WELLINGTON, Dec 31: World soccer body FIFA has asked New Zealand to shift the 1999 tunior World Cup finals from •'ebruary to October, organisers said Wednesday, reports AP.

The move would enable European and American countries to complete their qualifying rounds during their traditional playing period in April-May.

Bob Patterson. Aucklandbased 1999 tournament director. said Wednesday he was working through the ramifications of the change. He would present them to the Soccer New Zealand (SNZ) board for discussion and a decision in the next couple of weeks.

He said a change to October would be a significant disadvantage to New Zealand in terms of being able to market the game as well as for the | February-March period.

The February-March period Is the registration period for our junior soccer players. It's the start of the winter campaign when the majority of soccer in New Zealand is played." said Patterson.

"When we move to the October period, we move outside of our traditional playing period, when the younger players are getting into tennis and cricket, and other summer sports."