the French Organising Committee's Managing Director, called an international press conference to fill in the media on the contents of the seminar.

Seminar for FIFA referees

Between 23 and 27 March 1998, the 34 referees and 33 assistant referees appointed by FIFA to the 16th World Cup are meeting together at the Manoir de Gressy, near Paris. The seminar is organised by FIFA with the backing of the CFO, and the programme includes: a physical check-up, individual medical tests, workshops on applying the rules of the game, specific instructions for the 1998 World Cup and finally practical demonstrations on how to operate the "flag-bip", an acoustic signalling device for the referee and his two assistants, which is to be used during the forthcoming World Cup.

The media are invited to Paris on 25 March between 9 a.m. and midday to cover the referees' physical check-ups at the Institut National des Sports et de l'Education Physique (INSEP - 11, avenue du Tremblay, 75012 - Paris). The following day, Thursday 26 March, a photo session with the 34 referees and 33 assistant referees will be taking place at the Manoir de Gressy, starting at 4.30 p.m.

Between 5 p.m. and 5.45 p.m., there will be a "Mixed Zone" session where journalists can meet and put questions to the 67-strong World Cup refereeing team. Following this, a press conference will be given by FIFA's Assistant General Secretary Michel Zen-Ruffinen, David Will, President of FIFA's Refereeing Committee, and Wolker Roth, who will be in charge of the referees' seminar.

The FRANCE 98 "Catering Challenge"

From 10 June to July 12 this year, the stadiums will be packed with the 2.5 million spectators watching the 16th World Cup. A real catering challenge for the French Organising Committee, as meals and drinks for an estimated 3 million heads will have to be served during the 64 matches.

To make the reception and serving of the public easier, the number of sales points have been increased: to the 252 snack bars already planned for the stadiums will be added a further 114, plus 606 trolley units, and 374 refreshment salespeople walking around in different sections of the ground. This means that the public will have access to 1,300 sales points in the various stadiums: 110, at least, at each venue, and 270 for the Stade de France alone. Depending on the stadiums, there will be between 350 to 800 staff working to provide food and drink.

"The number of sales points have been increased for two reasons: to offer people a faster service and to avoid having to wait in long queues," says Odile Lanceau, Head of Logistics for the French Organising Committee. And she adds, "The quality of the welcome given to the public has always been one of FRANCE 98's chief concerns. The public will be there in the stadiums long before each match kicks-off. And if the weather is very hot, spectators must be able to get to a refreshment stand easily."

For security reasons, drinks will be sold either in glasses or in pliant plastic bottles of up to 50cl without corks. The French Organising Committee has taken great care to ensure that prices in the stadiums won't be too high. Drinks will cost between FF 10 and 20 depending on the product.

"We estimate that the number of drinks sold on match days throughout the competition will reach about 2 million, meaning 1,000m3 of fizzy drinks, fruit juice and mineral water," says Vincent Bergmann, Head of Catering for FRANCE 98.

With regard to the catering services, there will be 55,000 meals served to clients in the Hospitality Boxes, 190,000 in the official "Prestige Salons" for Prestige Seat customers, and 120,000 in the Partners' Hospitality Villages, not forgetting the 34,000 guests at the various official cocktail receptions laid on throughout the competition.

In each stadium there will be more than 300 staff working in the kitchens and doing the meal service. For the World Cup Final on 12 July at the Stade de France, no less than 1,000 personnel will be gamely employed. Among others, students from seventy different catering colleges will be devoting their skills and know-how to the great event.

For the French Organising Committee, the catering aspect also concerns the 12,000 members of the media, and the 12,000 Volunteers working for FRANCE 98. For the journalists, eating areas will be at their disposal in the ten press centres and at the International Media Centre. There they will find a wide range of food (sandwiches, ready-to-eat dishes, a daily menu and so on), with an emphasis on regional cooking. As for the Volunteers, feeding them will involve the preparation and serving of 1,000 meals at each stadium on each match day - making a total of around 100,000 meals throughout the World Cup tournament!

In order to cope with the heavy demand, the French Organising Committee has called on the services of two companies specialising in catering for large numbers. These companies will be working in conjunction with the best available local professionals at each venue.

Quality control and strict compliance with hygiene regulations form an integral part of the French Organising Committee's schedule of conditions for these companies. With the cold storage rooms, refrigerated lorries, refrigerated containers and refrigerators, scrupulous care will be ensured all along the line.

Book Fair/Security debate

On 24 March, Dominique Spinosi, Head of Safety and Security for FRANCE 98, will be taking part in a round table on safety and security at the "Salon du Livre", a book fair that takes place annually in Paris (this year from 20 to 25 March at the Porte de Versailles). The meeting is being organised by IHESI (the institute of higher studies on internal security), and is entitled "The World Cup: celebrating in complete security." It will be presided over by Philippe Melchior, Director of IHESI, and compèred by Pascal Ceaux, a journalist from the daily French newspaper Le Monde.

René-Georges Querry, in charge of Security for DICOM (interministerial delegation to the World Cup), together with Patrick Mignon, a researcher in the sociology department of INSEP (national institute of sport and physical education) and Gérard Rousselot, President of the national commission for stadium security and entertainment, will also be taking part.

3rd Partners' Cup

The 3rd Partner's Cup tournament, involving the French Organising Committee's Official Partners, took place on 21 March 1998 at the national football coaching centre at Clairefontainewhere the French national team gets together before a match. This six-a-side football tournament, played as a league championship, brought together 1,600 participants and 45 teams.

Crédit Agricole, Danone, EDS, France Telecom, Hewlett Packard, La Poste, Manpower and Sybase fielded 4 teams apiece. These Partners' teams were joined by 4 teams from the French Organising Committee, one captained by Michel Platini, and nine other guest teams including one from the "Variétés Club de France" (a celebrity charity team), a team of former international players, as well as a team of household names!

Ten thousand guests will then be invited to the Stade de France on 28 March to watch the Super Final of the Partners' Cup. This tournament will involve the winners of the three Partners' Cup tournaments: France Telecom in 1996, Manpower in 1997 and the 1998 winner.

710 young stamp collectors get together for "Philfoot Jeunes"

The "Philfoot Jeunes" competition launched last November has been a huge success. No fewer than 710 stamp collections on the theme of football put together by under-21s were chosen for the occasion.

From 28 February to 8 March this year, La Poste and the French Association of Olympic collectors, in partnership with the French Organising Committee, invited enthusiasts of football and stamp collecting to come and admire these splendid stamp collections on view in each of the ten World Cup host cities

A jury in each city selected ten winners, in other words one from each city, from all the young exhibitors. The prize for the lucky victors: a two-day stay in Paris to watch one of the World Cup matches at the Stade de France at Saint-Denis.