Was reading a thread over on the OFC forum, where there was a lot of discussion about whether OFC should merge with AFC. One poster suggested that AFC should be divided in two (like it is for the Asian Champions League), with the AFC West countries becoming a separate federation and the OFC merging with the AFC East countries. What do you think?
We should take a look at the pros and cons here. Pros Less travelling: Let's be honest; Asia is HUGE. Splitting the confederation would significantly reduce the travelling distances for clubs and national teams, which could possibly lighten the load financially. Less withdrawals: The point regarding a reduction in travelling could be a solution to prevent the customary withdrawals of the likes of Bhutan, Cambodia and Brunei prior to seemingly every single continental qualifier. Their football associations are perpetually stretched financially and logistically, and that little bit more breathing room might prove as a springboard for them to spend their cash on actually developing their football for once. Cons Lack of competitiveness: We have a handful of teams on both the East and West who are head and shoulders above everyone else within that region. This is a result of AFC's neglect of the middle/emerging teams from the very beginning and should the confederation be split into two, we might as well see two lacklustre, OFC-esque confederations deprived of any excitement. Australia would probably go back to beating Pacific Ocean nations by double-digits on a consistent basis once again. Little variation in playing styles: Nations in the East play a more technical game, while those in the West are more physical and direct. Personally, I like watching teams from both sides go head to head just to observe the differences in playing styles. I think most fans appreciate this as well. Inconsistent categorization of nations: We see this already, where AFC appear undecided on where exactly to classify Central and South Asian nations during youth and club competitions. For an example, Indian youth sides are consistently thrown into the west, while Maldives are grouped among western nations one year, and in the east the next. Central Asian nations could fare even worse. Where, for an example, would Uzbekistan play? If they are grouped in the East, it would make absolutely no sense to group the likes of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in the West from a geographic point of view.
Any country with a stan at the end goes west? Or you could allow them to choose. India, Central Asia, Maldives, Butan, they could pick if they go East or West.
In the AFC annual meeting and awards night at the end of the month in Manila, some countries including the host Philippines, are planning on setting forth a proposal to modify the WC AFC qualifying format by dividing the region into 2 groups: East and West to avoid costly and lengthy cross-region flights, not to mention avoiding time zone differences for TV viewers. http://www.interaksyon.com/interakt...elebration-in-manila-beckham-pele-also-coming "The event will not be all glitz and glamour though, as all-important discussions will take place regarding the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying format for Asia. The Philippines, along with a host of Southeast Asian nations, are aiming to modify the qualifying format for Asia such that the region will be divided into two groups: the West/South Central and the East/Southeast Asia groups. This way, teams from West/South Central will only have play against each other and avoiding costly and lengthy cross-region flights, not to mention avoiding time zone differences for TV viewers." Every participating country in the AFC will play at least 8 matches in WC qualifying, which is great for the development of all the countries involved, especially those in the lower tier.
It wont happen because it would be bad for arab teams and that is all the afc (arab football confederation) cares about
One reason the above proposal might not push through is apparently the more lucrative broadcasting rights for WC qualifying matches involving Japan, China, Australia and South Korea which are all located in the eastern part of Asia. The countries from the western part of Asia might want a piece of the pie for those rights.
They would most definitely choose East. It happened during the AFC ExCo congress last year, when members from Maldives and India shamefully begged to be relocated to the East. The general consensus was that clubs and nations of middle/emerging nations in the West were stronger and no match for the weaker nations of SAFF. Mind you, it is this defeatist mentality that has been holding back our football! Hence the West would most likely consist of WAFF nations only and things could get boring really quickly. I do not think the WAFF associations would prefer a split either, due to the money.
I could perhaps see it being justified at the early stages of qualifiers (e.g. the first and second rounds). I think by the third round the two should merge.
Well the AFC Competitions Committee met today, and there was no mention of any split between east and west so I presume, that the proposal did not push through: http://www.the-afc.com/standing-committee/afc-competitions-committee-meeting
During the AFC meetings in Manila, it seems that they have decided that there will be no split for the WC qualifiers: Philippine Football Federation (PFF) President Nonong Araneta said that the AFC had agreed not to divide the group into zones after the PFF and other federations made the proposal for logistical reasons. “The AFC said that they don’t want to divide Asia,” Araneta said, adding that the AFC may subsidize the trips of the teams that will play in faraway cities. http://www.mb.com.ph/azkals-to-play-full-sked-in-fifa-plan/ _____ They will however have a split in the qualifying for the 2016 U-23 AFC Championships.
Logically, the AFC should be consistent in how they hold their competitions by having the same format throughout, but it seems that the powers that be in the AFC(as football asia mentioned above), felt that they would be disadvantaged in the WC qualifiers, if they had a split, so the format used there would be different from the rest of their competitions.
Pretty dumb article. No oceania team would even come close to making the final round of asian wcq not even new zealand.
Please no. The thought of Iran being stuck in a Central Asia federation means the only quality opposition we get to play is Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia. If anything make the earlier rounds, localized and then the final round to be between the best 12 teams from the prior rounds. That way poorer FA's can have the ability to finance their teams in the early rounds.