Soccer: Dempsey hand in Kingz' win

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Love Charlie Dempsey or hate him, his groundwork appears to have smoothed the way for the Football Kingz' survival in the Australian National Soccer League.

By a resounding 24-0 vote, Fifa executive members yesterday granted the Auckland-based franchise a three-year extension to their initial two-year entry.

The NSL had already granted the club a five-year licence, one of only three clubs with that security.

There was a feeling that Dempsey's abstention at the recent 2006 World Cup vote could have hurt the Kingz' bid, but with the new Oceania Fifa representative, Dr Mohammed Sahu Khan, leading the way and with strong support from Soccer Australia and New Zealand Soccer, the motion was quickly rubber-stamped.

Dempsey strongly aligned himself with the eight European and four Asian confederation delegates at the World Cup vote. Yesterday's support may well have been a payback.

The executive firmly rejected South Africa's request for arbitration over the World Cup vote, with president Sepp Blatter saying the South African claim was "inappropriate."

"I think everyone on both sides of the Tasman is pleased with the Kingz decision," NZS chief executive Bill MacGowan said in Zurich. "Given the groundwork both associations did, we were pretty confident."

Kingz' general manager Chris Turner, speaking from Sydney where he and chief executive Simon Massey attended yesterday's NSL meeting, said that with the uncertainty surrounding the club's future now gone, planning could begin in earnest.

"There are many things we have had to hold off on," Turner said. "Now we can sign sponsors and offer them something positive. We can also look to offer longer-term contracts to players."

While no sponsors had been confirmed for their second season, Turner said there had been approaches.

Vodafone has met its commitments for the past season, and the club is still awaiting final settlement with Telstra.

New apparel sponsor Lotto Sportswear welcomed the confirmation.

"With that added certainty, we are able to plan our involvement with the Kingz," Lotto general manager Blair Dawkins said yesterday. "We have a number of innovative ideas planned for the club and this extension gives us the opportunity to maximise these."

The Kingz' new Italian-designed and produced playing strip and allied replica clothing is scheduled to be unveiled in early October.

The extension will also have a bearing on next week's decision on the Kingz' playing venue and headquarters.

The club yesterday announced the re-signing of Jonathan Perry for a further year, while fellow All White Paul Urlovic has joined the club from the Melbourne Knights on a one-year contract.

In other decisions at yesterday's Fifa executive meeting, it was decided to delay a vote on the venue for the 2003 women's World Cup until December following a late bid from China.

Australia had been the only applicant, but what many called the "politically motivated" Chinese bid has delayed the vote, which will now be taken at the same time as the venue for the inaugural women's under-18 championships is decided.

Spain will host next year's club championship, to be expanded from eight to 12 teams.

The executive will suggest that Japan and South Korea co-host the next Confederations Cup as a test of their organisational skills ahead of the 2002 World Cup. The Confederations Cup is likely to be played next June.

Joining the hosts at the cup will be defending champions Mexico and continental winners France, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada and Australia.

The committee also decided to consider plans to rotate future World Cups among the six confederations, starting with the 2010 championship, which is likely to be played in South Africa.