U.S. under-20 men

Middle East tensions threaten American participation in world championships.

By Gary Davidson
SoccerTimes

(Thursday, February 20, 2002) -- The United States under-20 men began final training today for the World Youth Championship today in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Whether the U.S. participates or the world tournament goes on as scheduled are matters that need to be resolved.

The United Arab Emirates is the host of the world championships which are set to start March 27 and run until the championship game on April 16. Though the United States Soccer Federation is proceeding according to its original plans, there just doesn't seem to be any way a team of young Americans could be sent to the Middle East, particularly at a time when a U.S.-led war against Iraq could be in progress.

The UAE is to the southeast of Iraq with 862 miles between Baghdad and the UAE capital of Dubai. The U.S. and its Group F opponents Paraguay, Germany and South Korea, are scheduled to compete in the opening round in Al-Nahyan, Abu Dhabi, which is on the northern most tip of the UAE and closer to Iraq.

World governing body FIFA investigated the possibility of moving the tournament to Japan, but took no action. U.S. Soccer officials are now attempting to negotiate a move of the tournament to September and, it would be assumed, to another site.

U.S. Soccer director of communications Jim Moorhouse would not reveal the content of discussions, but did confirm daily conversations were being had to resolve the situation. "The ultimate decision is based on the safety and security of our team and traveling party," he said. "There is no timetable set, but the best thing for us is to feel 100 percent safe and secure in our team's travel and lodging."

That would seem to preclude a trip to the Middle East next month. Whether FIFA would hold its tournament with the U.S. absent remains to be seen. If the Americans did go, other teams from the 24-nation field would probably withdraw because of security concerns.

"We've been in very close contact with the families of players, and with governments," Moorhouse said. "We're in a wait-and-see mode. At this point, we haven't made any change to our plans."

After training at Sunrise Field in Fort Lauderdale, the U.S. under-20s are scheduled to compete in the VII Madeira (Portugal) International Tournament March 3-7. The final departure for the UAE is set for March 19 with opening-round matches against Portugal on March 27, Germany on March 30, and South Korea on April 2.

U.S. notes: USSF secretary general Dan Flynn has been back on the job for about two weeks after recovering from a heart attack.