Clubs need not release players for Games qualifiers - FIFA

PARIS (Reuters) - European soccer clubs are not obliged to release African players for qualifying matches for the 2004 Olympic Games, FIFA said on Wednesday.

Some French clubs have refused to release players for the qualifying programme, the first round of which takes place this weekend, because they said the matches were not part of a calendar of international games drawn up by FIFA.

They asked world soccer's governing body for a ruling earlier this week. The qualifiers take place on the same weekends as French league and Cup games.

"We have informed the clubs and the national associations that those dates for Olympic qualifiers are outside the dates of the harmonised calendar," a FIFA spokesman said.

"The clubs are therefore not obliged to release their players." French clubs have a large number of African players.

Second division Nancy led the French revolt and refused to release Pape Diakhate (Senegal), Moncef Zerka (Morocco) and Ivory Coast's Francois Zoko for this weekend's games.

First division Sochaux, Metz, and Lille took similar action. Second division Gueugnon said they would not allow Senegal's Habidou Traore to travel but were happy for Roudhani Kamel to play for Algeria, as he was not a first team player.

"These matches take place on the same day as league games and our teams will be completely denuded. It's too much of a handicap," Gueugnon general manager Georges Bernard said.

"We must come to some arrangement with the national teams because in the long term this will stop us looking to Africa for players."

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