KUALA LUMPUR, OCT 10: Asian football officials today accepted Fifa's offer for four berths in the 2002 World Cup and a playoff with Europe for a chance at another. With the acceptance, the boycott threat by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to demonstrate Asian dissatisfaction with the allocation of World Cup spots has been resolved.Peter Velappan, AFC general-secretary said it accepted Fifa's two-plus-two-and a half seat offer with a measure of `disappointment.'``We accept it but we are disappointed,'' Velappan told reporters after the executive committee meeting here. AFC had demanded an extra berth outright.Fifa had initially offered Asia two automatic spots - one each for joint hosts South Korea and Japan - and another two qualifying berths. AFC protested the allocation and threatened a boycott of the qualifying rounds if the continent was not given an extra berth.In response, Fifa offered Asia a half berth that required the continent's third qualifier to playoff with Europe's 13th on ahome-and-away basis.With the threatened boycott resolved, Velappan said at least 40 Asian countries would participate in the qualifying rounds.He said the AFC had decided to playoff the first round of the qualifiers in 10 groups of at least four teams each. The draw will be made in Tokyo on December seven.
