The OFC: Sixth in Confederation Rankings, But First in Our Hearts

So following my post yesterday on the USMNT and a potential confederation move, there were a couple of comments (which were much appreciated, by the way) asking whether the Oceania Football Confederation should even be in existence.  I've heard good points on both side of this argument over the past couple of months, but I for one have no problem with Oceania having a confederation of its own.

They might be just 11 island nations in the south Pacific (plus five other associate members), the smallest of the six confederations in terms of population and weakest in terms of ability, but who are they bothering?  If the OFC was guaranteed a World Cup berth, I would understand the desire to rid of it by merging it with the AFC (or some other solution, though I haven't heard any others).  But, as it stands, they are allotted just .5 spots in the final 32, with an inter-confederation playoff determining whether or not they actually have any kind of representation at the big dance.  If, for instance, the fifth best Asian team really deserves to be at the World Cup over the OFC champ, then they shouldn't have too much difficulty in dispatching them.  Of course, you could make the argument that it'd be unfair if a team that has navigated a much more arduous qualifying campaign was knocked out because of one shock result against a supposed minnow.  But hey, that's exactly what could happen to a lot of teams along the way (see CONCACAF's two-legged second round qualification that put Trinidad and Tobago in serious jeopardy).  If the OFC team can beat a middle of the road team from another confederation, they should be in.  It's not too much of a time investment, and the lack of guaranteed spot helps keep out teams that would otherwise be destroyed at the World Cup.  Yes, the OFC does get an automatic bid to the Confederations Cup, but that's a lot more palatable than giving them a berth on the game's biggest stage.  I don't see why giving a second berth to a second Asian team would be any better, particularly after what happened in last year's tournament (which I'll get to later).

Merging with the AFC would present a lot of financial barriers for all of the OFC teams, with the only possible exception being New Zealand.  Even if the AFC were subsequently split into east and west confederations, teams like Vanuatu or New Caledonia might still have to make flights to North Korea or Mongolia, which would really squeeze their already very limited budgets.  As their own confederation, OFC teams can take care of a lot of their qualifying with minimal travel costs by having the South Pacific Games double as the first phase of qualification.  By playing a number of games at a neutral venue in the span of two weeks, teams are able to keep their costs at a minimum.  The OFC Nations Cup (which doubled as the final phase of qualification) then requires just three road trips, with all of the nations being fairly close, particularly in comparison to their distance from east Asia.  Allowing Oceania to have it's own confederation gives these smaller nations the opportunity to actually field a team and participate in World Cup qualification, a process that it is pretty special in and of itself.  While the US may be in a much different situation, I think we can all appreciate how great it is to watch your national team play and rally behind your flag, regardless of how small your country may be.  Why essentially force a number of nations out of this by trying to consolidate with a confederation that, even if split, is still vast and financially demanding?  FIFA always is sure to mention how such and such World Cup had more participants than ever before, with 2010's 204 registered participants being the latest record-breaker.  Their goal of getting as many nations involved as possible would not mesh well with the likely consequences of getting rid of the OFC, one of the main reasons that I can't see such a move happening any time soon.

I've heard as well that the OFC is fairly useless because it ultimately just ends up being New Zealand and then everybody else.  But let's not oversimplify things here; a confederation takes part in a lot more than just World Cup qualification.  At last year's U-20 World Cup, the All Whites were no where near Egypt, with Tahiti instead representing the OFC after beating out New Zealand in the U-20 continental championship (in fact, New Zealand finished third, with New Caledonia finishing ahead of them as well).  The Solomon Islands, meanwhile, have enjoyed a nice run of success as well, qualifying for both the FIFA Futsal World Cup and FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in the last couple of years.  Sure, they didn't fare too well, but so what?  It's not as if any of these tournaments are going to be decided by one of those teams anyway.  Just let them represent their continent and take part in the pageantry.  And who knows, maybe they might just pull off a surprising result and prove they do belong, like New Zealand did with their 0-0 draw against Asian champions Iraq at last summer's Confederations Cup (which ended up knocking the Iraqis out).  Once again, who are they bothering?  If goal differential really becomes an issue, FIFA can implement a limit on the difference from one match that can be applied to a team's group total, a la what was done in so many youth tournaments that I played in back in the day.

I do wonder how New Zealand feels about their current situation.  They're clearly the big boys of their confederation, but it's not the same as Australia's situation that led them to move to the AFC.  After all, the Aussies have a country with 5 times as many people, a professional league, and a national team with modest success over an extended period of time (hovering around the top 50, with some fluctuations through the years).  Instead, New Zealand is a nation with just an amateur league and a national team that has spent most of it's time ranked right around #100.  If anything, I think the Kiwis love where they're at right now.  They get the best of both worlds: a less travel-intensive qualification schedule and better odds of earning a berth in both FIFA tournaments at the national team level, while also getting the opportunity to have a domestically based club team participate in a top AFC league.  Australia had ambitions of becoming one of the top teams in the world, and the sparse schedule in the OFC may have been holding them back, so they left.  But for a team like New Zealand that is roughly right in the middle of the 208 FIFA members and doesn't seem to have grandiose expectations for the future, the OFC seems like a nice fit. 

The OFC might not be the most glamorous region and its level of play might not be of the highest quality, but it represents a region of the globe just like the other five confederations.  And in the end, I just love me some minnows.  I have this odd fixation with all things OFC, Andorra, Timor-Leste, etc.; I want the little guys to prosper and earn their brief moment of glory, however that may come.  But all of my own whimsical what not aside, I think there are legitimate arguments to be made as to why the OFC should just be left alone.