BERLIN -- Encouraged by others who have come out as gay, retired footballer Thomas Hitzlsperger is hoping going public will help make it easier for other sporting stars to do the same. Homosexuality is seen as a major taboo in some sports, while not so much in others. Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova, both openly gay, are two of the greatest tennis players in history. But big-time professional football, and the four major sports in the United States, are quite a different story -- at least for now. "(There is) a long way to go because we fear a reaction and we dont know what will happen. I cant imagine playing football and doing this at the same time," Hitzlsperger said in an interview with BBC Radio 4 on Thursday. Hitzlsperger, no longer active but still regarded as the biggest name in football to say he is gay, spent years playing professionally in England, Germany and Italy. He also represented Germany at the 2006 World Cup. His decision to go public was hailed overwhelmingly as a positive step in the German media as well as in England, reflecting the way attitudes have changed. British tabloid The Sun labeled him a "Winner" in a side-by-side cover photo with Manchester United defender Chris Smalling, who was called the "Loser" for wearing an outfit resembling a suicide bomber for a costume party. In Germany, Hitzlsperger has been commended for his courage. The countrys mass circulation daily Bild led with "Respect!" on its front page, a day after Hitzlsperger made his announcement in an interview with German newspaper Die Zeit. "Hopefully, by talking about it, it encourages some others, because they see they can still be professional football players, they can play at the highest level, and be gay," Hitzlsperger said in a video on his website. "Its not a contradiction, as Ive proved." Using anti-gay slurs and jokes on the sports field has been widely accepted as part of playing hard for years, so much so that in 1999 former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler made lewd anti-gay gestures during a game toward Graeme Le Saux, who was playing for Chelsea. Le Saux, who is straight, was labeled a homosexual by many simply because he used to read the left-leaning Guardian newspaper. On Thursday, in the wake of Hitzlspergers announcement, Fowler took to Twitter to express regret and apologize for his actions of nearly 15 years ago. "Getting a bit of stick for something that happened when I was a kid, naive and immature..Ive apologised to (at)graemelesaux14, he accepted," wrote Fowler, who has retired from football and become a television commentator. "Obviously embarrassed looking back, but sadly cannot change what happened, you learn from mistakes growing up, and that I have." Jason Collins, a former NBA player, came out last year and was regarded as the first active openly gay player in one of the big American sports. Like Hitzlsperger, Collins announcement was met mainly with praise, rather than abuse. Arjen Robben, the Dutchman who was a key player in leading the Netherlands to the World Cup final in 2010, downplayed stereotypes that athletes are scared to come out because they fear reprisals from teammates in the locker room. "Hes gay, and?" Robben said at a Bayern Munich practice session in Doha, Qatar. "I think its quite normal and natural. I can also say here, Im heterosexual. I dont see a problem." FIFA, the governing body of football around the world, acknowledged that there is still work to be done within the game itself. "Unfortunately, prejudices still exist within football," FIFA said in a statement. "FIFA is working hard to tackle these and hopes Thomass statements will encourage greater respect and understanding in football and beyond." Last February, American player Robbie Rogers declared he was gay as he announced his retirement. Rogers, now 26, has returned to action with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Former English player Justin Fashanu, who played for Norwich and Nottingham Forest, was the first football player to say openly that he was gay, in 1990. He committed suicide eight years later at age 37. Swedish defender Anton Hysen came out in 2011. "I dont know if football is such a homophobic environment. People just speculate this would be the case," Hitzlsperger told the BBC. "Since we havent seen a gay footballer in the Premier League or the Bundesliga, its hard to say that this would happen. We would have to wait and see." Hydro Flask Wide Mouth Flex Cap . Louis Blues have returned to the top spot in the TSN. Hydro Flask 32 Oz Black Friday . Thats when the eight-time champion revealed that a painful back is slowing his serves -- and, all in all, giving him more trouble than his opponents so far. http://www.hydroflask32oz.com/standard-mouth-sports-cap.html. - Rookie Kyle Larson will start from the pole position Saturday night in the NASCAR race at Richmond International Raceway after a thunderstorm arrived just in time to wash out qualifying. Hydro Flask 18 Oz Wide Mouth . PETERSBURG, Fla. Hydro Flask Coffee Sale . Lost to Los Angeles in first round of playoffs. TORONTO -- The Canadian Soccer Association released its 2014-18 strategic plan Thursday, with an eye on a huge prize further down the line. Hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup. "The process has to start now," CSA president Victor Montagliani said Thursday of a bid to stage "the grand-daddy of them all." Brazil is hosting the mens World Cup this summer, with Russia (2018) and Qatar (2022) in the wings. A 2026 bid would probably have to be filed around 2018. Canada is hosting the womens World Cup next year. Getting that right is key to being able to giving the mens tournament a shot. CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean, has not hosted the mens World Cup since the U.S. in 1994. "Were the only G-8 nation to not host the World Cup," Montagliani added. "Weve hosted almost every other event .. I think its time for Canada to step up to the plate." By next year, Canada will have hosted every FIFA event except for the world futsal, beach and club championships and Confederations Cup. Montagliani says the World Cup bid is part of the new blueprints strategy to encourage growth in the game in Canada. Such a bid goes hand in hand with reviving a national mens team that currently ranks 111th in the world, sandwiched between Bahrain and Guatemala. While the Canadian women turned heads with a bronze medal at the 2010 Olympics, the men have not won since being knocked out of World Cup qualifying in a 8-1 humiliation in Honduras in October 2012. A 2-0 loss in Slovenia last November stretched the Canadian mens winless streak to 14 games. Canada is 0-11-3 over the streak and hasnt scored in 10 games. The winless run has seen the Canadian men outscored 27-2. Canada has not won since a 3-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Cuba in Toronto four days before the Honduras debacle. In the national teams defence, Canada has played tough opposition in Australia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Japan, Mexico, Panama, Slovenia and the U.S. And coach Benito Floro has looked to young talent since taking over the squad last summer. Montagliani pointed to the U.S. successful bid for the 94 World Cup. "When they bid for the World Cup, I wouldnt say the game was in a healthy state in the U.S. both professionally and domestically. Their leadership group decided to put a bid together and I think that was a bit of a lightning rod for people to come together." A World Cup bid would require eight to 12 stadiums with 10 the optimum, according to CSA general secretary Peter Montopoli. All would have to accommodate at least 40,000 with more for the venue for the final. The CFLs recent trend towards new stadiums and plans to revamp BMO Field in Toronto help the CSA cause although much work would remain, not to mention questions about artificial surfaces. "There are a lot of requirements from a hosting perspective for a mens World Cup," Montopoli acknowledged. "Its massive." FIFA, CONCACAF and the federal sport minister are aware of the CSAs intentions, he added. "We have been trying to get to the prime minister. Hes busy. But we will be getting to the prime minister on this file." CONCACAF seems on board, tweeting its congratulations on the CSAs "ambitious new strategic plan." A bid to co-host the World Cup was possible, with the subjectt already having been raised with U.ddddddddddddS. Soccer, Montopoli said. With FIFA yet to issue its 2026 hosting guidelines, Montopoli said talk of a co-hosted bid "might be a little premature but it certainly is possible." The CSAs 2014-18 blueprint is titled "Leading a Soccer Nation." It is a pithy document divided into four goals with 27 sub-points. The four major goals are: 1) Invest in technical leadership. 2) Ensure consistent world-class performances by our national teams. 3) Govern the game in Canada professionally. 4) Encourage and oversee the grown of the game. The CSA plan also calls for mandating technical development across the country and establishing a national player database. The strategic plan was 18 months in the making with input coming from town hall meetings and an online survey (which got 3,000 responses). It also involved looking at the strategic plans of other sports in Canada including hockey, figure skating, volleyball and golf, as well as foreign soccer organizations from the U.S. and England to Mexico and the Netherlands. "Because we believe there was no point in re-inventing the wheel here," said Nick Bontis, director and chair of the CSAs strategic committee. Changes in CSA governance have made the association better able to institute its policies. The makeup of the CSA board is no longer made up of regional interests, with the emphasis on skill set rather than geography. Bontis says the new strategic plan will pay immediate dividends. "Weve never historically necessitated a certain behaviour by our provincial associations," said Bontis. "This strat (strategic) plan is the opposite. It necessitates certain behaviours." That includes provincial governance reform, investment in technical leadership and mandating provincial strategic plans. "Historically it was 10 different countries writing their own strat plans, their own technical plans, moving forward and somehow -- in some sort of magical way, Abracadabra -- the CSA was supposed to co-ordinate 10 national plans. That is something that needs to go away in the short-term." Bontis will be front and centre in the CSAs plan to create a national player database, allowing it to better leverage its 850,000-plus registered players. "We are in the year 2014 and we are archaic," he said. "Its an embarrassment how we register players across the country." "Harvesting a million registrants will have fundamental changes in the way we do business in soccer in Canada," he added. Players currently register with their local club, with the information and accompanying fees eventually flowing to the district and then the province and then the CSA. Bontis goal is for players to register nationally online, establishing a connection directly with the national program. Canada Soccer previously prepared a hosting bid for the 1986 FIFA World Cup, which was originally awarded to Colombia but then went to Mexico. That tournament marks Canadas lone participation in the event. Canada hosted the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1987 (then known as the FIFA U-16 World Tournament), the U-20 Womens World Cup in 2002 and the U-20 World Cup in 2007. This summer will see another edition of the U-20 Womens World Cup in Canada with the Womens World Cup to follow in 2015. ' ' '