CFU FUTSAL PRELIMINARY QUALIFICATION RECEIVES SPONSOR

The Hindu Credit Union (HCU) Financial Group of Companies will sponsor the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Preliminary Futsal Qualification Tournament from 18-23 April in Trinidad & Tobago.

At a press conference to announce the sponsorship last week, the HCU were lauded by Jack Warner, President of the CFU, as well as CONCACAF, and congratulated on their involvement in football. Attending the press conference were the CFU's Head of the Marketing Division, Captain Horace Burrell (JAM); Oliver Camps, Trinidad & Tobago Football Federation President; and HCU officials Gawtam Ramnanan (Managing Director), Carl Ramdeo (Corporate Director Advertising/Promotions), Ashvani Mahabir (Corporate Secretary) and Sunil Ramdeen (General Manager HCU television).

The CFU Futsal Preliminary event will advance three nations to the 2004 CONCACAF Final Round Qualification scheduled for July in Costa Rica.

Eight nations have been divided into two groups of four at the first-ever CFU Futsal Event. Group A is composed of Grenada, Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico and the host, while Group B has Guyana, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Surinam and Turks & Caicos Islands. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals, where the two winners along with the third-place match victor will compete in the Final Round in Costa Rica.

The Caribbean representatives will join three qualifiers from the North/Central Preliminary Series, along with Cuba, and the host, Costa Rica in the eight-team CONCACAF Final Round that will qualify two nations to the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Championship to be held in Chinese Taipei from 22 November - 12 December.