Proposed FIFA World Cup Expansion

http://www.3news.co.nz/FIFA-expansion-could-put-NZ-at-World-Cup/tabid/415/articleID/319295/Default.aspx

But New Zealand Football chairman Frank van Hattum's not so sold on the idea of a free pass to the World Cup.

"Does it mean as much when you get to the World Cup and you've just been given the spot?" he asks.

Baffling.

I can sort of see where he is coming from but I'd take it with open arms.

Not to mention that it's OCEANIA that's proposed to get a spot, NOT NZ. OK we're the big fish in a small pond full of minnows and SHOULD qualify each time, but completely writing off the island nations as being unable to qualify smacks of arrogance from Van Hattum. After all who won the OFC Nations' Cup?!?

I can see what he's saying, but it's pretty arrogant really.  

We would still need to be the top team in Oceania.  Were we 'gifted' or guaranteed a place at the Confederations Cup this year? Nope.

This change would benefit the whole region, not just NZ.

Agreed. Inevitably, someone other than NZ will qualify at some point. Even if it's only once every four or five campaigns, an island nation will still beat us and qualify every now and then, and that's huge for them.

On that note, does anyone know how many expats of island nations are out there playing professionally who might be keen to play for their nation of birth should they qualify for a world cup? Imagine for example if Samoa had qualified a while ago and had managed to lure away a young Tim Cahill. The theoretical benefits of having one or two world class players come out of the woodwork could be immense.

I dont really see the point of adding anymore teams to the world cup, it will just diminish the quality of the tournament atm. Are there really any teams that could make a big difference that dont make it (excluding europe as they arent in the running for many spots)?

There will just be too many boring games.

If it does go to 40 then Oceania should probably get a spot.

Van Hattum is a fucking idiot. This is why we lost the OFC cup, because we just assumed we were going to win. He needs to go.

Absolutely retarded that he doesnt want an automatic place for Oceania. The reason the sport has struggled is because we dont make WC's. I dont give a shit how we get there. Being there is being there, thats it.

I think Oceania should be given a full spot anyway. It's hardly a World Cup if one region of the world is excluded.

I agree, whilst it potentially allows for a team like Tahiti or New Caledonia to shock us it would make the world cup more of a representation of every region.

After one or two easy entries it may also convince FIFA to consider changing the boundaries, and Asia may be more receptive to a merge if we are bringing a full spot to WC with us.

I reckon he sees the potential financial rewards (TV rights etc) from a path via AFC latter round of qualifying.

no financial reward if we lose all the time, and who's to say anyone will bother to cover it.....probably more money in getting to the WC every four years.

More meaningless games though. 4th vs 5th with nothing to play for. 

nothing meaningless about 4th in the world

Except when its 39th in the world, because I was talking about 4th v 5th in the group as just one example of a meaningless game as a result of expansion. 

Problem is the island team wouldn't be able to afford it. Can't see Tahiti making trips to the UAE, Japan etc.

I thought that Tahiti's shallacking at the Confed Cup would've put to bed the thought that Oceania deserves an automatic spot into any international tournament.

Excellent idea expanding the World Cup to 40 teams.

Platini is right....having only 5 African team is dumb. There also needs to be more representation from the Middle east too.

As for Oceania getting a slot....why not take the gift if it is offered? The prize money would guarantee the financial security of NZF

Personally I would prefer the Oceania winner to slot in with an expanded Asian Playoff series. If you add in the two extra Asian slots with the Oceania slot then you could have 6 teams??? qualifying from Asia/Oceania. It would give NZ a decent playoff series against decent opposition and would increase revenues through TV etc.

We probably would struggle against the likes of Japan, Korea Australia but with 6 WC slots open we would really have a great chance every time for one of the spots. That is if we were good enough. In reality we should be able to get passed the likes of Jordan.

I would take a direct qualification from Oceania but it would feel a little cheap going to the WC by just beating some teams from coral islands

32 is more than enough.

This is ridiculous. I think it's a bit shameful actually that so many people are looking at this from a New Zealand perspective. Yes, if it got expanded to 40 teams it would be great for us. Even if Oceania did not get an automatic spot we would then playoff against a weaker side. While this is true, from an objective stand point, it really makes no sense. Platini is just trying to get more votes to beat Blatter in the FIFA elections. 32 is a great number in that it divides perfectly all the way down to two. With 40 teams you have to add two extra match days if you have 8 groups of 5. It will prevent everyone from playing their final group game at once. It will lead to the tournament being diluted. It will lead to the qualification process becoming almost pointless. I can just think of so many reasons this isn't a good idea.

Automatic qualification also probably means we will never get 30,000 to a game of soccer in New Zealand again.

that's a little negative, surely expaning it can onbly be a good thing, more footy for us to watch. no horrible playoffs to watch but perhaps better exposure on the world stage for our players

I reckon there should be 4 ofc teams going through.

On a serious note i'd take it but also remembering the close calls we have had with the island nations in the near past so not an automatic entry as I am sure everyone is thinking . If no ofc spot offered then at least going through asia should be an option

Hard ask last time we tried...I tend to agree with subsequent post re practicalities..and note Blaters response that its already been sorted for 2018 and 2022.

There are many valid points to this debate that I had not thought of prior to reading this thread

1: I can understand what message van Hattum is trying to convey but he is obviously not aware of the financial state of NZF in making that statement. Where is this Sky deal that McKav...McNumpty trumpeted? Haven't seen it and I doubt we are likely to. From a financial standpoint, this is an absolute no brainer that we should take this with open arms. It creates a false financial economy for NZF that Term X has been talking about but that is preferable to being broke.

2: Yes we are looking at it from an NZ perspective and while the qualifying through Asia route holds appeal for TV rights and games in NZ, its also mortgages the hell out of us. We are already in the financial crap playing no games as it is. If we do not qualify, we are in a right pickle. Now as someone said, could you imagine Tahiti participating? They just did win the OFC Nations Cup so its a real possibility. Besides, is the money likely to be there from TV rights? Objectively, Sky are not paying for it at the moment, are the Asians likely to and if so, would that not only offset the costs of these games and still leave us with nothing? Admittedly I have no idea what the TV rights are worth but lets say for 10 games, its $5m. You then still have to cover your costs vs a 4 week tournament where FIFA cover the costs and you get $10m. Seems like a no brainer.

3: How it effects the WC is not our problem. The good teams will always play the good teams. It just adds on extra games. Besides, looking at the current play off teams (Mexico, Uruguay, Jordan and NZ), its hard to say Mexico and Uruguay would get a towelling or it would be a crap game. Chuck in another African team and suddenly its not all as crap as some say.

4: There is also the valid point that you can hardly call it a WC when there is no representation from all confeds. Is everyone saying that across 32 spots or 40 spots, OFC is not worth at least just 1? 1 spot? Its not like we are asking for 10. If its a given that NZ qualify for that spot do we think they would not take it seriously and just turn up for a casual kick around? We are more likely to be competitive than the other island nations. Does anyone think that the AWs would have had the same results at the Confeds if it had been us instead of Tahiti?

5: The buzz created over the last WC was good for the game in NZ (on a few levels). Do we not want to piggy back off that again? Its good for getting sponsors in, getting people following football and hopefully with some income, maybe a professional league (far fetched notion but follow me here). It gives kids role models to look at and people talking about the game in NZ a lot more than they are now. Not to mention the exposure for our players. Winston Reid can thank WC2010 for where he is now.

I think is a no brainer and we should be supporting this or driving this as hard as we can. My position has not changed but I am at least open to other ideas.

Maybe they should have a WC for the worst teams?

That would be madness. Surely you would add two extra groups of four and have the 6 best second placed teams progress to the round of 16 via goal difference or something. Either way I don't like it though. Platini is a classic for tinkering with things that ain't broke. I don't like the changes he made to the Champions League either.

I don't get the argument that a WC expansion will dilute the quality of the WC. Look who is in the current round of playoffs. Look who would not miss out if the WC was expanded to 40 teams.

If you take the current playoff teams then look at Platini's suggestion then you get additions as follows. Europe 1 more, Asia 2 more, Oceania 1, Africa 2 and Americas 2

So looking at who is currently in a playoff situation who would already be there in 40 team WC

 Europe....Portugal is in a playoff against Sweden....one will miss out, they both should be there IMO

Asia  probably Jordan and Uzbekistan.....

Africa   out of Senegal, Egypt, Algeria

Americas   Mexico and Uruguay

Oceania  NZ

Most of these teams are quality and would significantly add to the WC. 

Isn't it just logic? The 33-40th teams aren't as good as the top 32, therefore it's diluted. Whether it is significantly diluted or not is a different story. 

My problem with it is more to do with the increase in meaningless games. Don't fix it if it ain't broke, I say. 

Why not just add two more spots or four, make sure any confederation gets at least one spot.

Really starting to dislike frank van hattum.