Does FIFA have any control over this, or does FIFA basically say to the Confederations: "Give me x number of teams (whatever their allocation is) by 2006. I don't care how you do it, just that you get me that number of qualifiers"?
Technically, yes. They have to approve the World Cup Qualifying process format by each Confederation, but they usually do. Approvals are due soon for the CONCACAF, Europe, Asia and Oceania proposals. They are arguing with Oceania now about the format there to see who gets the halfspot, not just about the taking of the full spot and the format for the halfspot playoffs between the other Confederations (Oceania wants a roundrobin at a neutral site). They originally approved the African proposal to make the African Nations Cup (January, 2006) the qualifying tournament for the African WC entries for 2006, but then changed their mind for a number of reasons (including supposed loss of prestige for the WC process, complaints from a minority of the African countries and the fact that the qualifying would then not be completed until two months after the WC group draw). They compromised with CAF by making the qualifying stages for the Nations Cup joint with the World Cup Qualifying. FIFA tried to get South America to reduce the number of matches from 18 (by having two Groups of 5) due to pressure from Euro clubs, but backed down when the the 8 minor nations complained about less television revenue from matches, especially against Brazil and Argentina. FIFA are unlikely to modify schedules, and will usually back the Confederations in disputes with national leagues about conflicts due to fixture congestion. FIFA is quite hypocritical when it comes to the issue of fixture congestion.
Speaking of Asia, does anyone know what their proposed qualification system is? I haven't seen it anywhere.
Asia WCQ Format Proposal Under Wraps Asia have submitted their WCQ proposal earlier in the year, but they haven't made it public in keeping with the practice over the years. When FIFA announces approval of the formats over the next month or so, we should know the format and the schedule framework. Talk on the Asia thread on BS a few months ago indicated that although the Asian football fans are a bit pissed off about this, they are philosophical about their confederation's autocratic style. They say that there is a lot of backroom dealing over the formats and schedules , and they don't announce their plans to leave the decisions as fait d'accompli and to minimise time to protest.