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Interpretation at the FIFA World Cup 2002

Our editor, Jean-Pierre Allain, met with Thomas Binder, Chief Interpreter of FIFA, and asked him some questions.

J-P. Allain: Thomas, you are the Chief Interpreter during the FIFA Congress and the World Cup 2002 in Korea and Japan. What is your role?

Thomas Binder: I am a service-provider to a premium client. My responsibility is to provide top-quality multilingual communication whenever and wherever required. That means at the congress, committee meetings, press conferences, for public-relations meetings, private meetings, personal contacts. And also trouble shooting. And all this in either simultaneous, consecutive or whispered interpretation - the whole array of our work.

JPA: Why does FIFA need simultaneous interpretation for its meetings? Don’t all sports people speak English well enough?

TB: No, not all of them. And they are grateful that we are around. While many members of FIFA Committees and Congress participants as well as the top people in sports are amazingly fluent in English, they gladly rely on top-notch professional interpreters for the ultimate precision in communication. A look at the media over the last few weeks will tell you that interpreting which will leave not even the shadow of a doubt has been of paramount importance in this particular context.

JPA: What languages are used at the FIFA Congress and related meetings? How many teams of interpreters are needed?

TB: Eight languages for the Congress: English, German, French, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic. Plus Korean and Japanese for other meetings. This involves some thirty interpreters in up to three teams working at different venues with anything from two to six languages.

JPA: Is it easy to find the interpreters you need for the meetings in Korea and Japan? Can you find them in those two countries?

TB: Japanese and Korean, yes, but for the other languages I have to get them from other countries and it is not always easy to find good interpreters at very short notice.

JPA: Why is that?

TB: We have outstanding AIIC colleagues in this part of the world and several of them are, of course, present. But there are not enough in Asia-Pacific with all the other required language combinations. This event is so big that I have to bring along interpreters from Europe and Australia.

JPA: What qualities do you look for in interpreters when you make up a team?

TB: Unquestionable professional quality ranks first. So I pick interpreters from among the 2500 members of AIIC throughout the world. Second is team-spirit. It’s a bit like football: The better the spirit, the better you perform. And then, of course, I must look for resilience. Colleagues must deliver top intellectual performance even when subject to jet-lag, stress and constantly changing venues and technical conditions. We’re lucky to have so many colleagues who cope amazingly well with these challenges.

JPA: For how many years have you been the Consultant Interpreter for FIFA? Is it an easy task?

TB: Seven exciting years by now. It is the greatest professional challenge in my life. And I accept it gladly, although there seem to be a miriad of details to remember for an event like the FIFA World Cup 2002. But all this is made easy by the professional attitude of my colleagues and thanks to the outstanding cooperation with FIFA’s staff. And, by the way, we occasionally allow ourselves to enjoy the unique adventure of this World Cup. We are certainly making memories.

JPA: What do your clients, FIFA and others, expect to get from you as a Consultant Interpreter?

TB: There is a clear tendency to outsource highly specialised services like ours. This means that my clients entrust me with worldwide planning and coordination. This saves them a lot of hassle - and manpower too. They have realised that truly professional interpreting is not a cost but a sound investment in communication. And my teams must live up to that mission, day after day.

Good luck at the World Cup!

One of the beautiful Korean temples close to the venue of the FIFA meetings.