Fifa kicks off improved web services

The world football association, Fifa, has signed two deals with Indian tech services company Satyam for an event management system and several other web services.

The multimillion dollar deals run until 2010 and will also see the rollout of new extranet and intranet services during the next year.

The event management system (EMS) platform will be used by Fifa and local event organisers to arrange everything from accreditation to transport during tournaments.

Fifa's head of new media, Charles-Henry Contamine said: "It's basically the operational tool with which we manage the World Cup when it's going on."

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Although the next World Cup isn't taking place until 2010, the association runs many events in addition to the main tournament that need to be managed.

These include the under-20 World Cup recently held in Canada, the Club World Cup - to be held in Tokyo in December - and World Cup qualifying matches which begin early next year.

Contamine explained that the extranet services will link Fifa to its contacts around the world, which include its 208 national football federations as well as marketing and media partners.

These online communication services will also be available for local football development officers, doctors and therapists who work with the sport around the globe.

Contamine said: "It's something that is pretty important to us."

The upgraded intranet services will be used by the organisation's 300 employees, who will be able access Fifa's headquarters while travelling to meet contacts and partners.

He added: "It's a critical communication and information tool for us."

Contamine said a big challenge for the organisation's IT infrastructure is the size of events it supports: "What is unique to Fifa is probably the visibility that these systems have."

Fifa's centrepiece, the football World Cup is the world's most viewed sporting event, with around 28 billion people tuning in during the 2006 tournament.

Fifa's head of IT, Michael Kelly, added tournaments "cannot afford even a second's downtime, even during the huge usage spikes throughout games".

Satyam will work from Fifa's headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, and also use offshore staff and provide in-country tech support for matches.