Colin Jackson: Marcus, what does your job involve?

Marcus Siegler: My job is quite complex. I oversee all the departments within the communications division. One department runs our website and new media facilities. The other one is a classic media department, where enquiries come in and are responded to. The department also takes care of all media operations during the FIFA World Cup.

The PR and protocol department take care of a lot of protocol-related issues when it comes to events, gifts, special productions, calendars and also uniforms.

We also have a department called media information services. It manages all data and archive documentation. For each competition all the players, their playing records and referees, are recorded on a database. This allows us to provide the media with the starting lists, half-time stats and full-time stats that are needed for a tournament. We also have a department for social responsibility.

CJ: FIFA is a football organisation and football, as a sport, touches every single part of the world - you must have a role to play with regard to social responsibility?

MS: Absolutely. Football has become so important in today's society. We have to assume a certain level of responsibility. We can't just look at the World Cup, the Premier League and the Champions League.

Our mission statement instructs us to develop the game, but we also run schemes like the 'Football for Hope Movement'. This is a social and human development initiative run through football around the world. It encompasses children's rights, education, peace building and the environments children play in.

We have a strategic alliance with a scheme in Berlin called 'The Street Football World'. We have a fantastic network around the world, where various community programmes are connected to each other, and all of them have one thing in common - they all use football for community development.

We have decided that the 'Football for Hope Festival' will be an official part of the next World Cup in Africa 2010. We work with UN agencies like the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and the environmental department of the UN.

CJ: How many member federations are there in FIFA?

MS: At the end of May the UEFA Executive Committee recommended Montenegro to be affiliated as member number 208.

CJ: How many languages does FIFA operate in?

MS: We have four official languages: English, French, Spanish and German. When it comes to the congress we have seven or eight languages in addition - Arabic, Russian, Portuguese, etc.

CJ: How many languages do you speak?

MS: I speak a bit of English, a bit of French, some Spanish and a bit of German. My native language is Swiss-German, but this is a dialect, not a language. I also understand a little bit of Italian.

CJ: If you want to come and work for FIFA, is it important that you speak other languages?

MS: I think so. It facilitates the work. We're an international organisation. We've got more members than the United Nations. If you're capable of speaking other languages, it's easier.

The people that work here come from all over the world, and we go everywhere. We go to South America, Asia and North America. If you speak a little bit of the language it's fantastic. If you can understand all four of our official languages it's much easier for you. It also allows you to get a feeling of the culture.

CJ: If somebody wanted to apply for a job here, what skills would they need to work in this environment?

MS: Don't laugh but the first thing would be a love of football. In my division, whenever there's a candidate, I always check what kind of relationship they have to football. Of course it depends on whether you work in marketing, communication, finance or in the legal department. In the legal department, you need legal experts. I'd say the minimum requirement is a solid basic education, university and languages.

CJ: Did you always want to work in sport?

MS: Always. Football is part of my life. I grew up in a family of four children. My father and mother didn't have a clue about sport. It was the same for my brothers and sisters, but I started playing football automatically. I don't know why. I used to cycle with my friend to a football pitch and play it all the time.

Football was part of my life. I started as a sport journalist on radio and then moved onto newspapers. I was the manager of a professional football club at the age of 31 for two years. That was an invaluable experience. The club was almost bankrupt. Every day I had a player in my office asking 'Marcus, when do I get some money?'

I wasn't paid for months sometimes, but I learnt a lot. I started doing work independently for FIFA and UEFA in media communication matters. I started full-time when Sepp Blatter asked me if I would like to join FIFA.

CJ: Do you see anything taking over from football as the world's most popular sport?

MS: Maybe track and field (laughs).

CJ: I'd love that!

MS: I'm a big admirer of athletics but I believe football is the number one sport. In Germany last year we saw the spirit in which sport should be performed. You may lose, you may cry, you may celebrate if you win, but it's a game. Unfortunately then came all the incidents that started right after that, in Italy, in Germany and so on.

We've also seen violence on the pitch. What can you expect from the fans and millions of amateur players if the big stars, who should be role models, behave like that? It's a great sport, but there are challenges and problems to tackle.

CJ: Are you working hard to tackle these problems?

MS: Absolutely, because I'm convinced of the value of the sport. Football helped to educate me. Football is a school of life and it's a team sport. Of course it's more fun when you win, but you can't always win in life. You have to learn to lose and to accept that. You learn to respect the referee, even if he's wrong. You respect the fans, the opposition, your team mates and your coach.

It's the same in athletics. You've got team mates and a coach. Even if you're alone when you have to race, it's still the same. That's why we have to assume certain social responsibilities. We can't just close our eyes and say we're only a sports organisation, it would be wrong.

CJ: For someone who loves football this must be a dream job?

MS: I really love my job. It combines my passion for football with the skills I've acquired from education and past experience. We have a great team in communications. I travel all over the world with my job. I meet people from all sorts of backgrounds. That's probably one of the most fascinating things about my job.

CJ: Who were your sporting heroes when you were growing up?

MS: I really never had one big hero as such. When I was growing up, I admired Pele, Beckenbauer, Bobby Charlton... the big football players. I admire a lot of great sportspeople. Roger Federer is outstanding, not only in his sport but also in his personality I believe. I had the chance to meet him once. He was very modest and very nice.

CJ: What did you admire about the likes of Pele and Beckenbauer?

MS: I admired the way they played football. Beckenbauer could hit a pass 45 metres at an angle. He was elegant and played the game in a way I didn't think was possible.

CJ: What was it like when you actually met him?

MS: Beckenbauer is a fantastic person. He was the coach when Germany won the World Cup, then he was the man leading the bid committee to get the World Cup for 2006. He is like a God in Germany and it's all because of football, it's incredible.