Football: Direct entry dashed for Oceania

FIFA president Sepp Blatter acknowledges his re-election during the 65th FIFA Congress in Zurich. Photo / AP

Oceania's hopes of direct entry into the Fifa World Cup are over - at least for the next eight years.

Following a Fifa executive committee meeting late last night (NZT), Sepp Blatter announced that the current allocation of World Cup confederation slots would remain in place for the next two tournaments in 2018 and 2022.

The status quo means OFC has a 'half spot', and still needs to qualify via an inter-continental playoff.

There had been genuine hope within OFC that they might gain the golden ticket, after intense work behind the scenes over the past few years and some positive comments by Blatter, who as recently as Saturday morning (NZT) mentioned that the confederations needed to be "rebalanced".

It's not yet known if New Zealand Football's decision to vote against Blatter in the presidential election had an impact on the direct entry scenario, but it is reasonable to assume it didn't help. Blatter has massive sway inside the executive committee and may have lost the appetite to go out on a limb for OFC.

What is more certain is that the NZF's decision to reject Blatter has created a divide within the OFC.

In January, NZF and the 10 other Oceania nations unanimously agreed to give Blatter another four years in power.

But when American and Swiss federal corruption investigations hit Fifa's doorstep on Wednesday afternoon, New Zealand were the only Oceania country to change heart.

NZF president Mark Aspden said the Fifa corruption turmoil was "distressing" and that real change from the game's governing body could only take place with a new leader.

It was a move that caused consternation among the rest of the Oceania delegation, who stuck to their original promise and voted for the Swiss.

OFC officials supported Blatter for the same reasons the African and Asian confederations did -- because of all the good he has done for them.

Under Blatter's watch, millions have been ploughed into football development in the region (about US$120 million since 1999), leading to a marked lift in competitiveness of nations like Tahiti and New Caledonia. NZF chief executive Andy Martin offered some veiled criticism of Blatter's supporters after the vote yesterday.

"I was surprised that a lot of people didn't see a need for change," said Martin. "It was surprising [they] didn't react to the news of last week."

Martin, who officially informed OFC of NZF's switch before the vote, alluded to friction within the confederation.

"It's always an interesting balance between the demands of New Zealand, and previously Australia, and the island nations," said Martin.

Despite being the largest nation, New Zealand have little sway within OFC and currently don't have a representative on the OFC executive committee.

But the blowback of New Zealand's backtrack is not yet clear.

Will Blatter now be so supportive of a country who have actively voiced their disapproval of his leadership? And if there are repercussions to OFC, how will that affect New Zealand's relationship with other member associations?

Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke said any repercussions against New Zealand would be wrong.

"I would understand, the way we've been criticised, why [people would think] that would be the way we would behave," said Valcke. "Blatter was very clear yesterday that he is the president of all 209 member associations. He is not just the president of the 133 who voted for him.

"An election is an election. It's the most democratic way to express your wish and your feelings and to decide who you want to have as a president. The majority of members have decided that Blatter is still the right person to lead Fifa and bring Fifa out of this situation."