ASA: Australian national Coach Frank Farina announced his 20-man Socceroo squad this week to face Venezuela in Caracas on Wednesday 18 February.

It will be the first time the Socceroos have played against Venezuela. The match is due to be played at 7pm, Caracas time, at the Olympic stadium which holds 30,000 people.

Farina has named a full-strength squad for the international clash, with Parramatta Power NSL stars Simon Colosimo and Under-23 Olympic team player Ahmad Elrich both gaining a senior team call-up in an expanded 20-man squad.

The complete 20-man squad is: -

SURNAME NAME

CLUB COUNTRY

ALOISI John

Club Atletico Osasuna SPAIN

BRESCIANO Marco

Parma Associazone Calcio ITALY

CHIPPERFIELD Scott

FC Basel 1893 SWITZERLAND

COLOSIMO Simon

Parramatta Power SC AUSTRALIA

ELRICH Ahmad

Parramatta Power SC AUSTRALIA

EMERTON Brett

Blackburn Rovers Football Club ENGLAND

GRELLA Vince

Empoli Calcio ITALY

KEWELL Harry

Liverpool FC ENGLAND

LAYBUTT Steve

Royal Excelsior Mouscron BELGIUM

LAZARIDIS Stan

Birmingham City FC ENGLAND

MOORE Craig

Rangers FC SCOTLAND

MUSCAT Kevin

Millwall FC ENGLAND

NEILL Lucas

Blackburn Rovers Football Club ENGLAND

PETKOVIC Michael (gk)

Trabzonspor Kulubu TURKEY

POPOVIC Tony

Crystal Palace ENGLAND

SCHWARZER Mark (gk)

Middlesbrough FC ENGLAND

SKOKO Josip

Genclerbirligi Spor Kulubu TURKEY

STERJOVSKI Mile

Lille Olympique Sporting Club FRANCE

VIDMAR Tony

Cardiff City FC WALES

VIDUKA Mark

Leeds United FC ENGLAND

Profiles of all the players are available on the Australian Soccer Association website, click on National Teams, then Socceroos, then from the 'Select Other Information' drop-box choose player profiles. www.australiansoccer.com.au

NOUMEA: With the playoffs starting at the end of next month, the top five teams in New Caledonia's division d'honneur are making every game count with only three play off spots available.

League leader Magenta and second placed Mont-Dore should secure the first two playoff spots with a minimum seven point lead from the third placed team AS Poum. JS Baco (4th) and Gaitcha FCN (5th) will likely vie with AS Poum for the third playoff spot.

The fourth playoff spot is currently been decided in the territorial leagues with the winner joining the top three in the division d'honneur.

Magenta, the reigning champion from 2003, has been the form team all year. However, 2002 champion Mont Dore has also performed well after a forgettable 2003 season. They will also be determined to reclaim their crown and get another chance at the French Overseas Territories Cup which Magenta holds after their historical victory over Tahitian champion AS Pirae last year.

Last weekend's round 14 results saw Magenta flex its scoring muscles to thrash AS Auteuil 5-2. Magenta has scored almost twice as many goals this season than any other team, 51 to be exact. Gaitcha and JS Baco's important clash was postponed due to heavy rain while Mont Dore retained second place with a hard fought 1-0 win over USC. ACB Poya overpowered Olympique 6-2 while AS Poum kept their noses in the playoff hunt with a commanding 6-3 win over ASLN Kouaoua.

Round 14 results:

AS Magenta - AS Auteuil 5-2

Gaïtcha FCN - JS Baco postponed

AS Mont-Dore - USC 1-0

ACB Poya - Olympique 6-2

AS Poum - ASLN Kouaoua 6-3

Teams	Pts		P	W	D	L	F	A	diff.
1. AS Magenta	48		14	11	1	2	51	18	+33
2. Mont-Dore	46		14	10	2	2	25	9	+16
3. AS Poum	39		13	8	2	3	28	19	+9
4. JS Baco	37		12	8	1	3	29	19	+10
5. Gaitcha FCN	34		13	6	3	4	22	22	0
6. USC	27		14	3	4	7	20	25	-5
7. ACB Poya	25		13	4	0	9	25	27	-2
8. Kouaoua	24		13	3	2	8	19	38	-19
9. AS Auteuil	23		12	3	2	7	21	30	-9
10. Olympique	18		14	1	1	12	18	51	-33

SUVA: Ba are once again the champions of Fiji after dominating Rewa in the second leg of the Champion versus Champion series at Govind Park last weekend.

In front of a 6500 home spectators, the men in black proved too strong scoring two late goals to win 2-0 and also the series 4:2 on aggregate.

Rewa went into the tie with the advantage having drawn 2:2 at Ratu Cakobau Park the previous weekend. But after holding the rampant Ba frontline to nil all at half-time of the second leg, they succumbed late in the game with the class of Manoa Masi and Osea Masi proving the difference as they notched up brilliant goals for the home team.

The win means the CVC title remains again with Ba for a record tenth time heading into this weekend's opening round of the Fiji Football Association national league, which will give the club loads of of confidence.

Ba are currently fighting a decision last year to award the national league title to a non-club team, the Puma Olympians, who were the national under 23 team which has since been disbanded. Ba beat the Olympians in their final match of 2003 to defend their national league crown, but just days after were stripped for fielding an ineligible player.

Ba enters the 2004 national league minus their rising young striker Osea Vakatalesau who has transferred to Lautoka and will now be playing for the Blues.

2004 OFC Tournament Calendar finalised

OFC Auckland: The Oceania Football Confederation announced today that it was set to revive the OFC Club Championship after a three year hiatus. Following the news that the FIFA Club World Championship would return in 2005, the OFC has selected Tahiti to host the next OFC Club Championship in April next year.

The OFC secretariat will now work with the Competitions Committee and the Federation Tahitienne de football to finalise dates. The format and schedule will depend on the number of entries. However, it is expected the return of the Club Championship will see a good turnout similar to the last two tournaments in 2001 (Papua New Guinea) and in 1999 (Fiji).

The OFC national associations will now commence finding their representatives for this tournament when their respective national leagues kick off this year with some associations not knowing who their champions will be until 2005.

Australia's South Melbourne represented the OFC at the 2000 World Championship in Brazil and performed well against some of the best clubs in the world. Fellow NSL club Wollongong Wolves won the 2001 OFC Club Championship surviving a fierce challenge in the final from Tafea FC of Vanuatu. Unfortunately, the next FIFA Club World Championship in Spain was called off.

* In other updates, the OFC executive committee has approved the dates for all its remaining dates for its 2004 tournaments. It was also decided that the OFC Under 20 Qualifying Tournament would be moved to early 2005 subject to approval by FIFA who have yet to finalise dates for the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship.

OFC Tournaments 2004 dates

OFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Ba Fiji, 2-6 March 2004

OFC Under 19 Women's Qualifying Tournament, Port Moresby, 17-25 April 2004

OFC Nations Cup/World Cup, Stage One: Solomon Is (Group 1), Samoa (Group 2) 10-19 May 2004*

OFC Nations Cup/World Cup, Stage Two: Australia (venue tbc) 28 May - 6 June 2004*

OFC Futsal Qualifying Tournament, Canberra Australia, 21-29 August 2004

OFC Nations Cup, Stage Three: final (home and away) 9/13 October 2004*

* Subject to FIFA approval

FIFA Tournaments in 2004

FIFA Olympic Football Tournament (men and women), Athens Greece, 11-28 August 2004

FIFA World Under 19 Women's Championship, Thailand, 10-27 November 2004

FIFA Futsal Championship, Chinese-Taipei, 29 November - 19 December 2004

Important Miscellaneous Dates in 2004

18th Ordinary Congress, Auckland New Zealand, 20 March 2004

FIFA 54th Ordinary Congress, Paris France, 20-21 May 2004

FIFA World Player Gala, Zurich Switzerland, 20 December 2004

OFC Auckland: The much anticipated start to Oceania's 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany qualifiers gets underway in May 2004.

The Oceania Football Confederation announced today that it has confirmed dates for the combined OFC Nations Cup/2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. These dates have now been submitted for final approval at the forthcoming 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany Bureau meeting in Zurich next month.

"We originally looked at commencing the qualifiers in March or April but due to problems with player availability and the lack of preparation time for the teams it was decided to move the start date back to May," said Acting OFC president, Tautulu Roebeck.

Ten teams will kick off the qualifying process when Stage One commences from 10-19 May 2004. Stage One will consist of two group tournaments with Solomon Islands hosting Group 1 and Samoa hosting Group 2.

The World Cup draw for the Oceanian Zone in Frankfurt last December saw the Solomon Islands placed in the same group as the Cook Islands, New Caledonia, Tahiti and Tonga while Samoa was joined by American Samoa, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.

The winner and runner up of each group advances to Stage Two where they will meet Australia and New Zealand in a six team, single round robin tournament hosted in Australia from 28 May - 6 June 2004. A venue is in the process of being finalised and will be announced soon.

The winner and runner up from Stage Two will earn the right to play off on a home and away basis, twice. The first occasion will be to decide the OFC Nations Cup champion on 9 & 13 October 2004.

The two teams will meet again almost a year later on 3 & 7 September 2005 to decide who will advance to Stage Four to play off against the 5th placed qualifying team from CONMEBOL (South America) for a full berth at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. FIFA will announce the dates for Stage Four in due course.

With more than a World Cup berth at stake, the forthcoming qualifiers are expected to be extremely competitive. There is double incentive for the two teams that will progress from Stage Two. Besides becoming a step closer to Germany, the title of OFC Nations Cup champion is also at stake with the winner qualifying to represent Oceania at the lucrative 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany and also the biennial AFC-OFC Challenge Cup series.

"The OFC is confident the decision to merge the OFC Nations Cup and the World Cup qualifiers will lead to an interesting tussle between the teams and quality football for the fans and sponsors," Roebeck added.

New Zealand go into this year's qualifiers as the reigning OFC Nations Cup champion after their shock upset of the Australians nearly two years ago in Auckland. New Zealand is also the last country to ever grace the World Cup stage back in 1982. Australia represented the Oceania region at the last World Cup play off but went down to Uruguay in a disastrous second leg loss after winning the first leg at home.

2004 OFC Nations Cup - 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers

Stage One: Solomon Islands (Group 1), Samoa (Group 2)

10-19 May 2004

Stage Two: Australia (venue tbc)

28 May - 6 June 2004

Stage Three: OFC Nations Cup final (home and away)

9/13 October 2004

Stage Three: OFC World Cup play off (home and away)

3/7 September 2005

Stage Four: OFC/CONMEBOL play off (tbc)

dates tbc

* Dates subject to FIFA approval

ASA RELEASE: The chairman of the Australian Soccer Association (ASA), Mr Frank Lowy, today announced the appointment of Mr John O'Neill as Chief Executive Officer of the ASA. The appointment is for an initial three-year period with an opportunity to extend it a further four years by mutual agreement.

Mr O'Neill was Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Australian Rugby Union Ltd from 1995 to 2004 and is one of Australia's most respected sports administrators.

Mr Lowy said he was excited and delighted with the appointment and that Mr O 'Neill had the knowledge and experience to develop a structure for the sustainable growth of soccer in Australia.

"I have known Mr O'Neill for many years. He has been a successful banker and is well-known for the success he has achieved with rugby union," he said.

"His experience and acknowledged success and profile in both the sporting and corporate sectors is exactly what soccer needs," he said.

"The appointment will also enable me to assume the role I initially envisaged when I agreed to become involved in soccer again, that of non-executive chairman responsible for bringing about the vision I have for the game and guiding overall strategy, rather than being involved in day-to-day management."

Mr O'Neill said he was looking forward with great enthusiasm to the challenge of managing the revival of soccer.

"There is undoubtedly a lot of work to do, but I welcome the challenge and see this appointment as a terrific opportunity to use my experience in sport and in business to fulfil both the sporting and commercial potential of soccer in Australia.

"My background has been in banking and rugby, but I see myself first and foremost as a sports administrator and there are few more attractive challenges right now than helping revive soccer's fortunes; it is a unique environment in which to do so."

Mr Lowy said that while the proposed new national league would have a separate board from that governing the ASA he would be chairman of both boards and Mr O'Neill would be Managing Director of the new league.

"I have come to the view that the ASA and the new league must develop together in a co-ordinated and consistent way for the first few years to get the structure right and to maximise the commercial benefits.

"Potential sponsors and commercial partners are looking for a clear, consistent strategy for the game at all levels, including the new league, and this structure will deliver that.

"While we have achieved much over the past few months now that a CEO has been appointed work on all fronts will be accelerated, particularly on the introduction of the new national league which will be the top priority."

In other developments: -

State Constitutions & Crawford Report Recommendations

Consultation with all the State Federations is continuing on the adoption of the State model constitution. All nine State Federations have signed a letter of intent to recommend the adoption of the new constitution to their members at EGMs to be held over the next two months. Soccer Canberra members recently adopted the new Constitution by an overwhelming majority and acceptance by Soccer Queensland and Soccer Tasmania is expected soon.

The first ASA management meeting with the CEOs of the State Federations will be held next week and will include briefings on ASA's strategic plans for the sport and an update on all facets of ASA's major soccer programs, including the international program, NSL and registered participants.

The first meetings of the new (national) Standing Committees, as recommended by the Crawford Report, will be held during February and March 2004. The Standing Committees recommended by the Crawford Report were Coaches, Futsal, Juniors, Referees and Womens.

FIFA

ASA has continued to improve its standing with the sport's world governing body, FIFA, following the appointment of Mr Ron Harvey as ASA's "international ambassador". Work is also progressing within the Oceania Football Confederation to improve its standing globally and ASA has nominated Mr Harvey to be the first FIFA Vice President from the OFC. OFC elections for this position are scheduled to take place on 20 March 2004 at the OFC Congress.

ASA director Phillip Wolanski has been appointed to the FIFA World Club Championship Organising Committee and ASA General Counsel and Manager Business Development, Michael Thomson, has been appointed to the FIFA Players' Status Committee. Both men head to Zurich in 2 weeks for meetings with their respective committees.

National Teams

As already announced, ASA is confident that the Socceroos will play seven games in Australia this year, including the OFC Confederations Cup qualifiers and four games overseas.

The Socceroos will play Venezuela in Caracas on 18 February, South Africa in London on 30 March (and return match in South Africa in February 2005).

Confirmation of a two-match series to be played in Australia in May is expected soon.

The Matildas are about to embark on the Australia Cup tournament in Brisbane as preparation for the 2004 OFC Women's Olympic qualifying tournament in Fiji in March. The women's Under-19 (Young Matildas) team will also be in action in April in PNG for the OFC World Youth Championship qualifiers,

while the men's Under-20 (Young Socceroos) team kick off their 2005 World Youth Championship goal with OFC qualifiers in August 2004.

Dr Venglos

ASA is pleased to confirm the arrival of Dr Jozef Venglos in Australia. Dr Venglos will be working with the ASA to undertake a thorough review of the existing technical structure in Australia and the programs that support it. This will be the first step towards putting in place a structure to develop

the game in Australia over the long term. Dr Venglos is eminently qualified to advise ASA in this area. He has held several senior positions in world soccer, including Chairman of the UEFA committee for technical development, FIFA Technical Adviser and President of the Union of European Football

Coaches. He has also successfully coached a number of national teams and clubs in Europe and Asia and has a long association with Australia having coached FC Sydney Prague and the Australian national team in the late 1960s.

OFC RELEASE, 9 February: Socceroo and Liverpool striker Harry Kewell has scored a runaway victory to win his third Oceania Player of the Year award. Kewell totalled 76 votes for the 2003 year with fellow Australian Mark Viduka second on 29 votes and New Zealand's Ryan Nelsen polling 22 for third in today's announcement by the Oceania Football Confederation.

The talented young Australian, who said he was `over the moon' about the award, also equalled the record of three Oceania wins by former New Zealand international Wynton Rufer. And he refuted claims he would not play for the Socceroos, confirming his previous statements that he would always be available to play in important games for Australia.

"I've told (national coach) Frank Farina that if fit and well, I will be there for him and that includes the Oceania World Cup qualifying series this year," Kewell said.

"And stories I would rather play for Liverpool than Australia are totally wrong. I was asked what I would like with Liverpool and said to win a premiership. Australia and the World Cup were never mentioned in the question."

Farina, the inaugural award winner in 1988, was full of praise for the achievements by Kewell in such a short space of time. "He deserves the win and is arguably the best player we've ever produced. He could go on to win a lot more," he said.

Rufer, who was voted the Oceania Footballer of the Century, won the award in 1989, 1990 and 1992, finished runner-up in 1993 and 1994 and third in 1988 and 1991. Kewell was third at his first appearance in 1998 and has since posted two seconds and three wins.

"I'm proud to equal Wynton's record and would like to thank the people who voted for me. I will also try my best to break it and hope to produce enough good football to keep them voting for me," he said.

"My trophy cabinet is getting big from the Australian side but I need to do something in England to match it.

"I'm absolutely loving it at Liverpool and although the results are not going well, we just need a little luck. The move from Leeds has worked out well and I can only go forward."

Viduka, who won the OFC award in 2002, had an interrupted year with the embattled Leeds in the English Premier League. He has been a prolific goal scorer for Leeds at club level but only broke his goal drought for the Socceroos against the Republic or Ireland in Dublin last year stepping up in the absence of Kewell.

Nelsen was probably the best performed New Zealand player in 2003 leading the All Whites against Iran in the AFC/OFC Challenge Cup match in Tehran in October. He earned good reviews at the Confederations Cup and scored a stunning goal that helped New Zealand to draw against Scotland. Multi-skilled and playing well for both club and country, there was no surprise when he was named recently as New Zealand's International Player of the Year.

The full votes for the 2003 OFC Player of the Year (those players receiving three votes or more) are attached. For more information, please contact award coordinators:

Ted Simmons (Award Scrutineer)

AAP, Sydney - Tel: +61 2 9349 5095

Peter Rees (OFC Media Officer)

Auckland - Tel: +64 21 189 3518

* Please note the award coordinators will confirm at a later date when the award will be presented to Mr Kewell, subject to his availability.

2003 OFC Player of the Year - Voting Results (players to get three votes or more)

Harry Kewell (Australia) 76

Mark Viduka (Australia) 29

Ryan Nelsen (New Zealand) 22

Vince Grella (Australia) 19

Zeljko Kalac (Australia) 19

Esala Masi (Fiji) 12

Marama Vahirua (Tahiti) 8

Henry Fa'arodo (Solomon Islands) 8

Reginald Davani (PNG) 6

Veresa Toma (Fiji) 5

Richard Daniel (PNG) 4

Marc Bresciano (Australia) 4

Graham Demas (Vanuatu) 3

Jean-Marc Case (New Caledonia) 3

Ipeni Fonua (Tonga) 3

Commins Menapi (Solomon Islands) 3

Raf De Gregorio (New Zealand) 3

ASA: Several new players have been included in the 18-member Australian Women's Soccer Team (the Matildas) to contest the upcoming Australia Cup in Brisbane, and the Oceania Olympic Qualifiers. The team announcement, the first Matildas selections in this Olympic year, was made today by National Women's Coach Adrian Santrac.

Two players - 20-year-old midfielder Kate McShea and defender Amy Taylor, age 24 - make their Matildas comeback, both having been away from the international arena since 2002. Both are experienced players, McShea having competed at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, whilst Taylor was a member of the 1999 Women's World Cup team.

Also making selection are five debutantes. Sarah Walsh, a 21-year-old forward, finally celebrates her chance to represent her country after withdrawing from the 1999 U21 national team due to injury and many years of serious knee problems. Lana Harch (age 19, midfielder) and Katie Gill (19, forward), now make the transition to senior ranks after competing for the Young Matildas at the 2002 FIFA U19 Women's World Championship. Lisa De Vanna (19, forward), an U19 international during 2002, and winner of several WNSL awards, also makes the step up, whilst Leah Blayney (17, midfielder) celebrates her first ever Australian team selection at any age level.

They join eleven of the 20-member Matildas Team which contested the FIFA Women's World Cup in September last year.

Each member of this newly-named team is also awarded an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship.

Five players from the 2003 Women's World Cup side were not considered for selection for these two tournaments due to injury - Matildas captain Cheryl Salisbury (knee), vice-captain Sacha Wainwright (knee reconstruction), Heather Garriock (back), Thea Slatyer (who withdrew from the World Cup team due to knee reconstruction), and Amy Beattie (achilles tendon).

Santrac is pleased with the new-look side, with success at the Olympics at the forefront of this year's ambitions. "We went through a lengthy selection process at the AIS camp in January, and ended up selecting the eighteen I believe performed very strongly and earned their selection into the squad," said Santrac. "On those performances, they've put themselves well into the Olympic selection picture, assuming we qualify. The new players all have qualities which enhance the quality of the squad as a whole."

Santrac added, "We expect to perform strongly with this group. In the Australia Cup, we have two extremely difficult opponents, and the experience will put this group in a very good position. With the number of inexperienced players, it will be how quickly we can adapt, but I'm confident these players will stand up very quickly. It's important, whilst maintaining our focus on performance, we need to build up again an understanding - educate the new players very quickly in the way we play. Build an understanding and cohesion in this tournament, as we will leading up to Athens."

The Matildas arrive in Brisbane on Wednesday 11 February for a week-long camp leading in to the Australia Cup.

At this 6th Australia Cup, the Matildas, ranked 16th in the FIFA Women's World Rankings, will face all-time superpowers China (ranking 5), current Asian champions North Korea (7), and traditional rivals New Zealand (21). Double-header match dates of 18, 21, and 24 February will all be staged at Brisbane's QEII Stadium. The Oceania Olympic Qualifiers will be held in early March.

AUSTRALIAN TEAM - 6TH AUSTRALIA CUP and 2004 OCEANIA OLYMPIC QUALIFIERS :

Players (18) :

Team / State

Hometown

Pos

DOB

Caps

Dianne ALAGICH

Adelaide Sensation / SA

Adelaide

D

12/05/79

43

Melissa BARBIERI

Victoria Vision / VIC

Melbourne

GK

20/01/80

12

Leah BLAYNEY

NSW Sapphires / NSW

Blue Mountains

M

04/07/86

-

Rhian DAVIES

Canberra Eclipse / ACT

Sydney

D

05/01/81

26

Lisa DE VANNA

Adelaide Sensation / WA

Perth

F

14/11/84

-

Bryony DUUS

Queensland Sting / QLD

Brisbane

M

07/10/77

46

Gill FOSTER

Canberra Eclipse / ACT

Sydney

M

28/08/76

25

Katie GILL

Northern NSW Pride / NNSW

Newcastle

F

10/12/84

-

Pam GRANT

Queensland Sting / QLD

Rockhampton

D

15/11/82

10

Lana HARCH

Queensland Sting / QLD

Toowoomba

M

23/11/84

-

Tal KARP

Canberra Eclipse / ACT

Perth

M

30/12/81

20

Cassandra KELL

NSW Sapphires / NSW

Central Coast

GK

08/08/80

13

April MANN

Queensland Sting / QLD

Brisbane

F

21/04/78

25

Kate McSHEA

Queensland Sting / QLD

Brisbane

M

13/04/83

17

Joanne PETERS

(New York Power) / NSW

Leeton

M

11/03/79

56

Karla REUTER

Queensland Sting / QLD

Toowoomba

D

14/06/84

6

Amy TAYLOR

Canberra Eclipse / ACT

Canberra

D

11/06/79

20

Sarah WALSH

Queensland Sting / QLD

Sydney

F

2003 OFC Player of the Year to be announced on Monday, 9 February 2004

OFC, Auckland: The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) has collated all votes for the 2003 OFC Player of the Year award and is set to announce the winner on Monday, 9 February 2004.

The winner has been notified by the award coordinators and you can read his reaction in a press statement which will be released to the media and posted on the OFC website www.oceaniafootball.com simultaneously at 11:00am (AEST) & 1:00pm (NZT) next Monday.

Brett Emerton was the last recipient in 2002 and was presented his award on a flying trip down under to Australia last year. Since winning the award, Emerton has realised his dream of playing in the English premiership and is now contracted with the Blackburn Rovers.

Media representatives as well as the national coaches, technical directors and soccer administrators from around the Oceania region took part in the 2003 voting. Voters were asked to list three players in order of preference with 3 points allocated for the most preferred choice, 2 points for the second choice and 1 point for their third choice.

Australia has dominated the award so far this century with current Socceroo stars, Mark Viduka winning in 2000, Harry Kewell winning his second in 2001 and Emerton completing the trifecta in 2002. However, New Zealander Wynton Rufer holds the honour of winning the top award a record three times in 1988-89 and 1992. In 1999, he was recognised as the OFC Player of the Century. Christian Karembeu, the former French international who hails from New Caledonia, has won the award twice in 1995 and 1998. Current Socceroos' coach, Frank Farina was the first recipient of the award back in 1988.

OFC Player of the Year past winners:

1988: Frank Farina (Australia)

1989: Wynton Rufer (New Zealand)

1990: Wynton Rufer (New Zealand)

1991: Robert Slater (Australia)

1992: Wynton Rufer (New Zealand)

1993: Robert Slater (Australia)

1994: Aurelio Vidmar (Australia)

1995: Christian Karembeu (New Caledonia/France)

1996: Paul Okon (Australia)

1997: Mark Bosnich (Australia)

1998: Christian Karembeu (New Caledonia/France)

1999: Harry Kewell (Australia)

2000: Mark Viduka (Australia)

2001: Harry Kewell (Australia)

2002: Brett Emerton (Australia)

2003: ????

Auckland, 5 Feb 2004: The Oceania Football Confederation has announced today that the 2004 OFC Women's Olympic Qualifying soccer tournament will now be held in Ba, Fiji from 2-6 March.

Late withdrawals from the tournament prompted the shift in venue with three teams now confirmed to participate; Fiji (host), Australia and Papua New Guinea.

All matches will be played at Govind Park with the winner decided on overall points based on a single round robin, league system format which will be in force for this tournament.

The OFC Champion will receive direct entry to represent Oceania at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games women's football tournament in August.

Please find below the match schedule:

Match Schedule

Tuesday, 2 March 2004

Round 1:

Fiji vs Papua New Guinea 4:00pm, Govind Park, Ba

Australia bye

Thursday, 4 March 2004

Round 2:

Australia vs Papua New Guinea 4:00pm, Govind Park, Ba

Fiji bye

Saturday, 6 March 2004

Round 3:

Fiji vs Australia 4:00pm, Govind Park, Ba

Papua New Guinea bye

All kick-off times are local in Fiji