FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

FIFA WORLD STARS CHALLENGE BRAZIL ON JULY 14

Zurich, 23 April 1996 - FIFA will organise its traditional charity match between the World Champions and a World Stars Team on Sunday July 14, 1996, at the Giants Stadium in New York/New Jersey.

Proceeds from the match will go to the FIFA Youth Fund, of which the principal beneficiary will be the SOS Children's Villages organisation, which cares for over 200,000 disadvantaged children in 125 countries worldwide. A special project, FIFA For SOS Children's Villages, was introduced last year on the initiative of FIFA President Dr. Joao Havelange.

The World Stars match will begin at 15.00 local time and will be preceded at 12.30 by an All-Stars match featuring players from the new Major League Soccer (MLS).

The list of players who have already accepted FIFA's invitation to join the World Stars team include three World Players of the Year: Lothar Matthäus (Germany), Romario (Brazil, who will be playing against his World Champion colleagues) and the current World Player of the Year, George Weah (AC Milan and Liberia). Other players include Jürgen Klinsmann (Germany), Jorge Campos (Mexico), Marcel Desailly (France), Krassimir Balakov (Bulgaria) and Kazu Miura (Japan).

The Brazilian national team under coach Mario Lobo Zagalo will face players from all continents, led by a trio of coaches: Richard Moeller Nielsen, coach of the Denmark team which won the 1992 European Championship; US team coach Steve Sampson, and his predecessor Bora Milutinovic, now coach of the Mexican team.

Address any enquiries to:
Andreas Herren, Information Officer
Telephone: +41-1/384 9595
Telefax: +41-1/384 9696

FIFA COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION
Zurich, 23 April 1996

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