Capital Balls FIFA football balls

CAF President Issa Hayatou and the African football family are saddened by the death of Orok Oyo Orok, CAF Honorary Vice-President. The 86-year-old football leader died on 10 September in his home town of Calabar, Nigeria. Oyo was general secretary of the Nigeria Football Association from 1960 to 1974, and also served on both the CAF and FIFA Executive Committees. “Oyo was a great visionary leader and also an encyclopaedia of football, we will miss him terribly. ‘Mr Football’, as he was known locally and internationally, was a regular contributor in our meetings, with great ideas,” said Hayatou, who also described Oyo as “truly someone who dedicated his life to the service of football, locally and internationally”.

The CAF Executive Committee concluded its two-day meeting on 19 September at CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. The board received a positive report on Angola’s preparations to host the Africa Cup of Nations in January 2010 based on a recent visit by a CAF inspection team to assess progress in the construction of football-related facilities and accommodation. The Executive Committee expressed its satisfaction with the inspection report on the hosting facilities for the African Youth Championship in Rwanda, which will be held from ISJanuaryto 1 February 2009. The Executive Committee also welcomed the report presented by the head of the CAF inspection team that recently visited Cote d’lvoire to assess the country’s readiness to host the first edition of the African Nations Championship (CHAN), which will take place between 22 February and 8 March 2009. The number of teams participating in the CHAN final tournament will increase from eight in the first year to 16 in 2011. Sudan will host the second edition of CHAN.

Ben Buckley, CEO of the Football Federation of Australia (FFA), recently confirmed that Gold Coast United and North Queensland FC would be taking part in the 2009-2010 A-League season. Commenting on the inclusion of Gold Coast United and the Townsville-based North Queensland FC, Buckley told the FFA’s official website: “The Gold Coast is a vitally important region for football. It is one of the fastest growing regions in the country with a population already of over half a million. We know that the people of the Gold Coast enjoy supporting local teams and I have no doubt that Skilled Park will be one of the best home grounds in the country. Like the Gold Coast, North Queensland people are very proud of their local teams. The inclusion of the two clubs next season will take the number of participating teams in the A-League to 10, with two more sides expected to enter the fray in the near future.”

The Oman Football Association (OFA) is hoping its under-11 schools league will provide the platform for the country’s future success. The league for children is part of the AFC’s Vision Asia strategic development plan for Oman, a country that is keen to strengthen its grassroots and youth activities. The OFA has also helped to launch youth training centres at more than 30 clubs while also providing equipment, balls and kits. Vision Asia director Brendan Menton recently visited Omani dubs Seeb and Al Shabab and said he was delighted with the OFA’s efforts to boost grassroots and youth football.

The Football Association of Indonesia
(PSSl) will open a football school of excellence on the outskirts of Jakarta to groom the next generation of national players. PSSl Vice-President Nirwan D. Bakrie said the school, scheduled to open in July next year, will accommodate students between the ages of 13 and 15 in three classes of 25 each-primary, second year and third year. Bakrie talked about the school after a meeting with AFC officials, including President Mohamed bin Hammam, on the revision of PSSl statutes. “We have high hopes for the school,” said Bakrie- “The students will be given education, training and food and we hope that after their three-year course, they will go abroad, improve their skills and then return to Indonesia.”

There are no changes to the top three in the latest edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking: European champions Spain remain unchallenged at the top and have even managed to extend their lead over their nearest challengers Italy and Germany. Things are far more exciting in the next few spots in the ranking. Brazil (4th, up 2), the Netherlands (5th, down 1) and Croatia (6′b, down 1) are all within a few points of each other and, together with Argentina (7l!l), are locked in an exciting head-to-head
battle. Russia (9″, up 3) have moved up three places, thus managing to break back into the top ten, at the expense of Turkey (13th, down 3).
The month’s biggest winners, however, are unquestionably from Oceania. On the back of two convincing victories over New Caledonia in their FIFA World Cup™ qualifying campaign, New Zealand have gained 268 points and are currently ranked 54th. This means that the All Whites are once again the highest-ranked OFC team. Other climbers this month include
Israel (16<\ up 3), Lithuania (37th, up 17) and FYR Macedonia (46ihl, up 10), all of whom have recorded their best placing since the ranking was introduced.
A total of 125 international “A” matches have been played worldwide since the last edition of the ranking, of which 106 were gualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. The remaining internationals were qualifiers for the CONCACAF Gold Cup (six matches) and friendlies (13 matches).