Cat Suit Comeback; Fans Receive Present

FIFA took one on the chops this week after a judge in Nuremberg, Germany said the world's soccer organization had no grounds to ban the one-piece uniforms of Cameroon. German sportsgear company Puma, who developed and supplied the sleek uniforms for the African team, sued FIFA at a German court and demanded two million euros ($2.59 million) in damages.

The controversy started when FIFA banned the kit during the African Nations Cup in 2004. Puma spokesman Ulf Santjer said during the proceedings that FIFA had known of the kit over nine months before the Cup started in Tunisia. Not until the tournament commenced did trouble brew and FIFA announced the ban.

Cameroon continued to wear the uniform, was subsequently fined 130,000 euros ($150,000) and more importantly, had six points deducted in their World Cup 2006 qualifying campaign. Puma paid the fine and FIFA later rescinded that second decision at the behest of the African Football Federation but stuck to its ban on the cat suit.

Puma then took FIFA to court. In her ruling, judge Ingrid Kefer said that yes, FIFA had stated in its rules that a player's uniform must consist of shorts and jerseys.

"It is not written anywhere that the two cannot be connected," Kefer added.

Puma has charged their bigger competitors Adidas of nudging FIFA to punish Cameroon for the modern uniform. Adidas has denied the allegations.

Kefer did not allow Puma to introduce any such evidence of influence by Adidas. However, she did not understand why FIFA objects to the uniforms which she stated served a "good purpose." The shorts cannot be pulled down by an opponent and the "unappetizing exchange of jerseys" would no longer be possible.

FIFA legal director Heinz Tännler now has four weeks to react to the court's arguments. "It's not over until it's over. Nothing has been decided yet," he told reporters.

The final decision is not far off. Kefer will read her verdict on June 1.

FIFA Announces Fan Fests

Meanwhile, fans from around the globe have submitted over ten million applications for the lottery of tickets to next year's World Cup in Germany. Unfortunately, there are only 812,000 available which means that millions of people will come away empty-handed.

For those fans so unlucky as to lose out, there is the possibility to buy tickets from their own country's soccer associations. Should this fail, FIFA has the solution -- Fan Fests. In all twelve host cities, broadcasts of tournament games will be shown on big video walls for public viewing.

Organizing Committee (OC) President Franz Beckenbauer had nothing but praise for the concept on the World Cup Web site. "FIFA, our OC and the host cities have worked together fantastically yet again. In view of the enormous public interest, we felt an obligation to bring the FIFA World Cup atmosphere to those fans who could not get their hands on a ticket. Now we will be in a position to do that, with every host city effectively having two FIFA World Cup Venues: the stadium and the official Fan Fest."

German consumer advocate groups, who have been critical of certain aspects of the ticket sales process, for example the submission of personal data for ticket orders, were pleased by the announcement. Carel Mohn, press spokesman for the Federation of German Consumer Organizations, called the decision "thoroughly positive."

"We were concerned about a restriction of video coverage," Mohn said. Also worrisome had been the possibility that only World Cup sponsors, such as Coca-Cola, would be given exclusive sales licenses at the Fan Fest. But this fear has also been laid to rest according to Mohn.

The company that owns the rights to the coverage in Germany, the Switzerland-based Infront Sports & Media AG, said it was important to come to an early agreement with the host cities. Former German soccer star, current commentator for national team coverage on German public television, and executive director of Infront, Günter Netzer, said that it "is a gesture to the cities, who are making a vital contribution to the success of the FIFA World Cup, and above all to the fans and the visitors."