Canada Will Host 2004 Under-19 Qualifying Tournament

Ottawa, Ontario – The Canadian Soccer Association announced it will host the Final Round of the Women’s Under-19 CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament next year after the CONCACAF Executive Committee awarded the hosting rights to the CSA at a meeting in Miami, Florida.
The event will take place between May 28 and June 6, 2004 at both Ottawa’s Frank Clair Stadium and Montreal’s McGill University Molson Stadium.
“This is great news for the U-19 Team and for soccer in Canada,” said Canadian Women’s Under-19 head coach Ian Bridge. “I look forward to playing these important CONCACAF qualifying games in Montreal and Ottawa. The team will be excited and motivated to play in front of large, pro-Canadian crowds.”
The Championship will be set up as two groups of four nations each (one led by Canada with an automatic berth as host) who will play a round robin tournament from May 28 to June 1. Cross over semi-finals involving the winners of each group playing the runners up in the other group will take place in Montreal on Friday June 4, 2004. Both semi-final winners will play in the CONCACAF Championship final in Ottawa on June 6, 2004 and will qualify for the Women’s U-19 World Championship, to be held November 10-27 in Thailand.
Canada earned a silver medal in the inaugural FIFA Under-19 Women’s World Championship in 2002 after being defeated 1:0 by the United States on a “golden goal” in extra time in front of 49,000 fans at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium.
“Given their success in the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and the great support women’s football receives in Canada, I have no doubt that the CONCACAF Under-19 Women’s Championship will be a huge success,” said CONCACAF General Secretary Chuck Blazer.
As of now 22 National Associations have confirmed their participation in the CONCACAF Under-19 qualifying rounds. The preliminary zonal competitions are scheduled to take place from 15 January – 31 March 2004.
Confirmed National Associations for 2004 CONCACAF U-19 Qualification
Anguilla
Bahamas
British Virgin Islands
Canada *
Cayman Islands
Costa Rica
Dominica
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Puerto Rico
Saint Lucia
Suriname
Trinidad & Tobago
USA
US Virgin Islands