Olympic qualifiers for Beijing Olympics

Women's tournament: AFC (3, including the host nation), CAF (1.5 - one direct qualifier and one team to play-off against representatives of CONMEBOL), CONCACAF (2), CONMEBOL (1.5 - one direct qualifier and one team to play-off against representatives of CAF), OFC (1), UEFA (3)

UEFA:

Europe will choose the best three teams from World Cup 2007

CONCACAF

CONCACAF will choose the best two teams from GOLD CUP/ World Cup qualifiers in November this year ?

CONMEBOL

Maybe the best two teams from World Cup qualifiers in Argentina November 2006?

OFC (OCEANIA )

Maybe the best team from OCEANIA`s World Cup qualifiers?

AFC (ASIA)

Olympic qualifiers next year . 14 teams will participate :Japan, DPR Korea, Korea Rep, Chinese Taipei, Thailand , Vietnam , Hong Kong , Myanmar, Singapore, Australia, India, Maldives , Jordan and Uzbekistan.

http://www.the-afc.com/english/media/default.asp?mnsection=media&section=newsDetails&newsID=6603

CAF (AFRICA)

African qualifiers start in late October this year.

http://www.cafonline.com/news_press_release/Beijing 2008 men&women.rtf

 

The CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup, which starts in late November, serves as the Olympic qualifying.

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=ap-iceland-uswomen&prov=ap&type=lgns

 

Asian women’s Qualifying draw for 2008 Beijing Olympics
16 September 2006


SINGAPORE: Newcomers Australia have been handed a tough draw after being slotted alongside Chinese Taipei, Myanmar and Uzbekistan in the draw for the first round qualifying competition for the Beijing Olympics 2008 women’s tournament.

Fourteen teams are in the fray for two Asian berths with the winners being decided through two rounds next year.

While Japan and DPR Korea have qualified directly for the Final second by virtue of being the top seeds, Korea Republic (seeded 3), Chinese Taipei (4), Thailand (5), Vietnam (6), Hong Kong (7) and Myanmar (8), Singapore (9) and five other unseeded teams (Australia, India, Maldives, Jordan and Uzbekistan) have been split into three groups of four teams each and will play a one round-robin, centralised first round. The top two teams (six in total) from each group will go to the second and Final round, where Japan and DPR Korea are already waiting.

The first round will be play at a centralised venue between 17-25 February 2007. Should there be no host for the group, participating teams will be subjected to playing home and away.

Korea Republic are clear favourites to qualify from Group A with the other teams - Hong Kong, Jordan and India - not expected to pose much of a threat. Group B should be an open affair with Thailand, Maldives, Singapore and Vietnam having equal chances of going through to the second round.

The Final round will see eight teams (Japan and DPR Korea included) split into two groups playing home and away in a league format. The top team from each group will represent Asia in the Beijing Olympics, other than hosts China, who have automatic qualification.


FIRST ROUND GROUPING

Group A: Korea Republic, Hong Kong, Jordan, India

Group B: Thailand, Maldives, Singapore, Vietnam

Group C: Chinese Taipei, Australia, Myanmar, Uzbekistan


FINAL ROUND GROUPING

Group A: Japan, Winner B, Runner up A, Runner up B

Group B: DPR Korea, Winner A, Winner C, Runner up C

 

Three groups of four are set to tangle in a home/away aggregate format to determine which six teams will join Japan and Korea DPR in the final round of qualifying.

The first group (A) will pit 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup participants Korea Republic against Hong Kong, India and Jordan - who have already begun training in a residency camp in preparation for the competition.

Group B will see hosts Thailand - who also hosted the FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship in 2004 - up against Maldives, Singapore and Vietnam, while Group C will consist of former Oceania powers and Athens 2004 quarter-finalists Australia, hosts Chinese Taipei, Myanmar and Uzbekistan.

Groups B and C will adopt a standard round-robin format while Group A will employ a system of two home/away matches with the winners squaring off for top spot and the runner-up finishing second.

The eight-team final qualifying field will square off from April to August 2007 in a home-away league format. The winners of the two groups of four will book passage as the two Asian reps alongside China PR at Beijing 2008.

Africa and the rest
CAF - Africa's football confederation - could possibly send two teams for the first time in their history to a Women's Olympic Football tournament, granted 1.5 slots in the final field. Nigeria and Ghana (the two African representatives at next year's FIFA Women's World Cup) will be considered prohibitive favourites, with South Africa also fancying their chances.

With the preliminary rounds done and dusted, the remaining 16 African hopefuls move on to the first qualifying round proper, which will run from February to March 2007, at which point a draw will be held to determine the matches for the third and final round.

The four winners of the second round will battle it out in a round-robin format, with the winner qualifying automatically for Beijing. The runner-up then moves on to a play-off with South America's second-place finisher.

Oceania, minus Australia for the first time since the Matildas' move to the Asian Football Confederation, will hold a qualifying tournament in March 2008, while Europe (UEFA) will use next year's FIFA Women's World Cup in China as a qualifying competition. The top three European finishers at China 2007 will go on to qualify for the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008.

The two teams from North, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) have yet to be determined and details of their pending qualifying competition will be released shortly. But if recent tournaments are anything to go by, the USA, Canada and Mexico will be heavily fancied to make the grade.

http://www.fifa.com/en/comp/index/0,2442,126640,00.html?comp=OFW&year=2008&articleid=126640

 

Yes , Im also not sure about it. US Virgin Islands FA told me in a email that their NT Womens team will play Olympic qualifiers this year.

 

CONCACAF


The Women’s Central American event is composed of Panama taking on Costa Rica and El Salvador facing Nicaragua in two home-and-away series scheduled for 6-7 and 13-14 October, respectively.

The two series winners will not only meet for the Central American crown in a home-and-away playoff on 20-21 and 27-28 October, but both teams will have already advanced to the six-team CONCACAF Women’s Pre-Olympic Final Round Tournament joining Canada, Mexico, USA and one Caribbean team with venue and dates to be announced.

http://www.concacaf.com/view_article.asp?id=3720

 

Caribbean qualifiers :

"The Womens Olympic Qualifiers reportedly has twelve registrants (from CFU)to compete in the last quarter of the year.

According to the release three Groups of four teams and one Group of three teams will compete in the last two weeks of October. The second stage will see the Stage ONE Group winners playing against each other with the winner of this Group going forward to the CONCACAF competition. "

http://www.svgvincyheat.com/