Blatter boosts World Cup coverage in Bangladesh

DHAKA, May 18: FIFA president Sepp Blatter has intervened personally to more than double the coverage of next month's World Cup in soccer-crazy Bangladesh.

Bangladeshi journalists, originally granted only four accreditations, asked Blatter to help when he visited their country to open last month's AFC Challenge Cup and they have now received six extra passes to cover the tournament.

Millions of soccer fans in Bangladesh stay up late at night to watch World Cup matches on television, and newspaper circulation rises as the country's 140 million people look for news of their favourite teams.

''It's really encouraging for us. The presence of increased numbers of Bangladeshi journalist at the tournament will help soccer fans in the country to know more about their favourite teams,'' Anwarul Haq, general secretary of the Bangladesh Football Federation, told Reuters.

REUTERS