While the six continental champions compete for the world crown in Japan from 11-18 December, the three-strong FIFA Technical Study Group (TSG), co-ordinated by Holger Osieck - FIFA's Head of Technical Development, will be busy analysing tactics, styles of play, assessing performances and recording statistics.

As has happened since the 1966 FIFA World Cup England™, the information gathered will be compiled in a technical report and distributed to all associations and made available to football experts around the globe.

As well as assessing the FIFA Fair Play Award, the TSG will select the adidas Ball Awards, Gold, which doubles up as the TOYOTA Award, as well as Silver and Bronze.

The criteria used by FIFA's technical experts to determine the award winners are:

A player…
- Having a major impact on a team's performance and contributing to their overall success in the competition
- Showing a consistent and outstanding level of individual play throughout the tournament
- Enhancing the entertainment value of a game through individual technique and skill
- Demonstrating an efficiency in play, tactical adaptability and understanding of his role in the team from a coach's perspective
- Behaving in a sporting manner and practising fair play at all times both on and off the pitch (players receiving red cards will not be considered for awards).
 
Members of the TSG for Japan 2005:
Jean-Paul Brigger (Switzerland): Beginning his career as a centre forward and ending it as a centre half, Brigger was among his country's most outstanding players from the late 70s to early 90s. He performed for Servette and FC Sion and won 33 caps for his country before successfully turning to coaching, enjoying stints at FC Sion and Lucerne. More recently he has taken on various roles involved in technical aspects of the game at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.

Dr. György Mezey (Hungary): He has held numerous positions during his long career, both as a player and coach. Mezey's playing days, between 1954 and 1971, saw him appear for Budafok, Spartacus Sport Club Budapest and MTK Budapest, where he would later spend three years as a coach. Mezey coached the Hungarian national team at the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cups in Spain and Mexico respectively. His subsequent coaching career took him to Kuwait, where he coached at club and international level. Since 1985, he has performed in various roles for UEFA and FIFA.

Kohzo Tashima (Japan): Tashima progressed from Urawa Minami High School and Tsukuba University to perform in the Japan Soccer League for Furukawa Electric. A forward, he won 13 caps for his country before going on to study coaching in Cologne and at Bayern Munchen. He helped establish the current JFA Coaching Education System in 1993 and has been its vice-director since 1994. He has held various roles at Japan's youth level, including U-17 manager (1999-2001), U-20 manager (2001-2002) as well as JFA Executive Managing Director.  Since September 2002, he has been JFA technical director.