Football: Request to extend World Cup playoff window

Chris Wood in action. Photo - Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.co.nz

Fifa has been asked to provide special dispensation to allow the World Cup playoff between the All Whites and Peru to be completed outside the international window.

The Herald on Sunday understands football's world governing body is considering extending next month's window, to allow for the logistical challenges involved in travel between New Zealand and Peru.

Sources in Peru have indicated the Peruvian football association has requested the match be played on Wednesday, November 15 (Thursday, November 16, NZT), outside the official worldwide Fifa window which finishes on November 14.

Adding to the mix, there has also been local government intervention in Lima to help shift a Green Day concert, that was scheduled for the national stadium on November 15 (Peru time) to make room for a possible match on that date. The concert has been booked for months, but frantic negotiations in the past two days have led to the show being shifted to another stadium.

It's believed New Zealand Football has made a similar request to Fifa, which will heighten the chances of the petition being accepted.

Both associations agree that a Saturday afternoon kickoff on November 11 in Wellington is ideal, given the challenges of getting their players from Europe, North America and South America to New Zealand in good time.

A Saturday afternoon match is also commercially much more valuable, believed to be worth twice as much in broadcasting revenue than a Friday night match, due to the time zones of the South American market.

But playing the first leg on Saturday afternoon would make it difficult to complete the tie within the confines of the Fifa window.

Both teams wouldn't be able to depart for South America until Sunday morning (NZT), and even though they would gain almost a day on their travels, the earliest they would arrive in Lima would be Sunday night (local time).

That would leave only one full day (Monday) to prepare for the match, which would kick off around 9pm on the Tuesday (Peru time) in Lima.

NZF are prepared to operate within those tight boundaries if necessary.

But NZF would prefer more time, while the Peruvian football association are unlikely to consider such a venture, given South American windows usually operate with at least four clear days between fixtures, as well as much reduced travelling time.

That's why the push for the second leg to be played on Wednesday, November 15 (Thursday, NZT) has emerged. It would mean that the respective sets of player would arrive back at their clubs in Europe and the United States a day later, but from a New Zealand perspective, the timing wouldn't be much different from the recent window in September, when the players had to make the convoluted journey from the Solomon Islands on the Wednesday morning after a Tuesday afternoon match in Honiara.

It's not yet known if Fifa will allow such a request. However, there is a precedent. In 2013, Fifa brought forward the front of the window by two days for New Zealand and Mexico, given the logistical demands at that time. However, that agreement was put in place several months before the respective matches, and Fifa may be reluctant to act on relatively short notice this time.

But ultimately it comes down to an issue of player welfare, and Fifa will also want to be seen as taking the lead in such an important area.