Soccer: Chance for game here to blossom

The assistant coach of the only All White team to reach the World Cup finals - at Spain in 1982 - is delighted at the decision to give the Oceania federation direct entry to the 2006 finals.

"It's a great step forward," Kevin Fallon said yesterday. "It's a great decision."

Fallon said Oceania's president, Australian Basil Scarsella, had been quoted as saying the World Cup was all about getting everybody involved.

"I would endorse that. You will never improve unless you're going to appear there much more often than we do."

Fallon said that while the focus would be on the All Whites needing to beat Australia for the Oceania spot, "the island nations are obviously improving."

An example of that was New Zealand's loss to Fiji in the Oceania under-20 world qualifying tournament.

"We should never get knocked out by Fiji, that's for sure. But we have done, and at the under-20 level. That's getting dangerously towards the national team.

"To my knowledge, we've never been beaten at under-20 level before by an island country.



"So although we always talk Australia and New Zealand - and we always should, because we have better resources than the other island countries - you've got to remember that there are other nations trying to get in there."

Fallon said that if the Australians assembled their top side, "you'd be hard-pressed to bet against them."

"But nothing's impossible."

Scarscella said the Oceania qualifier would make a "conservative" A$10 million to A$20 million ($10.9 million to $21.8 million) by winning through to the finals.

And having an Oceania team in the World Cup would attract better-quality opposition to this part of the world.

Scarsella said the Oceania championship was now likely to be a year-long home-and-away series played on dates sanctioned by soccer's world governing body, Fifa.

This would replace the present week-long Oceania qualifying tournament.

"My view is that qualification should be over 12 months or more."

Football Kingz coach and former All Whites coach Ken Dugdale hailed the decision as a "landmark day for Oceania football."

"Now that we have direct entry, the game should have a great opportunity to blossom in the Southern Hemisphere."

Dugdale said it would still be difficult for New Zealand to beat Australia to earn direct entry, but "everything is possible."

"I guess the incentive is there now for things to be put into place to develop the game and the players in New Zealand to the stage where we can be competitive with Australia.

"It's not going to be easy, but it's not impossible."

Former All Whites skipper Steve Sumner believes Fifa's decision is 16 years too late.

Direct entry into the World Cup finals should have been awarded in 1986, he said.

"At that stage, New Zealand had proved they could foot it. So could Australia and they didn't get the chance.

"When the numbers changed from 24 to 32, I think our region should have had automatic entry."

New Zealand Soccer chief executive Bill MacGowan rated the announcement as one of the biggest days for Oceania soccer and said it was the culmination of a lot of work by honorary Oceania president and honorary Fifa member Charlie Dempsey.

"It is a big day and it is a credit to Charlie Dempsey, who has been battling for this for a long time.

"It is probably the biggest decision Fifa has made on behalf of Oceania.

"The impact of getting to the World Cup is just unbelievable. It is the biggest sporting event in the world.

"The money involved is significant. The exposure in terms of worldwide television is huge and it certainly puts players on the worldwide stage."

MacGowan said Soccer New Zealand had no problem enticing young players on to the field, but had never returned to the days after the 1982 success of coach John Adshead's team in getting to the cup finals.

"This decisions makes that one step closer. It's one more door that opens for us."

Australian captain Paul Okon said the decision did not guarantee his team a place at the World Cup, but it provided the best opportunity they had had.

"The key is having all our players available. If we get everyone, it's a great opportunity."

After romping through the Oceania qualifiers last year, Australia lost the playoff to Uruguay, South America's fifth-ranked team.

The players were devastated at their third exit at the final stage in as many attempts. They lost to Argentina in 1994 and Iran in 1998.

They were also beaten in a playoff to Scotland in 1986.

Johnny Warren , a veteran of the Socceroos' last World Cup campaign in 1974, said the decision was a huge boost for the game in Australia and opened the possibility of the country one day hosting the World Cup.

"There are enormous benefits - 10-year-old kids can now talk about playing a World Cup in Australia."

- AGENCIES