Busy regional football schedule underway

NEW YORK: CONCACAF, the regional football oganisation, begins a busy 2004, as seven major events will be taking place in six months from February - July. The Confederation will host four final round qualifying tournaments, Men’s and Women’s Olympic, Under-19 Women, and Futsal; the annual Champions Cup; and its bi-annual CONCACAF Congress (Grenada 2004). This year is also the start of 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualification in the region that kicks off next month.

The Men’s Olympic Qualification is set for Guadalajara, Mexico from February 2-12, while Costa Rica hosts the Women’s series between February 25 and March 5. Two CONCACAF Men’s and Women’s teams will go to the Olympics. World Cup Qualifying, featuring 34 teams, start home and away series on February 18. The 2004 CONCACAF Champions Cup, which has Trinidad and Tobago’s San Juan Jabloteh representing the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), has a straight knockout home-and-away system that begins on March 17. Canada is scheduled to stage the Final Round of the CONCACAF Women’s Under-19 qualifying tournament in Montreal, Quebec and Ottawa, Ontario from May 28 to June 6, and will qualify two teams to the 2004 FIFA U-19 World Championship in November in Thailand. Costa Rica will host the eight-team CONCACAF Futsal Final Round Qualification that must be completed by July 31 and will qualify two nations to the FIFA World Championship in Chinese Taipei starting late November. The CONCACAF 2004 Congress will be held in Grenada from April 28 to May 2.