Soccer: Coup planned before retirement

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Charlie Dempsey will quit the Oceania Football Confederation within two years, but not until he has had one last shot at gaining direct World Cup entry for the confederation he helped establish almost 40 years ago.

"I will be standing down from everything in 2002," Dempsey said yesterday on his return from the OFC congress in Apia, Samoa. "I will not be president after that. I announced at the congress I will definitely be retiring then."

That must have come as a surprise because Dempsey, who was elected for another four-year term in 1998, said after an executive meeting in Auckland earlier this year that member countries had voted unanimously to extend his presidency until 2004.

Dempsey's decision is certain to spark a scramble among the 11 member nations to find a president who will also step on to the Fifa merry-go-round.

"Whoever is going to take over must have the time to do the job properly," Dempsey said. "Ideally, we should know who that person is by early next year. I have to break this guy in."

The headquarters will, according to Dempsey, remain at the impressive OFC base in Auckland. Whether his daughter Josephine remains as secretary-general will, Dempsey says, be an executive decision.

"My reign is nearly over," Dempsey said. "I will have a say in who takes my place, but before that I want to see Oceania get direct entry to the World Cup."

The congress confirmed that next month's Oceania Nations Cup in Tahiti would be played in June, with the winner to play in the next Confederations Cup.

"The World Club Championship is where the big money will be. There will be $US5million at stake next time," Dempsey said.