CONCACAF

November 4, 2003 Canada to host 2004 CONCACAF U-19 Qualifying Tournament Finals The CONCACAF U-19 Qualifying Tournament will be held in Ottawa and Montreal, Canada, from May 28-June 6, 2004. Canada was the sole bidder for the competition. The Canada Soccer Associationwill use Ottawa's Frank Clair Stadium and Montreal's McGill University Stadium if approved by CONCACAF. Eight teams will take part. Twenty two National Associations have already confirmed participation in the CONCACAF U-19 qualifying rounds. Preliminary zonal competitions will be played from January 15 through March 31, 2004. USA will probably receive a bye to the final eight. Comment from U-19 National Team Head Coach Tracey Leone I have been waiting on pins and needles to hear this news. Canada did an exceptional job with the last U-19 world championship and we are thrilled to be going back. We couldn't be more excited about continuing our journey from this point towards qualification. Our only goal right now is to qualify for the world championship. Leone recently completed a training camp for only high school-aged players at the U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Carson, California. Her next training camp in late December will include college players. Heather O'Reilly, Rachel Buehler, Ashlyn Harris, Angie Woznuk, and Kerri Hanks from the 2002 World Championship Team are still age-eligible for the 2004 competition (January 1, 1985 cut-off ). The 2nd FIFA U-19 World Championship will be held in Thailand from November 10-27, 2004.