The Oceania Football Confederation is pleased to announce the draw and format for the 2006/2007 OFC Champions League.

The top club teams from the top six National Associations, based on the 2006 OFC Club Championships, New Zealand will compete in a new two group home and away round robin tournament based on a league system.

The two group winners advance to a home and away final with the winner qualifying for the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup and potential prize money of $US1 million.

The groups for the 2006/2007 OFC Champions League were drawn at the OFC Executive Committee Meeting in Munich, Germany on 6 June 2006 and are as follows:

GROUP A

AUCKLAND CITY (NZL)

AS TEMANAVA (TAH)

AS MONT DORE (NCL)

GROUP B

4R ELECTRICAL BA (FIJ)

PORT VILA SHARKS (VAN)

MARIST FC (SOL)

Defending OFC Champions, Auckland City, will begin the defence of their title with two difficult away matches, the first on Sunday January 21st 2007 against AS Mont Dore of New Caledonia, the second on Tuesday January 23rd 2007 against Port Vila Sharks of Vanuatu.

The only club apart from Auckland City to return from last season's competition is Marist FC of the Solomon Islands.

Oceania Football Confederation General Secretary, Tai Nicholas, said the new competition format was an exciting prospect and gave football fans across the region a better opportunity to see the best players and clubs in action.

"Previously the OFC Club Championship was hosted at one venue. This placed pressure on facilities and the hosting National Association. With the new format spreading games out to different venues throughout the South Pacific I am sure the new format and potential qualification for the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup will capture the imagination of fans."

The Solomon Island Bilikiki boys drew 3-all with a local side in Brazil as preparations for the 2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup move ahead.

Reports reaching SIFF Media office confirm the match saying the local side gave the boys a taste of what to expect from countries that have been playing beach soccer for sometime a long time.

The Bilikiki's were supposed to play against the Brazilian national beach soccer team in the friendly but with communication problem, the match did not eventuate.

Assistant Coach, Viv Wickham says they played only one third of the match on Tuesday evening because the team had arrived late and drew 3-3.

"We played a local select side on Tuesday evening. Only played one third (12minutes) against them because they arrived late, we drew 3-3. The boys are looking forward to the tournament and are enjoying the experience."

"It looks like we won´t be able to have any proper friendlies while we are here as we have not had any correspondence with them, this is a set back but we are used to set backs so Eddie Omokirio and I have taken the opportunity for the boys to familiarize themselves with the sand and the climate.

"The sand is a lot finer than what we are used to, it slows you down a bit however the boys are training hard two times a day and will once again have the chance to familiarize once more in Rio as of Saturday(last weekend), says Wickham

Media are invited to a press conference to be jointly hosted by Auckland City and football's world governing body, FIFA.

FIFA will acknowledge Auckland City's qualification for the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup in Japan at the conference by presenting the Oceania champions with an official FIFA Diploma and Pennant.

General Secretary, Tai Nicholas, will represent the Oceania Football Confederation at the groundbreaking event.

A dozen Japanese journalists are expected to attend the event at Auckland's Langham Hotel as global interest in the tournament's only amateur qualifiers gathers pace.

Auckland City have drawn the yet-to-be-decider champions of Africa in their first round (quarterfinal) match in Toyota City on December 10.

Victory would earn Auckland a dream showdown with South American (CONMEBOL) champions Internacional (Brazil) in Tokyo on Wednesday, December 13.

Defeat would leave the two-time New Zealand Football Championship winners playing off for fifth place in Yokohama on December 15 against the loser of the second quarterfinal between Mexico's Club America (North and Central American and Caribbean) and the yet to be decided Asian (AFC) champions.

Auckland City chairman Ivan Vuksich, coach Roger Wilkinson and players - including new Japanese signing Teruo Iwamoto - will be available for one-on-one interviews after the media conference. New Zealand Soccer chief executive Graham Seatter, chairman John Morris and FIFA Players Committee member and Oceania Player of the Century Wynton Rufer will also attend.

The official FIFA Club World Cup trophy will also be available for photo opportunities.

Media are invited to set up technical gear from 10am when morning tea will be served before the official presentation at 10.30am.

A light lunch will be served after the media conference.

MEDIA CONFERENCE

What: FIFA Club World Cup Media Conference

When: Tuesday, October 31. 10am for 10.30am.

Where: Langham Hotel, Westhaven Room, 83 Symonds Street, Auckland

Who: FIFA, Auckland City chairman Ivan Vuksich, coach Roger Wilkinson, players, New Zealand Soccer chief executive Graham Seatter.

OFC Technical Director, Jim Selby, and OFC Head of Women's football, Connie Selby, have been encouraged by work done at the ground breaking OFC Technical Director Workshop at the OFC Academy in Auckland, New Zealand this week.

It was the first time Technical Directors from the Oceania Football Confederation had gathered together to discuss issues of development in the region and plan future strategies to overcome common problems.

OFC Technical Director, Jim Selby, was adamant the workshop would add value to improving technical standards throughout the region.

"The purpose of the workshop has been to share information, encourage discussion and facilitate programmes in each Member Association within the region; basically, how we can do things better in Oceania," Selby said.

Selby said it was vital Oceania Football Confederation considered each Member Association's unique environment and tailored technical development programmes specifically to each country.

"What may work in one country may not work in another. We have to make the programmes we implement in some way interconnected and where we can create generic programmes where applicable. What we do has to be deliverable."

The workshop acted as a fact-finding mission with Technical Directors telling their peers what was happening in their respective nations in technical development and what issues and challenges existed.

There was much common ground.

American Samoa's David Brand and Cook Island's Tim Jerks said that one of the key challenges both nations faced was increasing the numbers of elite players to choose from which at present stood at a few dozen.

"In American Samoa there are big numbers of immigrants playing football; Koreans, South Americans, and they represent approximately 70% of the player base we have to choose from. The remaining 30% are American Samoan and so producing a competitive international team is obviously a struggle. American sports such as gridiron and baseball are also very popular and we get little or no football on television," Brand said.

American Samoa had also not played a competitive international since the last FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, though Brand hoped that would change with the possibility of a match against near neighbours Samoa.

Tim Jerks reiterated many of those sentiments, "We have a selection choice of maybe 30-40 players to make up an international team and whilst there is talent there we only have a small base to choose from. Rugby Union has been the number one sport and affects the numbers of registered players and there isn't much televised football," Jerks said.

Like American Samoa who have looked to mainland USA for players, the Cook Islands have looked to source players from New Zealand and Australia who possess Cook Islands ancestry or the relevant passports.

Women's football faced similar challenges. Papua New Guinea have circumvented many of the issues by stating that for a men's club to compete in any league competition, it is compulsory to field a women's team, or be deemed ineligible to play.

Boroko Motors Cosmos have defeated Lae Biscuit Company LBC Poro 3-2 in the LFA Grand Final at the Lae Football Association Park.

BM Cosmos took the lead in the first five minutes when Michael Foster raced through centre of the midfield and scored at the rain-soaked venue.

LBC Poro FC's Raymond Guemba - described as the goal scoring machine by his club's supporters - did not wait long before levelling the game when he scored in the 10th minute from a corner kick.

Michael Foster restored BM Cosmos lead shortly after. LBC Poro was struggled through till half time with BM Cosmos finishing the first half clearly in the ascendancy.

LBC Poro frustrations saw them launch an offensive on BM Cosmos in the second half. Raymond Guemba was the goal hero again for LBC Poro when he equalised in the 50th minute.

With time running out BM Cosmos Fabian Dorrin sent BM Cosmos into ecstasy with the winning goal in the 87th minute to hand his side a dramatic late victory.

PNGFA Media Officer Thomas Kambi

The Bilikiki boys will have their first training run today almost 20 hours after they flew into Vitoria in Brazil.

They arrived on Sunday (Saturday in Brazil) and spent the good part of yesterday catching up on much needed sleep.

Team spokesman, Viv Wickham says the team was absolutely exhausted after 2 days of strenuous travel.

"From Santiago where I last updated you, we flew into Sao Paolo international airport (Pele´s old club town) for a 30 minutes refill and then onward to Rio De Janeiro where we checked out and caught our connection flight to Vitoria.

"Sao Paolo is the industrial hub of Brazil, Rio is re-known for tourism. Rio is a lot greener than Sao Paolo, the one thing that struck me from the air was the amount of futsal and soccer pitches," says Wickham.

There were more surprises awaiting them as they connected their flights to get to Vitoria.

According to Viv, the Rio airport reminded him of somewhere in Eastern Europe, the terminal was made of concrete and look like its hasn't been renovated since the 80's.

"They do not have a computerized customs control area, much to our surprise as we were expecting it to be top class."

He says from the moment they stepped out of the terminal they were hounded by everyone, taxi drivers, airport workers e.t.c. not because they were going to play in the world cup, but they (Brazilians) were offering to convert their overseas currency to the Brazilian Rais (dollar) with the hope of getting a commission.

"It seemed that they would do anything for money. The entire team was shocked and scared to be quite honest, we did not know anyone, no one met us at the airport and hardly anyone could speak english, it was all Portugese, they started to get aggressive when we told them we had no money to convert and then they started asking for our lotto gear though we hadn´t even kicked a ball yet."

"We finally found the domestic terminal and checked everyone in for Vitoria using sign language to communicate. It was a 40 minutes plane ride to Vitoria from Rio, from the air we realized that Vitoria was something similar to the Gold Coast in Australia, isolated yet very high class and tailor made for tourism."

It was the first time for us to see golden beaches.

The team was met at the airport their by their liaison officer and a beach soccer official from the Brazilian Beach soccer confederation.

"We arrived at the airport not knowing who was going to meet us and how we were gonna get to our hotel. It was so comforting to see someone standing with a sign ``Welcome Solomon Islands´´ so we wandered over to this guy, it was our liaison officer and a beach soccer official from the Brazilian Beach Soccer Confederation, they spoke minimal english.

The boys were later taken to the waiting vans and headed off to their hotel.

"The lifestyle here is similar to that in the Cook Islands and Tahiti where life is laid back, bicycles everywhere and endless golden beaches."

They had their first walk about around the beach front yesterday morning to familiarize themselves with the new environment before getting into the real stuff.

Auckland City has bolstered its squad for December's FIFA Club World Cup by signing former Japanese soccer international Teruo Iwamoto on a short-term contract.

The 34-year-old midfielder has joined the New Zealand Football Championship titleholders as a "marquee player" until the conclusion of the FIFA showpiece in Iwamoto's home land from December 10-17.

Iwamoto's seven-week deal means he will be eligible to play five NZFC matches prior to Auckland's Club World Cup debut where they have drawn the yet-to-be-decided champions of Africa in their opening match in Toyota City on December 10.

Auckland chairman Ivan Vuksich described Iwamoto's signing, released simultaneously to the New Zealand and Japanese media, as a "coup" for the club.

Renowned as a free-kick specialist, the left-footed Iwamoto has scored 32 goals in 191 J-League appearances for Vegalta Sendai and Nagoya Grampus. His international career includes nine caps and two goals for Japan.

A piano player of some ability, Iwamoto has also recently starred on the television series Kaido Tekuteku Tabi which saw him walk the 500km of Japan's historic Tokaido Highway.

"It's quite a coup," Vuksich told nzsoccer.com said of the signing of the 180cm, 74kg Iwamoto.

"I'd say he's at least as good as [Auckland's talented South African striker] Grant Young when he joined the club. I think he'll make an impact like that and that's pretty special."

Vuksich believes Iwamoto, who is on the comeback trial from injury, will help Auckland win over the crowds in Japan who are already likely to adopt the Oceania champions as the amateur underdogs in a tournament boasting European heavyweights FC Barcelona.

"He was injured last year and failed to pick up a J-League contract so he wants to show the Japanese public he's still up to it. We're very fortunate to get someone who has got so much to prove," Vuksich said.

"We worked very, very hard to get him."

Iwamoto is due in Auckland on October 29, two days before the club hosts a FIFA-orchestrated media conference which is set to attract at least 12 Japanese journalists to New Zealand.

He is set to make his NZFC debut against visiting Waikato FC on November 4 and will also be available for Auckland's home games against Team Wellington and YoungHeart Manawatu on November 18 and December 3 respectively.

South Island fans will also get the chance to see the J-League hall-of-famer with Auckland's away matches during Iwamoto's stint against Canterbury United (November 11) and Otago United (November 26).

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Ivan Vuksich

Chairman

Auckland City

021 387 956

Roger Wilkinson

Head coach

Auckland City

021 919 160

The Bilikiki Beach Soccer appeal has provided a much needed boost in morale and resources this morning when a Member of Parliament for West New Georgia and Vona Vona constituency, the Honorable Peter Boyers, handed over a cheque for $20,000 to SIFF General Secretary Eddie Ngava.

The assistance from one of soccer's staunch supporters was welcomed by SIFF General Secretary Eddie Ngava who commended him for coming forward.

He noted with appreciation the assistance saying Hon. Boyers is amongst the first respondents to SIFF's latest appeal and thanked him for generously donating money to assist the Bilikiki Beach soccer boys.

He stresses that the MP's relationship with football dates back to the time of late Allan Boso when his office and facilities were used temporarily as football office.

During the reign of the last government, he was also instrumental in providing financial assistance to SIFF when Solomon Islands qualified for the Nations Cup and World Cup play off in 2004 and 2005.

In recognition of his patronage, SIFF appointed him as the Head of Delegation during the World Cup qualifiers in 2004.

His assistance this morning showed he is not only a staunch supporter but a true friend of football.

In his brief speech, Hon. Boyers says the donation to Bilikiki beach soccer team is made in the spirit that soccer is the inspiration of Solomon Islands in sport.

"This donation to the Bilikiki team is made in the spirit that soccer is the inspiration of our country in sports and most especially our youth that have shown the desire and skills to perform so well for our country and also the pacific," he adds.

Hon. Boyers says as a leader in this country from West New Georgia and Vona Vona constituency, this donation represents the soccer loving youth and supporters of his constituency and calls on all other MPs to support the spirit that these young ambassadors represent at the World Cup Competition.

"And I know that these young men represents the hopes and expectations of all young soccer fans in this country and with this donation of support from myself and the soccer youth from West New Georgia, we wish the Bilikiki beach soccer contingent the best of soccer," he adds.

Coincidentally, `Bilikiki' is the local name of a common bird in the Roviana dialect that is found in many parts of the country particularly on the beaches.

Hon. Boyer's says his donation is fitting because the name Bilikiki is from his constituency.

It also has a special dance which is popular in the Western part of the country and adopted by other Solomon Islanders when performing local dances overseas.

Meanwhile, SIFF would also like to thank and make mention of Ruby Lee ($200), Thompson Turueke ($200), David Chow who provided a dinner for the Bilikiki and another longtime friend of football Rolland Timo who donated $5,000 toward this cause.

* The Bilikiki Beach soccer team departed for Brazil and the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup yesterday.

The team is expected to engage in a couple of friendly matches with local teams and will travel to the competition venue couple of days before the tournament starts.

The team was in camp at the SIFF Academy this week and were training twice a day at the improvised beach court at Ranadi.

The Bilikiki played against a team from the Mataniko river mouth in the second friendly match recording a win but that is unlikely to represent the standard the Bilikiki will encounter at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

New Caledonia will begin preparation for the 2007 Oceania Football Confederation U20 tournament this weekend. The team will be coached and selected by former Baco FC coach Didier Chambaron.

Federation Caledonienne de Football spokesman Jean-Paul Salvatore was confident the team would be competitive come January when the final squad will arrive in Auckland.

The team will depend on the performances of the defensive partnership of Jordan Nimbo and Jean-Christ Zenlier. They will be assisted by club-mate Pierre Tikoure. All three players come from National League club USC. USC are currently struggling at the bottom of the New Caledonian National League but is comprised of mainly young players in a competition that is largely dominated by its physicality.

The New Caledonian U-20 side will gather at the Pentecost Stadium in Noumea for their first training session as their preparation programme for 2007 begins.

The Bilikiki Beach Soccer team is heading off to Brazil, carrying the hopes of the Oceania to the FIFA World Competition.

The team will transit through Brisbane and spend the night in Sydney leaving the next day for Vitoria, Brazil where they will be base before the tournament proper.

It will be Solomon Islands first World Cup appearance in any soccer code and all eyes will be fixed on the Bilikiki team when they go up against the some of the Worlds soccer powerhouses, Portugal, Uruguay and Cameroon.

All three countries had participated in the World Cup soccer finals previously and will go into the competition with high expectations.

The Bilikiki team is an unknown quality, and though stage fright may likely be their biggest obstacle, the players have vowed to give their best shot in Rio when they take on their opponents.

Other countries have former superstars in their line-up, the Oceania representative will go with their amateur players in their first world outing.

"We have equal number of legs and see no reason why our opponents are any different to us," said coach Vivian Wickham.

Two of the most experienced players in the team, captain, Gideon Omokirio and Henry Koto have expressed confidence their confidence saying they will give their best shot in Rio.