[/quote=coochiee]
For sure it's great having all our age group (and FFs) teams qualify direct for World Cups through the weak OFC path.
But just bear in mind, many of that talented U20 squad will now barely set foot in NZ, to play again. That's if we stay in the OFC.
Will most likely get worse post 2022 (at least we still have a high stakes inter continental home playoff game in March 2022), with OFC having automatic WC qualification (1.5 spots) for USA 2026 & beyond.
Just 4-6 low quality home games against the OFC minnows in the last 1-2 years of a World Cup cycle. European players deciding to skip games, because well an A League/domestic based AWs should still win the home OFC qualifiers - some of which may early on in the qualification phase become dull dead rubbers. Probably hardly a game through 2023-2024 (much less any games at home).
You'll just be watching all that playing talent, on your TV or computer screen. That's the future reality.
I seriously doubt that we would be able to afford all the qualification competitions for all the age group teams for both sexes in Asia. Australia already struggles with this.
Australians barely see their National team, they only see them for the WC qualifiers which is a 1 in 4 year cycle and the rest of the time its tv or computer. Same as us. Its a function of our geographical isolation and small population not being able to produce a fully pro domestic league. Our best players now all head overseas, the Aussies had to get used to this 20 years ago. The current lack of games for the AW's isnt a function of being in Oceania but the result of a very messy period of NZF senior team administration. How many games did Hudson get to have the team player in what sort of time period? Being in Asia would mean once every 4 games we would see some more serious qualifying competition, thats all. It wont result in more home games during the other 3 years, it wont result in more overseas games. Also the death of the Confeds cup and the failure to qualify for one of those saw a serious drop in opportunities for games, being in Asia wont fix that.
The most important thing to having a decent AW team is having the best players we can produce. Nothing else matters except for player quality. The majority of the producing of better quality players happens between the ages of 5 and 17. Sadly the focus ends up on the Asia/Oceania issue and moves away from the absolute key issue of how to produce the best players possible. I wish we saw as much interest in the best possible junior and youth coaching systems as we do in the side issue of Asia/Oceania.
[quote=watching_from_far]
aussie will be playing 10 world cup quilifers between September this year and June next year. How would that not be a better situation for the AW to be in than the current one? Following that they would have Championship quilifers or further world cup quilifers. Each 1 of those games would surely bring in more sponsorship than playing any of the OFC teams not to mention larger gate takings and broadcasting deals.
Age group side in Asia like Euro etc have a qualifying tournament 1 location too get into the u17 AFC champs which in turn act as world cup quilifers.
From post Brazil 2014 to start of Russia 2018. Australia played 45 internationals from my maths (so about 11 per year).
20 were at home (so 5 games per year), 19 away, and 6 at neutral venues (2017 Confed Cup & friendlies pre Russia 2018).
Inflated somewhat by hosting 2015 Asian Cup (6 games at home). Note in 2018 they didn't play a home game until post the WC in Russia.
So they play a fair amount at home (certainly a shark load more than we see the AWs) - almost all AFC qualifiers, either Asian Cup or World Cup. Some high profile like Japan, others taken to Canberra like Tajikistan
Apart from 2 games against Greece and one game against Brazil - they struggled to attract any teams to Australia for friendlies. Though Brazil did play Argentina in Melbourne also.
I would really hope that over the years some NZF staffer/bean counter has dedicated a lot of time to weighing up pros & cons (financial and non financial) of looking at the AFC, and stress testing it all. Plus spoken in depth to their FFA counterparts etc.
But sadly being the NZF don't have a lot of faith that exercise as ever been done. A few staff there I'm sure, would hate the thought of missing out on free FIFA paid junkets to Uruguay, Poland, France, Brazil etc.
But yeah is AFC really an impossible goal, or is it actually a bit of self perpetrating narrative that it can't be done without delving into the matter in huge depth.
Be a great Masters thesis for some marketing student football nut.
Interesting that Syria & Iraq two tragic war torn countries, who can't play home games, manage to still function in AFC. I guess they get a truck load of FIFA's money to compensate, or in Syria's case Putin cash.
