FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter said Wednesday that the soccer governing body will take full responsibility for the recent mishap involving the bankruptcy case of International Sports and Leisure (ISL) and keep local organizing committees (LOC) from being affected.

ISL had signed contracts with FIFA to manage broadcasting and marketing rights for next year's World Cup and the 2006 games. ISL, which was responsible for handling deals outside of Europe, is awaiting a Swiss court's decision concerning its bankruptcy status.

In a press conference held at the Seoul Finance Center Blatter said that actions have already been taken to ensure that no serious damage to 2002 World Cup preparations come out of the incident.

He said even if ISL and Vivendi Universal, its financial backer, were unable to persuade the courts that enough investments exist for a recovery, all operations should be back on track after two or three weeks. The courts are expected to reach a decision on the issue shortly.

Blatter then stressed that both LOCs were fully capable of handling any changes, though problems related to ISL fall in FIFA's domain.

Blatter, meanwhile, expressed satisfaction with the way Korea and Japan are progressing with preparations for next year's games and the Confederations Cup scheduled to kick off next month.