Pacific nations launch World Cup bids in Samoa

The qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup finals starts on Saturday, little over 1000 days away from the final in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Nine countries in the Oceania confederation will compete in Apia, Samoa, where the football tournament at the South Pacific Games serves as the first step in the qualifying campaign.

Two matches will kick off simultaneously on Saturday, on adjoining fields in the Samoan capital, marking the start of a worldwide qualifying campaign that is set to be completed by November 2009.

The top three finishers at the South Pacific Games advance to the next stage of the Oceania qualifiers in October, where they are joined in a group competition by New Zealand.

The Solomon Islands, who are favourites for the gold medal, begin against American Samoa, who hold the record for the heaviest loss in World Cup qualifying history, hammered 31-0 by Australia in 2001.

At the same time French territories New Caledonia and Tahiti meet in a derby match.

Also participating in the tournament are the Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu along with Tuvalu, who are the first non-FIFA members to take part in World Cup qualifiers.