AFC TEAMS QUALIFY FOR FIFA U-20 WORLD CUP CANADA 2007

November 9, 2006 - …Japan, Jordan, Korea DPR and Korea Republic have qualified for next summer’s tournament

VANCOUVER, B.C. – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has completed its qualification process for the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2007, thus booking passage for four Asian teams to next summer’s championship in Canada.

Jordan pulled off a surprising 2:1 quarter-final stunner against China PR to book qualification for their first ever FIFA U-20 World Cup final competition. They will join the East Asian trio of Korea Republic, Korea DPR and Japan.

Including hosts Canada, a total of eleven teams are now qualified for the tournament, with six hailing from UEFA (Union des associations européennes de football) and four from the AFC.

Thirteen additional teams will complete the roster originating from CAF (Confederation Africaine de Football), CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football), CONMEBOL (Confederacion Sudamericana de Futbol) and the OFC (Oceania Football Confederation).

The FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 will be held from June 30 to July 22 across six cities; Victoria, Burnaby, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montréal and Toronto.

For more information regarding the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007, please visit www.FIFA.com.

List of qualified teams:
Canada (Host)
Europe (UEFA): Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal, Scotland and Spain
Asia (AFC): Japan, Jordan, Korea DPR and Korea Republic

Still to come:
CAF (4) – Qualifying will take place in DR Congo from January 21 to February 4, 2007 in the cities of Brazzaville and Pointe Noire. Eight teams will participate in the group stage in two groups of four. The top two teams, who qualify for the semifinals, will also book spots at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

CONCACAF (4) - The final qualifying tournament will feature two four-team qualifying groups with the top two teams from each group reserving a spot in Canada. The matches will take place from January 17 to 21, 2007 in Panama and February 21 to 25, 2007 in Mexico.

CONMEBOL (4) – Paraguay will host the qualifying tournament from January 7 to 27, 2007. Two groups of five teams each will compete and the first three teams of each group will play in a league system to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2007.

OFC (1) - The tournament will be held in Auckland, New Zealand from January 20 to 31, 2007. Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti and Vanuatu will compete in a round-robin format. The winner will qualify for the finals in Canada.

FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 – It’s gonna be huge.

In 2007, the world’s biggest game is coming to Canada. Canada will host the World’s finest under-20 players in six cities across the country – Victoria, Burnaby, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal – June 30 - July 22, 2007.

The biennial event is second only to the FIFA World Cup™ in size and scope and will showcase the most talented under-20 soccer players in the world. The tournament has been the coming-out party for some of the game’s top players - Maradona, Saviola, Raúl, Marco Van Basten, Luis Figo, Ruiz Costa, Thierry Henry, Adriano, Roberto Carlos, Bebeto and Dunga as well as Canada’s Craig Forrest and many members of the current Men’s World Cup Team.

Last held in CONCACAF in 1983 in Mexico, Canada’s most recent participation in this event occurred last June in the Netherlands from June 10 - July 2, 2005.

Canada enjoyed its best ever finish in a World Championship in December 2003, losing to eventual silver medalist Spain on a golden goal in the quarter finals in the United Arab Emirates.

For more information regarding the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007, please visit www.FIFA.com.

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