FIFA media release - The FIFA Emergency Committee, which convened to ratify matters related to the Olympic Football Tournaments Athens 2004, announced today that it had given its formal approval of the venue and kick-off time for the men's Final, as well as the format and match schedule for the women's competition.

Today's announcement confirmed that the Final of the Men's Olympic Football Tournament would take place on Saturday, 28 August 2004 in Athens' Olympic Stadium at 10:00 instead of 12:00. The decision to play the match two hours earlier than originally scheduled - taken in the interests of players' health - will provide the benefit of cooler mid-morning temperatures on the pitch.

The FIFA Emergency Committee also approved the adoption of a modified format and match schedule for the Women's Olympic Football Tournament. The group stage of the 10-team competition will be played with two groups of three and one group of four, with eight teams advancing to the knockout quarter-final stage. The new schedule allows fans to enjoy women's group round games as double-headers with men's matches and sets the women's Final for Thursday, 26 August 2004 at 21:00 in the Athens football venue at Karaiskaki.

The decisions taken ratified the agreements that resulted from the executive-level working group meeting between FIFA, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games Athens 2004 (ATHOC) that took place in Zurich on 15 July 2003.

During the meeting, ATHOC also assured FIFA that the development of the Athens football venue at Karaiskaki would be completed on time, and that the venue would be available by the end of June 2004. FIFA welcomed these assurances, indicated its satisfaction with the current schedule, and expressed its confidence in ATHOC's ability to deliver as promised.

The joint meeting was attended by FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, FIFA Chairman of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Football Tournaments and IOC member Issa Hayatou, IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli, ATHOC Sports General Manager Makis Assimakopoulous and Football Tournaments Manager Patrick Comninos, FIFA General Secretary Dr. Urs Linsi, as well as additional staff members from the FIFA administration. For more information: FIFA Media Department - Tel.: +41-1/254 98 00 - Fax: +41-1/254 97 02 -

E-Mail: media@fifa.org

FIFA Communications Division / Zurich, 28 July 2003 / 2003-0081- FIFA-IOC-ATHOC-Decisions -E

Olympic Football Tournaments: FIFA Emergency Committee approves venue and kick-off time for men's Final as well as format for women's competition

Zurich, 28 July 2003 -The FIFA Emergency Committee, which convened to ratify matters related to the Olympic Football Tournaments Athens 2004, announced today that it had given its formal approval of the venue and kick-off time for the men's Final, as well as the format and match schedule for the women's competition.

Today's announcement confirmed that the Final of the Men's Olympic Football Tournament would take place on Saturday, 28 August 2004 in Athens' Olympic Stadium at 10:00 instead of 12:00. The decision to play the match two hours earlier than originally scheduled - taken in the interests of players' health - will provide the benefit of cooler mid-morning temperatures on the pitch.

The FIFA Emergency Committee also approved the adoption of a modified format and match schedule for the Women's Olympic Football Tournament. The group stage of the 10-team competition will be played with two groups of three and one group of four, with eight teams advancing to the knockout quarter-final stage. The new schedule allows fans to enjoy women's group round games as double-headers with men's matches and sets the women's Final for Thursday, 26 August 2004 at 21:00 in the Athens football venue at Karaiskaki.

The decisions taken ratified the agreements that resulted from the executive-level working group meeting between FIFA, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games Athens 2004 (ATHOC) that took place in Zurich on 15 July 2003.

During the meeting, ATHOC also assured FIFA that the development of the Athens football venue at Karaiskaki would be completed on time, and that the venue would be available by the end of June 2004. FIFA welcomed these assurances, indicated its satisfaction with the current schedule, and expressed its confidence in ATHOC's ability to deliver as promised.

The joint meeting was attended by FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, FIFA Chairman of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Football Tournaments and IOC member Issa Hayatou, IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli, ATHOC Sports General Manager Makis Assimakopoulous and Football Tournaments Manager Patrick Comninos, FIFA General Secretary Dr. Urs Linsi, as well as additional staff members from the FIFA administration.

BELFAST: Oceania's two representatives at the Northern Ireland Milk Cup finished on a good note with Samoa taking out the tournament's prestigious Fair play award while for the second consecutive time, Otago were able to survive a tense penalty shootout to record its second win finishing fifth overall in the Premier Division (U17).

For Samoa, being awarded the Fair play award ahead of the huge number of other teams in the tournament was some consolation for failing to win a single match. The award came about through the collective discipline of all the players in the team. Samoa lost its last match in the Junior Division playoffs, 0-7, to Cherry Orchard, conceding four goals in the first half.

But their effort was not overlooked by the appreciative Irish spectators who gave a resounding ovation for the Samoans when coach David Brand was presented the award. The Samoans proved hugely popular at the Milk Cup and through their cheery smiles, warmed to the hearts of the locals and helped make this year's tournament the success it was.

Otago on the other hand, showed spirit and determination to come out on top for their second victory in almost carbon copy circumstances. Against NK Factor in the Dunluce Trophy playoff for 5th and 6th place, Otago fought out a tough 0-0 draw after regulation and extra time. And with the pressure on, the New Zealanders again rose to the occasion to win the penalty shootout 7-6. Finishing fifth in the premier division was a good result after the team suffered early defeats which put them out of the Milk Cup finals.

In other results, Brazil were upset by fellow South Americans Paraguay 2-3 in the Elite Division final played in front of 2,000 people at Coleraine. In the Premier Division final, glamour English club Manchester United were pushed right to the end to win on a golden goal against Preston North End. And in the Junior Division final, Argentinean club Racing beat Scottish team Hearts 1-0.

OFC, Belfast: There was much to celebrate at the Northern Ireland Milk Cup yesterday with Otago recording its first win of the tournament, albeit a close shave against Dundalk where the final result was decided on penalties.

However, patches of brilliance were not enough for Oceania's other representative as Samoa fell to its fifth straight loss, a demure 0-4 result against Irish county side Fermanagh.

The Otago team competing in the premier (under seventeen) division got some consolation for missing out on the Milk Cup finals by edging out Dundalk, 5-3 on penalties, after the match had finished a 2-2 draw at the end of regulation time. The New Zealand side now advances to the Premier Northern Bank Dunluce Trophy 5/6th playoff with NK Factor on 25 July at 10:30am (local time).

Samoa will play its final match against Cherry Orchard in the Junior (under fifteen) Division Northern Bank Dunluce Trophy 7/8th Playoff on 25 July at 10:30am. It will be the young Samoans last chance to grab its first international scalp before the long trip home.

But according to Samoan coach David Brand, they will have to play a lot smarter, even though a win would have been considered a bonus to the more realistic goal of improving the finer points of their game. Coming off a credible performance in their 0-1 loss in the previous game, the self-belief that had been instilled in the team was forgotten as old habits creeped back against County Fermanagh yesterday.

Samoa as expected came out with loads of enthusiasm and came close to scoring on a couple of occasions, however the quality of finishing was again poor. In one memorable moment, Seti Talalelei made a break and with the last line of defence breached and the goal keeper at his mercy he butchered the shot on goal.

The patient Irish playing at home weathered the initial onslaught and with half-time looming pounced on some lazy defence to score a sensational goal from close to 25 metres out. The Samoans were guilty for ball watching as the legs began to tire and paid the price. Then in a flash, the Scots had rattled in two more goals - which saw the score inflate to 3-0.

No doubt fuming at the break to concede a hat trick of goals in a five minute period, Brand's tirade latched on. But though the Samoans competed well in the second half, the laziness of mind again crept back to haunt them just before the final whistle when a spectacularly taken free kick sailed into Samoa's box for a Scots player to blast past the replacement goal keeper who had no chance.

The positive aspect of the match from a Samoan perspective was they were more enterprising on attack and confident on the ball. But lapses in concentration and inability to read the game, especially on derence, was their eventual downfall.

Photo: Some of the locals join the Samoa U15 players in performing a traditional Samoan war dance called the 'siva tau' at the Milk Cup in Belfast, Northern Ireland. photo courtesy NIMilk Cup Website.

OFC: Following a promising trend which has seen them improve with every match so far in the Northern Ireland Milk Cup, the Samoa national U15 team came within a whisker of a possible upset victory over Kilmarnock yesterday, going down eventually 1-0 courtesy of a questionable penalty decision.

The 0-1 loss was a morale boosting result for Samoa, albeit an indicator it had the potential to hold its own amongst more illustrious opposition. Having suffered three consecutive losses during the group rounds which effectively put them out of the contention for the Milk Cup, the performance against Kilmarnock is a positive step forward and confidence booster ahead of its consolation playoff match against County Fermanagh in the Dunluce Trophy junior round, later today.

Samoa coach David Brand was left to rue several missed chances, but was pleased overall with the players attitude in yesterday's match. The Scots came out with every intention of racking up some quick goals, but led by impressive goalkeeper Romeo Sa, the Samoans shut them out with vigour and showed more urgency, particularly on defence.

Sticking to their opposition like glue, the Samoans made sure there would be no easy goals and with half-time in sight and no score, a new belief could be sensed in their play which may have worried the disbelieving Scots and the many Irish supporters who by now had warmed to the Samoans.

"Holding them out and even making our own attacks in their own half gave the boys a lot of confidence and had they played that way in the earlier games, I doubt whether they would have lost by so much," Brand shared.

But as fate would deal its cruel hand, a soft challenge by a Samoan defender in the box led to the referee awarding a fortuitous penalty right before the stroke of half-time. Romeo Sa had no show in saving the shot and the Scots finally broke the deadlock. The second half saw the more determined Samoans gain the upper-hand but their inexperience caused them to rush shots on goal and bomb many other scoring opportunities. Content in defending their score, the Scots played out the clock and walked away relieved they hadn't been on the end of the upset of the tournament.

"It was a collective good effort with nobody in particular standing out above the others, but what we need to do is learn to read the game which can't be done when these boys do not watch the real thing on television - they have nothing to emulate except what they see in the local competitions which is not a proper educational tool at the stage of development they are currently in," added Brand.

The Samoan team was invited last night with other teams to a Milk Cup function in Belfast hosted by the Mayoress of Belfast, Ann Brolly. There they entertained the visitors and hosts with renditions of their war dance and traditional songs. While they are yet to win a match, the Samoans have been winners off the pitch with their colourful personalities.

In other news, Oceania's other team at the Milk, the Otago youth team, competing in the Premier (U-17) division, dropped their fourth straight match losing heavily to Dynamo Kiev 0-5. They are now in the Dunluce Trophy having dropped out of contention for the Milk Cup final rounds.

OFC: Three match officials from the OFC have been appointed to the FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland from 13-30 August 2003.

Referee Charles Ariiotima and assistant referee, Daniel Tauaroa, both from Tahiti, will join Vanuatu assistant referee, Gray Vuke, in Finland. It will be the first appointment to a FIFA tournament for the threesome.

The 37 year-old Ariiotima was last active at the recent South Pacific Games in Fiji. He was also appointed to other recent OFC tournaments and World Cup qualifiers such as the OFC U-17 Qualifying Tournament and the OFC Nations Cup 2002 in Auckland. In the latter tournament he was the man in the middle for the final between New Zealand and Australia.

The 35 year-old Tauaroa was last active at the 2002 OFC U-20 Qualifying (Group B) tournament in Fiji while Vuke, 34, was recently appointed to the OFC Women's World Cup Qualifying tournament in Canberra in April this year. The trio have been on the FIFA referees list since 2000.

The 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship will be the first time ever a match in a FIFA competition will be played on artificial turf. The Australia national U-17 team, which will be representing the OFC in Finland has already played on the surface after playing the hosts in a friendly international at Helsinki's Töölö stadium in June.

(ends)

For more information, please contact:

Peter Rees

OFC Competitions/Media

Oceania Football Confederation

Ericsson Stadium

Penrose, Auckland

NEW ZEALAND

Tel: (+64) 9 525 8161

Fax: (+64) 9 525 8164

Mob: (+64) 21 189 3518 or 021 189 3518 (in NZ)

Email: rees@ofcfoot.org.nz

Website: www.oceaniafootball.com

OFC: The Samoa and Otago youth teams both lost their third consecutive matches of the group qualifying section yesterday and are now out of contention for the Milk Cup quarterfinals in Northern Ireland.

Samoa, competing in the junior division, went down 0-7 (0-3 half-time) to English side Preston North End while Otago, competing in the premier division, lost 0-2 to local side County Armagh.

For Samoa, it was another improved performance after their 0-11 thrashing at the hands of County Armagh in their first match on 19 July. Playing tougher teams such as Scottish side Livingston (losing 0-7) and yesterday against Preston North End, the Samoan team have performed better.

Samoa showed more attacking enterprise with better use of the little possession it did get, forcing four corners and scoring a goal just before the full-time, only to have the goal disallowed for off-side. The local Irish spectators, who were right in behind the Samoa team voiced their disapproval at the referee's decision.

Samoan coach David Brand singled out captain Dominiko Tokuma, goal keeper Romeo Sa and Aki Selave as the standout players.

Otago has also found out just how competitive the Milk Cup is, going down in its three matches without scoring a goal. The top quality teams it faced, including Manchester United would be an eye opener for the players and a reminder of the high standard of youth football outside of New Zealand.

The young Samoans will also learn from the Milk Cup experience being the future of the game in the small South Pacific island nation. Brand stayed in a positive frame of mind, saying the boys had improved with every outing against opposing teams that far exceeded them in experience and resources.

"We were proud to have been given this opportunity to represent Oceania and while the results were not so pleasing, the impact of being exposed to football at this level cannot be underestimated and not replicated had we not taken part at all in the Milk Cup," explained Brand.

"The Milk Cup made a big impression on the players and I believe they are more motivated than ever to improve their game as their eyes have been opened to the opportunities that exist. I just hope we can get more exposure in Samoa through television coverage and taking part in more overseas tournaments."

The Milk Cup attracts an estimated 100,000 players and spectators annually. The tournament is in its 21st year and is now regarded as one of the world's premier youth football tournaments with over 56 teams from five continents taking part this year.

LIMAVADY: Samoa went down in its second match at the Milk Cup yesterday, but it was a much better performance against Scottish youth side Livingston, who were rated as a stronger team than Samoa's first up opponents, County Armagh.

Samoa succumbed to a 0-11 loss to County Armagh, but showed some improvement against Livingston going down 0-7 at Roe Mill, Limavady. Livingston scored an early goal within the first five minutes, but Samoa were able to rally and show better retention of the ball and it was not till a few minutes before the break until the more experienced Scots were able to score again.

Facing a two goal deficit at the break, Livingston came out firing and scored almost as soon as play had resumed. As the game wore on, the tiring legs of the Samoans took its toll as Livingston cruised home scoring four more goals to outclass their Oceania opponents in the end.

Samoan coach David Brand was optimistic despite his side crashing to yet another loss which almost effectively ends its chances of making the quarterfinals.

"As I have said before, the results are not what is most important because we all know there is such a huge gap between us and the rest of the teams," Brand explained to oceaniafootball.com.

"What matters is whether the team improves and develops throughout this tournament and based on this result, we can be happy with some positives and obviously look at the negatives and try and rectify and in the following game. The boys played with more heart and listened to instructions so I am happy with that aspect."

Savaii-born striker Tuula Puleaiga played well for the Samoans showing his more illustrious opponents that the Samoans did have flair in abundance when it got a chance to use it. Athletic goal keeper Romeo Sa was also instrumental in keeping the score respectable with a number of good saves.

Samoa plays its last match today against English team Preston North End and Brand will hope the boys can put in one last effort before returning home.

While the impact of the young Samoans on the pitch has been limited, their impact off the pitch has added spice to the tournament. The team attended a church service at the Ballykelly Methodist Church and also made an impression with the locals during the official opening parade on the streets of Colraine wearing their traditional attire and entertaining bystanders with their singing. The team has also followed the lead of other Samoan national teams in other sports by performing its own war dance or siva tau as it is more well known.

In other news, Oceania's other team at the Milk Cup, the Otago Youth team from New Zealand fell to its second consecutive defeat, 0-4, yesterday at Ballymoney, this time at the hands of English glamour club Manchester United.

BELFAST: The Samoa and Otago youth teams both went down in their first up matches at the Northern Ireland Milk Cup on Saturday, 19 July.

Samoa were overwhelmed by local side Country Armagh 11-0 Mourneview Park, Lurgan, while Otago put up a good fight but were beaten by Greek side Panathinaikos 1-0 at Rugby Avenue Stadium, Coleraine.

The inexperienced Samoan under fifteen team, who are in the junior division of the Milk Cup, were outclassed by County Armagh and were down 3-0 in as many minutes after a nervous start. By half-time the score-line had reached 7-0.

But after a rev up from coach David Brand at the break, the young Samoan team came out and played much more confidently in the second half. They showed more competitiveness and gained their share of the possession, but were unable to score.

Brand was disappointed as expected afterwards but admitted he had expected more from his young charges with the final score not reflective of their ability.

"Many of them did not stand up today and played with little purpose which hurts. After so much hard work on the training field it is hard to accept," he told oceaniafootball.com afterwards.

"However I guess I must be realistic and we were outplayed by a much better side that have been playing for many years. Many of our boys have only played a handful of games. Hopefully they will learn from this."

Samoa will next play Scottish side Livingston on 21 July at the Roe Mill 2, Limavady at 4:00pm (local NIR time). The Otago youth side could be forgiven for having mixed feelings on their next match, also on 21 July, which sees them faced against arguably the world's most famous soccer club, Manchester United, at Cricket Park, Ballymoney at 4:00pm (local NIR time). In the early 1990's, a youngish David Beckham played for Manchester United at the Milk Cup.

FIFA has released its inaugural FIFA women's ranking with the United States not surprisingly ranked number one. The USA won the last World Cup when it hosted the event in 1999. And because of the SARS threat in Asia, they get to host it once again this September after it was moved from China.

The other countries in the top ten include (in this order); Norway, Germany, China PR, Sweden, Brazil, Korea DPR, Denmark, France and Italy.

The highest ranked OFC nation is Australia in 15th place. The Matildas will look to improve that ranking when it represents Oceania at the FIFA Women's World Cup USA 2003 which runs from 20 September till 12 October.

New Zealand rates next highest of the OFC nations ranked just outside the top twenty at number 21. Papua New Guinea has a credible ranking of 59 which places it above nations such as Uruguay, South Africa and Northern Ireland. Cook Islands (91) and Samoa (94) round out the OFC nations listed out of the 102 nations in total. It is noted only those countries that took part in the 2003 OFC Women's World Cup Qualifiers in Canberra in April this year have been ranked.

According to FIFAworldcup.com, The World Ranking is determined on the basis of a performance rating that takes account of such factors as results, home advantage, importance of each match, and the difference in the strength of the two teams involved.

The inaugural ranking has been calculated using a comprehensive database of over 3,000 matches played between 1971 and the present. FIFA has high hopes that the FIFA Women's World Ranking will add further impetus to the sport, while also providing an accurate yardstick for comparing the 100+ national teams that are currently active and a starting point for statistical analysis of women's football.

The "Big Count" FIFA conducted in 2001 indicated that there are 22 million active women footballers worldwide. Ninety-nine teams participated in the recently completed preliminary rounds of the FIFA Women's World Cup, more than twice the number that took part in the qualifiers for the first FIFA Women's World Cup in China 12 years ago.

Calculated and managed by FIFA in collaboration with international sports information provider Infostrada Sports, the ranking will appear four times each year.

The next FIFA Women's World Ranking will be published on 29 August 2003.

NOUMEA: The New Caledonia football team has earned praise at home and abroad despite falling short at the last hurdle to gold medal winners Fiji at the South Pacific Games last Friday.

Not rated a chance before the tournament, New Caledonia showed the benefits of having a well organised high standard domestic national league and a tough warm up tour of Australia prior to arriving in Fiji.

Led by captain, Jean-Marc Case, one of the standout players of the South Pacific Games, the team showed attacking flair and impeccable team work to stun defending champions Tahiti, contenders Papua New Guinea as well as Tonga and Federated States of Micronesia in group play, before edging past Vanuatu in the semi-finals.

Faced against hosts Fiji in the gold medal playoff in front of over 10,000 spectators, New Caledonia's fairytale run came to an end after heavy rain prior to kick-off ruined any chance of an open spectacle. With both teams having to cope in the treacherous conditions, the physical style imposed by the Fijians won out over New Caledonia's passing game which was never suited to the conditions.

Federation de Nouvelle Caledonie president, Claude Fournier, was disappointed at the final result but paid tribute the team's excellent result in getting as far as they did conceding the conditions in the gold medal playoff were not favourable.

Coach Serge Martinengo De Novack also agreed that the conditions were a leveller for his team who were not used to playing in those conditions. But he was none the less pleased with the progress the team had made and making the final put to rest the disappointment of the poor performance of the team at last year's OFC Nations Cup in Auckland.