Soccer: NZ sides split for O-League

Photo / Brett Phibbs

The path to the lucrative Club World Cup should be more clearcut for New Zealand teams after changes to the O-League.

Along with alterations to the O-League format - the two New Zealand teams cannot now be placed in the same qualifying group - an ambitious plan to revive the Oceania Nations Cup was the other main outcome of the Oceania Football Confederation executive congress meeting last week.

It also finalised the World Cup qualification process and dates for the region and decided on Sepp Blatter as the preferred candidate for the Fifa presidential elections.

Every O-League so far has seen Waitakere United and Auckland City in the same group vying for one spot in the home-and-away final.

From 2011-12, the two New Zealand clubs will be placed in different groups. One will be drawn with the champions of Fiji, New Caledonia and Tahiti, while the other will face the champions of Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

While the O-League has failed to gain much traction in this country, it is hugely popular in the islands. Crowds of 30,000 have attended games in the Solomon Islands, and matches in Fiji regularly draw more than 10,000 spectators.

Meanwhile, the Nations Cup is back on the agenda. Europe has the European Championships, South America the Copa America and Africa the Cup of Nations. Oceania is currently the only confederation that doesn't stage its own version of a Nations Cup.

The congress considered 2012 too early but endorsed a decision to revive the tournament from 2015.

It will feature the All Whites and the top five Pacific Nations, with the winner receiving Oceania's place in the subsequent Confederations Cup.

The congress also agreed on the qualification process for the next World Cup in Brazil.

The All Whites will play off against the top three island teams to find Oceania's representative, with matches scheduled for June, September and October next year.