FIFA is turning a profit at an unprecedented rate, yet soccer's governing body appears to be making little headway toward wiping out the violence and corruption that threaten the integrity of the sport.

Faced with this paradox, FIFA president Sepp Blatter says soccer must embark on an ambitious plan to rescue itself.

"We have come to the crossroads of football," he declared Friday after two days of meetings of FIFA's executive committee. "Our football is ill and we must find medicine to give to our sport."

That warning came during a news conference in which FIFA revealed that its finances had dramatically improved over the last four years, buoyed by the financial success of the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Since the World Cup -- watched by a cumulative audience estimated at 26.3 billion -- soccer has seen a series of violent episodes, including riots in France, a brawl between Arsenal and Chelsea at the English League Cup final and the death of an Italian policeman at a match in February. Valencia defender David Navarro was suspended for seven months for his part in a brawl at a European Champions League match.

"Where is football going if players are at each other's throats?" Blatter said. "If the players are not educated, if the coaches don't place a minimum of discipline on them, there is cause for worry."

Blatter also vowed to return integrity to the sport following the refereeing or corruption scandals that plagued Germany, Italy and other nations last year.

"We need to help the referees, they are the guardians of ethics," he said.

The vast sums of money involved in international soccer have likely led to some of the sport's ethical problems, the FIFA president opined.

"In French, we say 'Money makes people go mad.' There is some truth to that," Blatter said.

But he said there was no excuse for wealthy clubs locking up talent by handing out contracts to more than 30 players when only 11 men take the field.

Soccer's future will be key topic during the FIFA Congress in Zurich in May. FIFA may also consider plans to limit the number of foreign players that clubs can field -- a move Blatter predicted would ignite an outcry from coaches.

Blatter expressed pride in FIFA's improved financial situation -- it's equity has gone from negative $10.9 million in January 2003 to a $617 million surplus in December.

"Five years ago, they wanted to send me to jail and now I am getting a round of applause," Blatter said. "So you see how things can change."

FIFA had $749 million in revenue last year, with expenses of $500 million. The 2006 World Cup in Germany produced a $207 million profit, of which FIFA received $60 million. FIFA paid $49.6 million in salary and benefits for 2006.

The organization is so wealthy that its new gleaming glass and stone headquarters in the hills overlooking Zurich, which cost $200 million to build, has already been fully paid for even before its formal dedication in May.

One major FIFA worry seems to have evaporated. In December, the organization expressed concerns about the pace of stadium construction in South Africa ahead of the 2010 World Cup. Blatter said Friday that FIFA was fully confident in South Africa's ability as a host and downplayed that country's crime rate.

"Have a look at the big capitals or cities around the world -- there you will have crime rates above those in South Africa," he declared.

South Africa has promised to spend $1.2 billion to tackle security and transportation issues, Blatter added.

(China Daily via AP March 27, 2007)