LUANDA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- FIFA president Sepp Blatter has opened a new soccer training complex in Cape Verde and expressed that he believes the archipelago will qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

    According to a report reaching here on Wednesday, speaking after inaugurating the 800,000 euros training center for the Cape Verde Football Federation (FCF), Blatter admitted he was a "fan" of the national soccer team and that he thought it would reach the final stages of FIFA's first world soccer showpiece in Africa. Cape Verde currently lie in 122nd spot in FIFA's world ranking.

    The new FCF center, entirely funded by FIFA, is equipped with a soccer pitch, various conference centers, restaurants and bars and two accommodation blocks for players.

    During his Cape Verde trip the FIFA chief met Praia's heads of government and state.

    He also announced that FIFA will fund the building of a synthetic pitch at Cape Verde's main football stadium, Estadio da Varzea in the capital, where insufficient rainfall has for many years hampered efforts to maintain a natural playing surface. Enditem