KEY POINTS:
A team selected from all New Zealand Football Championship clubs is seen as a possible answer to the call for a competitive team to represent Oceania in Fifa Club World Cup tournaments.
Fifa boss Sepp Blatter, seemingly unhappy with the efforts of the Oceania teams in the past two tournaments in Japan, has handed a "shape up or ship out" message to the Oceania Football Confederation. It appeared he was prepared to give the OFC two years to get it right but a report yesterday suggested he wants action sooner.
New Zealand Football chief executive Graham Seatter and deputy chairman Fred de Jong are to meet OFC general secretary Tai Nicholas on Friday to further discuss the matter.
Seatter is determined everything possible must be done to retain the spot in the club championship which carries direct entry for the O-League winner and a healthy financial return.
While he admits he sees the introduction of the Wellington Phoenix into the mix as a possible solution, he just as quickly acknowledges there would be opposition, particularly from NZFC clubs and the island nations.
"We are currently midway through the O-League with the winner, to be found in April, to go on to the Fifa Club World Cup next December," said Seatter. "There is no suggestion that won't happen but if it is an NZFC team then we have to do all we can to ensure we have the strongest available team with the best possible build-up.
"But to do that could wreck the NZFC and we would not want that."
His proposal would see the best players all playing for the O-League champions thus making for a lopsided 2008-09 NZFC.
Ivan Vuksich and Rex Dawkins, chairmen of Auckland City and Waitakere United respectively, while insisting the NZFC must provide the New Zealand representative in the O-League/Club World Cup, propose that an NZFC select Xl involving the best players from all teams but playing under the banner of the successful club should go to Japan.
"I would rather see that than having the Phoenix involved," said Vuksich. "To me something like that makes a lot of sense. It would be a one-off thing with the players returning to their clubs once the Club World Cup is over."
Meanwhile, New Zealand Football received some Christmas cheer with news their world ranking has risen to 95 from a record low 156 three months ago after starting the year at 131. The All Whites have been the third-biggest movers in 2007 behind Mozambique (up 53 places to 75 and relative newcomers New Caledonia up 58 to 118th).
The New Zealand women, ranked 23rd, are back in action tonight for their second of two matches against Olympic hosts China in Guangzhou after they went down 1-0 in the series-opener just hours after arriving in the country on Sunday.
"We really took it to the Chinese on Sunday," said coach John Herdman. "That's what we are hoping to replicate in this match. Scoring a goal on this tour is the first priority and from there forcing a result."
