OFC, Auckland: The Oceania Football Confederation has today announced the match schedule for the forthcoming OFC Futsal World Qualifying Tournament in Canberra next month. The original dates have also been pushed back one day to allow the six teams to train at the match venue before the start of the tournament. The new confirmed dates are 25-29 July 2004.

According to acting OFC General Secretary, Tai Nicholas, "the schedule had been devised in consultation with the host association Australia and will encourage more spectators to the AIS Arena in Canberra with at least two evening matches per day."

In first round match-ups on Sunday, 25 July, Australia will take on Oceania futsal newcomers Solomon Islands in their first ever international in the indoor five-a-side code, while Samoa takes on Fiji and New Zealand plays

Vanuatu in the opening match of the tournament.

The Solomon Islands lack the indoor facilities and experience in futsal, but are expected to provide a stern challenge wholly based on their skill level in the 11-a-side game. They have gone for players on the fringe of national team selection that missed out on the recent FIFA World Cup preliminary qualifiers in Adelaide. A final squad has not yet been named.

Australia named their squad last week and as the reigning number one ranked futsal team in Oceania will prove a daunting prospect for the other five teams, particularly with the home advantage. They have an experienced

collection of players but will be without key forward Elliot Zwangobani - the star of the previous Oceania qualifiers in 1999 - who is unavailable.

New Zealand has yet to release the names of their squad but the majority will likely come from the Auckland leagues where futsal is strongest. New Zealand finished fifth in the 1999 Oceania Futsal Qualifiers.

Vanuatu has a strong domestic league operating in the capital Port Vila and is expected to name a squad of futsal specialists with perhaps one or two players from the Vanuatu national 11-a-side team. Vanuatu hosted the last qualifying tournament in 1999 finishing third.

Fiji recently completed its IDC Inter-District Futsal Championship a few weeks ago and from that tournament, selected their team. Fiji finished second to Australia at the last Oceania qualifiers but its futsal programme is still in its infancy.

Samoa is close to finalising its team selection which will largely be made of players who have played internationally for Samoa in the outdoor game. The game is growing in popularity and national league have been created and played in the off-season. Samoa finished sixth out of seven teams in 1999.

MATCH SCHEDULE

Round 1 - Sunday, 25 July 2004
Match 1:          4.30pm   New Zealand V  Vanuatu 
Match 2:          6.30pm   Samoa       V  Fiji  
Match 3:           8.30pm   Australia  V  Solomon Is  
 
Round 2 - Monday, 26 July 2004     
Match 4:          4.30pm   Solomon Is  V  Samoa
Match 5:          6.30pm   Fiji        V  Vanuatu
Match 6:          8.30pm   New Zealand V  Australia 
 
Round 3 - Tuesday, 27 July 2004
Match 7:          4.30pm   Samoa      V   Vanuatu   
Match 8:          6.30pm   Solomon Is V   New Zealand 
Match 9:          8.30pm   Australia  V   Fiji 
 
Round 4 - Wednesday, 28 July 2004 
Match 10:         4.30pm   Fiji      V    New Zealand 
Match 11:         6.30pm   Vanuatu   V    Solomon Is 
Match 12:         8.30pm   Australia V    Samoa   
 
ound 5 - Thursday, 29 July 2004    
Match 13:         4.30pm   Fiji      V    Solomon Is 
Match 14:         6.30pm   Samoa     V    New Zealand 
Match 15:         8.30pm   Vanuatu   V    Australia

* all kick-off times are local in Canberra (AEST)

OFC, Auckland: Following on from the first two stages of Oceania's World Cup qualification campaign, Australia's pacific island contingent returned to their respective club sides over the weekend with varying successes.

In Australia's North, all four islanders plying their trade in Queensland enjoyed victories, with Vanuatuan striker Richard Iwai getting amongst the goals in Mitchelton's astonishing 4-3 win over second placed Rochedale Rovers in the QPL on Saturday night.

Iwai scored Mitchelton's first goal, only to see his side surrender three to their opponents to face a 3-1 deficit with just twenty minutes remaining.

Remarkably, Iwai and fellow countryman Etienne Mermer assisted their team in reversing what seemed a hopeless scenario to claim all three points and send Mitchelton back into the QPL top four.

The win leaves Mitchelton six points adrift of second place with one game in hand.

Next weekend, Mitchelton face a tricky away trip to seventh placed Brisbane Wolves, with Iwai a doubtful starter due to an ongoing injury concern sustained in Vanuatu's OFC Nations Cup series in Adelaide.

There was also good news for Papua New Guinean starlet Alex Davani, who played another crucial role and scored in Taringa's 3-1 win over Brisbane City at home on Sunday.

Davani, who missed Papua New Guinea's World Cup campaign due to University commitments, was instrumental in the Rovers second consecutive win that has lifted them off the foot of the QPL table to ninth, nine points shy of fourth spot.

Taringa next face fellow strugglers Eastern Suburbs away from home on Sunday, knowing that a win has the capability to thrust the Rovers towards an unlikely finals berth.

In Queensland's Metro One Division, Fijian Raj Kumar, who was an absentee from Tony Buesnel's plans in Apia and Adelaide due to passport complications, helped his side Darra Lions to another victory, this time 2-1 away to Mitchelton.

The Lions win was their twelfth this season and after thirteen rounds, they sit an imposing ten points clear of second placed Taringa Rovers.

Kumar will next be in action for Darra when take on the Brisbane Wolves at home on Saturday night.

In Victoria, the VPL took a one-week hiatus at the weekend to accommodate for round six of the Crazy John's Cup.

Preston Lions, home of Samoan custodian Pasi Schwalger, relinquished a 2-1 lead to go down 3-2 to lower league side Pascoe Vale in golden goal extra time.

Schwalger played another full game for the Lions, who return to the league this weekend where they will be hoping to arrest a two game losing streak that has seen them slip to fourth place after 16 rounds.

Preston host eighth placed Essendon Royals next Sunday, with a win offering the possibility to claim top spot in the VPL.

Also in the Crazy John's Cup, Solomon Islands prodigy Henry Fa'arodo was an absentee from Fawkners 2-1 win over Western Suburbs, meaning the Blues are now just three games away from a grand final berth.

The Blues, and Fa'arodo, mark their return to the league next Sunday when Fawkner travel to third placed St. Albans.

Fawkner currently sit in ninth, 14 points adrift eighth spot and have all but written off their chances of a finals spot in 2004.

In Newcastle, Fijian captain Esala Masi's arrival was not enough to prevent South Cardiff going down 2-0 to the Broadmeadow Magic in round eight of the NNSWPL.

After a promising start to the season, the Gunners have hit the wall in recent times and have not won a match in almost a month.

South Cariff sit in fifth place, nine points away from top spot and will travel to seventh placed Highfields Azzuri next Sunday where they hope to halt their three game winless streak. - By Ben Coonan

MADANG: Port Moresby pulled off a miracle golden goal in extra-time to retain the Papua New Guinea national women's soccer crown in Madang. Locked at 1-all after regulation time, the reigning champion had to fend off a strong challenge from arch rivals Lae in extra time to retain the PNGFA national title at Madang's Laiwaden Oval in front of a capacity crowd of 5000 people.

For their efforts Port Moresby bagged the K5000 first prizemoney. Lae claimed K4500 as runner-up, surprise package New Britain Palm Oil received K2500 for third and Lahi K1000 for fourth place.

Port Moresby came back from 1-0 down with less than 10 minutes remaining to equalise and then score the winner in extra time to win the tight contest 2-1.

With both sides finding it difficult to score, nobody would have believed that after 80 minutes of football Port Moresby had any chance of equalising with only three minutes left to the final whistle.

Lae's star striker Nielen Limbai scored the first goal at the 80th minute after making a clean break to outpace Port Moresby's tiring defenders Karen Dobbin and Josephine Waiwai to score what looked to be the winner.

Port Moresby's experienced hands came through to equalise within minutes of full-time. Former international Serah Guyu scored from one of her trademark direct free-kicks outside the 15m box.The crowd couldn't believe it as it sailed over LFA goalkeeper Nakere Nombre and hit the back of the net.

The silence was deafening and virtually nobody moved except for a handful of staunch Port Moresby supporters.

That effectively put the game back into a stalemate at full-time and 15 minutes added in extra-time with the golden goal rule applied.

For Port Moresby Judith Sauto, Karen Dobbin, Deslyn Siniu and Serah Guyu performed well.

Individual award winners were Deslyn Siniu for Player of the Tournament, Most Consistent Player to Lae's Wanting Yagum, Most Improved to Wau's Rachael Lennie, Top Referee John Koris of Lae and the Fair Play award to Wau. - courtesy Post Courier

OFC, Auckland: The Oceania Football Confederation has confirmed six entries for the 2004 OFC Futsal World Qualifying Tournament in Canberra, Australia next month.

The hosts will be joined by trans-tasman rival New Zealand and island nations Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to find the sole OFC representative to the FIFA Futsal World Championship in Chinese/Taipei on 21 November - 5 December 2004.

The dates for this tournament have been rescheduled to 24-29 July 2004. The OFC is currently working together with the Australian Soccer Association on a match schedule which will be finalised before the end of the month. The match venue has been confirmed as the Arena Complex located at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.

Five of the six competing countries have previous competed in OFC Futsal Qualifiers. It will be an historic occasion for the Solomon Islands who will be entering their first OFC Futsal qualifying tournament. Futsal (indoor 5-a-side soccer) is still relatively new in the Solomons but if the success of their junior boy's teams at the past two Australian National Championships is anything to go by, the transition should not be too difficult for the skilful Melanesians.

The previous Oceania World Futsal Qualifiers were held five years ago in Port Vila, Vanuatu. On that occasion, Australia won through to the 2000 FIFA Futsal World Championship in Guatemala. Australia also represented the OFC at the 1992 and 1996 World Champs.

According to acting OFC General Secretary, Tai Nicholas, the commitment of six teams is a positive sign for the development of Futsal in Oceania.

"We are pleased with the interest shown in entering this tournament, and particularly with the entry of the Solomon Islands who will make their debut in international futsal," said Mr Nicholas.

"The OFC has expanded its ongoing commitment to developing futsal and this year we have initiated a scheme to provide technical support for those OFC national associations that require assistance."

NADI: Perennial Fijian powerhouse Ba has notched up another victory winning the Fiji FACT tournament in Nadi yesterday. The star studded outfit were too good for an outclassed Suva team in the end, winning the final 2-0 in front of a capacity crowd of over 10,000 at Prince Charles Park.

The team has dedicated their win to the late former Fiji and Ba coach Billy Singh who passed away last month. Ba, who is currently leading the national league, also walked away with the F$10,000 in prize-money on offer.

Led by first time captain Peni Finau, the `men in black' wreaked havoc on the Suva defence. Manoa Masi was the hero with two goals, the first capitalising on a bad clearance by a Suva defender and the second coming from the penalty spot when referee Leone Rakaroi punished a handball in the area by Suva's Jone Lati. His display was a statement to the national selectors after missing the cut for the recent World Cup qualifiers in Apia and Adelaide.

At half-time, Suva was dead and buried staring down a 0-2 deficit but did well to minimise the carnage in the second half with no addition to the score. Pita Rabo was a shining light in a losing cause. Earlier, Suva defeated Rewa in the semi-final 1-0 with Ba edging Nadi 6-4 in a high scoring and entertaining semi. Boosted by the inclusion of Solomon Islands internationals, Nadi failed to live up to the hype playing at home.

MADANG: Ten teams are contesting the 2004 Papua New Guinea Football Association women's national championship which kicked off in the coastal township of Madang over the weekend. Over K5000 in prizemoney is on offer for the winning team.

Reigning champions Port Moresby were up against rival associations Lahi, Lae, Boana, Kimbe, New Britain, Goroka, Wabag, Madang and Wau in their quest to defend their title. Port Moresby won last year's championship beating Lae 2-0 in the final.

The Port Moresby team has the most internationals at their disposal but was expected to face fierce opposition especially from home favourites Madang led by their sole international Tracey Kig.

Current and young internationals on show in Madang and according to PNGFA Acting General Secretary, Noel Mobiha, it will further provide exposure to up and coming women players striving for future representation.

"Women's soccer is growing and we are rated the number one women's soccer nation outside of New Zealand and Australia so we hope to maintain that popularity through events like this," he said.

ASA: Australian Soccer Association (ASA) Chief Executive John O'Neill has revealed that 20 submissions have been received for entry into the new national competition set to start in 2005.

O'Neill also announced the appointment of former Acting Australian Rugby Union (ARU) CEO Matt Carroll as the ASA Head of Operations, with the new national competition and community soccer major parts of his portfolio.

The submissions have been received from as far north as Darwin, Cairns and Townsville to Tasmania in the south and across the Tasman. O'Neill indicated three-quarters are 'looking solid'.

The new national competition is set to kick off in August 2005, with only eight franchises to line-up for the 2005 start.

To get an indication of which teams are serious about their inclusion in the eight-team (one team per city) league, O'Neill said each has been asked to lodge a deposit, of which the majority has responded positively.

"We've asked for a deposit to be paid, which is not an overly expensive deposit, but it does actually force them to give an indication of how serious they are," O'Neill said on Friday.

The successful franchises are expected to be revealed in August this year, with a soft competition set down for early next year, with the winner likely to be Australia's representative for the World Club Championship qualifiers.

"The incentive being whoever wins it, wins the right to play in the Oceania play-offs for the World Club Championship, so it's quite an attractive carrot," O'Neill remarked.

O'Neill also revealed ASA is expecting a firm offer from a network for television rights to the national teams and the new competition, next week.

NADI: The Fiji FACT tournament has reached the semi-final stage today with four teams left standing and no doubt with weary legs after a hectic weekend of football action at Prince Charles Park.

In perhaps the tougher of the two semis, national league champs Ba play the star-studded Nadi team in one semi, while surprise Pool 2 winners Suva will take on Pool 1 runner up Rewa.

Ba expectedly won Pool 1 while the hosts Nadi were shunted from the top spot in Pool 2 after going down in an upset to Suva 1-3. Led by Fijian international Thomas Vulivuli, Suva shut down Nadi's strike force of Veresa Toma and Solomon Islands international Batram Suri to secure the easier route to the final. Suva has been the team to impress thus far going through the preliminaries with straight victories - the only team to do so. Rewa was the last to qualify for the semis after drawing with Lautoka.

About 20,000 people have passed through the gates and Fiji Football Association chief executive Bob Kumar is confident of a good turnout today.

"We have had a good tournament despite the unfavourable weather," Kumar told the Daily Post. "We will be opening the gates at 7am tomorrow (today)."

ASA: The Qantas Young Matildas (the Australian U19 Women's Team) are looking forward to the challenge at this year's FIFA U19 Women's World Championship, after being drawn in Group A alongside Thailand, Europe's second-ranked nation, and Canada at today's Draw Ceremony in Thailand, host of the twelve-nation Championship in November.

Women's National Coach Adrian Santrac, in Bangkok for the Draw, was excited with the team's grouping in what he feels will be a tough competition all round.

"It's a fantastic group - we're delighted," said Santrac. "Canada, the number one CONCACAF team, will be formidable, Europe's number two side will also be very, very tough, and Thailand will be playing at home. All three groups are very, very tough. With the twelve teams broken up this way, they're all very hard."

"We're based in Bangkok - we don't have to move at all, and all the finals (from the quarterfinals onwards) are in Bangkok too. It's a positive thing, and now we need to get our preparations right. I'm happy with the overall program - the order (of matches) is not that critical here."

The Qantas Young Matildas kick off their campaign against Canada on 10 November, before facing Europe's number two nation on 13 November, and hosts Thailand on 16 November.

The Qantas Young Matildas are aiming to do as well or even better than the highly successful Australian U19 side which competed at Canada 2002, the inaugural U19 Women's World Championship. Exceeding all expectations, the team on that occasion came away with an impressive 5th place, reaching the quarterfinals where they went down 4-3 in extra-time in a thriller against the highly-favoured Brazil.

Thailand will compete in the event as host nation. Yet, although they have not been considered an elite country in women's football ranks at youth or senior level, they certainly made their mark at the Asian U19 qualifiers which finished a week ago. Thailand defeated Chinese Taipei, who competed at the 2002 world championship, in the quarterfinals before going down to the eventual champions South Korea in the semifinals. Thailand had finished 8th in the 2002 Asian qualifiers.

Canada were finalists in the 2002 U19 World Championship final before their home crowd, and only lost out on the world title on a golden goal to favourites USA. However, last weekend, they turned the tables, winning the final of the CONCACAF (North & Central America, and Caribbean region) U19 qualifiers, usurping the mighty US from the number one position.

Europe's four competing nations will be decided with the staging of the finals tournament of the UEFA European Women's U19 Championship in July/August in Finland. The eight competing nations are Germany, Spain, France, Norway, Italy, Switzerland, Russia, and Finland. Three of Europe's four teams at Canada 2002 reached the quarterfinals, with Germany playing in the semifinals.

At Thailand 2004, the top two teams from each of the three groups advance to the quarterfinals, along with the two best third-placed sides.

The Draw Ceremony was conducted in Bangkok this afternoon, with Thailand automatically placed in the first spot in Group A as the host nation. The other seeded teams were "Europe 1", Brazil, and Canada.

The Qantas Young Matildas qualified for Thailand 2004 in April this year, winning the Oceania U19 Women's Qualifying Tournament in Papua New Guinea.

The twelve finalist nations for Thailand 2004 were drawn into three groups as follows. Europe and Africa will complete their qualification process later in the year.

Group A - Thailand, Europe 2, AUSTRALIA, Canada.

Group B - Africa, China, Europe 4, Brazil.

Group C - South Korea, USA, Europe 3, Europe 1.

The FIFA U19 Women's World Championship Thailand 2004 will be contested 10-27 November in three host cities - Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Phuket.

FIFA.com: This month's FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking is dominated by a raft of FIFA World Cup^TM qualifying matches on various continents and the countless games played in the build-up to EURO 2004 in Portugal. At the top, Brazil continues to hold a healthy lead over France and Spain thanks to their crucial victory over Argentina. Mexico (4th, up 2) now heads the chasing pack, closely followed by Argentina, the Netherlands and Turkey (all 5th).

However, most of this month's movers come from Oceania, where no fewer than 35 qualifying matches for the 2006 FIFA World Cup^TM have taken place in recent weeks. Australia (49th, up 40) take a giant leap and return to the top 50 after nearly a year's absence and a lengthy period of inactivity, and despite being eliminated from the FIFA World Cup^TM qualifiers, New Zealand (80th, up 15) also make progress up the ranking.

The Oceanian surprise packages, the Solomon Islands (130th, up 24) and Vanuatu (142nd, up 19), are also on the rise, as are Tahiti, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. Elsewhere, Chile (65th, up 12) and Peru (72nd, up 9) also take strides up the table. 2006 FIFA World Cup^TM qualifiers are underway in Africa, with Senegal (26th, up 5) and Côte d'Ivoire (69th, up 6) both taking advantage. Despite only making their debut in this month's ranking, there is already daylight between FIFA's newest member, New Caledonia (186th, new entry), and the teams at the very foot of the table.

Rank Team Pts: Rank: May 04

49 Australia 558 89

80 New Zealand 510 96

117 Tahiti 398 135

130 Solomon Islands 362 154

133 Fiji 359 149

142 Vanuatu 313 163

160 Papua New Guinea 237 178

177 Samoa 180 181

182 Tonga 154 185

186 New Caledonia 119 0

190 Cook Islands 103 192

203 American Samoa 20 203