OFC: The Oceania Football Confederation has today confirmed the draw, dates and match schedule for the 2004 OFC Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which has been approved by FIFA.

The tournament will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand from 14-22 January 2004.

After the group matches, the two group winners will then meet in a home and away playoff on 26 and 30 January 2004, to decide the OFC representative at the Olympic Men's Football Tournament in Athens in August 2004.

A total of ten teams will be vying for the direct entry to Athens. Australia (hosts), Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and the Solomon Islands have been drawn into Group A, which will be hosted in Sydney, the venue yet to be confirmed.

New Zealand (hosts), Cook Islands, American Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu have been drawn into Group B, which will be hosted in Auckland at the North Harbour Stadium, Albany.

According to Acting OFC President, Tautulu Roebeck, both groups should be keenly contested with much at stake.

"There will be no shortage of motivation for the teams because of the shorter route that Oceania now has to get the Olympics, which is a result of gaining direct entry for the first time," said Mr Roebeck.

"In saying that, I expect the matches to be highly competitive and entertaining and the scheduling of the tournament during the summer months should ensure parity for all."

NZS: All Whites Head Coach Mick Waitt has named the All Whites starting eleven to take on Iran in the AFC/OFC Challenge match on Monday morning New Zealand time. Features of the side are debut internationals for Leo Bertos and Tony Lochhead and a positional change for the new skipper as Mick Waitt plots a course for the 2004 Olympics and the 2006 World Cup qualifiers.

Ryan Nelsen will captain the new-look side from midfield, with Ivan Vicelich moving to the centre of defence alongside the recalled Che Bunce. Mick Waitt believes the move may suit both players. "We wanted to have a look at Ryan playing in midfield, which is something he has not done for the All Whites for a while and we believe that Ivan has the necessary qualities to fill a hole left by Danny Hay at the back."

There are full international debuts for Leo Bertos and Tony Lochhead who are both eligible for the Olympic squad. Lochhead will start the match at left back allowing Gerard Davis to revert to his more favoured right-sided defensive role. Assistant Coach Ricki Herbert is impressed with both players. "Tony and Leo have settled well to the National Team environment. Having recently been a part of the Under 22 Development Team to play against Japan, this match in Iran provides both with a wonderful opportunity to develop further."

In another pointer to future development, the substitutes bench has a further four players eligible for the 2004 Olympic (U23) campaign in Glenn Moss, Rupesh Puna, Allan Pearce and David Mulligan, something Mick Waitt is excited about. "This game heralds the start of an exciting new era for the All Whites with a focus very much on the future. We have a number of new players being given an opportunity to experience international football in front of a huge crowd and against quality opposition."

Mark Paston is also given the chance to establish himself as the number one goalkeeper in his first international appearance for a number of years. Paston recently signed for Bradford City in the English first division, impressing with a number of man-of-the-match performances. Mick Waitt believes Paston can make the position his own for years to come. "Marks performances at Bradford have been very exciting for myself and Ricki. We have had very good reports from the coaching staff at Bradford and at just 26 years of age, he gives us cause for optimism looking ahead."

In yet another of the many stories surrounding this AFC/OFC Challenge Cup match, Che Bunce returns at centre back after a long injury lay-off. Bunce has not played for New Zealand since 2000, when he suffered a serious back injury that required surgery and long-term rehab. His comeback has included a spell with Drogheda in Ireland before a recent move to Randers FC in Denmark. "Che's return from injury is pleasing for us and this game gives us the opportunity to check his form, fitness and progress since the injury," said Waitt.

Iran and New Zealand have met just twice in the past. The first was in 1973 when the spoils were shared in a 0-0 draw in Auckland, while the second was five years later in Korea Republic, with Iran winning the 1978 President's Cup match 2-1.

Mark Paston Bradford (England) Goalkeeper

Gerard Davis Tampere United (Finland) Defender

Che Bunce Randers (Denmark) Defender

Ivan Vicelich Roda JC (Holland) Defender

Tony Lochhead + Santa Barbara (USA) Defender

Duncan Oughton Columbus Crew (USA) Midfielder

Simon Elliott LA Galaxy (USA) Midfielder

Ryan Nelsen DC United (USA) Midfielder

Aaran Lines Ruch Chorzow (Poland) Midfielder/Forward

Noah Hickey Tampere United (Finland) Midfielder/Forward

Leo Bertos + Rochdale (England)) Midfielder/Forward

Substitutes

Christian Bouckenooghe Roeselare (Belgium) Forward

David Mulligan + Barnsley (England) Defender

Glen Collins Football Kingz (NZ) Defender

MichaelWilson Stanford University (USA) Midfielder

Rupesh Puna + Caversham (NZ) Defender

Allan Pearce + Lincoln City (England)) Forward

Glen Moss + Sydney Olympic (Australia) Goalkeeper

Mick Waitt Head Coach

Ricki Herbert Assistant Coach

Stephen Williamson Team Manager

Roland Jefferies Team Physio

John Lythe Sports Science

Celeste Geertsema Team Doctor

+ Denotes available for NZ Olympic (U23) squad.

Match Details (New Zealand time)

Monday 13th October

NZ V Iran

Azadi Stadium

Tehran

1.35am KO

Match Details (Local/Iran time)

Sunday 12 October

NZ V Iran

Azadi Stadium

Tehran

3:35pm KO

NZS: The New Zealand All Whites have all arrived in Dubai to assemble in preparation for Monday morning's (NZT) OFC/AFC Challenge Cup match in Tehran.

The stopover is a brief one, long enough for travel documentation and player briefings before boarding a flight later tonight (NZT) for Tehran for the match against Asian champions Iran.

All players have arrived fit and well, with many having played for their club sides over the weekend, some literally hours before boarding flights bound for Dubai and national representation.

Team coaching staff has scheduled six training sessions prior to the match, along with video analysis and player briefings to prepare for what is expected to be a tough match in an even tougher atmosphere with the Iranians assured of fanatical home support.

Match Details:

NZ vs Iran

Azadi Stadium, Tehran

Sunday, 12 October (NZT - Monday, 13 October)

Kick-off time: 3:35pm (NZT - 2:05am, Tehran is 9.5 hours behind NZ)

Auckland, 3 October 2003: The OFC World Futsal Qualifying Tournament scheduled for Canberra, Australia from 20-25 October 2003, has now been deferred to 2004. The Oceania Football Confederation made this decision after the withdrawal of Fiji which left the three teams remaining for this tournament

Rather than proceeding with just three teams, the tournament has now been rescheduled to July/August 2004.

The decision to defer the tournament is also taking into account proposed assistance from FIFA in futsal development for the Oceania region. This assistance which OFC is looking to implement in 2004 will better prepare the participating teams for the tournament and will likely mean more teams will enter the FIFA qualifying tournament in 2004.

According to Acting OFC President, Tautulu Roebeck, a renewed commitment to futsal development with assistance from FIFA will breathe new life into the regional game and provide a more stable platform for holding the OFC World Futsal Qualifying Tournament than going ahead with only three teams.

"With the FIFA Futsal World Championships likely to take place in Chinese Taipei towards the end of 2004, the decision to defer the tournament will allow proposed futsal programmes to get off the ground which will encourage greater participation come mid-2004," he explained.

"This will ensure our champion will have a good lead up when it takes on the best at the FIFA Futsal World Championship"

Mr Roebeck re-iterated the importance of futsal as a complimenting the skills of outdoor players.

"Futsal is a game of skill and assists the nurturing of young players, as well as being entertaining," he added.

Courtesy FIFA.com: Defending Women's World Cup champion United States may have to beat its two biggest rivals to reach the final of this year's tournament.

The Americans, who completed a perfect first round by beating North Korea 3-0 on Sunday, will face 1995 champion Norway in the quarterfinals on Wednesday in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

If they win, the two-time champions could play China, the 1999 runner-up, in the semifinals.

"We know that Norway's a great team and we just have to be on top of our game to do something special against them," said United States striker Abby Wambach, who scored the first goal Sunday from the penalty spot.

"They're going to come out and be on top of their game, as every team is going to be in the quarterfinals. It's single-elimination and you've got to win to get through."

China will have to beat Canada in the last eight in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday to advance.

"I have looked into Canada by watching tapes. We may have some changes to make when we play them," China coach Ma Liangxing said. "We will need to play an aggressive and attacking game."

In the other quarterfinals, Group B winner Brazil takes on Sweden in Foxboro and European champion Germany plays Russia in Portland.

The winner of the Brazil-Sweden match will play either Germany or Russia in the semifinals.

"World Cup matches are played at high level so it does not matter what team we will play as all the matches will be played seriously," Russia coach Yuri Bystritsky said.

Germany and the United States were the only two teams to get through the first round with perfect records.

The Germans topped Canada, Japan and Argentina while the Americans beat Sweden and Nigeria before downing North Korea.

China, which had been a heavy favorite to win its first world title at home until SARS forced the competition to be moved, was held to a 1-1 draw by Australia in its second match.

But the Chinese rebounded to beat Russia in their final match _ even after they had qualified for the next round because of an earlier result _ and clinched first place in Group D.

"We were qualified before we started our game, so I told our players to have fun and play an entertaining and exciting game," said Liangxing, whose team has scored just one goal in each match.

Pan American Games champion Brazil may have been the biggest surprise so far, edging Norway for first place in Group B.

"I am not looking forward to playing Brazil because we lost to them in the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup and also in the 2000 Olympics," Sweden coach Marika Domanski Lyfors said.

The Brazilians beat Norway and South Korea, and drew with France in the first round.

SA: They went in the FIFA Women's World Cup with high hopes, but in the end history was not created by the Qantas Matildas and has left a shattered coach Adrian Santrac, wondering where it all went wrong.

Knowing a win would keep the pressure on the Chinese and that it (a win) would its first at a World Cup, Australia went down 2-1 to Ghana earlier this morning.

"Obviously we're very disappointed at the result and the performance, said Santrac from Portland. "History continued tonight, we've gone through another World Cup without a win."

"The disappointment here tonight was the wasted opportunity. We had the opportunity to finish the highest position ever for an Australian women's team at the World Cup, we had the chance to finally win a game, and to put us on the map well and truly in Australia with the result we should have achieved tonight. It's a long line of disappointments - a missed opportunity."

From the outset of the match it was the Ghanaians who set the tempo of the match and it wasn't until the second half that Australia was able to get into the match.

"We were ready for this match and the girls knew the importance of it. But when the game started, we didn't," Santrac said emphatically. "The first half was particularly disappointing. Ghana as we expected came out and played with pride and passion and were committed. We were waiting for our team to begin to play. And as so often is the case, when you start to chase the game, it can be extremely difficult to try to turn things around."

"I'm still scratching my head wondering what happened in the first half and where our players were."

Asked if he thought the China match took a lot out of the players physically and mentally, Santrac said he didn't really know what the reason for the performance was.

"I am not sure if that was the reason. The other three teams had to back up the same as us. We had a lot to play for today and at this level you must be up for all games no matter how draining the previous games might have been. The importance of the occasion should have cancelled out any physical effects the China match may have had on them."

What seemed to irk Santrac the most was the results they didn't get compared to the result they did get at the tournament.

"We lost to teams that we should have beaten, but get a draw against a super power of the women's game. I believe that we are a better team technically than both Russia and Ghana, but the results will tell you otherwise."

Santrac's next big task upon returning is to assess the performances and start preparing for the 2004 Olympic Games Qualifiers in March 2004.

"We will come back to Australia and do a through analysis of the preparation and the tournament and see where the problems were.

"In terms of age, almost the entire squad can compete at the next World Cup yet alone the Olympic Games, as I think the average of the squad was 23. Sacha Wainwright (pictured above) is the oldest player at 31, but she is the type of player that could carry on till then.

"There is a strong foundation for the future here, but a lot of work needs to be done between now and then.

"It is a matter for us to now learn from the experiences here in the US and make sure we benefit from them in future tournaments."

New Zealand Soccer is pleased to announce the All Whites squad to travel to Iran for the one off AFC/OFC Challenge Cup match on October 12th in Teheran.

There are 6 new faces from the 23-man squad that travelled to the Confederations Cup in France, with Head Coach Mick Waitt looking to the future. "This match signals a new era for the All Whites as we plan for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying competition and next years Athens Olympic qualifying tournament.

Whilst the door isn't completely closed at this point, there are a number of players who have served the game with great honour and commitment over many years who have made way on this occasion for younger players. Finding the right mix of experience and the need to provide international experience to the younger players is never easy but I believe we have gathered together an exciting squad for what will be a difficult challenge in Teheran."

That eye to the future is indicated in the selection of 6 players eligible for selection to the Olympic (U/23) team next season (plus a further 2 not considered through injury). Further to that, there are 4 selected at senior level for the first time (Rupesh Puna, Glen Moss, Allan Pearce and Tony Lochhead).

Ryan Nelsen will captain the side but not for the first time. The former NZ Olympic Captain wore the armband against Colombia in the recent Confederations Cup when Chris Zoricich was ruled out with injury. Waitt says Nelsen is poised to lead the All Whites for some time. "Ryan is a natural leader, as evidenced with the Olympic Squad in 2000 and his recent appointment to the role with DC United in the MLS. His stature and playing ability make him the obvious choice to lead this team into a new era."

All Whites Squad v Iran

Player Club Position

Aaran Lines Ruch Chorzow (Poland) Midfield

Allan Pearce + Lincoln City (England)) Forward

Chris Killen + Oldham Athletic (England) Forward

Christian Bouckenooghe Roeselare (Belgium) Forward

Che Bunce Randers (Denmark) Defender

David Mulligan + Barnsley (England) Defender

Duncan Oughton Columbus Crew (USA) Defender

Gerard Davis Tampere United (Finland) Defender

Glen Collins Football Kingz (NZ) Defender

Glen Moss + Sydney Olympic (Australia) Goalkeeper

Ivan Vicelich Roda JC (Holland) Defender

Mark Paston Bradford (England) Goalkeeper

MichaelWilson Stanford University (USA) Midfielder

Noah Hickey Tampere United (Finland) Midfielder

Rupesh Puna + Caversham (NZ) Defender

Ryan Nelsen DC United (USA) Defender

Simon Elliott LA Galaxy (USA) Midfielder

Tony Lochhead + Santa Barbara (USA) Defender

Mick Waitt Head Coach

Ricki Herbert Assistant Coach

Stephen Williamson Team Manager

Roland Jefferies Team Physio

John Lythe Sports Science

Celeste Geertsema Team Doctor

The following players were not considered due to injury: Brent Fisher+, Shane Smeltz+, Raffaele de Gregorio.

+ Eligible for NZ Olympic squad 2004

The team has been one of the more difficult to bring together from a logistical point of view, with NZS Director of Football Paul Smalley and CEO Bill MacGowan facing many issues from player availability to injury to visa requirements.

Bill MacGowan says safety is also an issue to consider: "Clearly the Middle East is a volatile part of the world but we have been in constant communication with the NZ Embassy in Baghdad and Government agencies here in NZ and will continue to monitor the situation. That, and the need to communicate with all clubs concerned, led to a delay in today's announcement but we had to ensure all issues were covered off before publicly naming the squad."

The team will assemble in Dubai on Tuesday 7th before travelling to Iran.

OFC: The seventh FIFA Fair Play day was officially commemorated on 27 and 28 September 2003 to coincide with the FIFA Women's World Cup currently being held in the USA. And everywhere around the Oceania region the "My Game is Fair Play" message was delivered enthusiastically with Fair Play campaigns launched by the various national associations.

Explaining the Fair play concept, the FIFA president, Joseph S. Blatter said in a FIFA release: "As world football's supreme body, FIFA is responding openly to its social duty as an organisation of international status and renown. It also acknowledges the prominent role of sport, and especially football, as a vehicle for delivering clear and firm messages to eradicate the huge blights undermining society around the world."

The Pacific Island nations were particularly colourful in their commemorations adding a uniquely distinctive cultural perspective to the proceedings.

The Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) joined the rest of the World in promoting the spirit of fair play advising their provincial associations to organize special events to mark the day. SIFF also coordinated its own activities in the capital Honiara with youth games and parade organized.

"Fair Play is essential to our sport and everyone involved in it," declared SIFF President Adrian Wickham in his official address.

"We need to nurture the values of sporting spirit and to work tirelessly to keep up the momentum."

In Fiji, the Daily Post reports that Fiji Football Association president, Dr M.S Sahu Khan had appealed to players, referees, fans and officials throughout the country to help promote the spirit of fair play during the FIFA World Fair Play Day.

"Fair play is essential to our sport and to everyone involved in it," declared Khan.

"We need to nurture the values of sporting spirit and to work tirelessly to keep up the momentum. We are appealing to all football fans in Fiji to help us celebrate the FIFA World Fair Day successfully," he said.

Over in neighbouring Vanuatu, the Port Vila municipal stadium came alive last Friday evening as the Vanuatu Football Federation also got into the spirit of fair play. Local business houses took part in a mini-tournament organized by the VFF. Seven teams including a VFF squad made up of executive members, coaches, referees and staff, took part.

FIFA accredited referee, Harry Atisson was given the task of judging the teams on their performances where goals were irrelevant and superceded by the team's ability to play in the spirit of the game and to the ideals of fair play.

At the end of the evening, Malapoa College team was judged the winners, followed by the Prime Minister's Office team and third placing went to the Police team. The new FIFA Fair Play slogan "My Game is Fair Play," was delivered by VFF President Johnny Tinsley Lulu at the end of the tournament.