Qualifier v Fiji??

That's much too big a job to pin on one man.

yeah

If OFC make the decision we are going nowhere, if Sepp makes the decision I suspect we're going nowhere, but even without that I've still seen nothing that tells me how we can afford it.

Much longer qualifying paths, much further distances.  Every competition will require significantly more costs than a day trip to Suva.

China = 1.5 billion population and market

Vanuatu = 211,000 population and market

 

Putting aside recent PR hiccups and a Board full of rugby-head farmers, dont you think its a slighly more attractve proposition for Fonterra to put their name on the sleeve on an AW shirt when we play a WC qualifier in Beijing (or Riyadh) than one in Port Vila (or Lautoki)?

 

There has been a lot of talk of Seater on here etc.

There is four things that could come about;

1.) NZ goes to AFC with all the initial cost and gather foreign sponsorship, leaving the other OFC nations in poverty. With the free trade agreement we should get a few access to sponsors offshore from e.g. Singapore, Burnei, US. . . . . Yay, free trade agreement!!??

2.) Continue the NZFC as is and live life as low as you can be in soccer.

3.) Repackage OFC into an "one confederation, one professional soccer league" marketing and reduce the the NZFC clubs into 5 NZFC superclubs, 4 clubs from New Caledonia, 2 from Fiji and 2 from Vanuatu and the one club team per each of the other islands that is able. (club numbers determined every four years after WCQ games). A possible extra incentive for non- and intra-confederation sponsorship packaged with the island experience sell to the rest of the world as a one entity industry.

4.) Get OFC to be a sub group of the AFC and half the AFC to two halves that gets two WC spot each with the 5th spot being played between the 3rd place getters of the two halves. This would be expensive to the poorer AFC nations to travel and prepare against former OFC nations even though they currently do regional contest before the final two groups anyway.

This is what AFC does not want but FIFA is an agenda on this. I think that the current WCQ road for both AFC and OFC is actually the best arrangement and as close you get without merging. The AFC-OFC merger (Asia-Oceania Confederation -AOFC) would have just adds OFC as one of AFC's federations, which will be a financial lost to many nation for a benefit of a few nations. AFC hates the idea because it has not real value and it is tough enough to run AFC as it is without having 11 new out of the way nations.

. . .
Personally I prefer One Confederation, One Professional league model with an expansion to wider economic applications for new Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA-since 2006). PICTA only covers trade but it there was negotiations this year on trade in services and the temporary movement of natural persons which affects football players if a professional league is mooted. This is more optimistic with less resistance type barriers outside to content with. I see that soccer can be a great advert of the PICTA achievements and bring the Pacific Islands Forum countries together.

My next preference would then be just NZ to move to AFC if it was cost possible but we have many barriers to that e.g. AFC nations opposing itself themselves and the other OFC nations objecting to it. It would be interesting to see the vote counts later on. I say it would be more 'no' than 'yes' tbh.

My Canadian work mate today:

LOL the great savor to NZF worys. Like smithy, this guys a joke. Cracks a fat talking to football stars etc but knows jack sh*t on how to fix the game.

Thats my option why he has said nothing, Except "we cant afford to play in the AFC".

Im sure someone at the fever would try to get a interview  or Q&A with him to further this discussion. convict2008-11-22 04:09:33

You mean Jamaica?

AWB making "One confederation, one professional league" would ruin Oceania football. Reasons are because:

1) Most obvious is, its just not finanical sustainable, no one wants to invest in very low-quality football and the market demand for football simply isn't strong enough so they wouldn't be able to survive on tickets and/or merchandise.

2) The demand for football isn't strong enough to let this league survive. Even if you could find the sponsors, it is never enough, you need support and there just simply isn't enough of it.

3) Increasing costs of travel would mean travelling to for example Fiji would mean the costs would probably make this league the most expensive in the world based on costs outside player wages.

The only reason your idea would be done because the quality of football would increase but it would be very marginal as you have to be realistic, no good players are going to come to a league which would be the poorest quality professional league in the world on the lowest wages. It would basically be the O-league plus a few players from NZFC clubs and agaisnt professional players we know how bad Waitakere have done, 7-0 loss to the Phoenix.

Out of all your ideas by far the most financial viable, would be option 1, NZ goes to AFC this would also improve the quality of football better then all your other options as we won't just be playing weak sides on a regular basis but also high quality teams such as, Japan and South Korea.

On a professional league in Oceania it would be near impossible - even if we joined Asia - in the short term. In the long term people would be able to watch high quality international football and this would gradually increase the areas demand for football and perhaps then, we could get good local sponsorship deals and possibly even foreign sponsorship deals (from Asia) and the clubs would be able to have a healthy flow of income from tickets/merchandise.wellyphoenixfan2008-11-23 00:01:09