NZ's O-League Teams

NZ's O-League Teams

Is there room for another NZFC! team? santy2008-04-07 11:58:59

Completely Random Santy... the question really is whether two spots are deserved.  It's meant to be for the Champions, not the 2nd place finisher.

Originally that was the case until someone (New Caledonia ?) pulled out of the first season and the second NZ team dived in to make up the numbers.  That is why the two NZ sides end up in the same group.
Hard News2008-04-07 12:01:37

Based on current O league results you would have to say yes to three teams
and then the Phoenix  would have to be in to keep the pools  even

I'm not sure about that.  I mean all the NZ sides did was play one other team.  Last year Waitak struggled to get past Ba in the final and even Manu Ora took points off the NZFC sides.

I still think the more NZ teams the better for the league....commercially and popularity wise.

Also if Waitak and Auckland are consistently going to make the O-League then we need to put a carrot out there for the chasing bunch!

2 spots is enough.

Two spots is enough.

Cause then the final would only ever be between the two NZ sides.

The sheer cost of playing home and away games for the island nations would be horrendous. From what I understand the clubs pay for travel and accommodation themselves.

2 spots is enough.

Port Villa Sharks from  Vanuatu were the team to pull out and give Waitakere a totally undeserved place in the O-League fair play to them for winning it but should never of had the chance

Irregardless of that it should of been Youngheart who went through not Waitak. Waitak only got in because of that bollocks ruling by FNZ.

A third NZ team may attract larger sponsors and therefore help burden the cost. Well eventualy we will have to increase the number of teams... Just a matter of when.

Well I think the OFC should really consider making O-League a more palatable package with TV funding to make a professional regional league with four NZ regional sides in it against the other regional OFC teams.

New Caledonia can have three sides and with either Fiji or Vanantu with two sides. (based on current Oceania nation cup rankings) and then one side for any other country in the OFC. They might as well make it a good fully professional format with the right business sponsors.

As a OFC region it could happen to make it a popular professional package to sell overseas. I think it would be our best shot in creating a professional league. Because not one single OFC nation has the ability at the present to make full professionalism in their national league. So we might as well combine all the OFC resources together and gather the regional sponsors about and really accumulate finances into a good package for TV.

I think it would be a stronger package to sell on the world networks with more appeal.

Well I think it would be worth a crack. NZ would be then good for 4 regional based teams that would be very strong and the weak nations might stack their teams but it would make the NZ teams to work harder to be top in the region. It might help our cause to be in the CWC with FIFA.

If OFC acts similar as a national association in the championship, it would help strengthen the regional playing strength from where it is.

Or else the OFC nations are just too small to create a suitable professional league of their own and OFC will never get off square one.

It could mean flagging the NZFC into a reserve competition, tho.AllWhitebelievr2008-04-07 19:44:44

So who would the 4 sides be?

Do you honestly believe that an international network would be interested in buying this coverage?

We hardly get any NZFC TV coverage here in NZ, why on earth would any international TV company be interested in sponsoring and televising a midget competition along the lines you've suggested.

I would probably go very similar to having the old regional leagues lines. A team representing the old southern leagues, a team representing the old central leagues and two teams from the old northern leagues (because it is our biggest and strongest region).

So it would be similar with the two northern team Waitakere United, Auckland City with a bit of Waikatio United region to pump them up. Then having Team Wellington with YH Manawatu and Hawkes Bay United added to boost them up, and then have Otago United and Canterbury United combined for the Southern team. A draft system would not be a bad idea to sort out the other players.

Therefore instead of having 8 NZFC teams of semi-professionals, we could have 4 O-league teams of fully paid professionals playing against the other teams from the OFC. It would be an OFC international league with plenty of things going for it. The business investors can see opportunity offshore with this and big sponsors should see more valuable it in. I would really see this international package that can rival the A-League package and help real professionalism in the OFC.

I suppose that since the O-league teams will be in the summer season, the semi-professional NZFC teams can play in the old winter season and look for expansion from 8 teams to whatever.

It would sort of similar to the Rugby seasons for the NPC and Super 14, with the odd club games in between. Especially with the new transfer rules in place.

NZFC games may never get the crowds, but an international O-league league run by the OFC with a full professional finances for all the participating players sound much more exciting to me.

Because it is the only professional league that would ever be run in the OFC and it includes many OFC nations as it is and has a greater geographic and population coverage. It would an avenue for commercial and international businesses that was not possible before. Major sponsors are not advertising for one country of 4 million but to about 11 countries of so much more people. It is more lucrative.

BTW it is not midget at all. 11 countries with about 18 teams in a league system.AllWhitebelievr2008-04-07 20:56:35

Gotta give it to ya AWB it sounds like a fairly good idea. Just wondering though why you believe Waitak would be the only ones untouched if this idea of yours was to go ahead?

I think I written it a bit wrong

I mean there would be two teams made from the three NZFC regions of Waitakere United, Auckland city and Waikato United. The regional lines are yet to be drawn.

Ahh i see.

I just can't see why an international network would be interested in such a competition. If you're thinking Australian/Asian, they all have the types of football coverage that would satisfy the football demand in their respective regions, and they have no interest in furthering the cause of football in Oceania, and commercial opportunities they could get from their possible involvement seem paltry in comparison to the monetary output they would need to produce to get it going.
If you're thinking NZ/Oceania networks, I still can't see it work. It's clearly impossible for the Island nations to pull off, and if NZ networks are hardly interested in showing NZFC, why ould they be interested in a competition that has half the number of NZ teams in it than the NZFC? NZ networks have historically neglected the island nations even when it comes to rugby, so I can't see them being interested in showing Island football.
There's also logistical problems involved - many of the Island nations don't have the facilities for live television coverage, and even those that have, like Fiji, still fall well short of the standards that the viewership is used to generally. If a TV deal was to be struck, significant investement money would have to be found to improve the facilities in the islands; where would that money come from?
Finally, the midget comment was sadly aimed at the quality of teams that would be playing in the league (in comparison to the other international club competitions) rather than the number of the teams that would be involved.

Fair enough.

Either or. I am sure that NZF can sort how the other teams of Manawatu, Hawkes Bay, Waikato and Otago can commit their players to a professional super competition in terms of business ventures and financial sustainabililty for the long summer season and then allow the players back for a NZFC winter season. The selection process will be good enough at each playing level. The NZFC teams can still select club players and the Super O-league teams will select the players from the NZFC teams.

If you think about the top half of the countries players, its an very solid and tight standard and definitely a lift in quality.

I fancy one of the teams playing a shadow solomon Island national team. It would be something to talk about.

Why aren't you on the board of NZ Football? You seem to have far more brains than the likes of Seatter et al.

Money from international businesses in the OFC regions are far different than local businesses but for the local businesses it is a gateway to international dealings among the islands. The Island would also have businesses that would like to get a footing in the other OFC nations and NZ. It would be another gateway for the international exposure for products for them to make some reputation. The commercial possibilities for some of these island economics is greater with club than with internationals. Also international businesses outside of the OFC may want to open new regional coverage and the league would have an avenue for that. There is always international business expanding and promoting their products. One thing about the islanders, is that they really follow what is advertised better than most especially with sports popularity. Also it would improve better commercial products etc etc.

Sure the facilities can improve in time when the popularity increases. we have a large pacific population in NZ and we do deal with most islands on a regular basis. The island nations can improve their look with the right backing from the international communities (e.g. FIFA's construction deals along with OFC)

BTW NZRFU ignores Island rugby and so the NZ networks can't do much about it. There are plenty of international rival networks than FOX that can promote the pacific region. Tourism and airlines are examples of different business profiles but other possible avenues that would not happen with normal professional domestic league.

I understand what you're saying, and I'm sure many in the Isalnds would be very enthusiastic about the concept. I just cant see why international networks, from a cost-benefit perspective, would be interested.

If a competition like this were to get going, I sense it would have to be a FIFA initiative, where FIFA pump a sh*tload of money in to keep it afloat for a couple of seasons to assess its viability, and TV rights could only conceivably come through SKY NZ, and I think they too would need to be greased up by FIFA money to get them interested.

I email OFC about this idea over a month ago and I haven't heard back from them. So I need to follow up soon.

NZF board? Lol that's a long walk in the park. Who knows, maybe one day. I'm still in my 30s and haven't step into an administration role yet. Still want to get my coaching prowess a decent go. I don't know whether I like the board meetings process. It's the different people I have to deal with that sometimes worries me on what they up to, TBH.

Well I think that OFC can make it happen with FIFA help (backside deals). Not everything would on the table. People have to warm to the idea and come out and say that they would support it and a market package with incentives and big business backing as well as government funding may see businesses advertised on the networks. Everyone should get their slice somewhere. If FIFA wants professionalism in OFC, they have to support us in something rather than just talk and leave us struggling with the details again and again.

Some of the international businesses will grab any airtime on the networks and it depends on their top dollar they are willing to pay to the networks. They both know how to play the business game with each other after a package is presented. They have templates to work off somewhere.

If we pull this something like this off, OFC may have a full WC spot later on. It would be closer to that goal.

I fear that the main problem is to sort the differences between the different groups that divides some of the regional clubs in the islands may get in the way of progress.AllWhitebelievr2008-04-07 23:19:30

I've always supported the idea of an Oceania League, not just the OCL but a stand-alone league, that's what my earlier comment about combining the two three-team leagues into one league was aiming at. There is enough interest, esp in Fiji and the Solomons. i haven't got time to write more about it now, but I think it should be seriously considereded by Oceania.