SOCCER: Having been drawn against Europe's leading side, France, in their next World Cup qualification campaign, the FAI have pulled off something of a coup by lining up the world's best for the Irish soccer team at Lansdowne Road on February 18th.

Brazil will return to Dublin for the first time since May 1987 - when a solitary goal by Liam Brady was enough to ensure victory for the home side - after a deal was struck yesterday between the two associations and, one suspects, an agent or two.

Nobody at the association was prepared to comment on how much the South Americans will be paid for the visit, but when they played at the Millennium stadium in Cardiff in May 2000, in front of 72,500, the match fee was reportedly £440,000 (around €630,000).

And, back then, they weren't world champions.

Within Merrion Square, however, there is no detectable doubt that the association will do well out of the game.

With the bucket seats out of the way, the capacity and, it is anticipated, the attendance on the night will be around 48,000, perhaps double what might have been expected to come had Jamaica, who had been in talks about a game here on the date, provided the opposition.

At €25 a head, the additional sales would go a long way towards covering an appearance fee of even €750,000 and there should be additional opportunities to generate revenue from the game both commercially and through television rights.

But a spokesman for the association insisted that the financial aspect of bringing the game's best international side to Dublin had been just one factor as the FAI negotiated to put the game on.

"We certainly wouldn't envisage losing money on it, but there was also the question of providing quality opposition for Brian (Kerr) to test his team against and offering something a little special to the supporters."

Sure enough, Kerr expressed delight with the news that the game was being confirmed, remarking: "It is fantastic to be able to bring the highest calibre opposition to Dublin.

"It's a great opportunity for our squad to show their abilities against the best in the world and will provide excellent preparation for our World Cup 2006 qualifying games."

The association's chief executive, Fran Rooney, was understandably positive, too, about the prospect of the reigning world champions coming to Ireland for a game for the first time since Italy played at a famously overcrowded Dalymount Park in February 1985.

"We're delighted to be able to bring the world champions to Dublin in February following detailed discussions," he said. "It's a fantastic match to look forward to and kicks off the 2004 fixtures with the most attractive proposition in world soccer."

It will be the fourth meeting between the sides, with the South Americans having won both of the earlier encounters in Brazil, 2-1 in 1974 and 7-0 eight years later.

Under the terms of the deal, the Brazilians have committed themselves to fielding a strong side for the game, something they certainly did in Cardiff where, though Ronaldo was absent through injury, Elber, Cafu and Rivaldo were the goalscorers for a visiting side that was an impressive enough mix between the country's best players from back at home and Europe.

Ronaldo's presence would certainly add to the profile of the Dublin game, and with the date pencilled in for friendly matches across Europe the FAI is hopeful the Real Madrid striker will make the trip.

The association also confirmed yesterday that Kerr's side will take on the Czech Republic at the end of March, also in Dublin, with the international date falling on the 31st - although the possibility remains that the game will take place - as a number of other previous friendlies have - a day earlier, on the Tuesday, to facilitate the early return of players to their clubs.

The Czechs will use the game as part of their preparations for Euro 2004, which they qualified for in some style, emerging unbeaten from Group Three and consigning the Netherlands to second place and the play-offs by three points.

That success brought them to the verge of a top-10 world ranking, and with momentum to maintain in the build-up to a major championship it would be hoped they would arrive in Dublin with the serious intention of fielding a strong side and reversing the 3-2 defeat they suffered the last time they were here three years ago.

It will be the fifth time the Irish have played them and, like the Brazilians, the Czechs had a perfect record in the games until last time out.

The two games make for an impressive start to the Irish side's preparations, and the hope is that opponents for dates in April and May can be confirmed over the next few weeks. A trip to Poland has been talked about, as has a visit here by Croatia in August, but FAI officials stressed yesterday that neither game has been confirmed and that talks are continuing with a number of parties.

The association has also to confirm its plans for a trip away in late May and early June, although it is still expected that Kerr, despite an invitation to Japan, will bring a team to the United States where they would participate in a three-team tournament involving Scotland and possibly Mexico and play a friendly game against the host nation. Ireland's World Cup programme of games will be decided at a meeting in Dublin on February3rd.