KEY POINTS:
It may have been seen as a fun tournament, but the 2005 Manchester United Premier Cup in Hong Kong has, two years on, turned up trumps for New Zealand teams.
Seven players who went to Hong Kong were members of the national under-17 team who last week made no race of the Oceania Championship.
Their perfect, three-match record in Tahiti booked the New Zealand team a spot at the World Under-17 Championships in Korea in August.
The experience that Costa Barbarouses (top scorer at the Oceania tournament), Tim Myers, Fraser Colson, Michael O'Keefe, Hamish Chang, Jacob Mathews and Ben Hunt gained in Hong Kong played a part in their success in Tahiti.
Attention now turns to the next crop of under-15s. The best four teams, after a series of qualifying matches around the country, will turn out at North Harbour Stadium this weekend, chasing victory in the Manchester United event and, with it, a one-off clash with the top Australian team to find the region's representative in this year's world finals in Kuala Lumpur.
Birkenhead United, Central United, Wellington College and Napier City Marist play-off today, with the top two meeting in tomorrow's final (11.30am, North Harbour Stadium).
The winner will win through to play in Melbourne in mid-April.
More than 7000 clubs worldwide set out on the trip to the 20-team finals. Among players who have first tasted international football in that event are Lionel Messi (Argentina), Aaron Lennon (England) and Robinho (Brazil).
