SOCCER ROUNDUP : SOCCER OFFICIALS BEGIN TO MAP OUT 2002 WORLD CUP.

Byline: Associated Press 

A special FIFA committee met Tuesday in Zurich, Switzerland, to discuss how to set up the organizing of the 2002 World Cup, which will be played in both Japan and South Korea.

FIFA senior vice president Guillermo Canedo, vice president Antonio Matarrese and general secretary Sepp Blatter met for 75 minutes and began mapping out their strategy.

FIFA, world soccer's governing body, said each member would work on a draft checklist of organizational points before meeting for a second time in Zurich in September. The second meeting also will be attended by a three-man delegation from each of the host nations.

The three members will meet informally during the Olympic soccer tournament in the United States next month and later in the year will visit the host nations for discussions with government authorities.

The group plans to present a full report to the FIFA executive committee at Barcelona, Spain, on Dec. 8, but FIFA said the report might not be ready until next year.

Canedo, the chairman of FIFA's World Cup Organizing Committee, will appoint a deputy with experience from the 1986 tournament in Mexico. Matarrese, the head of the governing body of Italian soccer, will appoint a deputy with experience from the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

FIFA also said the first FIFA Confederations Cup for the King Fahd Trophy will be played at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from Dec. 12-21, 1997. The tournament will include World Cup champion Brazil, European champion Germany, South American champion Uruguay, African champion South Africa, North and Central American and Caribbean champion Mexico, the winner of the 1996 Asian Cup, the winner of the 1996 Oceania Nations Cup and host Saudi Arabia.

Africa gets more groups:Africa, making a stronger showing with each World Cup, was divided into five groups for the second round of qualifying for the 1998 tournament in France.

The winner from each four-team group will advance to the World Cup. Africa had two spots at the 1990 World Cup and three in 1994.

The two biggest tests figure to come in Group 2, with Liberia facing Egypt, and Group 5, with Ghana taking on Morocco.

Each group will play a double round-robin schedule starting Nov. 8 and ending Aug. 17, 1997.

Tuesday's draw as conducted by FIFA:

Group 1: Burkina Faso, Guinea, Kenya and Nigeria.

Group 2: Egypt, Liberia, Namibia and Tunisia.

Group 3: Congo, South Africa, Zambia and Zaire.

Group 4: Angola, Cameroon, Togo and Zimbabwe.

Group 5: Burundi, Gabon, Ghana and Morocco.

South Africa won the African Cup for the first time in January and Liberia is powered by AC Milan's George Weah, the 1995 FIFA world player of the year. Ghana is led by Abedi Pele, considered among the world's top players.

Cameroon, Egypt, Morocco and Nigeria received first-round byes.