ASA: National Youth Coach Ange Postecoglou has announced Australia's squad that will compete at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship to be held next month in the United Arab Emirates. The squad features six overseas-based players and 14 players from the National Soccer League.

The only new face in the squad is Newcastle United midfielder Jobe Wheelhouse with all other players having played for the Qantas Young Socceroos during the Oceania qualifying campaign last December. Wheelhouse and Alex Brosque (pictured right) were included in the squad, depsite missing last week's two-match series in the United Arab Emirates with injury.

Mile Jedinak (pictured front), Mark Milligan and Steve Pantelidis and Anthony Danze, who all featured in the Under 20's for the first time in the UAE, have also made the final 20-man squad.

The 20-man Australian Under-20 Squad is: -

Goalkeepers:

Nathan Coe (Inter Milan, Italy), Tom Willis (Newcastle United)

Defenders:

Alex Wilkinson (Northern Spirit), Mark Milligan (Northern Spirit), David Tarka (Nottingham Forest, England), Wayne Heath (Brisbane Strikers), Steve Pantelidis (Melbourne Knights)

Midfielders:

Spase Dilevski (Rot Weiss Essen, Germany), Massimo Murdocca (South Melbourne), Carl Valeri (Inter Milan, Italy), Matthew McKay (Brisbane Strikers), Jobe Wheelhouse (Newcastle United), Jonathon Richter (Northern Spirit), Dustin Wells (Wollongong Wolves), Vince Lia (South Melbourne), Mile Jedinak (Varteks, Croatia), Anthony Danze (Perth Glory)

Forwards:

Scott McDonald (Wimbledon, England), Alex Brosque (Marconi Stallions), Michael Baird (Sydney Olympic)

Stand-by Players:

David Carney (Dunfermline, Scotland), Mitchell Johnson (Newcastle United), Franco Parisi (Sydney United)

Prior to the 2003 FIFA World Your Championship the Qantas Young Socceroos will compete in a four team tournament in South Korea with matches against Colombia, Slovakia and the host nation, before a final match in Japan completes the pre-tournament schedule.

The full tour itinerary is as follows:

Sunday 2 November - Australian based players depart

Tuesday 4 November (4.30pm) - Australia v Colombia,

Suwon, South Korea (4 Nation Tournament)

Thursday 6 November (4.30pm) - Australia v Slovakia,

Suwon, South Korea (4 Nation Tournament)

Saturday 8 November (3pm) - South Korea v Australia,

Suwon, South Korea (4 Nation Tournament)

Wednesday 12 November - Japan v Australia,

Japan (Friendly International)

Friday 28 November (8.30pm) - Australia v Czech Republic,

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (FIFA World Youth Championship)

Monday 1 December (5.45pm) - Australia v Canada,

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (FIFA World Youth Championship)

Thursday 4 December (5.45pm) - Australia v Brazil,

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (FIFA World Youth Championship)

(N.B. all times are local time)

The 24-team tournament will be held between November 27 - December 19 with Australia's Group (Group C) to be played entirely in the Northern city of Dubai.

Australia qualified for the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship after winning the Oceania qualifying tournament in December last year.

The 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship was initially due to be held in March/April but was postponed due to the situation in the Middle East at the time.

Many of the current Qantas Socceroos have played at the tournament in the early part of their international careers. Players such as Mark Viduka, Brett Emerton, Craig Moore, Paul Okon as well as current national team coach Frank Farina have all helped Australia be one of the most successful nations at Under-20 level.

Australia is set to compete for the 11th time at the FIFA World Youth Championship having missed only three tournaments in the 26-year history of the competition.

OFC: There were no gains for any of the eleven member OFC national associations in the latest FIFA rankings for October. Despite some positive recent results, top ranked OFC nation, Australia dropped even further, 24 places down to 74th which now ranks them just two places above New Zealand in second place.

The remaining countries all conceded ground also but the pecking order remained largely the same with Tahiti the best of the island nations at 127 and American Samoa bringing up the rear. For the complete OFC rankings, visit the FIFA.com website or click on this link http://www.fifa.com/en/rank/results.ofc.html

The latest FIFA women's rankings were also released with no real changes except Australia who dropped one ranking to 16 after its recent World Cup campaign in the USA where they failed to advance past the group stage. Australia is still the only OFC nation ranked in the top 20 with second place New Zealand not far behind on 21.

Tonga are the best of the island nations surprisingly ahead of Papua New Guinea on 54 to be the third best in the OFC. Samoa is the bottom ranked women's nation at 99. Click on this link for a complete look at the FIFA women's ranking. http://www.fifa.com/en/rank/w/index.html

ranking based on matches played up to 19.10.2003

FIFA.com: FIFA has appointed 23 referees and 25 assistant referees to officiate at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship (for U-20 national teams) to be held from 27 November to 19 December in the United Arab Emirates.

The competition, originally scheduled to take place from 25 March to 16 April 2003 had to be postponed due to the armed conflict in the Gulf region.

Representing the OFC is Australian trio, referee Matthew Breeze and assistant referees Matthew Cream and Nathan Gibson (see their profiles below). Australia is also representing the OFC at the tournament. Dubbed the Young Socceroos, they were impressive in the Oceania qualifiers last December and have just come off a draw and win in a warm-up series against the UAE.

For a full list of match officials for this tournament click on the following link on the FIFA.com website.

http://www.fifa.com/en/comp/event/referees/all,2003,1046.html . FIFA.com features a comprehensive section on the upcoming competition and will provide full coverage during the event itself.

OFC MATCH OFFICIAL PROFILES:

Matthew Breeze

Date of birth: 10-Jun-1972

Height & weight: 185 cm, 82 kg

Place of residence: Sydney-Australia

Marital status: Married

Occupation: Police prosecutor

Mother tongue: English

Int'l Referee since: 2001

Hobbies: Music, golf and cricket

Fondest memory: When first selected for the FIFA referees' list in 2001

Nathan Gibson

Date of birth: 17-Aug-1972

Height & weight: 195 cm, 90 kg

Place of residence: Taree- Australia

Marital status: Married

Occupation: Production manager

Mother tongue: English

Int'l Referee since: 2001

Hobbies: Cricket and golf

Fondest memory: Receiving my first FIFA badge

Matthew Cream

Date of birth: 19-Jun-1975

Height & weight: 178 cm, 60 kg

Place of residence: Adelaide - Australia

Marital status: Single

Occupation: Laboratory technician

Mother tongue: English

Other languages: Italian

Int'l Referee since: 2000

Hobbies: Sports, travel and music

Fondest memory: 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan Preliminary match between Iran and Saudi Arabia

OFC, Auckland: The Acting President of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), Mr Tautulu Roebeck, has been granted observer status on the FIFA executive committee replacing former president, Basil Scarsella.

The decision was made in Doha, Qatar prior to the FIFA extraordinary congress on 19-20 October 2003.

In his new function, Mr Roebeck will attend future FIFA executive committee meetings alongside the OFC delegate to the FIFA Executive Committee, currently Mr `Ahongalu Fusimalohi of Tonga.

Returning from Doha last week, Mr Roebeck said he was elated with his appointment and was pleased with the outcome of a meeting between himself and the FIFA president, Joseph S. Blatter, where he took the opportunity to outline key areas the OFC will be focussing its efforts in the months ahead.

"It was a fruitful meeting and to be acknowledged in this manner was recognition of our commitment to move forward and bring stability to the region," explained Mr Roebeck.

"Our confederation has identified areas of focus, especially in the area of youth development where priority must be given, and I hope to make a difference in my new role."

The Samoan-born Roebeck led an OFC delegation which also comprised Australian Soccer Association representative, Mr Michael Thompson, making a presentation to the Bureau for the FIFA World Cup 2006 on proposed qualifying paths for Oceania. While a final decision was postponed till December in Frankfurt, Germany, where the World Cup Organising Committee and FIFA executive committee would next meet, Mr Roebeck remained positive.

"The outcome may not have gone our way in Doha, but a final decision is still pending," he said.

"Until then, we will be reviewing our proposal with FIFA and hope to reach an amicable solution that reflects fair play for all."

COURTESY FIFA.com: Doha, Qatar -The Goal Bureau met in Doha on 15 October under the chairmanship of Mohamed Bin Hammam (Qatar) and in the presence of FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter.

During this meeting, the Bureau approved or confirmed 25 new projects, at a total cost of USD 10 million, for FIFA's Goal development programme:

Asia (7): Afghanistan, China PR, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Chinese Taipei, Iraq, Thailand.

Africa (7): Congo DR, Egypt, Gabon, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tunisia.

North, Central America and Caribbean (5): Anguilla, Guadeloupe and Martinique (in coordination with the French Football Federation), Jamaica, St. Lucia.

South America (2): Brazil, Chile.

Oceania (1): Tahiti.

Europe (3): Bulgaria, Northern Ireland, Slovenia.

The members of the Bureau also decided, in particular, to fully finance the construction of new headquarters and a technical centre for the national associations of Afghanistan and Iraq. In this way, FIFA is taking a hands-on role in the reconstruction of society in both of these countries.

This brings the total number of approved projects to 160 in 157 countries around the world. So far, 54 of these projects have been completed. "We can be satisfied with the work we have done so far, but we can still do better," declared Mohamed Bin Hammam. "The Goal Bureau will therefore propose a number of measures to the Congress in order to improve development possibilities for the national associations."

FIFA and the confederations also intend to work more closely to improve the implementation of future projects.

Finally, a total of 12,245 footballs have already been distributed to the national associations as part of the 100,000 adidas/Goal balls project.

Michel Platini, deputy chairman of the Goal Bureau, also opened a seminar in Doha that will run until 17 October and bring together all of the Development Officers responsible for evaluating, managing and controlling all proposed and approved projects.

FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter created the Goal Programme to support the national associations. It was ratified at the 1999 Extraordinary FIFA Congress in Los Angeles. Goal projects are tailor-made to meet the needs and priorities of the respective national associations and include the following: construction and renovation of national association headquarters to ensure independent administrations; construction and renovation of technical centres for national teams of all age levels; courses for trainers and referees; football development programmes; laying of all-weather artificial turf pitches and natural grass pitches that help to improve the quality and quantity of pitches at national and regional level; construction and renovation of football academies to boost football development at youth level; educational programmes.

COURTESY FIFA.com: Doha/Qatar - The FIFA Extraordinary Congress, meeting today in Doha (Qatar) under the chairmanship of President Joseph S. Blatter, gave unanimous approval to FIFA's financial results for the 1999-2002 period.

The delegates accepted by acclamation the consolidated financial statements for the 1999-2002 period including the consolidated balance sheet as of 31 December 2002 and the income statements for 1999-2002 together with the notes to the consolidated financial statements.

The Congress was also entirely satisfied with reports from FIFA's auditors and the Internal Audit Committee, which had been set up as a direct result of a decision made at the 2002 FIFA Congress in Seoul.

The chairman of the FIFA Finance Committee, Julio Grondona, shed light on FIFA's finances with an extensive report, detailing the world governing body's achievements in this area. He commended the FIFA President for his crisis management in 2001 and 2002 when FIFA's marketing and television partners both filed for insolvency.

FIFA General Secretary Dr. Urs Linsi offered a detailed review of FIFA's financial results for 1999-2002, before providing a current status report and an outlook for the future. Thanks to effective crisis management, the successful functioning of FIFA Marketing AG and the implementation of SCORE - a programme launched to strictly control costs and generate additional revenue - the four-year period ended with a surplus of CHF 115 million as opposed to the CHF 134 million deficit that had been forecast at the FIFA Congress in Seoul. These final results had originally been announced at FIFA's first media conference on finances in Zurich on 8 April 2003, an event which marked yet another milestone in FIFA's mission to offer complete transparency in financial matters and communication.

As regards the budget for 2003-2006, the General Secretary presented projected figures that suggest the period will end with a CHF 186 million surplus rather than the CHF 170 million originally predicted. This improvement, which will also have a positive effect on FIFA's liquidity, can be attributed to additional opportunities to generate revenue, the acceleration of rights payments and the continuation of the SCORE programme. According to financial forecasts, FIFA expects to end the 2003-2006 period with liquidity of CHF 500-600 million and an equity, under IAS/IFRS, totalling CHF 350-450 million. As a result, FIFA will not need to seek any credits with banks or other financial institutions.

The Congress subsequently approved the 2004 FIFA budget by acclamation and also re-appointed KPMG as FIFA's auditors for the period until 2006. In his capacity as chairman of the Internal Audit Committee, Franco Carraro (Italy) reported to the Congress delegates on the work that the body had carried out at the two sessions it had convened in order to complete its internal audit of FIFA's finances. Another IAC member, Mathieu Sprengers (Netherlands), praised the cost-controlling efforts made by the FIFA administration.

Closing this point in the proceedings, the FIFA President said: "I thank all of you for your confidence in the work of FIFA, and your trust of its leadership and its various bodies in the financial domain."

COURTESY FIFA.com: Doha/Qatar - It took the FIFA Extraordinary Congress less than an hour to unanimously approve the revised FIFA Statutes, the Regulations Governing the Application of the Statutes and the Standing Orders of the FIFA Congress today in Doha (Qatar).

The new FIFA Statutes, approved by the 197 associations present that were entitled to vote (out of a record total of 204 associations, cf. separate media release) will come into force on 1 January 2004, thus ensuring an historic start to the world governing body's centennial year.

Before ratifying the Statutes as a whole, the associations also approved three amendments to the final draft, which had been proposed by the FIFA Executive Committee.

In Article 10 of the Statutes, the definition of the word "country" was amended to fall into line with the wording of the Olympic Charter, with the addendum reading: "In this context, the expression `country' shall refer to an independent state recognised by the international community." Furthermore, an additional paragraph was approved confirming that this article will not affect the status of existing members.

In relation to Article 20, it was agreed that the official name of CONCACAF would be given in its English form, namely, Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football.

Finally, a further proposal from the FIFA Executive Committee resulted in the deletion of the transitional rule in Article 80, which stated that the mandate of the current FIFA President would be extended until the 2007 Ordinary FIFA Congress. Delegates were reminded that Article 30, paragraph 2 already inherently provided for this extension of the President's term of office in stating that the presidential election would always be held in the year following a FIFA World Cup^TM. Consequently, the Congress confirmed that the next presidential election would not take place until the 2007 FIFA Ordinary Congress and that the current President, Joseph S. Blatter, would remain in office until that time.

Regarding the Regulations Governing the Application of the FIFA Statutes, the new Article 15, which deals with the eligibility for national teams of players with dual nationality, was also amended to reflect the fact that "a player may exercise his right to change Associations only if he has not played at "A" international level for his country and if, at the time of his first full or partial appearance in an international match in an official competition of any other category, he already had such nationalities.". Moreover, in the English version, the word "nationality" would replace "citizenship" for the sake of clarity.

In the light of these decisions, the Congress approved the new Statutes by acclamation, before a formal and unanimous vote confirmed this move. FIFA President Blatter praised the work done by the Statutes Revision Committee and particularly the outstanding cooperation from associations and confederations during the drafting process, which had ultimately paved the way for unopposed approval in Doha.

The revised FIFA Statutes

A new constitution for world football

(FIFA.com) 20 Oct 2003

Even moderate amendments bring about many innovations. The following are the most important amendments:

Objectives of FIFA (art. 2 to 4): The new wording for the objectives of FIFA describes the aims of FIFA more succinctly and aptly in terms of its dual mission of improving the game and taking it to the world. Additionally, FIFA must monitor its sport and prevent any methods or practices likely to undermine the integrity of matches and competitions. Furthermore, greater emphasis has been placed on the unifying, educational, humanitarian and cultural effects of football. A separate article reinforces the fight against discrimination of any kind.

Code of ethics (art. 7): Every member of the FIFA family will be compelled to abide by the Code of Ethics under the new Statutes.

Members (art. 9 - 18) and Congress (art. 22 - 29): As members, the associations form the foundations of FIFA and, all together, the Congress, which is the supreme body of world football's governing body. All of the articles concerning members have been put together at the beginning of the Statutes to take account of this fact. Henceforth, the FIFA Congress will be held every year.

Executive Committee (art. 30 and 31): The function and duties of the Executive Committee, the executive body of FIFA, basically remain unchanged. Oceania's status has been enhanced to that of a vice-presidency.

President (art. 32): The role, duties and responsibilities of the President are clearly defined and distinctly delimited from those of the General Secretary. The mandate will, as before, last for four years but, in future, the election will be held in the year following the World Cup (art. 30). The next presidential election will therefore be in 2007, thus prolonging the mandate of the current President by one year.

Emergency Committee (art. 33): The composition of the Emergency Committee has been adapted to modern-day needs. Decisions passed by the body on matters which need immediate action between meetings of the executive are legally binding, but will be subsequently ratified by the Executive Committee.

Standing committees (art. 34 ff.): The duties of the various standing committees are more distinctly defined and described in detail in separate regulations. These committees help to bolster the Executive Committee's decisions on a solid foundation while, at the same time, enabling the entire FIFA family to be involved in the decision-making process. Newcomers to the Statutes are the Internal Audit Committee and the FIFA Club World Championship Organising Committee. The suggestion was made that the Protocol Committee be dissolved.

General secretariat (art. 64 and 65): The duties of the general secretariat and General Secretary are clearly defined and distinctly separate from the decision-making of the Congress and the Executive and Emergency Committees. The general secretariat is responsible for carrying out administrative business. The General Secretary is responsible for the operative implementation of decisions passed by the Congress and the Executive Committee in compliance with directives from the President.

Finances of FIFA (art. 66 - 70): The Statutes stipulate that the revenue and expenditure of FIFA must be balanced over a four-year cycle. Moreover, sufficient reserves must be created. These provisions, and recent control mechanisms (such as the Internal Audit Committee), serve as a fundamental reinforcement of FIFA's finances. Rules of this nature are unprecedented in the Statutes of sports organisations.

Commercial rights (art. 71): FIFA's commercial rights have been more comprehensively and aptly defined. FIFA owns all of the rights connected with its activity as world football's governing body.

International competitions (art. 73 - 77): The need to harmonise the international match calendar has now been laid down in a new article. In addition, the Executive Committee is empowered to issue guidelines for implementing the principle of rotation for FIFA's final competitions.

Court of Arbitration for Sport (art. 59 - 61): CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) has replaced TAF and, as the supreme court, is recognised by FIFA as the last instance for settling any disputes between FIFA, the confederations, associations, leagues, clubs, players, officials and licensed players' and match agents.

Eligibility to play for Association teams (art. 15 of the Regulations Governing the Application of the Statutes): The rule applicable so far, whereby a player with dual nationality was obliged to play for only one association if he had already taken part with a national team in an official match of any category, has been relaxed. Henceforth, a player may switch association teams once up to the age of 21 and under special circumstances.

FIFA.com - Four years on from the famous penalty-kick ending to USA 1999, the FIFA Women's World Cup USA 2003 saw a climax every bit as thrilling, as Germany deservedly claimed a golden goal 2-1 victory over brave Sweden in front of a near-capacity crowd at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

It was enthralling, adventurous, and in the end, a joyous and cruel match truly deserving of its place as the final memory of USA 2003.

Substitute Nia Kuenzer was the golden-goal hero, heading in Renate Lingor's free kick eight minutes into the first period of extra time. The shot looped over Swedish goalkeeper Caroline Joensson, delivering a body blow to the Swedes who had held off wave after wave of German attacks on the day.

No player had more to do with that than Joensson, who lay stomach down with her face in her hands as the Germans streamed onto the pitch in celebration.

It was a typical end-of-tournament moment, but one that was no-less cruel because of that. Sweden, who recovered so well after an opening-match defeat to the United States, were the Cinderella darlings of the event, and the stadium for the final was awash with blue and yellow supporters singing "Sverige!" Also on the ground dejectedly were the fantastically impressive Diminutive Duo of Sweden, Victoria Svensson and Hanna Ljungberg.

In the 41st minute, Ljungberg scored a slick opener, latching onto a perfectly weighted through ball from "Vickan," as Svensson is known. She slotted her strike coolly under Best Goalkeeper Award-winner Silke Rottenberg, and the Swedes went into the half-time break with a one-goal lead. However, Ljungberg was also something of the villain for the Swedes as she found herself all alone in front of the German net with nine minutes to play and the score at 1-1 - Maren Meinert had brought the Germans back to even just a minute into the second half.

Ljungberg tried to volley Frida Oestberg's cross first-time with her right foot, but she horribly mis-hit it, and Sweden saw their best chance to win the match go begging. In a final, even the smallest mistakes can be crucial and cruel in context. It was a typically pitiless final moment for one of the tournament's most likable players.

At the other end of the spectrum were the powerful, determined and confident Germans, who won their first FIFA Women's World Cup. They also became the first nation to win both a men's and women's world championship, and their coach Tina Theune-Meyer became the first woman to lead a team to the FIFA Women's World Cup. These first are all significant developments for the German team and for women's football, which has continued to get more and more exciting.

In the end one always hopes that the positive feelings outlive the negatives in any sporting event. Brandi Chastain's celebration at the USA 1999 final still flashes across the mind's eye while Liu Ying's saved shot slowly fades out of memory.

And, hopefully the site of retiring captain Bettina Wiegmann lifting the trophy above her head and the confetti raining down on the celebrating world champions will live longer in the memory than the site of Ljungberg and her spirited and skilful Swedish team mates on the ground, bowed and beaten, for now.

Doha/Qatar, 17 October 2003: Decisions regarding the play-offs for the four half slots, the formats for the confederations' qualifying rounds, and the match schedule for the final competition of the 2006 FIFA World Cup^TM are to be made at the next meeting of the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup^TM (in Frankfurt, early December), and then submitted to the Executive Committee for approval.

This proposal from the Bureau of the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup^TM was today approved by the executive at its meeting in Doha/Qatar. Under the chairmanship of FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, the Executive Committee also ratified two further decisions regarding the 2006 FIFA World Cup^TM: FIFA's headquarters will be located in Berlin, with the referees' base in Frankfurt.

In other matters, the Executive Committee also gave its unanimous approval to directives already distributed to the associations, stating that any player who receives two yellow cards in one match, or commits a straight red card offence will be automatically suspended from the next game.

The only exception to this rule will be if there has been an obvious case of mistaken identity. Any national associations that fail to abide by this directive laid down in the FIFA Disciplinary Code will be subject to an investigation by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee for failing to adhere to the Code.

The FIFA Executive Committee will also be called upon to make a decision. In this respect, and with specific reference to a current matter in England, the FIFA President lamented the general lack of respect and discipline in certain national associations and clubs, and stressed that the rules and regulations in force must be followed.

With regard to the revised FIFA Statutes, which are to be submitted for approval to the Extraordinary FIFA Congress on 19/20

October, the executive has now proposed two amendments along the following lines of: Article 15 of the Regulations Governing the Application of the Statutes (Eligibility to play for association teams):

Any player who has represented an "A" association team shall not be permitted to change associations. This provision applies only for the various age levels below the "A" association team.

Article 10 of the FIFA Statutes (Admission of new members): All applicant associations must be recognised by the "international community".

The executive also ratified two decisions taken by the Emergency Committee:

the modified match schedule for the Olympic Football Tournaments Athens 2004, according to which the men's Final will now kick off at 10.00h.

the purchase of the Credit Suisse sports complex in Zurich for the new "Home of FIFA".

Looking towards the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, the executive also approved a proposal tabled by the Finance Committee, suggesting that the areas of Ticketing, Accommodation and IT Solution be organised either by FIFA itself, or by the Match AG company, which has yet to be founded. These decisions will in no way affect the income of the Local Organising Committee as contractually agreed.

On the basis of the report submitted by the official FIFA delegation that visited Antigua & Barbuda in August, the committee lifted the suspension imposed on the country's association.

The executive also ruled that national associations may choose not to use certain numbers on the back of shirts during matches played under their own jurisdiction - but this decision will not apply to FIFA final competitions.

Finally, the committee also took note of the following:

the decision of the Finance Committee to donate CHF 1 million from FIFA's Humanitarian Fund to help finance the education of

the children of Cameroon's Marc-Vivien Foé, who died during the FIFA Confederations Cup in France in June 2003.

the reports from the chairmen of the committees organising this year's FIFA events: the U-17 World Championship in Finland, the Women's World Cup in the USA, and the World Youth Championship (U-20) in the United Arab Emirates.

the dates for the Women's U-19 World Championship in Thailand (10 - 27 November 2004) and the Futsal World Championship in Chinese Taipei (29 November - 19 December 2004).

the report on the meeting of the Board of Directors of FIFA Marketing AG, and the decision to rename the division "FIFA Marketing & TV AG".

OFC: A young and experimental New Zealand All Whites squad went down 3-0 to Iran in the second AFC/OFC Challenge Cup, played on 12 October (local time). But for coach Mick Waitt, there were some positive individual performances and the chance to blood some of the newcomers proved beneficial.

The Oceania representatives performed bravely in front of a crowd of 40,000 at Tehran's Azadi Stadium, but the experience of Iran and their added home advantage proved too much in the end.

Facing a match-hardened team coming off two tough Asian Cup qualifying matches in the past month compared to New Zealand's last international outing at the Confederations Cup back in June, the All Whites were always going to be up against it with a new-look squad, but they met the challenge head on.

Three All Whites made their international debuts and acquitted themselves well in one of the most intimidating environments in world football. Those players selected that are also eligible for the national U-23 team and who managed to take the field, got some valuable experience ahead of the OFC Olympic Qualifiers next January.

The Asian Games champions led 2-0 at the break but were held to a solitary goal to Hossein Kabi in the second half.

There was some consolation for the beaten All Whites when they were awarded the Fair Play trophy. Iran's Ali Karimi Pashaki deservedly won the most valuable player award after scoring both of Iran's goals in the first half.

Iran's win made it two from three in all internationals against New Zealand after drawing 0-0 in the first match held in Auckland in 1973 and winning 2-1 five years later.

Iran's win also meant the AFC/OFC Challenge Cup trophy remains in Asia for another two years after Japan beat Australia 3-0 in the inaugural match played in Shizuoka in August 2001. The trophy is expected to be contested again in 2005 between the 2004 OFC Nations Cup champion and the next Asian Cup champion.

(ends)

STATISTICAL REVIEW

Competition: AFC/OFC Challenge Cup

Team A: Iran (white/white/white)

Team B: New Zealand (black/black/black)

Date: 12 October, 2003 (local)

Venue: Azadi Stadium, Tehran

Kick-off time: 1535hrs (local)

Injury time: 1 minute (1st half) 3 minutes (2nd half)

Half-time result: Iran 2-0 New Zealand

Full-time result: Iran 3-0 New Zealand

Goal-scorers:

Iran: (8) Ali Karimi Pashaki 24', 37'; (13) Hossein Kabi 67'

New Zealand: nil

Cautions: (15) Mohd Nasrati 17' (IR Iran); (15) Mike Wilson 52' (New Zealand)

Expulsions: nil

Crowd attendance: 40,000

Pitch Condition: Very good

Weather: fine 26 degrees Celsius

Referee: Kousa Mohammed (Syria)

Assistant Referee 1: Al Abdullah M. Manmen (Syria)

Assistant Referee 2: Hamdoun Tammam (Syria)

Fourth Official: Abo Allo Suleman (Syria)

Referee Inspector: Mohd Nazri Abdullah (Malaysia)

Match Commissioner: Mohammed A. Al Nowaiser (Saudi Arabia)

Team Start Lists:

IR Iran:

1. Ebrahim Mirzapour (GK)

2. Mehdi Mahdavikia (-88')

3. Rahman Rezaee

4. Yahya Golmohammadi

6. Javad Nekonam

7. Hamed Ravianpour

8. Ali Karimi Pashaki (- 83')

10. Ali Dael (captain)

11. Ali Raza Yahedi Nikbakht (- 70')

13. Hossein Kabi

15. Mohammad Nosrati

Substitutions

5. Sohrab Bakhtarizadeli

12. Mahdi Amirabadi

14. Moharam Navidikia (+ 70')

16. Edmond Bazik (+ 88')

17. Iman Mobali

18. Mehrzad Madanchi (+ 83')

19. Jalal Rameli Mofrad

20. Amir Vaziri

21. Seyed Mahdi Rahmati (RGK)

Coach: Branco Ivancovich

New Zealand:

1. Mark Paston (GK)

2. Duncan Oughton (- 46')

4. Gerard Davis

5. Che Bunce

6. Tony Lochhead

7. Ivan Vicelich (-57')

8. Aaran Lines

9. Noah Hickey (- 46')

11. Leo Bertos

12. Simon Elliot

14. Ryan Nelsen (captain)

Substitutions

3. David Mulligan

10. Glen Collins

13. Kris Bouckenooghe (+ 46')

15. Mike Wilson (+ 46')

16. Rupesh Puna (+ 57')

17. Allan Pearce

19. Glen Moss (RGK)

Coach: Mick Waitt