There comes a time when a big fish in a small pond dreams of what it might be like in a lake.
It can be a scary proposition, with hidden dangers and risks, but it's also exciting, presenting a chance of growth and development.
It has been obvious from the
Confederations Cup that the All Whites would be better served playing in a revamped Asia than Oceania.
The opening two games of this tournament showed just how much the All Whites struggle at this level and that is unlikely to change while they stick with a confederation that was once described by former Fifa president Joao Havelange as a "small collection of islands in the Pacific Ocean".
It's why Australia finally withdrew from Oceania in 2006 after years of agitating. They are now top dogs in Asia.
I have always been a fan of Oceania and our place in it. The chances for our women's and youth teams, in particular, to play on the world stage are obvious and they have often performed with credit. But these generally don't excite the New Zealand public.
It is the All Whites who matter most and, for them to develop, they need to be playing regular football against quality opposition.
This doesn't happen against the likes of Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. When they get to tournaments like the Confederations Cup, held four-yearly, they struggle. In four appearances at Fifa tournaments, before this morning's match with Iraq, the All Whites had scored just four goals and conceded 36.
Last year they played only three internationals, six the year before, and only three of those nine matches were against non-Oceania opposition. This year has been better with eight games so far and there will be four more with the upcoming World Cup playoff.
But who knows how often the All Whites will get together next year if they don't qualify for the Big Show in South Africa?
Of course, the chances of New Zealand qualifying for major tournaments would be greatly diminished if they were in Asia and facing countries like Australia, Japan and South Korea.
On present rankings, though, they would slot in as the 10th-best side in Asia. That gives them a fighting chance and an opportunity for the New Zealand public to see teams of a better standard more often.
At the least the All Whites would regularly play countries more at our level, like China and Thailand. If they did qualify they would fully deserve to be there.
The question of where Oceania fits in world football has been one of great debate since it was formed in 1966. There are many who suggest it is inevitable Oceania will one day be assimilated into Asia, which would then be split into two confederations - one made up of Asia/Pacific and the other that includes the sub-continent and Middle East.
This makes more sense geographically than Asia's present borders, which stretch from Melbourne to Beijing and Mumbai and Beirut. It is massive and made up of 46 countries split into four regions.
The main reason why the status quo will remain, however, is a combination of politics and money. Fifa is a powerful beast, more powerful than most countries, and rife with internal politics and backhanders. The biggest concern for many nations, if Oceania joined Asia, is what would happen to their 13 votes and how they might shift the balance of power further to Asia and Africa.
Many would say it's not, to borrow a Fifa phrase, for the good of the game. It probably wouldn't be good for president Sepp Blatter's chances of re-election in 2011. But there is an argument that it would be good for the All Whites.
New Zealand teams have qualified for nine of 10 Fifa tournaments, as well as three Club World Cups, since Australia's departure but there is a comfortableness that comes with that.
Yes, it is probably prohibitively expensive to move into Asia and New Zealand Football would forgo large chunks of their funding which comes from qualifying for Fifa tournaments.
But from a purely football perspective, the All Whites would be better served to be part of an Asia/Pacific confederation.
There might be more sharks out there but that doesn't stop people swimming.
Michael Brown is in South Africa courtesy of Emirates, official airline of the 2010 World Cup.
