Frankfurt, July | With the nomination of the three General Managers the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ Accommodation Services is starting with the intensive preparation of the FIFA World Cup in Germany. Thomas Edelkamp from Accor, Enrique Byrom from Byrom plc. and Marcus Kluessendorf from BTI will be in charge for the management of the joint venture, located in Frankfurt/Main.

The Accommodation Services is authorised officially by the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ Organising Committee. Together with a consortium in which the Deutsche Hotel- und Gaststättenverband (DEHOGA), the German Hotel Association (IHA) and leading hotel chains are represented, the joint venture will facilitate hotel stays for guests from all over the world and Germany during the 2006 FIFA World CupTM.

The declared goal of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ Accommodation Services is to make accommodation available specifically for 2006 FIFA World Cup™ guests at affordable prices through this cooperation. In addition, the joint venture and its partners want to establish Germany as a tourist destination well beyond the 2006 FIFA World CupTM. The composition of members of the joint venture and the consortium is designed to create a legacy from this major sporting event that will benefit the entire German hotel community for years to come.

The management of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Accommodation Services is consisting of the following persons:

• Thomas Edelkamp comes from Accor and is responsible for the areas of Public Relations, Sales and Marketing. After an 11-year assignment abroad in various sales positions in the hotel industrie, he was employed by Accor for seven years. On 1 July 2004, Thomas Edelkamp resigned his position as Senior Vice President for Sales for Accor and Dorint Hotels. As early as 1998, Accor gained valuable experience from participating in the organisation of the accommodation of a World Cup in France as well as other huge sports events and disposes this expertise to the hotel industry and the world of football. With 150,000 associates in 140 countries, Accor is the European leader and one of the world’s largest groups in travel, tourism and corporate services.

• Enrique Byrom from Byrom is responsible for the areas of IT and Operations. Byrom plc’s involvement with the FIFA World Cup commenced with the 1986 FIFA World CupTM in Mexico. It became the Official Accommodation partner for the 1994 and 2002 FIFA World Cups and has operated the FIFA Accommodation Office since 1994 in connection with all FIFA Events. In addition Byrom operates the Ryder Cup Travel Services and has acted as the official Accommodation provider for the Asian Football Confederation, the Olympic Council of Asia and the Commonwealth Games. Enrique Byrom and his team deliver turnkey solutions in the area of ticketing, accommodations and logistics.

• Marcus Klüssendorf from BTI Euro Lloyd is responsible for Finance, Administration, Legal, Controlling and Human Resources. Before he was named, he gathered international experience in the commercial area with Compaq and jobpilot GmbH. BTI Euro Lloyd is with 1100 employees and 150 subsidiaries (in nearly every one of the 12 FIFA-locations) one of the leading business travel providers in Germany. For ten years BTI Euro Lloyd has been operating, together with the German Football Federation, the Euro Lloyd DFB-Reisebüro GmbH, a joint venture, which organises all national and international travel for the German national team, their carers and official representatives, journalists, sponsors and conveyors as well as for the fan community.

The merging of the know-how of the three joint venture-partners creates enormous synergies for the benefit of foreign and domestic guests to the 2006 FIFA World CupTM.

The hotel industry is Germany's calling card. It will use the 2006 FIFA World CupTM in Germany to give the destination its due exposure - at fair prices and with perfect organisation. In short: "A time to make friends." ™