The president of football's world governing body has outlined plans for a worldwide tour that will see him attend the congresses of all six confederations as he seeks re-election in 2011.
In his end-of-the-year message Wednesday, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said that football leadership will be one of his key focuses in 2011.
He is standing for a fourth four-year term of office on June 1 at FIFA's congress in Zurich. Blatter says he believes meeting FIFA's national members in person will help set "a strategic course for the future.''
The first scheduled congress is January 6 in Doha, Qatar when the Asian Football Confederation meets. That is followed by the Oceania congress January 15 in Pago Pago, American Samoa.
In his message, Blatter again defended the selection of Russia and Qatar as World Cup hosts in 2018 and 2022. He said he welcomes spreading the tournament to new geographical regions and cultures, thus furthering football's development all over the world.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
