Massive Attack Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 Record African entry for 2006 World Cup © Reuters 2003 http://www.fifa.com/en/display/article,70335.html JOHANNESBURG, June 24 (Reuters) - A record 51 African countries have entered the qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup finals, which will begin in October. The draw for the preliminary round of African zone qualifiers will take place in Paris on Friday but nine countries are to be given a bye into the second stage, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced. Only the tiny Red Sea state of Djibouti has not entered the World Cup, although they did participate in the qualifiers for the 2002 Korea/Japan finals which 50 African nations entered. The qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup will double as qualifiers for the African Nations Cup finals in Egypt earlier the same year. Friday's draw in Paris will involve 42 of the 51 entrants, who will be paired off in a two-legged knockout round. Exempted from the first stage are the five African countries who competed at the last World Cup finals - Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia - plus the next four highest placed on the FIFA rankings to be published on Wednesday. They are likely to be Morocco, Egypt, Zimbabwe and the Ivory Coast, although Algeria, Ghana and Zambia could jump up the rankings after recent results. The 21 winners from the knockout phase will join the nine exempted teams in five groups of six teams each in the second round of the qualifiers. The winners of each group will qualify for the World Cup in Germany in 2006 while the top three in each group go to the Nations Cup finals in Egypt, planned for six months earlier. The draw is scheduled for 1400 GMT on Friday. ------------------------- "You tell me I make no difference, At least I'm f*ucking trying, What the f*uck have you done?" In My Eyes - Minor Threat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimglow Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 Go Gabon! If any of you came to see them play at the Jeux de la Francophonie, you know what I mean...their fans we're CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAZY!!!! "Tshhh-Tshhhh" Clap-Clap-Clap, "Tshhh-Tshhhh" Clap-Clap-Clap Good times had by all! Mimglow, Ottawa _________________________ Where are the weapons of mass destruction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimglow Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 Go Gabon! If any of you came to see them play at the Jeux de la Francophonie, you know what I mean...their fans we're CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAZY!!!! "Tshhh-Tshhhh" Clap-Clap-Clap, "Tshhh-Tshhhh" Clap-Clap-Clap Good times had by all! Mimglow, Ottawa _________________________ Where are the weapons of mass destruction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamiltonfan Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 when is canada's first game www.cpsl.ca www.hamiltonthunder.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamiltonfan Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 when is canada's first game www.cpsl.ca www.hamiltonthunder.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Oour WCQ Schedule (ridiculous) put forward by CONCANAF (read "headinhisbackside Jack Warner) requiring 20 to 23 games for Canada to qualify, has to be approved by FIFA yet. A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject. -- Winston Churchill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamiltonfan Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 would any of those games be played in canada?? www.cpsl.ca www.hamiltonthunder.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Yes, half. They would all be a home-and-away basis, in groups. The proposal now is for an initial round of groups of 3 (4 games), then a second round of groups of 4 (6 games), a final round of a "hex" group of six (10 games), and then an extra two game series for the 4th team in the hex with the 5th place team from Asia. So,,, I should have said between 20 to 22 games for Canada to qualify. A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject. -- Winston Churchill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJT Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 quote:Originally posted by beachesl Yes, half. They would all be a home-and-away basis, in groups. The proposal now is for an initial round of groups of 3 (4 games), then a second round of groups of 4 (6 games), a final round of a "hex" group of six (10 games), and then an extra two game series for the 4th team in the hex with the 5th place team from Asia. So,,, I should have said between 20 to 22 games for Canada to qualify. If we want to get technical about it, in the first round there will be one group with only two teams, so these teams will play only two games in the first round. Hence there could be as few as 18 games to qualify. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Here is address of the official CONCANAF press release setting out the proposal: http://www.concacaf.net/news/article.page/1202 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamiltonfan Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 who do you think they will do?? www.cpsl.ca www.hamiltonthunder.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonovision Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Can somebody please explain to me why the draw for Africa's World Cup qualifying matches is taking place in Paris? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massive Attack Posted June 26, 2003 Author Share Posted June 26, 2003 I think the draw is taking in place in Paris because most of the FIFA big shots are at the Confed Cup ------------------------- "You tell me I make no difference, At least I'm f*ucking trying, What the f*uck have you done?" In My Eyes - Minor Threat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamiltonfan Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Will canada try to qualify??? since there is some many games to be played www.cpsl.ca www.hamiltonthunder.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimglow Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 quote:Originally posted by hello Will canada try to qualify??? since there is some many games to be played They will most definitely try to qualify. There will be some problems recalling our players for some of the dates, but Canada always tries to qualify for the World Cup. Mimglow, Ottawa _________________________ Where are the weapons of mass destruction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massive Attack Posted June 27, 2003 Author Share Posted June 27, 2003 FIFA World Cup ™ First part of preliminary draw for Africa in Paris (FIFA.com) 27 Jun 2003 http://www.fifa.com/en/display/article,70444.html Today - Friday, 27 June - FIFA conducted the first stage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ preliminary draw for Africa in Paris. Attended by FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, Vice-President and FIFA World Cup Organising Committee chairman Lennart Johansson (Sweden), and Vice-President and President of the African Football Confederation (CAF), Issa Hayatou (Cameroon), 42 of the total of 52 African member associations of FIFA were paired off. The draw was conducted by FIFA Deputy General Secretary Jérôme Champagne, aided by former African World Cup star Roger Milla (Cameroon). Last year's World Cup African finalists (Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal and Tunisia) and the four highest ranking teams in the current FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking published on 25 June 2003 (Morocco, Egypt, Côte d'Ivoire and Congo DR) were not included in the draw. Djibouti had not enrolled for the competition. Fifty-one African associations entered the last FIFA World Cup preliminary competition whereas only 38 had enrolled for France 98. The 21 winners will be determined by home and away matches (first leg between 10 and 12 October 2003 and second leg between 14 and 16 November 2003) and will then join the nine seeded teams in the preliminary draw proper for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ in Frankfurt on 5 December 2003.. The South American preliminary competition for the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ will kick off even before the African qualifiers, with action starting on 6 and 7 September 2003. The World Cup preliminary competition will reach its conclusion in November 2005. One hundred and ninety-nine teams (from a total of 204 national associations) entered the 2002 FIFA World Cup™. They played a total of 777 preliminary matches to qualify for the final competition involving 32 teams in Korea and Japan. Match dates: 10. - 12.10.2003 / 14. - 16.11.03; the winners will qualify for the group round to be drawn by lots (30 teams altogether) in Frankfurt on 5 December 2003 1 Equatorial Guinea - Togo 2 Zimbabwe - Mauritania 3 Somalia - Ghana 4 Seychelles - Zambia 5 Chad - Angola 6 Guinea-Bissau - Mali 7 São Tomé e Príncipe - Libya 8 Niger - Algeria 9 Tanzania - Kenya 10 Burkina Faso - Central African Republic 11 Madagascar - Benin 12 Ethiopia - Malawi 13 Guinea - Mozambique 14 Botswana - Lesotho 15 Congo - Sierra Leone 16 Sudan - Eritrea 17 Swaziland - Cape Verde Islands 18 Uganda - Mauritius 19 Rwanda - Namibia 20 Gambia - Liberia 21 Burundi - Gabon ------------------------- "You tell me I make no difference, At least I'm f*ucking trying, What the f*uck have you done?" In My Eyes - Minor Threat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 When you have a lot of teams and a few spots such as Africa, Asia and Concanaf, you have to have a quick knockout between high and low seeds to get the number of teams down to a manageable number before the group phases. Asia and Africa have come to their senses, too bad Jackoff Warner doesn't. Fixture congestion is evil. A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject. -- Winston Churchill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJT Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 quote:Originally posted by beachesl When you have a lot of teams and a few spots such as Africa, Asia and Concanaf, you have to have a quick knockout between high and low seeds to get the number of teams down to a manageable number before the group phases. Asia and Africa have come to their senses, too bad Jackoff Warner doesn't. Fixture congestion is evil. On the other hand, to be knocked out of the 2006 World Cup by November 2003 after only two qualifying games is a bit ridiculous. Actually, it gets worse, since these matches are also 2006 African Nations Cup qualifiers. Not only will teams also be knocked out of that tournament over two years in advance and after only two games, but this will occur even before the 2004 final tournament has taken place! Some teams could be going into the 2004 finals already knowing that they are knocked out of 2006! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 Yes, DJT, you have a point, especially about the timing of the early African elimination before the 2004 African Nations Cup. But the beauty of it is that you would lot less likely to bugger around with countries sending reduced B, C or D teams when playing countries like the US Virgin Islands, the Br VI, Montserrat or the Turks and Caicos that the Calgary Callies reserve team could all beat handily. The fear of losing and the decreased difficulty of freeing players from their clubs would make those matches more important. Maybe the preesure from Mexico will change Warner's ridiculous proposal for WCQ, especially given recent developments. A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject. -- Winston Churchill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 Yes, DJT, you have a point, especially about the timing of the early African elimination before the 2004 African Nations Cup. But the beauty of it is that you would lot less likely to bugger around with countries sending reduced B, C or D teams when playing countries like the US Virgin Islands, the Br VI, Montserrat or the Turks and Caicos that the Calgary Callies reserve team could all beat handily. The fear of losing and the decreased difficulty of freeing players from their clubs would make those matches more important. Maybe the preesure from Mexico will change Warner's ridiculous proposal for WCQ, especially given recent developments. A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject. -- Winston Churchill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massive Attack Posted June 28, 2003 Author Share Posted June 28, 2003 I think the smaller nations in the Carribean wanted the present format to ensure that they would get at least 4 WC games (not including the 1 group of 2 teams in the 1st round). The system used for the 2002 WCQ left a few Carribean teams with only 2 games before they were eliminated. ------------------------- "I'm gonna fight 'em off, A seven nation army couldn't hold me back..." The White Stripes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy_Yank Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 I don't think FIFA will approve Warner's qualification plan. He may be Blatter's butt buddy, but the real power is $$ which both the USSF and the FMF have in abundence. I think in the end they will be able to pressure FIFA to see logic. It sucks that our leadership is so poor that it might have to come to that. The most horrible thing is that this is the best our confederation has ever been run. The Mexicans really messed things up during the 30 years they ran concacaf. "Try not, do. Do or do not. There is no try" - Yoda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoyleG Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 One must take into consideration that some of the smaller countries may not even get out of the gate. They might pull out before they even play their matches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettermirror Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 ok, back to canada. why would we have trouble getting players? all world cup qualifying matches are played on international match dates, sanctioned by fifa. legally, the clubs cannot keep a player from going. and, if a player is good enough, when he gets back his spot will still be there. most of canada's first choice wc players are first teamers with their respective clubs already anyway. i don't see anyone taking hirschfeld's #3 spot!!!! (how he is #3 blows me away - he should ask for a transfer to a division 1 club that he could run - maybe reading) there ain't gonna be any middle any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 Well, five basic reasons (probably more): 1. The travel: Euro-Canada-Tropicanita-Canada-Euro, many in mid-week bookended by weekend club games. 2. The Canadian players in Europe tend to be fighting for there positions (unlike many of the stars that play for Euro or South American countries). More pressure to stick around. 3. Money: Less money for spomnsership to appear for CMT. 4. Political Pressure: CSA and CONCANAF have less power to influence Euro clubs than CONEMBOL and (especially) UEFA. 5. Communication and Respect: IMHO, CSA and Holger have to do better with communicating with both playwers and clubs as to what's what. A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject. -- Winston Churchill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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