The USA finished first at the 2008 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualification after a 6-5 victory on penalties over Canada, following a 1 -1 draw at the end of normal and extra time in the final held at the Estadio Olimpico Benito Juarez in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on 12 April. This is the Stars & Stripes’ second consecutive CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Tournament title after claiming the inaugural event held in Costa Rica in 2004. Prior to the 2008 final, the USA and Canada had already qualified for the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Beijing 2008, after defeating Costa Rica and Mexico, respectively, in the CONCACAF tournament semi-finals in Ciudad Juarez on 9 April. In the third-place match at the CONCACAF tournament, Maria Lourdes Gordiilo scored in the 69th minute to give Mexico a 1-0 win over Costa Rica.
Ashley Folkes was re-elected as President of the Grenada Football Association (GFA) in St George’s, Grenada this past April. Folkes won the presidency 17-16, defeating former GFA Vice-President Cheney Joseph in a second run-off following a first-round deadlock. Along with Folkes, the new GFA Executive list is as follows: Marlon Glean, First Vice-President; Adrian Mitchell, Second Vice-President; and Directors-Carl Phillip, Bernadine Andrews, Jester Noel, Wayne James and Phillip James.
Hankook Verdes captured Belize’s RFG Insurance League title after defeating Belize Defence Force 2-1 on aggregate in the 2007-2008 finals. After the first leg ended 1 -1, a goal by Orlando Jimenez sealed a 1-0 triumph in the second encounter at San Ignacio’s Norman Broaster Stadium on 14 April. The last time the club won Belize’s national title was in 1986 when they were known as Leslie’s Verdes.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) organised a three-day symposium from 21 to 23 April 2008 aimed at analysing the MTN Africa Cup of Nations 2008 from a technical perspective. At the event, some 60 participants, including seasoned CAF experts, coaches and invited specialists, took a detailed look at the latest edition of the tournament, which was held in Ghana from 20 January to 10 February 2008. “This is the first time elite African coaches have gathered together to assess the standard of our competition. The symposium has had a huge impact on the coaches, who have openly expressed the difficulties and pressures they face from all directions and discussed ways in which these can be eased,” said Abdel Moneim Hussein, CAF’s Director of Development. According to Abdel Moneim, attention focused on the importance of players’ medical records, since a player’s health cannot be taken for granted at any level of our competition. “The event was attended by high-profile coaches such as Claude Le Roy, Otto Pfister and Roger Lemerre as well as many experienced coaches from the associations. Most associations were represented both by their coaches and technical directors, who contributed a number of ideas which, if implemented, will go a long way to developing football,” said Ben Kofie, a member of CAF’s technical committee. “Implementing these is the responsibility of the individual associations. CAF is the policy-making body and we will ensure that the measures agreed at this symposium will be forwarded to local associations for implementation,” continued Ben Kofie, adding that CAF will oblige its members to invest in grassroots football development.
Amos Adamu has been appointed the new president of the West African Football Union (WAFU). Adamu, Director General of the National Sports Commission of Nigeria, took over the reins from Jacques Anouma in Abidjan on 22 April. The handover ceremony was the climax of the West African union’s 11th Ordinary General Assembly, which was held in the Ivorian capital.

AFC President Mohamed bin Hammam recently laid the foundation stone for Bangladesh’s first artificial turf pitch at an elaborate ceremony near Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) House in Dhaka. Bin Hammam stressed that the artificial turf at Arambagh Balurmath, which is located next to the federation headquarters in Motijheel and is part of FIFA’s Goal Programme, would be completed by the end of 2007. He also said that the AFC and FIFA would continue to support the country and urged the BFF to repair any rifts that might hinder the development of the game in the long run. During his visit, Bin Hammam also met the country’s army chief and national sports council chairman General Moeen U Ahmed to discuss the development of football.
Bin Hammam also recently met Chelsea CEO Peter Kenyon at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to discuss the extension of the Premier League club’s support for the AFC’s football development programme, Vision Asia, to India. Chelsea signed a four-year partnership with the AFC last year to become the confederation’s official football development partner in China and have since helped to launch four city leagues.
The draw for the second round of AFC Asian Cup 2011 qualifiers will take place in Doha on 3 July, while the draw for the final competition will be held in May 2010, also in the Qatar capital. The campaign for the 15th edition of the continent’s premier football tournament began in Beirut on 9 April, when Lebanon took on the Maldives in the first leg of the only first-round match. At the next AFC Asian Cup, hosts Qatar will be joined by defending champions Iraq, 2007 runners-up Saudi Arabia, and third-place finishers Korea Republic as well as the winners of the 2008 and 2010 AFC Challenge Cups.