Welcome back to Mexican friends

MEXICO - At the 27th General Assembly, the meeting of the UMB on 22 December in Hotel Center in Valencia, one of the main subjects on the agenda are the suspensions of the Mexican and Argentine billiards federations and players. The South American players may look forward to a come-back in the international tournaments next year (2013).

That is good news, especially for the number of Mexican billiard players like Luis Avila, Rodolfo Covarrubias, Roberto Rojas, Alan Campos, Raul Gutierrez, Alain Hernandez and Javier Vera, who suffered the penalty of the UMB. They felt themselves the victims of the conflict between the world federation and the Mexican federation.

The UMB orderd the suspensions of the Mexicans for the time being after the World Cup in Riviera Nayarit, which would be held from May 23 to 30, 2011 and was canceled. The organizer, Roberto Royas, felt threatened by criminal gangs in this town and explained to the UMB that he could not guarantee the safety of players, officials and spectators.

Many players had already booked their trip to Mexico and wanted the UMB to pay back their money. The UMB claimed an amount to the Mexican organization and decided to a suspension when the federation did not pay.

Jean Claude Dupont, president of the UMB, stated during the World Cup in Hurghada in an interview with Kozoom, that during the 'General Assembly, where all federations and confederations are represented, there will be a proposal to stop the suspension.

During the meeting in Valencia, new federations will be announced, the new calendar for 2013 is on the agenda, the new schedule of World Cups, the World championships in Antwerp (2013) and Korea (2014) and the World Games in Cali (2013).

Furthermore, the new playing systems for the international tournaments will be launched.