Courtesy: SBS

Aussies shoot for five in a row

Australia will be attempting to qualify for it's fifth consecutive FIFA Futsal World Championship when the Oceania qualifying tournament commences this Sunday in Canberra.

Australia will be joined by trans-Tasman rival New Zealand and island nations Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu at the qualifying tournament with the winner granted automatic entry to the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Championship.

Futsal often referred to as five-a-side or indoor soccer, is one of the fastest growing sports both in Australia and across much of the world, with 85 nations having entered the qualifying competition for the 2004 edition of the world championship.

Coach of the Qantas Futsalroos Scott Gilligan, while wishing to remain cautious is optimistic of his team's chance of success.

"On paper we would probably be considered favourites having qualified for all four previous world championships, but anything is possible on any given day as shown by the Solomon Islands in their recent World Cup match against the Socceroos," he said.

"We have had a fairly good preparation over the last week or so and all the players are now just eager to get stuck into the matches."

Australia is one of only five nations to appear at all four previous FIFA Futsal World Championships since the first tournament was first held in 1989.

The previous tournaments were held in Holland (1989), Hong Kong (1992), Spain (1996) and Guatemala (2000). Four years ago Spain secured the world championship after defeating Brazil, winners of the three previous tournaments.

The five-day tournament in Canberra will be played in a round-robin format with the winner advancing to the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Championship.

The 16-team tournament will be held in Chinese Taipei from November 21 - December 5.

The full tournament schedule of the OFC Futsal World Qualifying Tournament is:

Round 1 - Sunday, July 25, 2004
4.30pm New Zealand v Vanuatu
6.30pm Samoa v Fiji
8.30pm Australia v Solomon Is

Round 2 - Monday, July 26, 2004
4.30pm Solomon Is v Samoa
6.30pm Fiji v Vanuatu
8.30pm New Zealand v Australia

Round 3 - Tuesday, July 27, 2004
4.30pm Samoa v Vanuatu
6.30pm Solomon Is v New Zealand
8.30pm Australia v Fiji

Round 4 - Wednesday, July 28, 2004
4.30pm Fiji v New Zealand
6.30pm Vanuatu v Solomon Is
8.30pm Australia v Samoa

Round 5 - Thursday, July 29, 2004
4.30pm Fiji v Solomon Is
6.30pm Samoa v New Zealand
8.30pm Vanuatu v Australia

All matches will be played at the AIS Arena, Leverrier Cres, Bruce, Canberra.