CAF officials meet to decide African 2006 World cup qualification

CAIRO, Nov 15 (SW) - A new committee has been specifically set up to look at the qualifying process for the 2006 African Nations Cup and the 2006 World Cup.

Chaired by the Confederation of African Football president Issa Hayatou, the committee will be made up of various African federation presidents and football experts and will meet for the first time in mid-December at the venue of the second leg of the CAF Champions League final.

In late October at a CAF meeting in Cairo, which awarded the hosting rights to the 2006 ANC to Egypt, it was argued by several officials that plans to use the 2006 ANC as a 2006 WC qualifying tournament should be abandoned as it could cost the African game millions of dollars in gate receipts and TV revenue.

The CAF had decided on the format earlier this year in order to cut down on international fixture congestion and disputes between national federations and clubs over player availability.

Under the planned format the four semi-finalists at Egypt 2006 would automatically secure WC places, but the basis on which the fifth qualifying place would be decided had yet to be confirmed by the CAF.

New proposals call for a separate 2006 WC qualifying tournament to be played simultaneously to the 2006 ANC, as was the format previously. FIFA president Sepp Blatter is said to support the CAF's possible change of plan.