SIGNALS/SENALES/SIGNALS FROM THE FOOTBALL CONFEDERATION SENALES/SIGNALS/SENALES DE LA CONFEDERACION DE FUTBOL News and events from around The Football Confederation. October 19, 1999. NEXT ROUND OF OLYMPIC QUALIFYING GAMES CONFIRMED – EXCEPT FOR HURRICANE IRENE AND ONE MORE MATCH The next three group stages of qualification for the Olympic Games of 2000 in Sydney, Australia, are now complete except for the huge task set for the Dominican Republic by Cuba – and by Hurricane Irene. Down by 4-0 after the first game, the Dominican Republic were due in Cuba for the return game last Sunday but Hurricane Irene caused flight cancellations for the team, for the Match Commissioner, Lisle Austin of Barbados, and the game officials. So, Cuba will now try to hold on to their lead, or improve it, on October 24, thus confirming their place in Group A to be played next March. Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago confirmed their place by drawing 2-2 in Barbados. The format of The Football Confederation’s qualifying competition for the Olympic Football Tournament, Sydney 2000 is as follows: – Twelve teams have been placed in three groups of four and will compete in a round robin with the top two teams earning a berth to the finals to be held in the United States, April 21-30, 2000. As hosts, the United States receives a bye into the finals. – Each group will play in a different venue. Venues will be announced. The groups are: GROUP A — USA (bye), PANAMA, CUBA(or the Dominican Republic), BERMUDA March 8-12 (Cuba vs. Dominican Republic will be determined 24.10.99). GROUP B — MEXICO, COSTA RICA, JAMAICA, HONDURAS March 22-26 GROUP C — CANADA, GUATEMALA, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES, T&T April 5-9 Full schedule of games to be announced later. CARIBBEAN ZONE PRELIMINARIES RESULTS Caribbean 1: 25.07.99 Aruba vs. Netherlands Antilles 0:6 15.08.99 Guyana vs. Suriname 4:1 15.08.99 Netherlands Antilles vs. Aruba (B) 7:1 29.08.99 Suriname vs. Guyana (A) 3:4 19.09.99 Guyana (Winner A) vs. Netherlands Antilles (Winner B) 1:1 (Date change from September 12 due to flooding). 26.09.99 Netherlands Antilles (Winner B) vs. Guyana (Winner A) 0-0 GUYANA qualifies on away goals. Caribbean 2 04.07.99 Dominica vs. St. Kitts/Nevis 1:1 18.07.99 St. Kitts/Nevis vs. Dominica 2:0 19.09.99 St. Kitts/Nevis vs. Jamaica 1:3 26.09.99 Jamaica vs. St. Kitts/Nevis 2-1 JAMAICA qualifies on 5-2 aggregate Caribbean 3 22.08.99 Haiti vs. Dominican Republic 3:2 05.09.99 Dominican Republic vs. Haiti 1:0 19.09.99 Dom. Rep. vs. Cuba 0:4 24.10.99 Cuba vs. Dom. Rep. (Changed from October 10 since Cuba and Haiti will be playing in the Gold Cup qualifying playoff in Los Angeles on October 10. Then changed from October 17 to October 24). Caribbean 4 17.01.99 St. Vincent & Gren. vs. Trinidad & Tobago 1:4 28.02.99 T&T vs. St. Vincent and the Gren.(A) 4:0 21.03.99 St. Lucia vs. Barbados 2:1 11.04.99 Barbados vs. St. Lucia (B) 4:1 03.10.99 T&T (Winner A) vs. Barbados(Winner B) 4:1 17.10.99 Barbados vs. T&T 2-2 TRINIDAD & TOBAGO qualifies on 6-2 aggregate CENTRAL AMERICAN ZONE PRELIMINARIES RESULTS 05.09.99 El Salvador vs. Panama 1:2 (15:00) San Salvador, Cuscatlan Stadium 05.09.99 Nicaragua vs. Honduras 0:6 (15:00) Diriamba, Carazo, Cacique Diriangen 12.09.99 Honduras vs. Nicaragua 4:2 (16.00) Tegucigalpa, Estadio Nacional 12.09.99 Belize vs. Guatemala 1:3 (15:30) San Ignacio, Norman Broaster Stadium 12.09.99 Panama vs. El Salvador 1:1 (11:00) Panama City, Rommel Fernandez Stadium 19.09.99 Guatemala vs. Belize 6:1 (15:00) Guatemala, Mateo Flores Stadium PANAMA advances on 3-2 aggregate. HONDURAS advances on a 10-2 aggregate. GUATEMALA advances on a 9-2 aggregate. GOLD CUP 2000 GROUPS AND FULL SCHEDULE TO BE UNVEILED OCTOBER 21ST AT THE FC HEADQUARTERS IN NEW YORK CITY The Football Confederation will announce the groups and full schedule for the 2000 Gold Cup tournament at a press briefing scheduled for Thursday, October 21st, (1 p.m. local time), at its headquarters at the Trump Tower in New York City. These are the twelve national teams scheduled to compete in the first Gold Cup of the new millennium: – Defending champions: Mexico – Host team: United States – UNCAF champions: Costa Rica – UNCAF runner up: Guatemala – UNCAF qualifier: Honduras – CFU champions: Jamaica (1998), and Trinidad & Tobago (1999). – Gold Cup playoffs qualifiers: Canada, Haiti. – Invited teams: Colombia, South Korea and Peru. The Gold Cup is The FC’s showpiece event. Contested every two years, it crowns the champion national team of the region. In 1991, the United States won the inaugural competition, defeating Honduras before 40,000 fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. In the latest edition, February 1998 in Los Angeles, Oakland and Miami, Mexico won its third Gold Cup title, defeating the Unites States, 1-0, in front of a crowd of 91,000 at the LA Coliseum and went on to represent the region – and win – the FIFA Confederations’ Cup. THE UNITED STATES KICKS OFF THE 1999 FIFA U-17 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AGAINST HOST NEW ZEALAND ON NOVEMBER 10 The United States will play in the opening match of the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship against host New Zealand on November 10th. The USA is Group A, which also includes Uruguay and Poland. Meanwhile, Mexico makes its debut against Thailand November 11th, and Jamaica starts off against Burkina Faso on the 12th. 1999 FIFA U-17 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FACT SHEET New Zealand – November 10-27 Group A: (Auckland) New Zealand, UNITED STATES, Uruguay, Poland Group B: (Napier) Ghana, Spain, MEXICO, Thailand Group C: (Christchurch) Brazil, Australia, Mali, Germany Group D: (Dunedin) JAMAICA, Burkina Faso, Paraguay, Qatar Date No. Match Venue Local Time 10.11.99 1 New Zealand vs.UNITED STATES Auckland 19:30 11.11.99 2 Ghana vs. Spain Napier 16:00 11.11.99 3 MEXICO vs. Thailand Napier 18:15 11.11.99 4 Uruguay vs. Poland Auckland 19:30 12.11.99 5 Brazil vs. Australia Christchurch 13:45 12.11.99 6 Mali vs. Germany Christchurch 16:00 12.11.99 7 JAMAICA vs. Burkina Faso Dunedin 18:00 12.11.99 8 Paraguay vs. Qatar Dunedin 20:15 13.11.99 9 Spain vs. Thailand Napier 13:45 13.11.99 10 Ghana vs. MEXICO Napier 16:00 13.11.99 11 New Zealand vs. Uruguay Auckland 13:45 13.11.99 12 UNITED STATES vs. Poland Auckland 16:00 14.11.99 13 Australia vs. Germany Chirstchurch 16:00 14.11.99 14 Brazil vs. Mali Christchurch 18:45 14.11.99 15 Burkina Faso vs. Qatar Dunedin 18:00 14.11.99 16 JAMAICA vs. Paraguay Dunedin 20:15 16.11.99 17 Thailand vs. Ghana Napier 16:00 16.11.99 18 Spain vs. MEXICO Napier 18:45 16.11.99 19 Poland vs. New Zealand Auckland 18:00 16.11.99 20 UNITED STATES vs. Uruguay Auckland 20:15 17.11.99 21 Germany vs. Brazil Christchurch 16:00 17.11.99 22 Australia vs. Mali Christchurch 18:15 17.11.99 23 Qatar vs. JAMAICA Dunedin 18:00 17.11.99 24 Burkina Faso vs. Paraguay Dunedin 20:15 Quarterfinals: 20.11.99 25 1st A vs. 2nd B Auckland 14:00 20.11.99 26 1st B vs. 2nd A Napier 16:00 21.11.99 27 1st C vs. 2nd D Christchurch 14:00 21.11.99 28 1st D vs. 2nd C Dunedin 16:00 Semifinals: 24.11.99 29 W25 vs. W27 Christchurch 16:00 24.11.99 30 W26 vs. W28 Auckland 19:30 Finals: 27.11.99 31 Match for 3rd place Auckland 13:15 27.11.99 32 Championship Auckland 16:00 NECAXA SET TO CLASH WITH THE BEST CLUBS OF EUROPE, SOUTH AMERICA AND OCEANIA IN THE 2000 FIFA CLUB WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN BRAZIL Following their much anticipated match with reigning European champions Manchester United of England, January 6th, The FC champions Rayos de Necaxa of Mexico, will face Oceania monarchs South Melbourne, January 8th, followed by their confrontation with 1998 Copa Libertadores winners Vasco Da Gama of Brazil on the 11th. Necaxa will drawn into Group A, which will play all its group matches at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Group winners will advance to the final. Group runners up will compete for the third place. Here’s the complete schedule of matches of the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship: Group B 06.01.99 Manchester United vs. NECAXA 06.01.99 Vasco da Gama vs. South Melbourne 08.01.99 Manchester United vs. Vasco da Gama 08.01.99 South Melbourne vs. NECAXA 11.01.99 Manchester United vs. South Melbourne 11.01.99 NECAXA vs. Vasco da Gama Group A (Morumbi Stadium, Sao Paulo) 05.01.99 Real Madrid vs. Al-Nassr 05.01.99 Corinthians vs. African champion 07.01.99 Real Madrid vs. Corinthians 07.01.99 African champion vs. Al-Nassr 10.01.99 Real Madrid vs. African champion 10.01.99 Al-Nassr vs. Corinthians Third Place Match 14.01.99 2nd A vs. 2nd B Championship Match 14.01.99 1st A vs. 1st B Note: Africa’s representatitive will be determined 12.12.99. MEXICO LOSES TO PARAGUAY – FACES COLOMBIA TOMORROW Fielding a handful of national team newcomers, Mexico lost to Paraguay, 1-0, in a friendly played October 13tht at Soldiers Field in Chicago. Paraguayan defender Delio Toledo scored the only goal of the match at the 64th minute. Among the new players head coach Manuel Lapuente put on the field: HÚctor Altamirano, Luis Fernando Soto, Jes·s Mendoza and Carlos Morales. Paraguay was bolstered by the presence of veteran goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert and other players that competed in World Cup 1998. Mexico faces another South American powerhouse, Colombia, tomorrow October 20th in San Diego. Colombian head coach Javier Alvarez called up Europe-based players for the match against Mexico, including VÝctor Bonilla (Real Sociedad), Edwin Congo (Valladolid), Harold Lozano (Valladolid), and Jorge Bola±o (Parma). CANADA ANNOUNCES NEW NATIONAL WOMEN’S TEAM COACH The Canadian Soccer Association announced the hiring of its new National Women’s Team Coach. Even Pellerud, 46 years of age of Oslo, Norway, has signed a 5 year contract through to the conclusion of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Recognized as one of the world’s foremost coaches in women’s soccer, Pellerud was head coach of the Norwegian National Women’s Team from 1989 to 1996, leading the Scandinavian country to a silver medal at the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup in China in 1991, losing to the USA in a hard fought final and then achieving worldwide acclaim as champions of the second FIFA Women’s World Cup four years later in Sweden in 1995. “We are delighted to attract to Canada one of the most famous and successful coaches in the world of women’s soccer,” CSA President Jim Fleming said. “Mr. Even Pellerud knows what it takes to succeed and how to plan for success, having achieved silver and gold medals at the World Cup, silver and gold medals at the European Championships along with a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in 1996 in Atlanta. We are certain he will be a key component in our plans to build an exciting National Team over the next 5 years, achieving the goal we have set to be one of the top eight countries in the world.” WORLD CUP 2002 ENTRIES NOW AT 158; THE FOOTBALL CONFEDERATION CONTRIBUTES 26 OF THEM Twenty six of The Football Confederation’s national associations have thus far entered and been confirmed for the 2002 World Cup in Japan and Korea. The draw for the preliminary rounds will take place in Tokyo on December 7. Altogether FIFA has confirmed 159 entries to date, a total of 77.8% of total FIFA membership. The 26 confirmed entries from this region amount to 74.3% of the Confederations’ membership. Those confirmed by FIFA to this date are: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent/Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, United States ROLANDO FONSECA OF COSTA RICA AMONG THE TOP CANDIDATES TO WIN THE TITLE OF THE WORLD’S TOP GOALSCORER FOR 1999 Costa Rican striker Rolando Fonseca is currently tied in third place with Brazilian international Rivaldo and three other players, in the list of the world’s top goalscorers for 1999. Fonseca’s 10 full international goals are only two less than current leader, Brazilian forward Alexandro de Sousa (Alex). Raul Gonzalez Blanco of Spain is second with 11 goals. The 9th edition of the title “The World’s Top Goalscorer of the Year” will be awarded at the “World Football Gala 2000”, January 4th, in Germany. The event is organized by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics, an organization also based in Germany. 11 goals – Alex , Alexandro de Sousa (SE Palmeiras, Sao Paulo/Brazil). 10 goals – Rivaldo, Vitor Borba Ferreira (FC Barcelona/Brazil). 10 goals – Rolando Fonseca (Comunicaciones, Guatemala City/Saprissa, San Jose/Costa Rica). 10 goals – Hossam Hassan (Nacional SC Cairo/Egypt) 10 goals – David Dzhanashia (Lokomotive Moscow/Georgia). 10 goals – Baiano, Joao Fernando Neto (SC Corinthians Paulista Sao Paulo/Brazil). 9 goals – Enrico Chiesa (Parma AC/AC Fiorentina Firenze/Italy). The Football Confederation is one of six FIFA world Confederations serving as the governing body of soccer in North, Central America and the Caribbean. It is composed of 38 members, spanning from Canada in the north to Surinam in the south. For the latest information about The Football Confederation please visit our official web site: www.FootballConfederation.com. Also visit the Confederations news section in FIFA On-Line, the official FIFA web site: www.FIFA.com. Issued by The Football Confederation’s Communications Department. Carlos Giovanni Giron, Press Officer.