LA PAZ, Bolivia (Reuters) – Bolivia’s players stayed away from yesterday’s first practice for this month’s World Cup qualifiers in line with their boycott of the national team.

“None of the 22 who were called up has attended (the practice) nor will they,” Milton Melgar, general secretary of the players’ union Fabol told Reuters.

Bolivia, out of the running for a place in the 2010 finals in South Africa, are at home to qualified Brazil on October 11 and away to eliminated Peru on October 14.

Melgar, a former Bolivia midfielder, had confirmed on Wednesday the players would boycott the national team in demand of sweeping changes in the running of football in Bolivi

Fabol wants a single authority rather than the three separate bodies in charge of the country’s football. The League (LFPB) organises the professional game, the National Association (ANF) is in charge of amateur soccer and the Bolivian Football Federation (FBF) does administrative tasks.

“Bolivian football is in a deep crisis and as long as our proposals are not put into practice, the whole country’s professional footballers … indefinitely refuse to represent our national team,” Fabol said when they first announced the boycott in mid-September after the previous qualifiers.

BFB spokesman Javier Silva told Reuters that coach Erwin Sanchez and his staff also did not turn up having been told of the players’ no-show.

“We can’t see an immediate solution,” Melgar said, but added that talks are going on involving the government’s vice-minister for sports.

Silva denied players not heeding the national team call would be punished and did not say what teams Bolivia would put out against Brazil and Peru if the boycott was not lifted.

CLAUSURA FINALISTS
In the Clausura championship on Wednesday night, three players were sent off as Bolivar beat The Strongest 2-1 at home in a La Paz derby to reach the final.

Bolivar, who won the two-leg tie 4-2 on aggregate, will meet Blooming, who beat Oriente Petrolero 1-0 to go through on the away goals rule having lost the first leg 3-2 last weekend.

Bolivar midfielder Leonel Reyes and defender Federico Garcia of The Strongest were sent off for fighting just before the hour and the visiting side’s defender Juan Vaca was dismissed in the 72nd minute for a bad foul.

Bolivar’s Brazilian substitute Charles Da Silva scored their winner six minutes from time, two minutes after coming on, while Argentine striker Damian Akerman scored the only goal in the Santa Cruz derby at Blooming.
The two-leg final will be played on October 18 and 21.