The FIFA World Club Cup Japan 2011 kicks off on Thursday with Japanese J. League Division 1 champions Kashiwa Reysol meeting 2011 OFC Champions League winners Auckland City FC. Next week UEFA Champions League winners FC Barcelona and Copa Libertadores trophy holders Santos FC enter the competition at the semi-final stage.

Raining on his parade One of the things we sadly miss about the commercialisation of our beautiful game is games played on awful pitches. It was football's greatest leveller, and made two things much easier: 1. Non-league sides causing amazing giantkillings 2. The creation of 'comedy' football videos However, when Tonga met the Cook Islands [.

Silao Malo scored the only goal of the game as Samoa defeated their neighbours American Samoa by one goal to nil in the final round of first stage FIFA World Cup qualification matches in the Oceania region.

American Samoa, a team who have become famous for suffering heavy defeats and propping up the FIFA World Rankings in recent years, had captured the hearts and minds of many football fans with their exploits this week.

La eliminatoria de la Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) otorga 1 lugar para el repechaje intercontinental de cara a la Copa del Mundo Brasil 2014.
De los 11 equipos oceánicos, los cuatro que ocupan los puestos más bajos del Ranking disputan la primera ronda en noviembre de 2011, en Samoa.

Harry Kewell is back to play in Australia, in the A-League and I like most other football fans are delighted.
Sure on Twitter, The Australian's Ray Gatt and surprisingly The Age's Mick Lynch, have been defending the so-called "opinion piece" from Sydney Morning Herald writer and Fox Sports Commentator Mike Cockerill on Harry's return - oh how Mike despises Harry.

The first match-up of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign will begin in earnest on Wednesday. Belize and Montserrat, ranked in positions 172 and 202 of FIFA's World Rankings respectively, will begin the qualification process in the CONCACAF region with a two-legged fixture taking place on June 15th and 19th.

Los equipos participantes se irán clasificando a lo largo del año a través de las seis mayores competiciones continentales.

Confederación Equipo Vía de clasificación UEFA (Europa) Barcelona Campeón de la Liga de Campeones de la UEFA (2010/11) Conmebol (Sudamérica) Por definir Campeón de la Copa Libertadores de América (2011) Concacaf (Norte, Centroamérica y Caribe) Monterrey Campeón de la Concacaf Liga Campeones (2010/11) AFC (Asia) Por definir Campeón de la Liga de Campeones de la AFC (2011) CAF (África) Por definir Campeón de la Liga de Campeones de la CAF (2011) OFC (Oceanía) Auckland City Campeón de la Liga de Campeones de la OFC (2010/11) Japón (Asia) Por definir Campeón de la J.

The presidency of football's governing body FIFA is set to contested on June 1st, with current supremo Sepp Blatter being challenged by Asian Football Confederation (AFC) chief Mohammed Bin Hammam. With controversies, accusations and scandal in the world game over the last year, who is the right man to bring dignity back into the sport and lead the the organisational committee forward?

As the group stage of the 2011 UEFA U-17 Championship wrapped up in Serbia, the top six teams have clinched a place in the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico.
Eight European teams were competing in two groups of four in a round-robin format, and while the top two teams in each group moved onto the continental semifinals, the top three teams advanced to Mexico.

PORTLAND, Ore.— The Portland Timbers announced today the signing of midfielder Freddie Braun and goalkeeper Jake Gleeson. Both are products of the Timbers' development team, the Portland Timbers U-23s. Timbers general manager/technical director Gavin Wilkinson made the announcement. In 2010, Braun and Gleeson guided the Timbers U-23s to a record-setting season in United Soccer Leagues' [.

The OFC Under-17 Championship final has been won by tournament hosts New Zealand for the fourth time in the nation's history following their 2-0 win against Tahiti. A 2-0 scoreline was also sufficient for the Solomon Islands to claim third place in their play-off against Vanuatu.

Both of the goals came in the first half for New Zealand who have won the last three tournaments all at the expense of today's opponents Tahiti.

The OFC Under-17 Championship final has been won by tournament hosts New Zealand for the fourth time in the nation's history following their 2-0 win against Tahiti. A 2-0 scoreline was also sufficient for the Solomon Islands to claim third place in their play-off against Vanuatu.

Both of the goals came in the first half for New Zealand who have won the last three tournaments all at the expense of today's opponents Tahiti.

The final of the 2011 OFC Under-17 Championship will be played out for the third consecutive competition between New Zealand and Tahiti. Both teams qualified with a 100% record from their groups whilst Vanuatu and Solomon Islands will fight it out for pride in the 3rd/4th play-off which, like the final, takes place on Wednesday.

Wendell Ferreira
FUTNET
A Austrália pertencia Confederação de Futebol da Oceania (OFC) até 2006. Pela deficiência técnica dos adversários, e para ter mais possibilidade de chegar Copa do Mundo com mais frequência, o país dos cangurus solicitou a transferência Confederação Asiática (AFC), que foi concedida e passou a valer desde 2007.