Whitecaps owner wants to foot bill for Olympic qualifier

mr.x · #1 Posted **Nov 14, 2007, 3:42 AM**

Whitecaps owner wants to foot bill for B.C. tourney
Kerfoot's offer to pay for CONCACAF Olympic qualifier gets the ball rolling

Richard Starnes, with a file from Dan Stinson, CanWest News Service; with a file from Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Thanks to the deep pockets of Vancouver Whitecaps owner Greg Kerfoot, Canada may still win the right to stage the CONCACAF women's Olympic qualifying tournament in the new year.

The Canadian Soccer Association caused an uproar during the Women's World Cup in China when it admitted it had refused the chance to hold the qualifying tournament because it did not have enough money.

On Monday, acting CSA president Dominic Maestracci told an Ottawa news conference the Whitecaps had met with the association's executive committee and told them it wanted to play host to the event, no matter how much it cost.

"They said they would bankroll this," he said.

Maestracci also revealed that the Quebec Soccer Federation has expressed an interest in staging the event. He said he has officially told CONCACAF officials Canada is keen to get back in the game. Now the decision is up to officials of CONCACAF, who meet tomorrow.

"It's great to see that the CSA has done what we proposed, and that's to submit the bid," said Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi. "Now it's in CONCACAF's hands."

There has been no official statement, but Canada is said to be up against Mexico for the six-nation tournament that is expected to be held in late February. The top two teams advance to this summer's Beijing Olympics.

National women's coach Evan Pellerud is clearly keen on Canada winning the bidding. "Playing at home is a big advantage," he said. "We want to be hosts.

"If we have to play in Mexico, we will beat them anyway, but the momentum of hosting a pre-Olympic Games tournament will be exciting for the players."

CSA officials are unsure if they will actually hear a decision after tomorrow's meeting.

© The Vancouver Sun 2007