Vincent (![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} vincent_z) wrote,@ 2007-11-25 21:11:00 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Current mood: |  calm |
| Current music: | "Musicology" - Prince |
| Entry tags: | japan, public, repowriter, soccer, tokyo, yokohama |
I am pulling back the curtain a little here.
This is one aspect of me which has mostly been masked in my ‘hidden’ weblog, both here and at Live Journal. I have had this interest for quite many years. It is popular. Popular enough that it is not going to overtly identify who and where I am. And it is popular enough that I could write about it on my identifiable LJ.
I have been approved by
The match in Toyota is a sop for its sponsor (guess who?). The Final (& the third-place match) are in a stadium in Yokohama which F.I.F.A. takes it upon itself to rename during the tournament. It ‘becomes’ Yokohama International Stadium. Its general name is Nissan International Stadium. (I am not making this up.)
This tournament was how I first got to Japan. It is not too well-known in North America. It is an upgrade of what used to be the Intercontinental Cup; a one-off match between the club champions of Europe & South America.
F.I.F.A. was persuaded to let its other confederations get in on the act; and two years ago it went from just those two, to all six.
In January 2006, Australia moved its confederation affiliation from Oceania to Asia. The Oceania champion last December was an amateur side (& I do mean amateur; not in the mode of some porn sites which I visit) from New Zealand which was swamped in both of its matches.
An undercurrent, perhaps due to a Republic of Korea side being the Asian champion, was that there was not a “home” team for the majority of (Japanese) ticket-buyers to support.
So F.I.F.A. modified the tournament for this year. It eliminated the fifth-place match, and put in a pre-tournament qualifying match. The match was anticipated to be the J.League regular season champion (the J.League season ends on 1 December) versus the Oceania champion; with the winner becoming the sixth side in the tournament.
But it turned out that F.I.F.A. had a mild embarrassment of its riches. A Japanese side, Urawa Red Diamonds, got through the gauntlet of Asian qualifying (Asia is the largest, in geography, confederation in F.I.F.A., extending from Australia on the south to Syria & Lebanon on the west.) and won the spot to which Asia was entitled. (Clubs in the Middle East should have an advantage in qualifying because the best sides there almost always have oil money funding them.)
The match has to go on, though, and so it will be the Asian runner-up, Sepahan of Iran facing the amateurs of Waitakere United (New Zealand). The winner of this match will face Urawa Red Diamonds.
I may or may not post in this weblog what occurs during the days and nights I will be in Japan. My priority will be composing the stories that I hope will be distributed somewhere in the real world; in print and / or on the World-Wide Web.
Here is what the official E-Mail note from F.I.F.A. looks like. I have included the headers should you want to check them. John Schumacher's genuine E-Mail address has been munged. Please do not add him to a spam list.
My actual E-Mail address, real name, organization, and country of location have been anonymized. The hotlinks to two World-Wide Web sites on F.I.F.A.'s webhost have been broken. IJ could not handle the raw angle brackets in the headers, so those were modified to their ASCII codes. But those are the only things which have been altered.
Return-Path: <john.schumacher at fifa.org>
Received: from compute2.internal (compute2.internal [10.202.2.42])
by store15m.internal (Cyrus v2.3.10-fmsvn13559) with LMTPA;
Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:19:06 -0500
X-Sieve: CMU Sieve 2.3
X-Resolved-to: real-e-mailaddress@somewhere.net
X-Delivered-to: real-e-mailaddress@somewhere.net
X-Mail-from: john.schumacher at fifa.org
Received: from mx4.messagingengine.com ([10.202.2.203])
by compute2.internal (LMTPProxy); Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:19:06 -0500
Received: from mail114.messagelabs.com (mail114.messagelabs.com [195.245.231.163])
by mx4.messagingengine.com (Postfix) with SMTP id 6CA2EFB
for <real-e-mailaddress@somewhere.net>; Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:19:05 -0500 (EST)
X-VirusChecked: Checked
X-Env-Sender: john.schumacher at fifa.org
X-Msg-Ref: server-3.tower-114.messagelabs.com!1195582742!40613019!1
X-StarScan-Version: 5.5.12.14.2; banners=fifa.org,-,-
X-Originating-IP: [195.250.52.133]
Received: (qmail 14011 invoked from network); 20 Nov 2007 18:19:02 -0000
Received: from unknown (HELO srv-mail01.fifa.org) (195.250.52.133)
by server-3.tower-114.messagelabs.com with SMTP; 20 Nov 2007 18:19:02 -0000
Received: from SRV-EXC03.fifa.intra [172.20.2.105] by srv-mail01.fifa.org
id 93V70QPL outgoing id 93V70QPL; 20 Nov 2007 19:19:02 +0100
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft Exchange V6.5
Content-class: urn:content-classes:message
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C82BA1.D35D6372"
Subject: PRE/PHO accrediation FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2007
Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2007 19:18:46 +0100
Message-ID: <4A23C94A2DC1C54B86FBD046C3A0FCBB034A6684@SRV-EXC03.fifa.intra>
X-MS-Has-Attach:
X-MS-TNEF-Correlator:
Thread-Topic: PRE/PHO accrediation FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2007
Thread-Index: AcgrodNdU6SgI+BvTGOB834G3f2jOw==
From: "Schumacher, John \(FIFA\)" <john.schumacher at fifa.org>
To: <real-e-mailaddress@somewhere.net>
Zurich, November 2007
SUBJECT: CONFIRMATION OF MEDIA ACCREDITATION
REAL NAME
REAL ORGANIZATION
REAL COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE
INTERNATIONAL PRESS
Dear Sir,
FIFA is pleased to confirm that you have been accredited either as an international
journalist or international photographer (press agency, written press, website).
In order to ensure a smooth and efficient service for the media, we thank you for
taking good note of the following items:
1. Accreditation
Accreditation badges can be picked up in one of the following accreditation centres.
Toyota:
1. Stadium AD Centre: Toyota Stadium, 7-2 Sengoku-cho, Toyota-shi, Aichi
2. Hotel AD Centre: Hotel Associa Nagoya Terminal, 1-1-2 Meieki, Nakamura-ku,
Nagoya-shi, Aichi
Tokyo:
National Stadium (Gymnasium, next to the SMC), 10 Kasumigaoka-machi, Shinjuku-ku,
Tokyo
Yokohama:
International Stadium Yokohama, 3300 Kozukue-cho, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa
At the accreditation centre, you are to produce the following documents:
- the ID card referred to in your application process
- a copy of this letter
You will then be issued your accreditation, which will be valid for the entire
duration of the competition and for all venues. Photographers will also receive a bib
for the entire tournament.
2. Match tickets/Supplementary Accreditation Devices (SADs)
International journalists and international photographers don't need to apply for a
match ticket. They simply have to pick it up at the stadium, at the media ticket
distribution desk (media centre).
3. Telecommunications
Telecommunication facilities available at the Stadium Media Centres include internet
terminals connected to printers, working area with LAN cables for internet connection
using your own laptops and public pay phones.
Those who wish for exclusive telephone or ISDN line(s) in the Press Tribune (for
journalists only) and/or Stadium Media Centres (for both journalists and
photographers) need to make reservations in advance at their own cost.
4. Media Guide
You will find an exhaustive information on the media logistics in the Media Guide
which will be available on FIFA.com, in the Media Channel and be given to you at the
accreditation centre, when you pick up your accreditation.
5. Media Channel
FIFA.com has recently launched a new dedicated web-based service for members of the
print and broadcast media - the FIFA Media Channel - which is the first in a planned
series of specialised channels to service and support media, member associations and
football fans alike.
Unlike FIFA.com, the FIFA Media Channel is a password-protected Internet service that
compliments FIFA.com and provides FIFA with a platform to communicate directly with
media on all FIFA activities, events and competition news.
Throughout the year, and especially during FIFA competitions such as the FIFA Club
World Cup Japan 2007, media and broadcasters depend on timely updates of FIFA and
team-related activities. The FIFA Media Channel delivers with a comprehensive
calendar of team training schedules, special media events and information on media
availability of participating players and team officials not available on FIFA.com.
Features such as media ticketing and a streamlined media accreditation process will
soon be an integral part of the media channel. An Address Book of registered media
has been developed and included as part of the service to help members connect with
other fellow journalists as a personal and professional tool.
The FIFA Media Channel includes a Library where media have access to FIFA documents
and other files specific to media in preparation for covering a competition. Venue
and stadium information, media shuttle schedules, accreditation requirements and
documents on media facilities can be found in the Library.
Broadcasters have not been left out. Plans are underway for the FIFA Media Channel to
provide official radio and television licensees with access documents, news and
information not available to print media and non-rights holders.
Currently available in English, the FIFA Media Channel will expand to include
additional languages including support in Japanese for the FIFA Club World Cup Japan
2007.
More than ever, media representatives depend on the Internet to stay informed. FIFA
is confident that as it continues to add new features and services, the FIFA Media
Channel will be an essential tool for media throughout the entire year.
If you haven't yet registered, do it today at
h**p://mediachannel.extranets.fifa.com/regproc.aspx
Once you have your personal user account, to log in, simply visit:
h**p://media.fifa.com/
6. Visa
If you need a visa to go to Japan, you must visit, as usual, the Japanese authorities
in your country. Please note that this letter is a confirmation of the approval of
your accreditation by FIFA. This is not valid for issuing a visa.
If you require any further information, please feel free to contact us at the numbers
below.
We look forward to seeing you in Japan.
Yours sincerely,
FIFA
John Schumacher
***
John Schumacher
Media Department
Communications Division
FIFA - Fédération Internationale de Football Association
FIFA-Strasse 20
P. O. Box 8044 Zurich Switzerland
Tel. +41-(0)43-222 7777
Tel. Direct +41-(0)43-222 7413
Media Hotline +41-(0)43-222 7272
Fax +41-(0)43-222 7373
Mobile +41 (0)79-799 0058 |
|