ZURICH, June 27 - FIFA have relaxed a ruling they made last month and will allow international matches to be played at an altitude of up to 3,000 metres (9,800 feet) above sea level rather than 2,500 metres (8,200 feet).

"There has been a huge political discussion around this decision, although it was taken solely to protect the players," FIFA president Sepp Blatter told a news conference following an executive committee meeting on Wednesday.

"We have spoken again to our medical commission who told us there is a margin concerning the medical issues and that with a specific tolerance limit we could go up to under 3,000 metres."

FIFA's original decision to prevent internationals being played at 2,500 metres and above led to widespread protests in several South American countries including Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.

The South American football confederation, which has three members on the FIFA executive, disagreed with the ban following its own meeting earlier this month.

VIGOROUS CAMPAIGN

The new ruling will still prevent matches from taking place in La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, which is 3,600 metres (11,800 feet) above sea level and where oxygen levels are considerably lower than at sea level.

However it does mean that Quito (2,800 metres) and Bogota (2,600 metres), the capitals of Ecuador and Colombia can stage matches.

Bolivian president Evo Morales, who has led a vigorous campaign against the ban, is due to meet Blatter at FIFA's Zurich headquarters on Thursday.

"First and foremost I will welcome him to FIFA as the president of a country and then I will inform him of the executive commiteee's decision in the same terms I have used today," Blatter said.

Blatter said that FIFA would host a medical conference on sport in extreme conditions in October that would look not only at the issue of high altitude but also those of heat, cold and humidity.

"As well as the medical aspect we must also consider the sporting aspects," Blatter added.

"If a national team invites another team to play exclusively at 3,600 metres then it has to do with sports ethics and we must have an equal playing field."