An overview of Hernando Siles Stadium yesterday in La Paz, where World Cup qualifying matches are played at 3,640 metres (11,942 feet) above sea level. - Reuters

No international soccer match will be allowed to take place above a of 2,500 metres in the future, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said yesterday.

A number of countries, among them Bolivia, frequently stage home international games at hig but Blatter said FIFA was following advice from its medical committee.

"I know there will be complaints about this, especially from South America, but we have to think of the health of the players first. It also leads to a distortion of the competition if matches are played at such a level.

"The Executive Committee have listened to a proposal from the medical committee and have decided to act, because to play at above tha is not healthy or fair."

Bolivia traditionally play their home matches in La Paz, which, at more than 3,600 metres above sea level, is the highest capital city in the world.

Blatter was speaking at a news conference following the last executive committee meeting before the start of FIFA's 57th Congress this week and the inauguration of FIFA's new headquarters in Zurich.

He also said that the associations of Macedonia and Kazakhstan had been given a deadline of June 15 to resolve their internal problems or else face possible sanctions from world soccer's governing body.

He said FIFA would not relax its rules on shirt advertising for international teams, and reported that of 23,000 doping tests carried out by FIFA in 2006, 91 had proved positive, and of those just seven were for steroids.