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AFC CAF CONCACAF
A FIFA Com-Unity workshop for the Football
Association of Malaysia (FAM) held
in November proved to be a resounding
success, with non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) and the media agreeing
to join hands and work for the good of
the community through the beautiful
game. The course focused on communications,
marketing and the role of NGOs
and was inaugurated by AFC President
Mohamed bin Hammam. Jurg Nepfer,
FIFA’s head of course programmes,
steered the three-day course.
In his opening speech, Bin Hammam
underlined the importance of marketing
and communications in developing
the game. “There are huge fi nancial
opportunities around us, but so far our
associations, clubs and leagues have not
been able to pick this up due to a lack
of knowledge and know-how,” he said.
“We need to have these skills if we want
to take our football to the next level.”
FAM General Secretary Ibrahim Saad
stressed the need for a fl exible mindset
to adapt to the fast-changing world of
football. “We must not only concern ourselves
with matters on the fi eld but also
with marketing and communications,”
he said. “This workshop provided us with
the opportunity to renovate and innovate
our administration in order to cope with
the demands of the modern game.”
A nationwide professional league will be
launched in Bangladesh in October
2006 as part of the AFC’s “Vision Asia”
project. The “Vision Asia” team provided
the rules and regulations for the new
league. To strengthen its administration,
the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF)
has already started recruiting professional
staff. “I hope the new structured
league will boost the game in the country
and help the teams in a big way,” said
BFF General Secretary Anwarul Hoq
Helel. “The league will have 10 to 12
clubs, including clubs from the far-fl ung
areas of Chittagong, Slyhet, Khulna,
Rajshai and possibly Barisal.”
Michelle Chai
Top club Al Ahly from Egypt lifted their
fourth African Champions League trophy
on 12 November after beating Tunisia’s
Etoile du Sahel 3-0 in front of a jubilant
home crowd. The fi rst leg in Sousse had
ended in a goalless draw. Al Ahly from
Cairo is one of the most traditional and
prestigious clubs in Africa and the most
successful one in Egypt, having won
the domestic league 30 times and the
national cup competition on 33 occasions.
Forces Armées Royales (FAR) became
the first Moroccan side to lift the
Confederation Cup on 19 November
after beating Nigeria’s Dolphins 3-0 in
the second leg of the fi nal to win 3-1 on
aggregate, having lost 1-0 to Dolphins
in the fi rst leg. Accra Hearts of Oak from
Ghana won the fi rst ever Confederation
Cup in 2004. FAR from the city of Rabat
is the most successful Moroccan club
(11 league titles, 8 cup titles) followed
by Wyad AC (WAC) from Casablanca (10
league titles, 9 cups).
Rafi q Khan, President of the Zimbabwe
Football Association (ZIFA), told local
media in November that the “Warriors”,
Zimbabwe’s senior national team, would
gather for a training camp on 26 December
in preparation for the 2006 African
Cup of Nations and remain together until
the Egypt fi nals, which roar into life on
20 January 2006. The “Warriors”, who
make their second successive Nations
Cup appearance in very diffi cult company,
are hoping to survive in a Group
D that also includes World Cup-bound
Ghana, and powerhouses Nigeria and
Senegal. Suleiman Habuba
Trinidad & Tobago will be the fourth
Caribbean team in history to play in the
FIFA World Cup fi nals when the team
takes to the fi eld in Germany in June. A
play-off victory over Asian rivals Bahrain
means that the “Soca Warriors” join
Jamaica (France 1998), Haiti (Germany
1974) and Cuba (France 1938) on the
list of Caribbean teams to play in FIFA’s
global showpiece event.
Mexico will host the CONCACAF
Women’s Under-20 Final Round from
18–27 January 2006. The tournament,
from which three teams will qualify for
the FIFA Women’s U-20 World Championship
Russia 2006 (16 August – 2
September), has hosts Mexico in Group
A alongside Canada, Panama and Trinidad
& Tobago, while Group B has the
USA along with El Salvador, Jamaica
and Surinam.
This event will be the fi rst time that El
Salvador have played in the fi nal stages
of a CONCACAF women’s tournament.
They earned a place in the CONCACAF
Women’s Under-20 Final Round by fi nishing
fi rst, ahead of Costa Rica and Guatemala,
in one of the Central American
qualifying events.
The path is clear for a Toronto-based team
to join the USA’s top men’s professional
league, Major League Soccer (MLS), following
a decision of CONCACAF’s Executive
Committee on 21 November.
The committee unanimously supported
the proposal, already approved by both
The Canadian Soccer Association (CSA)
and the US Soccer Federation (USSF),
that a Canadian team could enter the
MLS starting with the 2007 season.
The Toronto-based team will be the fi rst
non-US club to compete in the MLS.
The league, which has just celebrated its
tenth anniversary, is currently comprised
of 12 teams based in cities across the
USA. Jason Hughes
CONMEBOL OFC UEFA
A survey conducted by Uruguayan
Sports Web has revealed that 62.4% of
fans would like to see a new national
coach in place. Despite being asked by
the Uruguayan football association to
continue in his position, Jorge Fossati
refused to take charge of the friendly
match against a Galicia XI on 29 December.
And with that, he waved goodbye to
the national team of Uruguay.
Fossati had taken over in April 2004
after a series of defeats and managed
to steer the team to fi fth place in the
South American qualifi ers of the 2006
FIFA World Cup, after remaining
unbeaten throughout the second half
of the qualifying campaign. But in the
deciding play-off against Australia,
Uruguay’s luck ran out. He described
that day as the worst thing that has ever
happened to him.
On 25 November 2005, in an unprecedented,
ground-breaking decision in
the history of Colombian football,
two hooligans of Independiente Santa
Fe from Bogota were sentenced to 20
years of prison for attacking two other
spectators with knives at the Campin
stadium during a match against America
de Cali on 11 May 2005.
The attackers were named as Julio
Alberto Trivino and Augusto Eduardo
Bonilla, and the victims of the brawl,
which was captured on television, were
Jeison Ortiz and Kevin Gomez.
The president of the Venezuelan football
association (VFF), Rafael Esquivel,
met national coach Richard Paez on
16 November 2005 to discuss his new
contract and future plans for the Venezuela
team.
The VFF plans to keep Paez as the
national coach for the 2007 Copa America
and the next World Cup cycle. Given
that the coach is willing to continue in
his position, all they have to agree on
are certain outstanding points. It seems
a foregone conclusion that he will stay
on. Jorge Barraza
Sobou FC were one of the fi rst clubs
to confi rm their place in the 2006 OFC
Club Championship with their fifth
consecutive Papua New Guinea
national club title at Laiwaden Oval in
Madang. Sobou defeated Cosmos 4-2
in the fi nal with goals from Solomon
Islander Clifford Wate (2), Sovera Guti
and Andrew Kasam. Andrew Lepani
replied twice for Cosmos. In the match
for third place, Momads defeated Blue
Kumuls 3-0. Sobou also played in the
2005 OFC Club Championship in Tahiti
with limited success and will hope for a
better outcome this year.
Still in Melanesia, the Solomon Islands
recently opened their second phase FIFA
Goal project in Honiara. Solomon Islands
Football Federation (SIFF) president
Martin Alufurai announced that the Alan
Boso National Soccer Academy would be
a facility dedicated to the development
of youth and women’s football in the
country. The ceremony also served as
an opportunity to remember the hard
work of Matthew Kausimae, the former
CEO of SIFF, who passed away just days
before the inauguration ceremony. OFC
president Reynald Temarii attended the
ceremony as a guest of honour.
Delegates from all 12 OFC member
associations descended on Moorea in
French Polynesia recently to discuss
the strategic direction of the confederation
during a three-day workshop. Input
was sourced from the member associations
regarding the development of the
OFC competitions calendar from 2006
to 2009 and the OFC technical strategy.
The workshop was also an opportunity
to congratulate Australia on their qualifi
cation for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
and to bid them farewell from the confederation.
FIFA’s Walter Gagg was on
hand to witness the sense of unity and
friendship among the football family of
Oceania that was strengthened by the
workshop. Seamus Marten
The Portuguese football association
recently launched one of its most ambitious
projects: the construction of the
Portuguese House of Football (Casa
das Selecções/Casa do Futebol) on the
outskirts of Lisbon. The centre will cover
16 hectares and will boast four football
pitches and all the necessary facilities for
the country’s national teams to prepare
for matches. The centre will also have
its own hotel, a restaurant, tennis courts
and a sports hall. Work is already underway
and the fi rst stage of the project is
scheduled to be completed by the end
of 2006.
Jaka Jakopic is a former NK Domzale
player who successfully fought cancer.
He recently returned to football and also
encouraged the Slovenian footballers’
association (SPINS) to join the “Heads
up” campaign that aims to improve
public awareness of cancer and fi ght
against misconceptions of the disease.
The campaign has also raised funds to
help cancer sufferers.
The Football Association of Ireland (FAI)
has joined forces with the Irish Rugby
Football Union and the Irish government
to build a new stadium at Lansdowne
Road. The entire project has a budget
of EUR 365 million. Work is scheduled
to start in early 2007 and should be
completed by mid-2009. Andre Vieli
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FEBRUARY 2006 FEBRUARY 2006
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