00:06The Oceania Football Confederation is FIFA's smallest and most overlooked.
00:15It contains just 11 full members, all Pacific Island nations,
00:22stretching from New Zealand in the south to Papua New Guinea in the north.
00:29Australia were founder members of the OFC in 1966,
00:34but they left in 2006 to join the Asian Football Confederation.
00:41Australia and New Zealand are the only countries to qualify for the Men's World Cup as members of the OFC.
00:49The Socceroos accomplished the feat in 1974 and 2006.
00:54The All-Whites in 1982 and 2010.
01:00Those four appearances have delivered a return of just one solitary victory.
01:09The expansion of the World Cup finals means teams from the region
01:13will be guaranteed further opportunities to improve on this record.
01:17But the standard of football is so historically poor,
01:21it will take an enormous transformation for anything resembling competitiveness on a consistent basis.
01:31Since Australia left, New Zealand have been the dominant force in the OFC,
01:36but their average rank over the past 30 years has been around 100 in the world,
01:42only very occasionally piercing the top 50.
01:48Behind them, Fiji and New Caledonia are the only other nations to periodically graze the top 100.
01:58The reasons for such lowly status are obvious.
02:03Most of the members of the OFC contain tiny populations,
02:07with only New Zealand and Papua New Guinea measuring in the millions.
02:13And there is the lack of economic development,
02:16meaning many members lack the infrastructure to support a high-performance football community.
02:25On top of that, some of these members do not consider football a priority sport.
02:31New Zealand is a world-renowned rugby union nation,
02:35while Papua New Guinea is obsessed with rugby league.
02:40A further consideration is the status of many Pacific islands as dependent territories.
02:46For example, New Caledonia is enshrined in the constitution of France,
02:52so when a talent emerges, like Christiane Carambeur,
02:56they are absorbed into the French pathway.
03:01Carambeur's roots were celebrated when he helped France with the 1998 World Cup,
03:06and he remains the most significant player to emerge from the region.
03:11For that reason, he is often the de facto spokesperson for football in the area,
03:16such as with the recent expansion of the Club World Cup,
03:19and how it can benefit the OFC.
03:24When we have this opportunity to be in an international competition,
03:34like the World Cup, you obviously need to be ready and to focus on the tournament.
03:41It means that ahead of it, professionalization work needs to be carried out in terms of resources,
03:46be it human or material resources.
03:53It also requires appropriate sports facilities, which meet the elite-level standard.
04:01So yes, integrating and including several teams in this competition
04:05drives local and regional development within both confederations and countries.
04:16Unlike FIFA's other confederations that operate to service the game from the very top down to the grassroots,
04:22the OFC is more strongly focused at the entry level, facilities, participation, structure.
04:33Although should New Zealand follow Australia into the AFC,
04:37the rationale for persisting with the OFC diminishes.
04:41But that eventuality seems some way off, with the recent Women's World Cup,
04:46co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand,
04:49an example of how the confederations can operate effectively, in tandem.
04:57We are in a good space with regards to Oceania,
05:00but we are also on the doorstep of Asia.
05:02And, you know, we share a lot of cultural similarities
05:07and we share a lot of opportunities to collaborate further between Asia and Oceania.
05:12So that partnership, which you've seen in the Women's World Cup bid and the hosting,
05:17is only the beginning of how the two confederations could work together in the future.
05:22The 2023 Women's World Cup is the only major international competition
05:27ever to be staged in the OFC.
05:30And hopes are high that its success will drive long-term growth for football in the region.
05:36We have another first for this tournament
05:39and it's the first time that we've brought both the member associations,
05:44the confederations and FIFA together to look at legacy.
05:48And it's for the tournament,
05:50so it's not just about legacy now,
05:53it's about legacy beyond at the end of the tournament.
05:56How are we working together to elevate the game,
05:59to increase participation?
06:01Small, but perfectly formed,
06:04the Oceania Football Confederation makes for a unique collection of football nations.
06:10But thank you for the fact that you can bring along this tournament.
06:10What are we seeing here?
06:10So I'm going to get you.
06:10So I'm moving on,
06:10you're going to be seeing you next year.
06:11It's a huge problem.
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