Should New Zealand follow the path of the Socceroos and remove themselves from Oceania or remain as its most competitive and highly-ranked nation?
New Zealand may be more content staying in the OFC with the expanded 2026 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, but perhaps New Zealand has more to gain if they were to change confederations altogether.
The OFC, the only associate confederation in FIFA that still doesn’t have an automatic qualification place for its members, unfortunately, wouldn’t benefit greatly if this was to happen, though.
With Australia already having successfully left the OFC, it would be another blow to the representative body that has yet to improve since then.
Australian football has made significant success since joining the AFC:
1) Creating the A-League, which has many club Oceanian champions and one Asian champion.
2) Hosting and winning the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
3) Improving the game overall in the country, which is now the largest participated sport in the country.
However, football in New Zealand is different from Australia’s in many ways. Firstly, New Zealand hasn’t got the population, size or popularity in football as Australia does.
Nor do they have the success of the Socceroos. However, perhaps the best argument to be made for a New Zealand exit of Oceania for Asia is the domestic club boost.
I think it would go without saying that New Zealand’s club football would benefit greatly moving to Asia from Oceania.
Domestically, New Zealand’s football league, while being the best in Oceania and has challenged many big clubs in the FIFA Club World Cup in the past, is still semi-professional.
That means clubs in the leagues of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland are considered on par with the national first-division football league of New Zealand.
And, if, New Zealand were to join Asia, they would join the eastern region of the confederation. The same region Australia is situated in. New Zealand’s best teams would play the likes of Western Sydney Wanderers, Guangzhou Evergrande, Kashima Antlers and Urawa Red Diamonds just to name a few.
But, with the likely possibility that the All Whites will gain automatic qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup and beyond, will it be a viable option to help stimulate the growing game or is it too late for any exciting resolutions?
aerarium
Roar Rookie
If NZF only want an easy passage into FIFA tournaments, then they ought to stay with the OFC. However, if they genuinely want to improved their football, grow their domestic game and chase lucrative commercial opportunities... then a move to Asia would be provide them with boundless rewards.
Gavan De'Athe
Guest
No, New Zealand should join the FFA
Nick Symonds
Guest
FFA: OUR ASIAN SPOT IS 'FRAGILE' "Football Federation Australia has warned Australia's place in Asian football is not guaranteed – and there are powerful forces lined up against it." - Now FFA chairman Chris Nikou has admitted Australia's place is precarious. "Our position in Asia in my view is more fragile that it should be," he said. "But I think it's a relationship most football people would say we want to preserve. "We have good friends and support to the East [of Asia]. We're not that well-liked to the West." - https://www.ftbl.com.au/news/ffa-our-asian-spot-is-fragile-520533
Macroma
Guest
I also absolutely agree. What is delaying the formation of an East Asian Confederation or East/Asia Oceania Confederation? One immediate benefit would be ALL East Asian Cup, World Cup qualifiers and ACL matches roughly on our timeline for Australian TV audiences. (That is presuming our clubs haven’t been relegated to the AFC Cup before the Asia split occurs.)
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Brainstrust makes a fair point - NZ can just sit back and cruise in Oceania, and watch the FIFA $ and opportunities roll in. Their age group teams invariably qualify for World Cups, male and female, as will the All Whites and Ferns in future years, each coming with enough money to support NZ football over the next four year cycle. It's hardly a competitive challenge for them, not good for quality improvement but it pays the bills. They would improve, as has Australia, with the greater challenge of Asia. The question for NZ is whether they want to cruise, or improve? I suspect they'll argue strongly for the former, and continue to have their only professional club side subsidised by big brother us.
Midfielder
Roar Guru
"""the logical outcome is a formal East/West split with Oceania rolling in to AFC East""" Yep 100% agree
paul
Guest
There's something about the likes of Auckland City getting pumped in ACL qualification rounds that may not appeal to them. Though at least they may be spared the indignity of multiple failed Asian campaigns a la Victory and Sydney FC.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Genius article, you only get 10 million for making a world cup. Oceania are now guaranteed a spot and they even want more. The only team that would have a chance for qualification in Asia is NZ , but they would struggle their European based players are on the opposite side of the world, its a 24 hour flight. Doing things for a play off where they get extra time is one thing doing it multiple times with short notice they would be a 20% chance even with 7-8 spots for Asia.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Oceania doesn’t make much sense without Australia init and NZ should be looking towards being competitive in the asian region. Despite population etc the country has done very wellon the international stage and even went unbeaten in the group stage of the WC not so long ago. I don’t quite understand the implications for the Pacific region if Aus and NZ are not part of it but in the grand scheme of things the focus should be on the asian confederation and as has been suggested, divide it up in a similar fashion to the ACL.
Waz
Roar Rookie
Oceana has always been a pimple on the backside of FIFA – basically those countries too small (in playing terms) to be of any importance, which 25 years ago was true especially in a wider region not famed for football interest. But with the rise in popularity of football in east and west of Asia the AFC confederation is becoming unwieldy and the logical outcome is a formal East/West split with Oceania rolling in to AFC East
hog
Roar Rookie
Why would NZ gain automatic world cup entry if they joined Asia, surely it would still require qualification