Black Stars coach, Ratomir Dujkovic and his colleagues representing the African continent for next year’s world cup would welcome FIFA’s decision not to allow players selected for the world cup to play for their clubs after May 15.

The soccer governing body made the surprise announcement today.

The cut-off date has been introduced to give players time to recover before the start of the 2006 World Cup in Germany on June 9.

The one exception to the deadline will be the European Champions League final, which has been moved forward by a week to May 17.

That means the final in Paris, which will doubtless feature many players from the qualified teams, still misses the deadline but only by two days.

"The 23 players on the list (for each of the 32 participating nations) will not be available for any other competition (after this date)," FIFA general secretary Urs Linsi said on Tuesday.

"We don't want burned out players. They will be free from any other engagement.

"The Champions League final is a special exception,"