OLYMPICS: U.S. men open qualifying against St. Kitts & Nevis or Dominica

CONCACAF's executive committee approved formats Friday for both the CONCACAF menÆs and womenÆs qualifying tournaments to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

The menÆs qualifying competition will consist of 26 teams. First- and second-round play will consist of head-to-head series. Seven survivors will join Mexico, which, as host, will receive a bye into the final round.

At that point, the competition is similar to qualifying for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. The eight finalists will be divided into two groups of four, with the first and second-place teams in each group crossing over in the semifinals. The winners of those semifinals matches take the two CONCACAF berths in Athens.

The United States has a bye in the first round and will face the winner of series between St. Kitts & Nevis and Dominica at the round of 16.

First-round pairings:

GROUP A:

Canada-US Virgin Islands

Puerto Rico-El Salvador

Dominican Republic-Haiti

Honduras bye

Panama-Nicaragua

St. Lucia-Antigua

St. Kitts & Nevis-Dominica

USA bye

GROUP B:

Trinidad & Tobago-Bahamas

Cayman Islands-Grenada

Cuba-Jamaica

Guatemala bye

Costa Rica-Belize

Barbados-Guyana

Mexico bye