Glenn Auve Arlington, Va. Why was the CONCACAF Champions Cup not being played in accordance with FIFA Laws of the Game? Specifically, the reports I read regarding the venue have stated that the field was a mere 64 yards wide. For international matches the minimum width is required to be 70 yards. Is there a loop hole here in that these games are not truly “international matches” by whatever definition FIFA uses? It seems a shame to have the best teams in North America be subjected to playing in a substandard facility with so much at stake, i.e. advancement to the World Club Championships. Why does CONCACAF continually embarrass itself like this? I read that the D.C. United coaches had to point out that the field markings were wrong the day before the tournament! Who’s in charge of this? How do such mistakes happen? Ridge Mahoney: Glenn, FIFA recommends that international matches be played on fields at least 70 yards wide, but it is not a requirement. I believe it should be a requirement, but many fields in Africa and smaller European countries are not wide enough. Some of the World Cup ’94 sites did not hit the 70-yard mark and FIFA has had to keep up appearances. The incorrect field markings were indeed an embarrassment, and it points to the inefficiency of CONCACAF, and its marketing agency, Inter-Forever Sports. Only CONCACAF can answer these questions, but all it cares about is the big fee paid to it by Inter-Forever. It’s a sorry state of affairs, but neither U.S. Soccer nor FIFA has the right to tell CONCACAF how to conduct its business. But nobody told the crew at Sam Boyd Stadium what the proper dimensions were and not until D.C. United showed up for training were the inaccuracies pointed out. All we can do at SA is cite the absurdities, as we’ve done with the past two Gold Cups as well as the lunacies in Las Vegas, and persist in pointing out the shortcomings. (If you have a question for a Soccer America Magazine editor, click “Q&A with SA Editors” in the left column of the home page under “Interactive.”)