bondipom

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Football/...525213478.html

Australia's Asia football bid wins endorsement

March 23, 2005 - 5:33PM




Asian football chiefs have endorsed Australia's bid to join the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals directly through Asia.

AFC president Mohamed bin Hammam announced the decision today in Kuala Lumpur after Australia had applied to officially become the 46th member of the confederation.

"The executive committee unanimously endorsed the wishes of Australia to join the AFC,'' bin Hammam said after a committee meeting in the Malaysian capital.

But the move is not yet a done deal.

The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), of which Australia is currently a member, must approve Australia's departure at its executive meeting next month.

bondipom

If this goes through it will give Australian football much bigger games than the Oceania qualifiers. The deal should also give them enough competitive internationals to be competitive in a world cup should they qualify. Playing Iraq and Indonesia in friendlies is hardly world class football.

moneypenny20

Playing England, Scotland or Wales is hardly going to stretch them either

bondipom

Meeeow.

In a friendly of course not.

JohnoBronco

[QUOTE=bondipom]http://www.smh.com.au/news/Football/...525213478.html

Australia's Asia football bid wins endorsement

March 23, 2005 - 5:33PM




Asian football chiefs have endorsed Australia's bid to join the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals directly through Asia.

AFC president Mohamed bin Hammam announced the decision today in Kuala Lumpur after Australia had applied to officially become the 46th member of the confederation.

"The executive committee unanimously endorsed the wishes of Australia to join the AFC,'' bin Hammam said after a committee meeting in the Malaysian capital.

But the move is not yet a done deal.

The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), of which Australia is currently a member, must approve Australia's departure at its executive meeting next month.[/QUOTE


OFC will never agree to let Australia leave its their biggest member and only half decent side and would render Oceania qualifiying more pointless then it already is

Not so sure Australia would find it any easier in the Asia zone -some good up and coming sides - also there are considerably more games played in the asia zone as there are more countries trying to qualify - Would the european clubs be willing to release players for more games - still a lot of travelling for players - all in all will they be any better off??????

Gabriel

It would still be easier for Australia to remain in the Oceania Zone, because they would most certainly have secured a qualifying play-off game, whereas against Asian teams that would be more difficult to achieve in a group. Plus the big distances to travel.
They haven't qualified in a long long time now, why would it be easier in a group with Asian teams? They already played against Iran in a play-off and didn't make it to the finals... It's not that they may have the misfortune to be drawn again against a South American team like a few World Cups ago, but if they are good enough, they will make it. And also they can always arrange friendlies against European teams, if they want to strengthen their skills.

The only plus that I see in this move is that the Ozzie clubs would be involved in the Asian club competitions and thus exposed to a lot of football, which would benefit the national team in the end.

Well, good luck Australia, anyway!

Gabriel

Grayling

The point is ......in many respects (including geography) Australia is an Asian country.

G

bondipom

May or may not be easier but certainly less of a lottery than a single playoff. The standard of games would be higher than putting 20 past American Samoa.

bondipom

NZ is also considering the move. That means the Solomon islands or Fiji would be fighting it out for a place in the confederations cup.

JohnoBronco

Really when did Australia become part of Asia I thought Australasia or Oceania was a continent in its own right

Grayling

I said: "in many respects".

G

JohnoBronco

My apologies for misreading

Stormz

You didn`t misread, you just caught G out being wrong

The only reason Aus would want to change to Asia for football is because they`ve been trying for donkeys years to get out of the unfair ruling that whoever wins Oceania has to play the South American runner-up to qualify for the World Cup.... which is invariably a much better team than Aus. Strange eh? 3 South American teams then go through, as Aus has to play and get beaten by one of them, yet USA (South America`s neighbour) doesn`t have to play them so they get to go to the world cup each time. Footballs world governing body is corrupt, so Aus has to fiddle with regions to get a fighting chance of playing in the cup.

ozzieeagle

At least If Aussie does join the asian qualifying route, There will be at least 5 games in aussie, of a higher standard, and more competitive, than the oceania route. I'm sick of only being able to see one decent live game every 4 years. Talk about being starved of decent football.

I loved being at both the Iran and the Uruguay game. The chance to go and see, games against Japan, or Korea, or even the Middle eastern countries is a far better prospect than the likes of samoa and fiji and even NZ, Even if aussie doesn't end up Qualifying.

Grayling

That is a matter of opinion.

Australia is heavily dependent on Asia for it's trade and becoming increasingly so.

A large (and growing percentage) of it's migrants are Asian (despite what Brits would like to believe).

It's largest and only serious neighbour (and it's nearest) is Indonesia which is Asian with a population of over 100 million (by far the largest power in the region).

Geographically it is closer to Asia than anywhere...look on a map.

If it had not been colonised it would logically haved been named part of Asia.

I repeat... in many respects Australia is part of Asia.

G