There was some a throw comment recently from someone at OFC, that they were working on some 'exciting ideas' for international football in the region, once international travel is easier. Something like that. Might have even been about ideas post Qatar.
Infantino was pushing the Nations League concept for each confederation hard, pre Covid. Complete with a 8 team final tourney basically replacing the Confederations Cup. Europe, CONCACAF & Africa all do now have a Nations League setup, giving previous friendlies some meaning.
IF OFC could join up with AFC, or just East Asia eg, China, Japan, Sth Korea, Australia, Thailand & say NZ starting in pool A with pro/rel to Pools B, C, D etc having other East Asia & OFC nations - that would be cool. But imagine there is a number of hurdles to overcome to make it happen.
Basketball (FIBA) has basically done that with NZ & Australia now playing Asian teams to qualify for World Cups & Olympics. Basketball NZ actually signed a pretty good sponsorship deal with some Asian company off the back of that, with new Asian playing pathway.
Edit - found OFC article.
https://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc-confirms-schedule-changes/
OFC is proactively adapting its competitions strategy to tackle the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic with a strong focus on its long-term goals.
Infantino was pushing the Nations League concept for each confederation hard, pre Covid. Complete with a 8 team final tourney basically replacing the Confederations Cup. Europe, CONCACAF & Africa all do now have a Nations League setup, giving previous friendlies some meaning.
IF OFC could join up with AFC, or just East Asia eg, China, Japan, Sth Korea, Australia, Thailand & say NZ starting in pool A with pro/rel to Pools B, C, D etc having other East Asia & OFC nations - that would be cool. But imagine there is a number of hurdles to overcome to make it happen.
Basketball (FIBA) has basically done that with NZ & Australia now playing Asian teams to qualify for World Cups & Olympics. Basketball NZ actually signed a pretty good sponsorship deal with some Asian company off the back of that, with new Asian playing pathway.
Edit - found OFC article.
https://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc-confirms-schedule-changes/
OFC is proactively adapting its competitions strategy to tackle the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic with a strong focus on its long-term goals.
In a bid to provide our Member Associations with more meaningful matches, various short and long-term solutions are currently being worked on, including the possibility of adding new competitions in 2023 and 2024 for both senior male and female national teams.