FIFA, the world football's supreme body, opened its 57th Congress at its headquarters in Zurich on Wednesday.

FIFA is meeting for the seventh time in Zurich, but this is the Swiss city's first ever elective Congress for the FIFA presidency.

Representatives of all 207 associations were joined at a ceremony by officials from Montenegro, who is set to be admitted into FIFA membership on Thursday.

In his speech, FIFA president Joseph S. Blatter stressed that this year's Congress marked the end of an era, but also the start of a new one.

"We can look back on a period that at the start was still affected by the crisis of 2002, but it was one that was brought to a successful conclusion," he said.

"We are now standing at the start of the 2007 to 2010 period, which will also bring challenges with it."

Blatter said during the past thirty years, FIFA had channelled its energy into development in the game of football.

"At the same time, football's social responsibility has also evolved and, with adequate funds available now and in the future, FIFA can take another huge step forward by making a decisive contribution to the development of society through football - all in the spirit of solidarity and fair play."

IOC member Denis Oswald also greeted the Congress in the name of the Olympic movement and on behalf of IOC president Jacques Rogge, who is currently in Africa.

Oswald stressed that the IOC and FIFA were the perfect partners. "We share the same values, we have the same objectives.

We bring people together. Through them and with them, we make the world a better place."

Lennart Johansson (Sweden) and David Will (Scotland) were named as honorary FIFA vice-presidents during an emotional ceremony that also saw the title of honorary FIFA member bestowed upon Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder (Germany) and Isaac Sasso Sasso (Costa Rica).

For many decades, the FIFA Congress was held on a biennial basis,and then with extraordinary congresses held in between.

Following the amendment of the FIFA Statutes in Doha in 2003, the Congress officially became an annual event due to the volume of issues that it is now required to deal with.

(Xinhua News Agency May 31, 2007)