OFC
Waitakere United claimed their place in the FIFA Club World Cup to be held in December after winning the Grand Final of the OFC O-League for the second consecutive year. After losing 3-1 to Solomon Island champions Kossa FC in Honiara in the first leg, the New Zealand side rose to the occasion in front of their home fans in Auckland to win the second leg 5-0 and the final 6-3 on aggregate.
AS Mont Dore won the cup competition in New Caledonia after a comprehensive 3-0 victory over holders and Super Ligue Nestle rivals AS Lossi in the final at Stade Numa Daly. It was a poignant victory for Mont Dore after they suffered the ignominy of a 1-0 defeat against Lossi in last year’s final on the very same ground. AS Magenta have been crowned champions of New Caledonia for the fourth time after a convincing 3-0 win in their final play-off game over Kirikitr in the Super Ligue.
AS Manu Ura capped off a memorable season in Tahiti after successfully defending the title they won last season, heading off strong competition from AS Tefana, AS Dragon and AS Temanava. Manu Ura’s 3-1 win over Central Sport was enough to give the “Mauves” an unassailable five-point advantage over their nearest title rivals AS Tefana and AS Dragon.
Flying Arrows Ba from Fiji will represent OFC at the Danone Nations Cup in France in September after defeating Auckland FC in the final of the OFC Youth Festival in Noumea. 20 teams of U-12s from nine different countries converged on Stade Pontecost in Noumea in a tournament aimed at embracing different cultures, making friends and creating a passion for the game.

CONCACAF
The CONCACAF Executive Committee met for the first time this year at the offices of the General Secretariat in New York City on 15 May. The meeting was presided over by CONCACAF President Jack Warner, who just days earlier had been in Chengdu, China during the earthguake that struck the city. Warner opened the meeting by thanking his colleagues and constituents for all the messages of concern that had been sent to him over the preceding few days. He also praised the leadership of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for their efforts in facilitating his departure from China which enabled him to arrive in time for the CONCACAF Executive Committee meeting. Warner also expressed his sincere condolences to all those affected by the tragedy.
The CONCACAF Executive Committee was briefed on several issues, including:
• Reports on recently concluded 2008 CONCACAF championships such as the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup, the Men’s and Women’s Olympic Qualification (in the USA and Mexico) and the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship (in Mexico)
• Developments related to CONCACAF championships such as the 2008 CONCACAF Futsal Championship (in Guatemala), the 2008 CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 (in Trinidad & Tobago) and Under-20 Championships (in Mexico) and the 2009 CONCACAF Under-20 (in Trinidad & Tobago) and Under-17 Men’s Championships (in Mexico)
• Updates on the inaugural 2008-2009 CONCACAF Champions League™, including information on qualifying criteria, commercial guidelines and stadium standards
• Summaries of recently concluded broadcast and marketing agreements for several tournaments.
The next meeting of the CONCACAF
Executive Committee will take place in
November 2008 in the Cayman Islands.

CAF
The CAF Executive Committee met in Yaounde, Cameroon on 18 May. The meeting was opened by Cameroon’s Minister for Sports and Physical Education, Augustin Edjoa. The Executive Committee had a lengthy debate on the new format for the annual CAF awards, it was decided that the awards ceremony should be held at the end of December every year. The Executive Committee welcomed the report on the African Futsal Championship held in Libya presented by the CAF Vice-President, Molefi Oliphant. Libya, who won the tournament, and Egypt will represent Africa at the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2008, which will take place in Brazil between 30 September and 19 October. In view of the interest in futsal across the continent and the development of infrastructure throughout Africa, it was decided that a tournament would be organised every two years. The CAF Executive Committee noted with satisfaction the state of preparations in Angola for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, as outlined in a report presented by Mohammed Raouraoua, the head of the inspection team sent to the country. The Executive Committee also expressed satisfaction at the undertaking by the government of Cote d’lvoire to host the African Nations Championship in February 2009. CAF urged the organising committee to work hard to finish the preparations in time. The competition will be held in the cities of Abidjan and Bouake.
Mohamed Abdu Saleh El Wahsh from Egypt died on 21 May, aged 79, in a Cairo hospital after a prolonged illness. Well known by the name “Captain”, the former technical director of CAF (1986-1998) and a pioneer member of the FIFA Technical Committee was the man who set the technical standard in African football. El Wahsh was the first ever technical director of CAF and brought about a technical shift in the game in Africa by instructing numerous African coaches and teaching them the ethics of football coaching for the first time. El Wahsh also served as president of the Egyptian FA and was chairman of Africa’s most successful club Al Ahly between 1988 and 1992.