FIFA

Clint Dempsey jumped high in the air, both arms raised, as a fan in the stands at Fulham unfurled a Lone Star flag.

On this January afternoon in London, Dempsey had become the first American to score a hat trick in the history of the English Premier League. The eyes of English soccer were on the 28-year-old from Nacogdoches.

ST. LOUIS -- In qualifying for the Olympics, the United States women's soccer team went 5-0 in its recent regional tournament, outscoring its opponents 38-0.

"It's amazing not to give up any goals, and we're happy about that," said Becky Sauerbrunn, a St. Louis Ladue High graduate who started three of those qualifying games. "But we have not played to the best of our ability. We feel have a lot to work on before we head off to the Olympics."

BERLIN -- World soccer chief Joseph "Sepp" Blatter expects goal-line technology to be introduced next season, and it also should be featured at the next World Cup in 2014, along with professional referees.

Speaking in various newspaper interviews published on Tuesday, Blatter said that his ruling body, the FIFA, is finally ready to make use of goal-line technology, pending approval next year.

LONDON -- For two days, Britain has been up in arms over Sepp Blatter.

Senior government officials, players, coaches and newspapers have called for the FIFA president to resign as the head of world football's governing body, and coverage of his comments about racism in the game has been nearly around the clock on television.

MIAMI -- Jozy Altidore is only 21 years old, but his five-year professional soccer career has taken a circuitous route -- from Boca Raton to Bradenton to New York to Spain to England to Turkey to Holland -- so even he sometimes forgets how young he really is. And he has had to remind himself, especially when he was lonely and floundering overseas, hearing murmurs that he wasn't living up to his hype.

GENEVA -- Europe's 53 soccer countries will have the future and popularity of their national teams at the top of the agenda at a two-day summit meeting in Cyprus.

UEFA member federations are under pressure from influential clubs to play fewer matches by scrapping some international exhibition dates and cutting the size of qualifying groups for the World Cup and European Championship.

SEOUL, South Korea -- A former FIFA vice president has called Sepp Blatter, the president of soccer's governing body, a "little brat" who rules dictatorially.

Chung Mong-joon made the criticism in a memoir published in South Korea last week, titled "My Challenge, My Enthusiasm." Chung had been regarded as a candidate to succeed Blatter as FIFA president before being defeated for re-election this year in a vote by Asia's governing body.