An fiercely contested AFC Women's Under-19 Championship soccer match between hosts China and Australia ended with a mass brawl earlier today. According to sportal.com.au: ...following the final whistle, an Australia player fell to the ground while remonstrating with the Chinese, prompting captain Tameka Butt to charge across the pitch and grab the perceived offender.

Our most viewed post of the past week featured pictures of the Australia vs. China Women's AFC Under-19 Championship post-match brawl. In the aftermath of the incident, Football Federation Australia will has stated that it will interview players, coaching staff and management of the Young Matildas in an investigation.

Canberra has produced a number of Socceroos, A-League players and currently has 4 Canberrans in the Joeys squad.
So when they announced the first Under 13 boys Australian team ever....thirty spots mind you..I felt sure with thousands of kids playing football, Coerver Coaching, and various Academy and Clinics around town surely we'd be able to get one or maybe two players into the squad.

A bullying, selfish FIFA Confederation President pursuing his own agenda to the detriment of the development of the beautiful game? No, not Jack Warner, but AFC boss Mohamed Bin Hammam.

That, at least, is the perspective of much of New Zealand's soccer media this week, following the AFC's ultimatum to New Zealand's Wellington Phoenix, who play in Australia's A-League: become a lot more Australian, or else.

PETALING JAYA: England-based youngster Haziq Zikri Elias is set to join the Harimau Muda (national Under-19) squad for two major international assignments this year.
The 18-year-old Haziq, who plays for Stevenage Borough FC in the Conference National League in Hertfordshire, will attend trials here tomorrow.

The World Cup of 2010 is already taking shape, with twenty-three of the 32 teams on offer having already staked a claim towards a tournament berth.
Already Qualified:
South Africa (CAF - as hosts)
Japan (AFC)
Australia (AFC)
South Korea (AFC)
Netherlands (UEFA)
North Korea (AFC)
Brazil (CONMEBOL)
Ghana (CAF)
England (UEFA)
Spain (UEFA)
Paraguay (CONMEBOL)
Cote d'Ivoire (CAF)
Germany (UEFA)
Denmark (UEFA)
Serbia (UEFA)
Italy (UEFA)
Chile (CONMEBOL)
Mexico (CONCACAF)
USA (CONCACAF)
Switzerland (UEFA)
Slovakia (UEFA)
Argentina (CONMEBOL)
Honduras (CONCACAF)

There's a full slate of 2010 World Cup Qualifiers in all of the regions on Saturday September 5, 2009. The biggest matchup this weekend has to be in South America (CONMEBOL) as Argentina hosts Brazil. In CONCACAF, Mexico and the United States look to get wins to inch closer towards automatic qualification.

Good piece by Henry Winter in todays Telegraph, about how dangerous a First Round Draw England could get despite the fact that we will almost certainly be seeded (won't be officially announced untill all the teams are through and FIFA has worked out the best way to get the big teams through the fairest way for everyone to play against each other.

I'm not harping on that infamous incident that took place after we beat the Jordanians on the 28th Jan 2009.
But I would like to know since this brawl had already been reported to the Police and statements had been taken from relevant parties, how is the authority going to follow-up from this point?

So the girls took on Thailand in the final of the ASEAN under-16 girls final in Myanmar, and though it's not up on the FFA website yet, you can read all about it here on the ASEAN website.
Australia ended up winning 8-0, but the scoreline doesn't reflect that it was pretty close. Up until the 67th minute, it was 2-0, but Sam Kerr then scored and it seemingly opened up the floodgates.

So Australia move through to the semis of the AFC under-16 women's championships as the only team not to drop a game after beating Japan 3-1 in Thailand tonight. The two Korean teams, DPR Korea and Korea Republic drew in their round game, so they both finished on seven points in Group A while Australia topped Group B with a perfect nine points, three wins from three games.

So very late last night Australian time, unfortunately the Aussie girls had their first loss of the AFC under-16 tournament when DPR Korea came back to clinch a 4-3 win in the 85th minute. Australia had scored first, in just the 8th minute through Brittany Whitfield and but then Korea equalised in the 18th minute.

It was an important day in all the regions as the final spots for the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa are being deteremined. In UEFA there are eight teams competing for four spots in two legged ties. The first leg was on Saturday with the second coming on Wednesday, November 18, 2009. There are two playoff matches between regions including the AFC/OFC Playoff and CONCACAF/CONMEBOL Playoff.

The 2010 World Cup Qualification process has finished and all of the 32 teams have been determined. There aren't too many surprises as many of the favorites such as Brazil, Spain, Italy, and England will all be there. Some nations such as France and Argentina struggled to advance but in the end will be there in South Africa.

AFC Futsal Champs will be held in Iran this year.
NSW Thunder will represent Australia this year having defeated Canberra in the final.
Given the strength of ACT Futsal it wouldn't be hard to see Canberra in the AFC Final...and this tournament held in Canberra.
With the TV viewing figures for Futsal across Asia this is a tournament that could make money.

VSDATE: 5th May 2009
KICK-OFF:7.30pm (Singapore Time) VENUE: Jalan Besar Stadium
PREVIEWOkay folks, we are heading towards the last home match of SAFFC's ACL campaign this coming Tuesday (5th of May) at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
It has not been a smooth ride for the defending S.

Qualifying for the FIFA 2010 World Cup continues on Wednesday with matches in most of the regions. There are only three matches left for most countries as there are several spots still up for grabs in every region. In CONCACAF and CONMEBOL it's still very close and top countries such as Argentina are on the fringe.

The World Cup of 2010 is already taking shape, with seven of the 32 teams on offer having already staked a claim towards a tournament berth.
In trouble...
The teams who have already qualified:
South Africa (CAF - as hosts)
Japan (AFC)
Australia (AFC)
South Korea (AFC)
Netherlands (UEFA)
North Korea (AFC)
Brazil (CONMEBOL)
Ghana (CAF)
So, that leaves space for 24 more countries.

With less than 250 days left to the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, the qualifying rounds are coming to an end in exciting matches that are determining who will come to South Africa next year and take their place in the Top 32 soccer teams in the world. This week will see the last of the 2010 qualifying games before the play-offs take place.

So it's been a while since an Australian youth girls team has qualified for a FIFA under-17 or under-20 World Cup. The last team was the one that went in 2006 to the under-20 event in Russia. And just to clarify, these events are held every two years, not four like the senior World Cups. The under-19 girls just missed out in controversial circumstances earlier this year for next year's under-20 tournament.

So unfortunately the Australian under-16 girls team has failed to qualify for next year's FIFA under-17 women's World Cup after going down to Japan 6-2 in the third-placed play-off at this year's AFC under-16 championship in Bangkok tonight.
Japan went up 2-0 right on halftime, and then they opened the floodgates in the second-half.

There are a number of international friendlies on Wednesday, November 18, 2009. Many of the top countries who have qualified for next summer's World Cup Final include Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, and the United States. Our other site, Free Live Sports TV, will be providing live coverage of the matches at the links below.

Was at the National Stadium again to see how the preparation for the game against the Jordanians the following day.

Good to see guys like Aleksandar Duric, Khairul Amri back in training with Hariss Harun doing some light workout at the sidelines with trainer Aleksandar Bozenko.

Much of the training were dealt with "set-pieces" and match practices.

The Guardian (so I only read them and the BBC, shoot me) have a report saying that Richard Scudamore and Peter Kenyon are tacitly backing Mohamed Bin Hammam's bid for re-election in the AFC. Assuming that this is true, it's not as simple as throwing their hat in the ring behind one candidate over the other.

Please forgive that awful pun.
Needless to say, the FFA's mooting of a second-tier competition has been the hot issue in Australian football over the past few days. It is a natural enough response to the draconian (and largely political) new requirements put in place by the AFC regarding places in the revamped Asian Champions League, and was bound to come onto the agenda at some point in any case.

In this interview (originally published on A Liverpool Thing) with their new chairman Chris Stirrup, Paul Grech asks a few questions about AFC Liverpool's progress after a couple of seasons, including the $64,000 question of whether the club has become to close to the club that it was supposed to formed as a reaction to.

AFC Cup
Binh Duong v Chonburi 2-0 (Philani, Molina) 18,000
But South China from Hong Kong are in the semi finals...where they play Kuwait SC. Binh Duong play Al Karamah from Syria in their semi. I wonder...for the legs to be played in arab countries, will they appoint arab refs?

The second of our articles to mark the First Round Proper of The FA Cup heads west to Paulton, a village between Bath and Bristol tonight. This weekend, the village team, Paulton Rovers, plays host to Norwich City in a live, televised match, but the club has already won financially, at least.

Sido Jombati extended his hand, and with a warm smile on his face said, 'My name is Sido.'
I couldn't help but laugh. I had just contacted him a few days ago to tell him what a big fan I was, and to request an interview with him for this blog. I certainly knew who his name. I was to learn, though, that Sido is as unassuming as he is friendly.

So very late last night in China, well 10.30pm Australian time, Australia kicked off its campaign to qualify for the under-17 FIFA Women's World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago. And they kicked it off in some sort of style with an impressive 4-0 win over China.
Newcastle Jets striker Tara Andrews claimed all four goals in the win, scoring in the 18th, 58th, 63rd and then 87th minute.

Media information by Football Association of Singapore)
SINGAPORE, 6th November 2009: Match Tickets for the crucial AFC Asian Cup Qualifier between Singapore and Thailand on 14 November will go on advanced sale from Sunday, 8 November during the RHB Singapore Cup final at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

The AFC Region (Asia) wraps up its 2009 season of the Champions League on Saturday, November 7, 2009. The final has Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad facing South Korean side Pohang Steelers. Live coverage of the match will be provided at Free Live Sports TV. The link is below and the match is set to start at 05:00 EST, 10:00 GMT, or 19:00 JST.

Singapore coach Raddy said he's glad with the media turn out today that he felt this must be something good about the game tomorrow.
Thailand's coach Bryan Robson this is first time he comes to Singapore in a capacity as a coach and he's looking forward to the game and challenge ahead.
At the meantime, the former England skipper gave an update to the media on his team preparation and said,"everything is going well.

The NEW Paper seek some opinions from overseas fans about their view on the national team's recent defeat to the Iranians...
Not bad eh.. as our football did attract some attentions from these overseas football lovers BUT hey, take a look .. it's not your usual "Jones" or "Taylors'.

SAFFC's players and officials "get-together" before the start
There was some light drizzling at the Jalan Besar Stadium before the start of this crucial fixture that would see SAFFC becoming the first team from Singapore to join the elites in the financial lucrative ACL proper.
Like what PSMS Medan's skipper Elie Aiboy lamented during the pre-match media conference on having to play on the new surface of the stadium, the Sumatrans started the game slowly in trying to adapt themselves on this alien pitch.

If nothing goes wrong with my media accreditation application to this prestigious Asian club tournament, I should be able to go ahead to do something that mark another milestone of this blog - having an instant update of the a href="http://www.the-afc.com/eng/competitions/news/index.jsp_367AFC-09-11-625-1.

Indonesia Super League
Persita v Persipura 1-2 (Yulian Hontong; David Da Rocha, Ernest Jeremiah) 1,000
Persijap v Persiwa 0-0
Singapore Cup
Balestier Khalsa v Home United 0-3 (Norikazu Murakami, Shahril Ishak, Kengne Ludovick)
AFC Challenge Cup
Myanmar v Cambodia 1-0 (Yaza Win Thien)
Bangladesh v Macau 3-0
Both Myanmar and Bangladesh qualify to the next stage of this Asian Cup lite

All eyes in Malaysia will be on the clash between Selangor and Kedah tonight at the Shah Alam Stadium. It's 2nd against 3rd with Kedah, champions for the last two seasons having a game in hand on Selangor, the most successful side in Malaysian history.
It's been an exciting week of course for Kedah having qualified for the knock out stage of the AFC Cup
Leaders Perlis host Terengganu while 4th placed Negeri Sembilan are up against Penang.

This time 4 years ago, we Aussies had already clinched the Oceania group and were eagerly watching the South American qualification group. Who would we play in November? Uruguay again? Paraguay or Columbia? It went down to the wire and history shows that we played Uruguay and showed Reccoba that his "Divine Right" was to put his head up his arse.

Fox Sports Mike Cockerill mentioned the other night that the A-League might expand to 13 teams.
Now Mike hasn't just dreamed that up has he? Someone from you know where has clearly leaked this in my view. Or else where could it have come from.
So August FFA Board meeting could mean:
1.