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The future of football is Asia

The future of football is Asia This is the first in a four-part series on the IFA Shield. Franz Beckenbauer is President of FC Bayern Munich. For me, it is a joyous occasion that a team of FC Bayern Munich is participating in the prestigious 111th IFA Shield tournament. Unfortunately, my job as head of the 2006 FIFA World Cup organising committee does not permit me to accompany our young team, and my good old friend and colleague Gerd Mueller, on this journey. I have committed myself to visit all 31 countries that have qualified for the 2006 World Cup, which will be

First step into Asia

First step into Asia AUSTRALIA today makes its first significant step into the Asian Football Confederation when the Socceroos go into the draw for the 2007 Asian Cup qualifiers. In Kuala Lumpur the Socceroos will go into the lowest-ranked pot of four, from which six four-team groups will be selected. It is a moment locally based Australian players will be keeping a very close eye on. The reality of the move into Asia is that for at least the three home fixtures, players from the A-League are going to play some part in national team squads. Australia's first away match on February

Second Australian sentenced to life on drug charges

Second Australian sentenced to life on drug charges An Australian man was Monday sentenced to life in prison on charges of drug smuggling. In a trial at the Denpasar District Court, judges ruled that Scott Rush, 20, should serve the rest of his life in an Indonesian prison for acting as a so-called drug mule.He was seized at Bali's Ngurah Rai airport with 1.3 kilograms of heroin taped to his legs. He is the second Australian to be sentenced to life in prison Monday for trying to smuggle heroin from the Indonesian resort island of Bali to their homeland, judges said. They were the

Lebanon pulls out of Asia Cup

Lebanon pulls out of Asia Cup Lebanon today pulled out of Australias Asian Cup soccer qualifying group due to the crisis engulfing the country. The Lebanon Football Association sent a letter of withdrawal to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), saying it could not continue in the competition due to the tragic circumstances our country and people are passing through as a result of the barbaric attack imposed on Lebanon by the Israeli Army. Australia was due to play Lebanon at Adelaide Oval on August 31 and again in Beirut on November 15. The AFC Management Board will convene an emergency meeting today

ONeill eyes Asia, then world

ONeill eyes Asia, then world FOOTBALL Federation Australia has set its sights on hosting the Asian Cup finals in 2011, chief executive John ONeill said yesterday. And the odds are he could still be around to see the move come off. Despite the fact he has played a big role in the turnaround of Australian soccer over the past two-and-a-half years, with his contract due to run out there has been conjecture over ONeills future at FFA. While he has been reluctant to discuss the matter over the past few months, he gave the clearest indication yet that he will be staying