FIFA President Sepp Blatter, himself "hurt" by accusations of racism, will look to heal the wounds of the March earthquake and tsunami victims in Sendai when he visits the disaster area next month during the Club World Cup in Japan.
Ahead of the Asian Football Confederation Awards ceremony on Wednesday night, Blatter said he will attend — during the Dec. 8-18 Club World Cup in Yokohama and Toyota, Aichi Prefecture — a ceremony in Sendai at a training facility jointly constructed by world soccer's governing body and the Japan Football Association.
"During the visit in Japan, the presidential delegation, also with the president of the AFC, Zhang Zilong, we are going to pay a visit to the region of Sendai," Blatter said.
"We are going there where we have constructed together with the Japan Football Association this technical center. We are going there for a special ceremony during the Club World Cup."
Blatter could use a healing moment of his own, having come under fire worldwide for saying racism doesn't exist in football and that any traces of it could be resolved by a simple handshake.