Below are some excerpts taken from different articles in fifa.com chronicling President Blatter’s visits to countries in the region.
(FIFA.com) Monday 11 April 2011
FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter began a lengthy tour of Central America on Sunday, making his first stop in Guatemala, where he met with several leading dignitaries and attended the final day of the U-20 CONCACAF Championship…
Then it was on the main event of the day at the Presidential Palace, where the President of Guatemala Alvaro Colom welcomed the delegation for an official dinner ….
From there Blatter, in the company of Salguero, moved on to the national congress building, where the representative Carlos Gordillo, the President of the Sports Commission, spoke of the economic, political and social roles that football plays in Guatemala….
Finally, after visiting Guatemala City’s town hall in the company of Mayor Alvaro Arzu and his wife Patricia Arzu, the FIFA President was made a guest of honour of the city before moving on to the headquarters of the national FA in the company of FEDEFUTGUATE President Bryan Jimenez….
Prior to his departure Blatter had some very warm words for the Guatemalan football family, and also thanked local journalists for the plaque presented to him by the National Association of Sportswriters.
Blatter heads to Honduras
(FIFA.com) Wednesday 13 April 2011
Following his two-day visit to Guatemala, FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter arrived in Honduras on Monday afternoon for the second stop on his tour of Central America. Accompanied by Rafael Salguero, a member of the FIFA and CONCACAF Executive Committees, Blatter was welcomed by the President of the Honduran National Autonomous Football Association (FENAFUTH), Rafael Callejas….
After arriving in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, Mr Callejas, Blatter and the rest of the FIFA delegation made their way to the Presidential Palace for an audience with President Porfirio Lobo….
The FIFA delegation then moved on to Mr Callejas’ residence, where day one of the FIFA President’s stay in Honduras came to an end with an informal dinner….
Blatter was up bright and early the following morning for a trip to the city of Siguatepeque, some 114 kilometres from Tegucigalpa. The reason for the visit was to open the National Team Hotel, phase one of the future national academy and which has been built thanks to the Goal Project and will provide accommodation for the country’s various national sides….
Returning to the capital, Blatter held a press conference during which he praised FENAFUTH for “their continued presence on the international stage”. He then ended his visit of the country by lunching with members of the Honduran football family before heading off to El Salvador for leg three of his tour.
El Salvador investing in the future
(FIFA.com) Wednesday 13 April 2011
After opening with stops in Guatemala and Honduras, FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter’s tour of Central America continued on Tuesday when he travelled to El Salvador to attend the opening of the country’s latest Goal Project facilities….
On his arrival, the FIFA President received a warm welcome from a waiting group of children and Carlos Mendez, the President of the Salvadoran Football Association (FESFUT), who then escorted Blatter and the rest of the FIFA party to the National Palace to meet the country’s President, Mauricio Funes….
During the meeting, which was also attended by FIFA and CONCACAF Executive Committee member http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/federation/bodies/members/people=37653.html, the three leaders discussed the importance of football in integrating young people into society and in combating violence….
On Wednesday, two years after the green light was given, the FIFA President took part in the opening of the Joseph Blatter Auditorium and the residence for El Salvador’s national teams. The event, which was preceded by a meeting with FESFUT’s Executive Committee, included speeches on the development of football across the country and the possibility of embarking on further Goal projects for the construction of more facilities and the creation of a training course for technical directors….
After taking receipt of a scroll expressing FESFUT’s gratitude to him and then unveiling the plaque, Blatter had this to say: “It is an honour to be taking part in this ceremony. Football is a national concern, and its values provide a foundation for our lives. In being here today I can safely say that Salvadoran football is in good hands, that the country’s football authorities are working with confidence, and that it has the support of a government operating respectfully and in accordance with FIFA regulations.”
Regrets, President Sepp Blatter
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Apr. 14, 2011
It should have been a grand occasion, full of hopes and dreams and celebration, that little Belize could have been blessed by a personal visit from the man that heads the world governing body of football FIFA.
It was indeed a grand occasion, with much joy and celebration in Guatemala, and in Honduras, and then in El Salvador. But when the most powerful man in football stepped on Belizean soil yesterday, he found himself shielded from contact with the common folk of a genuine football nation, and instead carted off to the hideaway of the local football “Mubarack”, after fielding probing questions from the media, about vexing problems in the football family of Belize.
It is indeed regrettable that Mr. Blatter did not get a chance to feel the real Belizean warmth and hospitality, so preoccupied and eager were those few whom he encountered, with trying to get his ear to our desperate plight in this little country.
One of these days, under a different climate, Belize will again host the head of football in the region or the world. And that time, he will truly feel the love of the Belizean people; and will likely be bitten by our little bug that says, “you can go, but yo must come back”.
Bon voyage, Herr Joseph Sepp Blatter. Belize has serious “internal” problems to settle before we can be ready to host you properly next time.