Another option could be to combine the AFC & OFC and push for 10 spots.
Divide the combined federation into 3 conferences:
West Asia (4 spots) - All of the Middle East countries as well as Afghanistan & Pakistan
Central Asia (4 spots) - The rest of the “stans”, China, India, Korea & Japan
SE Asia & The Pacific (2 Spots) - Every country from Myanmar east to Kiribati.
To your point eddie, the current AFC membership is:
West: 12 nations
Central: 6
South: 7
East: 10
ASEAN: 12
Source:
Its not really a world cup qualifying campaign unless we play Japan. Its probably one of the most respectful rivalries in football but I do love playing them.
Going to a SE Asia and Pacific group results in us playing weak countries in the qualifiers again.
One of the major reasons to go to the AFC is that we get games against strong competition making us more battle hardened for the tournament.
No it was to make us more battle hardened for the qualifiers. Going from NZ to Uruguay do or die for your only chance was a huge gap.
Regardless, I don’t think that the FFA and the Socceroos will want to go back to playing Samoa and Fiji again.
Not helpful for anyone and hardly ignites any interest in our national team.
Plus every 4 years we play (if we qualify), in a decent Continental cup competition.
Are you saying you wouldn’t go watch the Soceroos come up against the likes of Rusiate Matarerega???
It’s worth going back just to hear references to things like The Tongan Messi, even more so than in the AFC.
We play weak countries anyway, the bulk of which will remain in SEA/Pacific group anyway.
The smaller nations would play against each other in preliminary tournaments with higher ranked teams entering later in qualifying. Every confederation has weak countries in qualifying, there is no avoiding playing at least one at some stage
As it is right now, I would have reservations about Australia securing one of two spots in a group that contains Thailand, Vietnam & New Zealand as well as 2 weaker countries.
don’t think there’s many countries in SEA that could be compared to the likes of Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, etc.
Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos…
With how much money China is putting into football, and how much increasing interest the Chinese Government has taken in Chinese football under Xi Jinping, it seems impossible that West Asia could afford to throw enough money into rule changes that lock China out of qualifying for a World Cup.
The last three or four, perhaps. But at least the former three aren’t doing something like THIS …
Sometimes a 16-0 and 17-0 win is the difference between qualifying for the Champions League or not.
JS Blatter Stadium. hehe
Wasn’t there an Italian club that name a toilet block after a referee who rendered a (perceived) poor decision against the Italian team at a world cup?
Haven’t heard that one, but fully endorse naming a refurbed ANZ crapper after Luis Medina Cantalejo.
Or Lucas Neill. Either way.
Found it, it was Byron Moreno. Isn’t the internet is a wonderful thing.
Outside his home country, Moreno is best remembered for the part he played in the World Cup game last year [2002] between South Korea and Italy. Among a host of contenders, that was the most memorably dubious refereeing performance of the tournament. South Korea won 2-1 and Italy went out of the competition, but only after Moreno had awarded a questionable early penalty to the host nation, disallowed an extra time ‘golden goal’ by Damiano Tommasi and sent off Italy’s best player, Francesco Totti, for diving. A town in Sicily captured the mood of the Italian nation when it officially named a new row of public toilets after the Ecuadorean referee.
Proof that if you build it, they will come.
In this case they came directly to him with sacks full of money.
Chris Nikou is on record saying promotion/relegation is unlikely until 2034 at the earliest. Remo Nogarotto basically threw Nikou under the bus and said on social media he didn’t agree and had no idea where Nikou got that figure from.
Isn’t it wonderful to see how the adults are in charge?