The Road To FIFA World Cup 2006 Begins Next January

30.09.2003 – The long, winding road to the FIFA World Cup Finals of Germany 2006 will begin for the 34 CONCACAF entries in a little less than four months time, based on the final format proposal submitted to FIFA.



The first games will be played on the weekend of 17-18 January 2004, with the last ones scheduled for 12 and 16 November 2005; almost two years of intense competition to see who will represent the Confederation in Germany.



The dates used for the extensive qualifying schedule include those set aside in the FIFA International Calendar as well as dates reserved for Confederation and FIFA competitions.



All CONCACAF countries will enter the qualifying competition at the same, first, stage, instead of the more successful teams from previous events being “seeded” into later rounds.



The 34 teams will be divided into ten groups of three and two groups of two, to play home and away to produce 12 qualifiers, the group winners, for the second, semi-final stage. The first stage will be completed by the weekend of 19-20 June in order for the semi-final round to begin on 18 August and end on 17 November 2004.



At the semi-final stage, the twelve qualifiers will be divided into three groups of four, with the top two from each group moving on to the final qualifying stage. The final group of six qualifiers will play, home and away, from 9 February 2005 until 12 October 2005 at which point the three certain CONCACAF qualifiers will be known.



The fourth place team will then face a play-off in mid-November 2005 for a chance to make it four CONCACAF World Cup Finalists for the first time in history.



2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Dates for CONCACAF



2004

Saturday/Sunday, 17-18 January Preliminary Round – Date 1

Wednesday, 21 January Preliminary Round – Date 2

Wednesday, 18 February Preliminary Round – Date 3

Wednesday, 31 March Preliminary Round – Date 4

Saturday/Sunday, 12-13 June Preliminary Round – Date 5

Saturday/Sunday, 19-20 June Preliminary Round – Date 6

Wednesday, 18 August Semi-Final Round – Game 1

Saturday/Sunday, 4-5 September Semi-Final Round – Game 2

Wednesday, 8 September Semi-Final Round – Game 3

Saturday/Sunday, 9-10 October Semi-Final Round – Game 4

Wednesday, 13 October Semi-Final Round – Game 5

Wednesday, 17 November Semi-Final Round – Game 6



2005

Wednesday, 9 February Final Round – Game 1

Saturday/Sunday, 26-27 March Final Round – Game 2

Wednesday, 30 March Final Round – Game 3

Saturday/Sunday, 4-5 June Final Round – Game 4

Wednesday, 8 June Final Round – Game 5

Wednesday, 17 August Final Round – Game 6

Saturday/Sunday, 3-4 September Final Round – Game 7

Wednesday, 7 September Final Round – Game 8

Saturday/Sunday, 8-9 October Final Round – Game 9

Wednesday, 12 October Final Round – Game 10

Saturday, 12 November Fourth-Place Team Playoff – First-leg

Wednesday, 16 November Fourth-Place Team Playoff – Second-leg



The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football is one of six FIFA world confederations serving as the governing body of soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. It is composed of 40 members, spanning from Canada in the north to Suriname in the south.



For the latest information about the Confederation please visit our official website www.concacaf.com.