Sport - Football

FIFA to establish medical research centre

LJUBLJANA (SLOVENIA), FEB. 10. FIFA plans to establish a medical research centre in response to a spate of heart-related deaths on soccer pitches across the globe, president Sepp Blatter has said.

Blatter's comments came only two days after Slovene goalkeeper Nedzad Botonjic suddenly collapsed and died during training.

``We were very much touched by the event, when the 28-year-old goalkeeper Botonjic died,'' Blatter said yesterday during a one-day trip to the Slovene capital, Ljubljana.

``We have called the national associations and the clubs to make sure that the players undergo controls,'' he added.

Blatter stressed the importance of cardiovascular testing, adding that soccer's world governing body will next month approve the establishment of a medical centre in the Swiss capital Zurich to help uncover the reasons behind sudden deaths of top athletes, particularly during training or matches.

Similar centres will then be set up in other countries to help diagnose problems in advance, and prevent fatalities.

``Especially when we are speaking of heart disease, it is not enough to make only electrocardiograms. This will only give you an indication that the muscle is working well. But the muscle itself can be affected,'' Blatter said.

Botonjic, a first-choice goalkeeper for first-division club NK Ljubljana since 2003, collapsed during a training drill on Monday. Desperate efforts by players and medical experts to revive him were to no avail.

His was the latest in a series of heart-related deaths on sporting fields.

Last month, Hungary international Miklos Feher collapsed while playing for Benfica and died, although his cause of death was still inconclusive. In December, Brazilian footballer Christiano Junior died in Bangalore during the Federation Cup final.

Notably, Cameroon midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe died during the 2003 Confederations Cup in France.

The International Olympic Committee urged team doctors last month to improve monitoring of athletes in an attempt to reduce fatal heart attacks during competition.

Undiagnosed cardiac problems cause about 90 per cent of sudden deaths in sport. Two out of every 100,000 athletes aged between 12 and 35 die of heart attacks every year, compared to 0.7 per 100,000 in the general population, the IOC said.

Botonjic was training particularly hard in anticipation of winning a contract abroad. He was 1.88m (6.1ft) and weighed 90kg.

Club officials did not know whether Botonjic had had previous heart problems. — AP

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