18 March, 2003, Auckland: The draw for the 2003 OFC Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament has been revised after the late withdrawals of both Fiji and Vanuatu.
The revised draw was approved by the OFC Executive Committee at its meeting in Auckland last Sunday with FIFA being informed of the changes.
The withdrawals have reduced the pool of teams to five which means a round robin format of five full match days will be enforced. The remaining teams are Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea and Samoa.
The Belconnen Soccer Centre in Canberra, Australia will be the official venue for the tournament which runs from 5-13 April, 2003. Next month’s winner will represent Oceania at the fourth FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be held for the second time in China from 23 September-11 October, 2003. Sixteen countries will compete for the prized trophy.
OFC Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament
Belconnen Soccer Centre, Canberra ACT, Australia, 5-13 March, 2003
Revised Match Schedule:
5th April 2003
4:30pm Cook Islands vs Papua New Guinea
7:00pm Australia vs Samoa
New Zealand bye
7th April 2003
4:30pm Australia vs Cook Islands
7:00pm Samoa vs New Zealand
Papua New Guinea bye
9th April 2003
4:30pm Cook Islands vs New Zealand
7:00pm Australia vs Papua New Guinea
Samoa bye
11th April 2003
4:30pm Papua New Guinea vs New Zealand
7:00pm Cook Islands vs Samoa
Australia bye
13th April 2003
4:30pm Papua New Guinea vs Samoa
7:00pm Australia vs New Zealand
Cook Islands bye
Photo: Australia Matilda rep Olivia Hoenke in action against South Korea during the recent Australia Cup in Canberra. Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images