By Philip Hill
Sports Reporter
HARARE – The Warriors have survived the embarrassment of playing in Round
1 matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in December, and will be drawn in the preliminary draw of the Round 2 matches at the International Convention Centre in Durban, South Africa on 29 December.
The Warriors faced the possibility of playing Round 1 matches in December, as they had been in freefall on world football rankings. They are currently ranked 87.
The lowest-ranked nations in Africa, playing in the Round 1 matches, are Guinea Bissau who will play Sierra Leone and Madagascar playing Comoros.
The Round 1 winners will join the 45 nations in the Africa Group, including Zimbabwe, later in the competition. The 48 group winners will be grouped into 12 round robin, home and away groups of four teams. The group winners and eight best runners-up will advance to Round 3.
Twenty Africa teams will then be grouped into five round robin, home and away matches groups of four teams. The five group winners from Round 3 will qualify for the FIFA World Cup.
The preliminary draw will be held in Durban on Sunday (25 November). The ceremony will determine the pairings and groups for the world cup.
Exempt from the draw are South America, whose qualifiers are already underway in a home-and-away league format, and Oceania, whose preliminary competition began with the South Pacific Games in August
The draw will commence with the Asian zone, followed by CONCACAF, Europe and finally Africa.
The draw will be conducted by FIFA General Secretary Jérôme Valcke in the presence of South African President Thabo Mbeki, FIFA President Joseph S Blatter and some of the best footballers of all time.
Representatives of more than 110 FIFA member associations will attend.
The final draw will be held on 9 December 2009 and the World Cup will be held in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. – CAJ News
Post published in: Zimbabwe Sports News