Soccer News of Monday, 24 March 2008

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Ghana to monitor Olympics qualifiers

LAGOS, March 24 -- The Ghana Football Association (GFA) will send representatives to the 2008 Beijing Olympics qualifier between Nigeria and South Africa in Abuja on Wednesday.

According to a local website, the three-member delegation will monitor the performance of the CAF officials in a game that is crucial to deciding who goes to China. Nigeria needs to beat South Africa to eclipse the Black Meteors, while a draw or a defeat for the home side will see Ghana advance, local media reported Monday.

"We haven't finalized the names of the officials whom we are going to send to Nigeria. But we have confidence that the CAF match officials will handle the match in a very professional manner," GFA Spokesperson, Randy Abbey, told the City Press.

"We hope that South Africa will play their hearts out and show the same attacking force they did against us despite losing in both matches. As a Ghanaian, I want South Africa to stop Nigeria and bow out with their heads held high to boost their development process leading up to the 2010 World Cup."

South Africa, which has no wins from three matches to date, will arrive Nigeria on Monday