Gosford and Newcastle to host crunch Olympic qualifiers

Football Federation Australia Chief Executive Ben Buckley and New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma today announced that Gosford and Newcastle will host the Qantas Under 23s crucial home matches in the third and final stage of qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Football Federation Australia Chief Executive Ben Buckley and New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma today announced that Gosford and Newcastle will host the Qantas Under 23s crucial home matches in the third and final stage of qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Australia will meet DPR (North) Korea at EnergyAustralia Stadium in Newcastle on Saturday 8 September, before further matches at Bluetongue Stadium in Gosford against Lebanon on Wednesday 12 September and Iraq on Saturday 17 November.

“This will be a fantastic opportunity for sports fans in Newcastle and the Central Coast to see some of the finest young football talent in Australia,” said Football Federation Australia Chief Executive Ben Buckley.

“Both stadia are great venues where spectators can really get close to the action and we hope that local sports fans will come out in force and get behind the Australian team and their bid to get to the Beijing Games. Jets and Mariners fans have created fantastic atmosphere at Hyundai A-League matches and our players will need their help as they look to achieve their Olympic dream.

“On behalf of the FFA I would like to thank Premier Iemma and the NSW Government for their continued support of football in this State. We expect Gosford and Newcastle will provide first class environments for the final stages of the team's Olympic Qualifying campaign.”

"The Central Coast and the Hunter regions are two of the largest football nurseries in the country and I know that local fans will turn out in force to support our aspiring Olympians," Mr Iemma said.

"My Government is proud of the links we have with our national football teams. These crucial matches at two outstanding venues will only serve to strengthen those links."

Tickets for both venues will go on sale at 9am on Monday 27 August.

Tickets for the matches at Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford available via Ticketek, Ph 132 849, www.ticketek.com

Tickets for the match at EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle available via Proticket, Ph- 02 4915 2345 - www.proticket.com.au and all Proticket agencies (see Proticket website for details).

Fixtures:- Iraq v Australia Wednesday 22 Aug, 7pm local Al Rayyan Stadium, Doha, Qatar

Australia v DPR Korea Saturday 8 Sept, kick-off 7pm AEST EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle

Australia v Lebanon

Wednesday 12 Sept, kick-off 7pm AEST Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford

Lebanon v Australia Wednesday 17 Oct, 6pm local time Beirut Municipal Stadium, Beirut

Australia v Iraq Saturday 17 Nov, kick-off 7pm AEDST Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford

DPR Korea v Australia Wednesday 21 Nov, 3pm local time Kim Il Sung Stadium, Pyongyang