OFC, Auckland: The Oceania Football Confederation has confirmed six entries for the 2004 OFC Futsal World Qualifying Tournament in Canberra, Australia next month.
The hosts will be joined by trans-tasman rival New Zealand and island nations Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to find the sole OFC representative to the FIFA Futsal World Championship in Chinese/Taipei on 21 November – 5 December 2004.
The dates for this tournament have been rescheduled to 24-29 July 2004. The OFC is currently working together with the Australian Soccer Association on a match schedule which will be finalised before the end of the month. The match venue has been confirmed as the Arena Complex located at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.
Five of the six competing countries have previous competed in OFC Futsal Qualifiers. It will be an historic occasion for the Solomon Islands who will be entering their first OFC Futsal qualifying tournament. Futsal (indoor 5-a-side soccer) is still relatively new in the Solomons but if the success of their junior boy’s teams at the past two Australian National Championships is anything to go by, the transition should not be too difficult for the skilful Melanesians.
The previous Oceania World Futsal Qualifiers were held five years ago in Port Vila, Vanuatu. On that occasion, Australia won through to the 2000 FIFA Futsal World Championship in Guatemala. Australia also represented the OFC at the 1992 and 1996 World Champs.
According to acting OFC General Secretary, Tai Nicholas, the commitment of six teams is a positive sign for the development of Futsal in Oceania.
“We are pleased with the interest shown in entering this tournament, and particularly with the entry of the Solomon Islands who will make their debut in international futsal,” said Mr Nicholas.
“The OFC has expanded its ongoing commitment to developing futsal and this year we have initiated a scheme to provide technical support for those OFC national associations that require assistance.”