Chairman Blatter of FIFA, Minister Chen of the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, Mayor Ma of Taipei City, President Huang from the 2004 Futsal World Championship Organizing Committee, Athletes and all participants, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen: Good Afternoon!
It is with great pleasure that I join you today for the Opening Ceremony of the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Championship. Futsal World Championship, also one of the four grand football championships in the world, has commenced here in Taiwan with high anticipation and expectations from football enthusiasts worldwide. This year, elite athletes from sixteen countries across six continents gather here to compete for the top honor to be the world's number one; an estimated more than sixty million viewers will also tune in to the broadcast in the next few days. That a wildly popular and world-renown sports competition is hosted by Taiwan is an affirmation of the confidence international organizations have for Taiwan's ability to organize grand-scale international competitions. On behalf of the government and the people of Taiwan, I would like to express my appreciation to FIFA for your support and assistance in making this championship possible. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Taipei City and Chinese Taipei Football Association for emerging from a highly competitive field of seven candidate cities to win the bid to host this year's Futsal World Championship.
For centuries, Football has been a mainstream sport and its popularity is evinced by the record TV ratings each World Cup Championship had generated every four years. The dawn of football development in Taiwan can be traced back to more than thirty years ago; in fact, our famed "Mu-Lan Woman's Football Team" in the 80's subsequently became an international football icon after capturing three consecutive Asian Cup. In recent years, Taiwan has devoted much effort to the advancement of football sports, and Futsal – a football sport that is both fast-tempo and high scoring, and is played indoor – is found to be very suitable for Taiwan where football sports have been limited by land scarcity and dense population. Just like in 2001 when the 34th Baseball World Cup was hosted by Taiwan and spawned a baseball craze, I am convinced that this year's Futsal World Championship will open a new era in Taiwan's football movement.
Let me also take this opportunity to extend my support for our team. I am confident that you will fulfill the expectations of our people and perform with all your might for the best results. In closing, I would like to once again extend my warmest welcome to distinguished guests and participating delegations: may you enjoy a wonderful experience in Taiwan and Health and Happiness to all of you. Thank you.