KEY POINTS:
This week's Future Stars Tournament, which wraps up at North Harbour Stadium Auckland tomorrow, is seen as an important part of the Young Football Ferns' build-up for the Fifa Under-17 Women's World Cup later this year.
New Zealand will play host to the inaugural Under-17 tournament from October 28 to November 16.
The games will be played in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch.
In early 2005, Fifa began work on creating an all-new world youth competition as part of its commitment to the development and improvement of the women's game.
With around 26 million female players worldwide and in order for the project to succeed, Fifa believes it is necessary to bring the age groups in women's football in line with the men.
As a result, the Fifa under-19 Women's World Championship in Thailand in 2004 was the last of its kind. The next tournament, in Russia in 2006, was played at under-20 level.
As tournament host, New Zealand are guaranteed automatic qualification but for most other aspiring participants, the the road to the tournament is still being mapped out.
Of the 15 remaining spots, only the Asian contingent are confirmed, with North Korea, South Korea and Japan winning through with qualifiers from the African, European, South American and North/Central American regions yet to be determined.
