Soccer: Waitakere in fight over ticket to Oceania championship

Waitakere United bosses have attacked New Zealand Soccer's decision to give Auckland City a free ride into a second Oceania club championship and with it another shot at a big pay day at Fifa's World Cup club championship.

Waitakere United chief executive Bill MacGowan says the decision to give the Kiwitea St-based team the right to represent the New Zealand Football Championship clubs in the 2007 Oceania Champions League is a case of allowing "the rich to get richer and to hell with the rest".

But his club's gripe is not with Auckland City but with the decision.

Auckland City, as the 2005-06 NZFC winners and subsequently the OFC club champions, won the right to represent Oceania at this December's world championship in Japan.

They have now been handed the ticket to ride into the 2007 OFC club championship - now to be the Oceania Champions League - without kicking a ball. That irks MacGowan.

Auckland stand to collect the lion's share of a US$1 ($1.61) million payout this year and, should they win the new-look League, they would have the same opportunity next year.

In a press release last week, NZFC manager Glynn Taylor said: "City's seven New Zealand Football Championship rivals have agreed to allow Auckland [City] an uncontested path into the new six-club, home-and-away series to meet Oceania's entry deadline."

MacGowan disputes this.

"This is clearly not the case. We are disappointed that we have been forced to react in this manner. We have made it clear throughout the process we did not favour gifting any team direct entry ...

"We represent 12 member clubs in West Auckland and fought this decision on behalf of them, our sponsors, our supporters and our players."

Unlike other NZFC teams in a one-city, one-team situation, Waitakere have to go head-to-head with Auckland City in recruiting players.

"Given this situation, we are behind the eight-ball," said MacGowan. "Auckland City gave prospective players a huge carrot in the form of promising them the opportunity to play the World Club Championships not only this year but now perhaps again next year.

"All we can offer is a few dollars to sign on and some expenses. It is far from a level playing field."

Team Wellington general manager Ian Rogers agrees.

"[Waitakere chairman] Rex Dawkins and Bill [MacGowan] are absolutely right to be up in arms," said Rogers, who said the majority of clubs had felt that the proposal to hand Auckland City a free ride into the OFC race was a fine line given the options.

The problem arose when the OFC decreed all member countries had to find their representative for the 2007 home-and-away play-offs by November 6 to allow for travel, prospective sponsors and other arrangements to be in place for a mid-January kick-off.

MacGowan, and others, suggested, as Taylor had initially proposed, that the NZFC representative could be found after the first seven of the competition's 21 games.

There was also the suggestion of staging a quick-fire pre-season competition - two groups of four with semifinals and a final - but this was rejected by New Zealand Soccer.

Yet, that is exactly what Australia did to find its representative in the 2005 Oceania club championship, which was won by Sydney FC, who went on to play the world finals.

Under the proposal put forward to the NZFC clubs, should Auckland City win through to next year's World Club Championship, the other seven clubs will share 60 per cent of the windfall instead of the 30 per cent they are receiving this year.

The winner of the 2006-07 NZFC, scheduled to kick off in October, will win through to the 2008 Oceania Champions League. With no prizemoney on offer, that chance to go on to the world finals remains the only incentive for the eight franchises.

But the NZFC club will qualify only if it has been granted an extension to its initial three-year licence. That decision has yet to be made but is expected before the end of this month - long after Auckland City have been guaranteed their place in the OFC Champions League.

* In another press release yesterday, Taylor admitted Waitakere United had opposed the move to give Auckland City direct Oceania entry.

At the same time he said "at least one or two [un-named] franchises are causing concern" as the licences come up for renewal.