FINAL STAGES OF GOLD CUP QUALIFYING BEGININ CARIBBEAN AND CENTRAL AMERICA

The road to the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup™ is reachingthe final stage for both the Caribbean Football Union (CFU)and the Union Centroamericana de Fútbol (UNCAF) as eachprepares to hold their final round-qualification tournament in

Barbados and Guatemala, respectively.The CFU Digicel Cup, which will qualify three teams to the 2005 CONCACAF

Gold Cup™, is scheduled to take place at the National Stadium in Waterford, St.Michaels in Barbados from 20-24 February, while the UNCAF Nations Cup, fromwhich four teams will progress to the CONCACAF event, is set for Estadio MateoFlores in Ciudad de Guatemala from 19-27 February.

The eighth edition of the bi-annual UNCAF tournament consists of two groupsfor the first round, with Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua and the host, Guatemala inGroup A, while Costa Rica, El Salvador and Panama make up Group B.

The 2005 UNCAF Nations Cup First Round will have three consecutive triple-header match days on 19, 21 and 23 February, with the top two teams from eachgroup progressing into the Semifinals on 25 February.

The four semifinalist teams will also be Central America’s representatives in2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup™ in July. The third-place encounter along with theUNCAF Nations Cup Final is scheduled for 27 February 2005.

Cuba, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago will join the host Barbados to competefor three Caribbean berths to the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup™ at the inauguralDigicel Cup which will also crown the first CFU Champion since 2001.Barbados, which is staging a CFU Nations Cup Tournament for the first timesince 1989, will face Cuba on 20 February in Waterford, following an earlierencounter between Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago.

Trinidad & Tobago will meet Cuba two days later (22 February) and thenBarbados plays against Jamaica. The CFU Digicel Cup concludes on 24 Februarywith Cuba against Jamaica and then Barbados hosting Trinidad & Tobago.

The 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup™ will consist of Canada, Mexico, USA, threeCaribbean nations to qualify from the CFU Digicel Cup, four Central Americanteams from the UNCAF Nations Cup and two guest teams: South Africa andanother to be announced.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS19-27 February 20052005 CONCACAF Gold Cup™ Qualifying– UNCAF Nations CupCiudad de Guatemala, Guatemala

20-24 February 20052005 CONCACAF Gold Cup™ Qualifying– CFU Digicel CupWaterford, Barbados

9 & 16 March 20052005 CONCACAF Champions’ Cup– Quarterfinal Series

26-27 March 20052006 CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying- Final Round, Match Day 2

30 March 20052006 CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying- Final Round, Match Day 3

2005 CONCACAF GOLDCUP™ QUALIFYINGCaribbean Football Union – Digicel CupWaterford, St. Michaels BARBADOS;Final Round20.02.2005: JAMAICA – TRINIDAD & TOBAGO (18:00)

BARBADOS – CUBA (20:00)22.02.2005: TRINIDAD & TOBAGO – CUBA (18:00);

BARBADOS – JAMAICA (20:00)24.02.2005: CUBA – JAMAICA (18:00);

BARBADOS – TRINIDAD & TOBAGO (20:00)

Union Centroamericana de Fútbol – Nations CupEstadio Mateo Flores in Ciudad de Guatemala, Group A -Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, NicaraguaGroup B - Costa Rica, El Salvador, PanamaFirst Round19.02.2005: HONDURAS - NICARAGUA (13:30)

EL SALVADOR - PANAMA (15:45)GUATEMALA - BELIZE (18:00)

21.02.2005: BELIZE - HONDURAS (15:30)COSTA RICA - EL SALVADOR (17:45)GUATEMALA - NICARAGUA (20:00)

23.02.2005: NICARAGUA - BELIZE (15:30)PANAMA - COSTA RICA (17:45)GUATEMALA - HONDURAS (20:00)

Semifinals25.02.2005:Winner Group B - Runner-up Group A (17:30)Winner of Group A - Runner-up Group B (20:00)Final27.02.2005: Third-Place (14:00)

Championship (16:30)

Defending UNCAF Nations Cup Champions Costa Rica (white) looks for it’s fifth titleand to qualify for a seventh CONCACAF Gold Cup™ appearance in 2005. Photo by Tony Quinn

CONCACAF NEWSOfficial Newsletter of The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football

February 2005 Volume 15/ Number 1

PAGE 2 CONCACAF NEWS - February 2005

2005 CONCACAFGOLD CUP™ VENUESANNOUNCED

CONCACAF has unveiled the stadi-ums that will host matches in the 2005CONCACAF Gold Cup™, the eighth edi-tion of the tournament that crownsthe region's top national team. The2005 event will feature more games inmore cities than ever before, as arecord seven stadiums in six US citieswill host 25 matches from 6-24 July.Previous editions of the CONCACAFGold Cup have been held in up tothree different venues.

The 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup™venues include four stadiums new tothe event; Qwest Field in Seattle(Washington); the Home Depot Centernear Los Angeles in Carson (California);Reliant Stadium in Houston (Texas);and Giants Stadium close to New YorkCity in East Rutherford (New Jersey).The other three venues are the OrangeBowl in Miami (Florida); GilletteStadium close to Boston in Foxboro(Massachusetts), both of which wereGold Cup venues in 2003, and; the L.A.Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles(California) which last saw Gold Cupaction in 2000.

The first round of the 2005 tourna-ment will consist of three groups offour teams competing on a round-robinbasis from 6-13 July. Group A will bebased at the Orange Bowl in Miamiwhile Group B will have two game daysin Seattle's Qwest Field before travel-ing to Gillette Stadium for the thirdand final day of Group B play. Group Cwill start out in Los Angeles withmatches at the Home Depot Centerand the L.A. Memorial Coliseum,before playing the final Group C gamesin Houston's Reliant Stadium.

The top two teams from eachgroup, along with the two best third-place teams, will proceed to theQuarterfinals that will take place inGillette Stadium on July 16 and ReliantStadium on 17 July. Giants Stadiumwill host the Semifinals on 21 July andGold Cup Final on 24 July.

Commenting on the announcementof venues, CONCACAF GeneralSecretary Chuck Blazer said, "The pop-ularity of the CONCACAF Gold Cup hasgrown year over year and the 2005edition promises to be the biggest and

best Gold Cup yet. There will be moregames in more stadiums in more citiesthan ever before, bringing the region'sleading soccer event for nationalteams to millions more fans. All thevenues being announced today arefirst-class facilities fitting for an eventthat crowns the CONCACAF Champion."Mr. Blazer added, "Fans of every coun-try in the CONCACAF region will wit-ness an incredible spectacle of world-class soccer with 12 doubleheaders on12 match-days with the crowning ofthe Gold Cup champion coming in oneof the greatest venues in the world,Giants Stadium."

The 12-team field of the 2005CONCACAF Gold Cup™ will be com-prised of 10 CONCACAF nations andtwo invitees. The 10 CONCACAF coun-tries will include three teams toemerge from Caribbean Qualifying(Digicel Cup), four from CentralAmerican Qualifying (UNCAF NationsCup), three automatic qualifiers fromthe North Zone (Canada, Mexico & USA)along with guest team South Africa,host of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, andanother invitee to be announced.

Once Gold Cup Qualification con-cludes in the Caribbean and CentralAmerica, CONCACAF will announce thegroupings of teams for the 2005CONCACAF Gold Cup™.

GIANTS STADIUM(East Rutherford, New Jersey)Year Opened: 1976Capacity: 80,242http://www.meadowlands.com

GILLETTE STADIUM(Foxborough, Massachusetts)Year Opened: 2002Capacity: 68,756http://www.gillettestadium.com

HOME DEPOT CENTER(Carson, California)Year Opened: 2003Capacity: 27,000http://www.homedepotcenter.com

LOS ANGELES MEMORIAL COLISEUM(Los Angeles, California)Year Opened: 1921 (renovated in 1993),Capacity: 92,000 http://www.lacoliseum.com/start.html

ORANGE BOWL (Miami, Florida)Year Opened: 1937, Capacity: 74,177http://www.ci.miami.fl.us/PublicFacilities/Stadiums/Orange_bowl/

QWEST FIELD (Seattle, Washington)Year Opened: 2002Capacity: 72,000http://www.qwestfield.com

RELIANT STADIUM (Houston, Texas)Year Opened: 2002Capacity: 69,500http://www.reliantpark.com

Schedule of MatchesROUND 1, GROUP AWEDNESDAY, 6 JULYMatch 1 Orange Bowl - Miami, FloridaMatch 2 Orange Bowl - Miami, FloridaSATURDAY, 9 JULYMatch 9 Orange Bowl - Miami, FloridaMatch 10 Orange Bowl - Miami, FloridaMONDAY, 11 JULYMatch 13 Orange Bowl - Miami, FloridaMatch 14 Orange Bowl - Miami, FloridaROUND 1, GROUP BTHURSDAY, 7 JULYMatch 3 Qwest Field - Seattle, WashingtonMatch 4 Qwest Field - Seattle, WashingtonSATURDAY, 9 JULYMatch 7 Qwest Field - Seattle, WashingtonMatch 8 Qwest Field - Seattle, WashingtonTUESDAY, 12 JULYMatch 15 Gillette Stadium - Foxboro, Mass.Match 16 Gillette Stadium - Foxboro, Mass.ROUND 1, GROUP CFRIDAY, 8 JULYMatch 5 Home Depot Center - Carson, CAMatch 6 Home Depot Center - Carson, CASUNDAY, 10 JULYMatch 11 L.A. Memorial Coliseum - Los AngelesMatch 12 L.A. Memorial Coliseum - Los AngelesWEDNESDAY, 13 JULYMatch 17 Reliant Stadium - Houston, TexasMatch 18 Reliant Stadium - Houston, TexasQUARTERFINALSSATURDAY, 16 JULYQuarterfinal 1 Gillette Stadium - Foxboro, MassQuarterfinal 2 Gillette Stadium - Foxboro, MassSUNDAY, 17 JULYQuarterfinal 3 Reliant Stadium - Houston, TexasQuarterfinal 4 Reliant Stadium - Houston, TexasSEMIFINALSTHURSDAY, 21 JULYSemifinal 1 Giants Stadium - New JerseySemifinal 2 Giants Stadium - New JerseyFINALSUNDAY, 24 JULYFinal Giants Stadium - New Jersey

CONCACAF NEWS - February 2005 PAGE 3

FOUR CONCACAF TEAMS QUALIFY TO2005 FIFA WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP

Canada, Honduras, Panama and USA all qualified to the 2005FIFA World Youth Championship taking place in the Netherlandsfrom 10 June – 2 July.

The USA and Panama were the first two CONCACAF representa-tives to qualify for the FIFA Youth Tournament after finishing first and second,respectively, in the Under-20 Group A Qualification held at the Home DepotCenter in Carson, California from 12-16 January.

Canada and Honduras claimed the last CONCACAF berths to the WorldChampionship after finishing in the top two at the U-20 Group B Qualification atthe Estadio Francisco Morazan in San Pedro Sula, Honduras from 26-30 January.

MEXICO & USA LEAD INCONCACAF FINAL ROUND

Mexico and USA havetaken an early lead in thesix-team CONCACAF FinalRound World CupQualification thanks tovictories over Costa Rica

and Trinidad & Tobago, respectively onMatch Day 1 on 9 February.

Mexico defeated the host CostaRica 2:1 for the first time at theEstadio Ricardo Saprissa in San José.The win extended the tricolores’unbeaten streak in CONCACAF WorldCup Qualification to 14 games.

The USA traveled to Trinidad &Tobago and posted a 2:1 victory at theQueen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain.The victory increased the stars &stripes’ unbeaten streak against CON-CACAF opponents to 30 matches.

In the other CONCACAF Final Roundencounter on 9 February, Panamaplayed to a scoreless tie against visitngGuatemala at the Estadio RommelFernández in Ciudad de Panamá.

The CONCACAF Final Round contin-ues next month with Match Day 2 asCosta Rica greets Panama at San José’sEstadio Ricardo Saprissa on 26 Marchand Trinidad & Tobago visits Guatemalaat the Estadio Mateo Flores in Ciudadde Guatemala. The Match Day 2

encounters conclude on 27 March whenMexico host the USA at the EstadioAzteca in Ciudad de México.

The CONCACAF Final Round will rununtil 12 October 2005, with the topthree finishers in this group advancingdirectly to the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ inGermany.

The CONCACAF fourth-place finish-er will compete in a home-and-awayplayoff against the fifth-place finisherof the Asian Football Confederation,for one of the last berths into the FIFAevent. These games will take place inNovember 2005.

2006 CONCACAF World CupQualifying Final Round

GP W-L-T F:A PTSMexico 1 1-0-0 2:1 3USA 1 1-0-0 2:1 3Guatemala 1 0-0-1 0:0 1Panama 1 0-0-1 0:0 1Costa Rica 1 0-1-0 1:2 0 Trinidad &Tobago 1 0-1-0 1:2 0Match Day 109.02.2005: PANAMA – GUATEMALA 0:0 09.02.2005: COSTA RICA – MEXICO 1:209.02.2005: TRINIDAD & TOBAGO – USA 1:2Match Day 226.03.2005: COSTA RICA – PANAMA (18:00)26.03.2005: GUATEMALA – TRIN & TOB (20:00)27.03.2005: MEXICO – USA (12:00)Match Day 330.03.2005: PANAMA – MEXICO (20:30)30.03.2005: TRINIDAD & TOBAGO – COSTA RICA30.03.2005: USA – GUATEMALA (19:00)

Group A GP W-L-T F:A PTSUSA* 3 3-0-0 10:1 9Panama* 3 1-1-1 4:4 4Costa Rica 3 1-1-1 3:4 4Trinidad & Tobago 3 0-3-0 3:11 0*Qualified to 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship12.01.2005: Costa Rica – Panama 1:1;

USA – Trinidad & Tobago 6:014.01.2005: Trinidad & Tobago – Costa Rica 1:2;

USA – Panama 2:016.01.2005: Panama – Trinidad & Tobago 3:1;

USA – Costa Rica 2:0

Group B GP W-L-T F:A PTSCanada* 3 3-0-0 4:1 9Honduras* 3 2-1-0 6:3 6Mexico 3 1-2-0 2:4 3Jamaica 3 0-3-0 2:6 0

06.01.2005: Mexico – Canada 1:2;Honduras – Jamaica 4:2

28.01.2005: Jamaica – Mexico 0:1;Honduras – Canada 0:1

30.01.2005: Canada – Jamaica 1:0;Honduras - Mexico 2:02003 Gold Cup Champions Mexico

PAGE 4 CONCACAF NEWS - February 2005

AROUND THE CONFEDERATIONMEXICO STAGES INTERNATIONAL REFEREE SYMPOSIUM

The Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación A.C.staged an International Referee Symposium from the 24-28January in Ciudad de México.

A total of 82 participants from 22 countries from acrossthe CONCACAF region took part in the five-day event withCourse Instructors that included Lisle Austin (BRB),Chairman of CONCACAF Referee Committee; with RefereeCommittee Members, Esse Baharmast (USA), Carlos Ortiz(SLV); and along FIFA Referee Assistant, Merere Gonzales (TRI).

ANTIGUA & BARBUDA TO LAUNCH SEMI-PRO LEAGUEThe Antigua & Barbuda Football Association is set to

launch a semi-professional league in August 2006, a keyobjective identified during a workshop on long term plan-ning conducted by FIFA Development Department from 20-21October 2004 in St. Johns, Antigua & Barbuda.

Attended by a broad cross-section of the football com-munity – administrators, club and national coaches, refer-ees, medical personnel and youth football workers – thetwo-day workshop proposed several important initiatives forthe period 2005-2010, including the establishment of educa-tion programmes for administrators, coaches, referees andmedical personnel; the creation of competitions for youthand women’s football, where none exist today; the improve-ment of club structure and organization at all levels of thedomestic game, as well as the physical infrastructure ofclub football; and the professionalization of theAssociation’s marketing and media relations programmes.

GENERAL SECRETARY OF CFU APPOINTEDCONCACAF President Jack Warner has

announced that Kerri Ann Alleyne has beenappointed as the General Secretary of the Caribbean

Football Union (CFU).The former CFU General Secretary Harold Taylor has been

appointed as the FIFA Development Officer for theCaribbean, which is based in Port of Spain.

Alleyne, who spent four years as the CFU EventsCoordinator, has been the acting General Secretary for theCFU since Mr. Taylor was appointed by FIFA to theDevelopment Officer in Trinidad & Tobago in November 2004.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE APPROVES APPOINTMENTSAt the meeting held at the offices of CONCACAF’s

General Secretariat, in New York City on 15 December 2004,the CONCACAF Executive Committee approved the appoint-ment of Keith Look Loy as Technical Director for CONCACAF.

The role, based in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, willencompass overseeing and co-coordinating various aspectsof CONCACAF’s development activities and Mr. Look Loy’sappointment is effective from 1 January 2005.

The Executive Committee also welcomed FIFA’s recentappointment of two FIFA Development Officers in the CON-CACAF region; that of José Mauricio Caballeros as FIFADevelopment Officer for Central America, based in Ciudadde Guatemala, and Harold Taylor as FIFA DevelopmentOfficer for the Caribbean based in Port of Spain.

The next CONCACAF Executive Committee Meeting willbe held at CONCACAF’s New York City office on 8 April 2005.

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