A fall resulting in pelvic and rib injuries prevented Franz Beckenbauer from attending, but the VIP guest list still made impressive reading. National coaches Zico of Japan, Otto Rehhagel of Greece, Frank Farina of Australia and Germany's J?rgen Klinsmann were joined by senior officials including FIFA vice-president Lennart Johansson, FIFA General Secretary Urs Linsi, FIFA Confederations Cup Organising Committee chairman Chuck Blazer and joint German Football Association (DFB) presidents Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder and Dr Theo Zwanziger.

The Draw for the 2006 FIFA World Cup had been a festival of entertainment, but the event in the Mozart room topped it for dramatic tension.

Confederations Cup and 2006 FIFA World Cup hosts Germany were also in the hat this time around as two-time Olympic figure skating gold medallist Katarina Witt sorted the eight participating nations for the 16-game tournament. 'Katie' showed a fine talent for the job too.

Germany will meet Australia in the Opening Match on 15 June at 8.45 pm CET in Frankfurt, while the hosts and FIFA World Cup runners-up round off their group programme with a cracking encounter against Olympic champions Argentina. In Group B, Europe's finest, Greece, start with a bang against world champions Brazil in Leipzig. The seeding means a re-run of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final between Germany and Brazil can come about in the semi-finals at the earliest.

The Final of the fifth Confederations Cup tournament takes place on 29 June in Frankfurt, the focal point of the tournament both in sporting and operating terms. "We're inaugurating the new Waldstadion with four great matches: Germany in the Opener, two games featuring Greece and their massive local fan base, and potentially Brazil in the Final. It's turned out pretty special for us," enthused Frankfurt mayor Petra Roth.

The event, presented in an informal 45-minute mixture of show and information at the Mozart room, is regarded as a dry run for the FIFA World Cup finals in Germany. The two weeks of top-quality action in June 2005 herald the start of the final lap in an almost decade-long marathon leading to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. "Let's get out of the meeting rooms and into the stadiums," declared Urs Linsi, establishing a theme for the 2005 contest. "This is very definitely a test situation in terms of organisation" commented DFB General Secretary Horst R Schmidt, speaking in his role as 2006 FIFA World Cup OC Germany senior vice-president. "It's the first major real-life test for the five FIFA World Cup stadiums, but especially for Frankfurt where we're putting on four matches in full-up World Cup format" added OC vice-president Wolfgang Niersbach.

This summertime summit meeting of football's finest will be a test on the field of play too for Klinsmann and Germany, the only nation in the starting field of eight already qualified for the 2006 finals. "The Confederations Cup is a vital pulse check looking ahead to the World Cup," the DFB coach remarked.

With an eye on matching perfect organisation with an atmosphere akin to the FIFA World Cup, Linsi and Schmidt announced ticket prices beginning at just 17 Euro. The deliberately moderate pricing policy is designed to achieve close on 100 percent sales for the 700,000 tickets available in Frankfurt, K?ln, N?rnberg, Hannover and Leipzig. "Everyone's going to enjoy this tournament," FIFA World Cup organisation chief Johansson commented. The vast prospect of the 2006 FIFA World Cup filled the air in the diminutive surroundings of the Mozart room.

by OC 2006 FIFA World Cup