Soccer: Valencia chosen for Fifa's hall of fame

World's soccer governing body FIFA will build a hall of fame in the Spanish tourist city of Valencia by 2004, FIFA general secretary Michel Zen-Ruffinen said today.

"We are very happy to announce finally that it will become reality -- not in Paris, not in London, but in Spain, in Valencia," he told a news conference in Seoul, five days before the start of the World Cup finals.

"Finally, football will have its hall of fame, as almost every sport already does," Zen-Ruffinen said.

He said the hall would be built in a "new park in a very nice area" in the Mediterranean coastal city and feature a FIFA museum, interactive games and a gallery of great players.

The hall would be built at no cost to FIFA and run as a joint venture between FIFA, Spain's national soccer organisation and the city and region of Valencia, Zen-Ruffinen said.

- REUTERS

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