Three Asian women join FIFA World Stars team

North Korean legend Ri Kum-suk, Japan’s Hiromi Isozaki and Australian captain Cheryl Salisbury will be part of a FIFA Women’s World Stars team that will play against the Chinese national team in a friendly match on 22 April on the eve of the draw for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2007. “I am really honoured to be selected for this team. I will put on my best performance,” Isozaki told AFCMedia. The FIFA Women's World Stars will largely be made up of players from teams that have already qualified for the final competition. Among the other notable names are Marta (Brazil, FIFA Women's World Player of the Year for 2006), Kristine Lilly (USA , runner-up to Marta in the 2006 vote) and Birgit Prinz (Germany , a three-time winner of the same award in 2003, 2004 and 2005).

The final draw, which will determine the groups for the first stage of the FIFA Women's World Cup China 2007, will be held at the Wuhan Guanggu Science and Technology Exhibition Centre the day after the match. The FIFA Women's World Cup China 2007 will take place in Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Tianjin and Wuhan from 10 to 30 September.