Soccer: Fifa pair offer different takes on direct World Cup entry

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Direct World Cup entry for the top Oceania country is far from a done deal despite pledges from Fifa's two presidential hopefuls that it will be in place for the 2006 cup.

Yesterday, incumbent Sepp Blatter and challenger Issa Hayatou, in Auckland en route to today's Oceania Football Confederation congress in Tonga, again gave their backing for OFC direct entry.

But they outlined different options on how they envisage that being achieved.

Blatter, a regular visitor to Oceania, is keen to scrap direct entry for the defending World Cup champion and hand that place to Oceania. Only the host country would then have guaranteed entry.

"By doing that we would not upset anyone," said Blatter. "As a Fifa confederation, Oceania deserve the same rights as all confederations including the right to participate in Fifa's different competitions. This is a fundamental [right].

"I'm sure the Fifa executive will give this to Oceania. By doing this there would be half a slot to go somewhere else. I am sure the executive will make this decision very soon - at the latest by the end of this year."

Hayatou, from Cameroon and president of the African Confederation since 1988, said there has always been a great friendship between the confederation and Oceania and that the African and European confederations had fought for years for Oceania to be recognised as a confederation.

Through an interpreter, Hayatou said when Oceania were eliminated from this year's World Cup - after Australia's loss to Uruguay last November - he decided gaining direct entry for Oceania in future would be part of his programme.

"Not having the defending champion as an automatic qualifier has already been made, it was not a decision of Mr Blatter," said Hayatou.

"To find that space, I would reduce the number of South American qualifiers from 4 1/2 - which is effectively five following the play-off with Oceania - to three.

"I would leave Africa with five teams, Europe with 13 1/2, raise Asia to five, raise Concacaf (North and Central America) by a half to 3 1/2, reduce South America to three and give the remaining two places to Oceania and the hosts.

"I might lose votes in South America but they have only 10 member countries. Having five teams in the World Cup gives them a 50 per cent representation which is much higher than any other confederation."

Neither Blatter nor Hayatou would admit today's OFC congress was a vote-catching exercise.

"The 11 OFC votes are not an electoral issue for me," said Hayatou.

"It is more a justice issue. I'm more concerned about that than the Fifa presidency."

Asked whether the presidential vote in Seoul will be "cleaner" than the vote four years ago when Blatter went head-to-head with Uefa president Lennart Johansson, Hayatou said: "Speaking for myself, I'm happy to guarantee it will be clean."

Blatter, who spent a large part of yesterday's conference fending off allegations aimed at him by Fifa general secretary Michel Zen-Ruffinen, said: "I am not coming here to ask all 11 Oceania delegates to stand up and give me their vote. I want them to vote according to the person they trust. I am not doing deals."

He said he was not sure why Johansson had threatened to withdraw Uefa from Fifa if Blatter was re-elected.

Asked whether he felt like a "crook" in face of the allegations surrounding financial mismanagement within Fifa, Blatter said: "Definitely not. You will see the outcome of the investigations."

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