Festival Support

To organizers of the First Football Championship among the artists of the football and music festival «Art-Football»

Dear Friends,

With great interest I perceived the idea of holding in Sochi, in July of 2007, a football and music festival «Art-Football».

It is especially gratifying that it is contemporary Russia that will stand at the source of a unique forum uniting fans of the most popular in the world phenomena – sports and musical culture, what guarantees to the event considerable International resonance.

On the threshold of the 22nd Olympic Games capital election, I believe that determination of the location as the candidate city Sochi is most urgent. I wish success to the project organizers, and honest sports struggle in the true Olympic spirit – to its participants.

With best regards,
Leonid Tyagachev

Letter from the FIFA President

Today, football is really the game of the whole planet. People in every country, on every continent play it – men and women, adults and children. They play football in narrow streets, in dirty fields, and at full stadiums.

Matches with celebrities’ participation add to our game a special scale, as pop-music and film stars manage to make that stream of happiness, that is so characteristic of our sports, inseparable from an artistic performance. The fact that combined teams of musicians and cinema stars meet in not just a single match, but will hold a whole tournament, is even more remarkable.

On the threshold of the 1st International football tournament STARCO, the Russian football union is holding an active promotion campaign to support this event. The FIFA is pleased to note appearance of such combination of sports and spectacular performance and wishes all its participants and the audience that this premiere be a great success.

Joseph S. Blatter

To the General Director of the Non-Commercial Organization «Charity Foundation «Starco» "Charity Programs Direction"» Y. N. Davydov

Dear Yuri Nikolayevich,

The Bid Committee «Sochi – 2014» supports the suggestion of the NCOCF “«Starco» Charity Programs Direction” that the First Football Championship among artists (football and music festival «Art-Football») be held in Sochi from June 25 to July 4, 2007, to support Sochi as a candidate city to host the Winter Olympic and Paraolympic Games of 2014.

The championship is to demonstrate to the word public Sochi’s capacity to host large-scale sports and cultural event. The «Art-Football» success will give rise to high public resonance, attract the world mass media attention, what will contribute to the Bid «Sochi – 2014» popularization on the eve of voting in respect of the Games of 2014 city-organizer at the International Olympic Committee session.

We also welcome the charity character of the event, as, besides the above tasks, its result will be specific addressed assistance to children in need of medical treatment.

The Bid Committee «Sochi – 2014» will provide comprehensive support to the project, taking into account that it will be financed from the sponsors’ funds.

With best regards,
General Director
D. N. Chernyshenko