N.Z. TO GET ONE GAME, IN AUCKLAND Australia will hold World Cup soccer

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32903, 29 April 1972, Page 42

N.Z. TO GET ONE GAME, IN AUCKLAND Australia will hold World Cup soccer

(New Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND.

The national soccer coach, Mr B. Truman, was enthusiastic yesterday about the arrangement that New Zealand would play one of its 1974 World Cup qualifying round games in Auckland and the others in Sydney.

“This gives us a fair crack of the whip,” he said. “I think that under the circumstances we have come out of it as well as could be expected.

“It means that we will play one game against Australia —the strongest of our opponents—at home. The remainder will be in a climate and under living conditions that are familiar to us.” The arrangements were made in Bangkok on Thursday at a meeting of Asian and Oceania nations entered in the Asia zone of the competition, according to a Reuter message. GROUPS DIVIDED

The Australian Soccer Federation, which will be host for the sub-group tournament in which New Zealand will be playing, confirmed yesterday that the tournament would start in Sydney on March 14, next year. The sub-group consists of Australia, New Zealand, India and Indonesia. Australia, however, on the request of New Zealand, agreed that the two countries would play the first leg of their match in Auckland on either March 7 or March 10, 1973, before the starting date of the tournament proper. New Zealand, in connection with the fixture with Australia, has agreed to bear all costs of air fares, accommodation of the Australian contingent and the three neutral officials—referee and two linesmen —selected to officiate. New Zealand will keep the gate money. CANNOT AGREE The second sub-group which consists of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Kuwait, was unable to reach agreement in respect of their half of the Group B competition, and the meeting made recommendations to F.U.A. the international body, for further ruling. “This meeting of Group B notes with regret the absence

of Iraq and Syria, and the lack of authority in so far as the representation of Iran is concerned, which makes it difficult to resolve the problems.

“This meeting also notes that by a 5-1 majority decision, the group be divided into two, and that Iran was one of the affirmative votes.

"There is a proposal by Kuwait to host the second sub-group tournament in Kuwait from March 5 onwards, on the same terms as those agreed to by Australia. "This meeting, therefore,

recommends to F.I.F.A. that the Kuwait proposal be accepted.” After the meeting, the New Zealand delegates, Mr C. J. Dempsey and Mr H. de Krey, said they were most satisfied with the results, especially after the request they made to Australia to play the first leg of their match in Auckland. S. KOREA HOST

South Korea will be the host for Group A. In a straight vote with Israel, it won by six votes to one, with one absentee.

Group A comprises Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. South Korea has offered to host the Group A competition from May 15, 1973, onwards, after a qualifying round to decide the groupings.

The teams will then be divided into sub-groups of four, with the winner and runner-up in each playing one another in the semi-finals.