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FOOTBALL

FIFA welcomes Waitakere United to the Club World Cup - updated

infonews.co.nz

Monday 26 November 2007, 7:26PM

By infonews.co.nz

2,148 views

Dan Henny, Rex Dawkins, Chris Milicich and Allan Pearce of Waitakere United
Dan Henny, Rex Dawkins, Chris Milicich and Allan Pearce of Waitakere United Credit: infonews.co.nz
John Schumacher of FIFA with Danny Hay
John Schumacher of FIFA with Danny Hay Credit: infonews.co.nz
John Schumacher of FIFA with Danny Hay
John Schumacher of FIFA with Danny Hay Credit: infonews.co.nz
Waitakere players holding the FIFA Club World Cup
Waitakere players holding the FIFA Club World Cup Credit: infonews.co.nz
Rex Dawkins of Waitakere United
Rex Dawkins of Waitakere United Credit: infonews.co.nz
Chris Milicich, Coach, of Waitakere United
Chris Milicich, Coach, of Waitakere United Credit: infonews.co.nz
Teams and their home cities
Teams and their home cities Credit: FIFA
The matches for the Club World Cup
The matches for the Club World Cup Credit: FIFA
The stages for the Club World Cup
The stages for the Club World Cup Credit: FIFA

WAITAKERE CITY

FIFA's John Schumacher welcomed Waitakere United to the Club World Cup today and spoke about the cup finals and the teams involved.

The FIFA World Club Cup takes place in Japan  from 7 -16 December.

Situated in the heart of Tokyo, the National Stadium is steeped in tradition having hosted the 1964 Olympic Games, the 1958 Asian Games and the 1971 World Track & Field Championships.

The FIFA Club World Cup, formerly known as the FIFA Club World Championship, is a football competition contested between the champion clubs from all 6 continental confederations, although since 2007 the champions of Oceania must play a qualifying play-off against the champion club of the host country.

The first competition took place in Brazil in January 2000. It was intended by FIFA to be a replacement for the Intercontinental Cup (also known as the Toyota Cup), which was contested annually in Tokyo, Japan by the champions of Europe and South America.

Japan has hosted the yearly competition since, but open bidding processes for hosting it will begin with the 2009 edition.
www.fifa.com/clubworldcup/index.html

Teams
Pachuca - www.tuzos.com.mx
Waitakere United - www.waitakereunited.co.nz
AC Milan - www.acmilan.com
Boca Juniors - www.bocajuniors.com.ar 
Urawa Red Diamonds  - www.urawa-reds.co.jp
Etoile du Sahel  - www.etoile-du-sahel.com
Sepahan - www.fooladsepahansport.com  

Matches 

http://nz.youtube.com/infonewsNZ

John Schumacher - FIFA welcomes Waitakere United Part 1
http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=1M7LZCjF_zQ

John Schumacher - FIFA welcomes Waitakere United Part 2 
http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=_XlJNlXVwP4

Captain Danny Hay speaks abou this team and the FIFA Club World Cup.
http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=hXtdzFkC5Cg

Allan Pearce talks about football
http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=KIsFIHvIe6M

Rex Dawkins of Waitakere United
http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=iy8nHBdNgPk

FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2007 - Clubs promo video
http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=zfVfdmBfrnw

FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2007 - Promo video
http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo18bUIACxs

Allan Pearce at today's FIFA press conference
http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=4dTNm5f9xRE

Rex Dawkins of Waitakere United
http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=iy8nHBdNgPk

FIFA will debut its new micro-chipped ball at the Club World Cup in Japan next month, and if testing goes well it could be used at the 2010 World Cup.

The "smart ball" is designed to eliminate controversy about whether the ball crossed the goal line, sending an instant message to the referee's watch.

A similar goal-line system was tested by FIFA at the U-17 World finals in Peru in 2005 but this is the first time the sophisticated microchip technology will be used.

"This improved system won't be influenced by players or the weather," said Christian Holzer, chief innovation director at Cairos Technologies, which jointly developed the ball with adidas.