Overall Analysis - FIFA.com

tering all known records and finally amassing
over two billion page views during the course
of the competition.
FIFA’s daily media briefings, an extension
of the concept introduced effectively
in 1998, proved very useful in maintaining
a constant flow of first-hand information to
the media based in Seoul and Yokohama and
providing immediate FIFA reaction to topics of
immediate interest. In the welcome absence
of any form of spectator violence, the media
focussed mainly on the early difficulties with
the ticketing operation as well as the performances
of referees and their assistants, and
FIFA used the 11 a.m. briefings to deal in
depth with these and various other topical
issues.
As in 1998, media ticketing was hampered
by a disturbingly large number of
journalists failing to show up for matches for
which a ticket had been reserved for them.
This extremely unprofessional attitude will
need to be re-examined for future events.
Post-match activities
Modifications to the post-match mixed zone
operation, with the introduction of a mixed
zone studio interview, proved especially
successful in the fraught moments after the
end of each match; the combination of such
interviews together with impromptu minipress
conferences with selected players in
the mixed zone itself as well as the opportunity
for one-on-one interviews as the players
passed through the mixed zone, ensured
that the media were extremely well served
with player and coach quotes. Meanwhile,
attempts to improve access for the media to
teams on non-match days (including access
to training for at least the first 15 minutes)
generally worked with the majority of teams,
although some teams or individuals still
proved disappointingly resistant to normal
cooperation with the media.
The benchmark for television production
standards was set at a new high, thanks to the
professionalism of an international team led
by the CEO of HBS, Francis Tellier. HBS’s innovative
production plan may not have included
a revolution in a field where there is little left
to invent, but nevertheless produced images
of stunning quality and impact. The introduction
of the so-called EBIF (extended basic
international feed) gave HBS the opportunity
to offer to the broadcast partners a wider
choice of material both before, during and
Photo: Christian Liewig
after each match, thus enhancing the scope of
the broadcast beyond the pure action itself.
Overall, thanks not only to the cooperation
between FIFA and the LOCs (with the massive
assistance of two armies of willing volunteers)
but also to the collaboration between these
parties and the media themselves, the competition
passed not only without major difficulty
but indeed to the utter satisfaction of a
notoriously demanding media clientele.
Peu de domaines de l’organisation de la
Coupe du Monde de la FIFA 2002 constituaient
un défi tel que celui des médias.
Mais si le succès de l’opération se mesure
– comme il le devrait – par l’opinion des 11
500 représentants des médias présents, alors
là aussi, la FIFA et les deux COLs peuvent être
satisfaits de leur travail.
La coopération fut la clé. Pendant presque
quatre ans, la FIFA, le JAWOC et le KOWOC se
sont réunis régulièrement, avec HBS (Host
Broadcast Services), afin de planifier cette
opération complexe et de garantir un traitement
équitable des médias du monde entier.
Mais le planning n’aurait pas porté ses fruits
sans l’authentique esprit de soutien mutuel
dont firent preuve les deux COLs. Les différentes
tâches organisationnelles étaient réparties
entre eux, notamment dans le domaine de
l’accréditation des médias, le JAWOC prenant
en charge les 3000 journalistes et 1000 photographes,
tandis que le KOWOC coordonnait
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