FIFA Stops Supporting ‘Soccer Apartheid’ On High Altitude Venues

Evo Morales–pictured here probably in the middle of a blow-aided sprint–must be a happy man today. See, the Bolivian President/minor-league soccer player has seen the shackles FIFA threw on high-altitude teams, which includes his own national team, thrown off. The teams were banned from playing international matches in their stadiums because they were so high… in terms of altitude. What did you think we were saying?

Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA, announced Tuesday in Australia that the executive committee decided to temporarily lift the ban and may replace it with a package of rules regulating “Football Under Extreme Conditions,” which would include heat, humidity, extreme cold and pollution.

Um, in like 10 years that’s going to be everywhere. Don’t these people watch 60 Minutes?

This is a victory for Andean nations, such as Bolivia and Ecuador, who play their games above the 2,750 meter limit imposed in December. The original decision was met with vehement opposition in La Paz, Bolivia’s capital and the world’s highest venue at 3,600 meters above sea level, where the sometimes provocative president, Evo Morales, dubbed FIFA’s decision, “soccer apartheid.”

To which people who lived under South African apartheid collectively told Morales to fuck off.
End to ‘Soccer Apartheid’ [NY Times]
Image [AP]