Hobart Showground, Glenorchy, Sunday July 4

A fine Sunday morning greeted all 12 teams as they arrived and selected their World Cup team for the day. Teams arrived from across Hobart - Springfield Gardens, 2 teams from Albuera St, Howrah, Mt Nelson, Bowen Road, Dodges Ferry, Lindisfarne, Rosetta Knights, Sandy Bay and two from Waimea Heights.

Game Leaders drew a team at random to determine their position in the draw. There were 12 countries in all

At the end of the Round Robin eight teams progressed to the knockout phase with the remaining teams playing off for the minor placings. All teams completed 5 games before the finalists were determined. In the quarter finals, Australia defeated New Zealand, Argentina beat Germany, England triumped over Ghana and south Africa progressed at the expense of Uruguay. The Semis were tight games with Australia losing to Argentina and England standing firm against South Africa.

Our thanks to those teams who stayed to the end and cheered as England won the Grand Final.

The morning dawned cold and wet but didn't dampen the spirts of the 16 teams who were to compete in the Cottees 5-a-side Under 8 World Cup. There were nine teams from Devonport ( 2 from Our Lady of Lourdes, Latrobe Primary School, Miandetta Primary School, Hillcrest Primary School, Railton, St Patricks and two from Devonport Primary School ), five teams from Launceston ( 2 from North Launceston Eagles, 2 from Souther Raiders as well a Launceston United and last but not least the two teams from Ulverstone. Each School represented one of the 16 countries below

From the group stages 8 teams moved onto the Knockout phase while the others continued playing for the pure fun and the lower positions. Argentina and Uruguay prgressed from Group A, Paraguay and Slovakia from Group B, Germany and England from Group C and Portugal and Brazil from Group D. Both Semi Finals were tight struggles but Brazil overcame Argentina and Portugal just outkicked Uruguay to progress to the Final. The Grand Final was a tight affair with Portugal holding on to take the title.

Despite the weather, everyone enjoyed the day - there were many smiles from the players and parents alike as everyone headed home to the warmth of their living rooms. Our thanks to Devonport Junior Soccer for hosting this event.