PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):
The Caribbean Football Union (CFU) has announced that Trinidad and Tobago will stage its women's Final Round Qualification series in September for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The play-offs, consisting of two groups of three, will be played at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella from September 6-10.
Group A will have the Dominican Republic, Suriname and the hosts Trinidad & Tobago, while Bermuda, Haiti and Jamaica are in Group B.
Originally, Bermuda had not qualified for the series, but a recent reorganisation of the tournament by CONCACAF meant the second-place finishers from the last group stage will get a chance to compete in the second and final qualifying round, giving the Bermudians a spot in the final round CFU qualifying series.
The winners of each group will progress to the 2006 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup along with Canada, Mexico, Panama and the hosts U.S.A. in November.
The six-team Women's Gold Cup that will crown the CONCACAF champions, will also qualify two nations to the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China.
The third-place finishers from the CONCACAF event will face an Asian team in a home-and-away play-off for the final berth to the FIFA tournament.
