Now that OFC have direct entry into world cup and the woman's world cup prize money is going to be equal to the men's come 2027. Could NZ now afford to pay a bit more for someone better? Bit of a gamble but pretty much guaranteed woman's wc money...
I think so. If men and women both qualify every four years and we say that NZF receive 20 million every four years. It really is going to change the landscape of the game in NZ, together with the new Auckland team in the A-League. Not sure we realize how great this coming decade is going to be. It would be hard even for NZF to make of mess of it. The equal payment for women's qualification is huge and means leaving Oceania would be a mistake too, unless FIFA changes it because they see NZF benefiting from it disproportionally with NZ officials driving around in Bentleys. So we may as well make hay (not literally bringing him back) while the sun shines. We could also pay bigger money for bringing teams over for friendlies or playing them elsewhere too. I wonder if the Aussies will try and sneak back in to Oceania?
Also if I understand it correctly, Oceania runner up goes into inter-continental playoff, so could be massive for the island teams as well.