Football: NZ vote rocks the boat

Fifa president Sepp Blatter acknowledges his re-election during the 65th Fifa congress in Zurich. Photo / AP

New Zealand Football's decision to vote against Sepp Blatter in the Fifa presidential election has created a divide within the Oceania Football Confederation.

In January, NZF and the 10 other Oceania nations unanimously agreed to give Blatter another four years in power.

But when American and Swiss federal corruption investigations hit Fifa's doorstep on Wednesday afternoon, New Zealand were the only Oceania country to change heart.

NZF president Mark Aspden said the Fifa corruption turmoil was "distressing" and that real change from the game's governing body could only take place with a new leader. It was a move that caused consternation among the rest of the Oceania delegation, who stuck to their original promise and voted for the Swiss.

It's not the first time Oceania have been divided in the confederation's history, most famously after New Zealand's Charlie Dempsey abstained from voting for the 2006 World Cup host because of "intolerable pressure", when he was on the all-powerful Fifa executive committee. Some of the Oceania nations felt betrayed by Dempsey's stand, with some believing he would back South Africa.

OFC officials supported Blatter for the same reasons the African and Asian confederations did - because of all the good he has done for them.

Under Blatter's watch, millions have been ploughed into football development in the region (about US$120 million since 1999), leading to a marked lift in competitiveness of nations like Tahiti and New Caledonia, especially at age-group level. Papua New Guinea were also awarded the Under-20 Women's World Cup recently, a decision that was apparently heavily supported by the Fifa president.

"We've seen some impressive results and milestones [in Oceania] over the past 10 years," Blatter told the Herald on Sunday last year. "Both in terms of football development and also at the elite level."

NZF chief executive Andy Martin offered some veiled criticism of Blatter's supporters - and by implication the other OFC nations - after the vote yesterday.

"I was surprised that a lot of people didn't see a need for change," said Martin. "It was surprising [they] didn't react to the news of last week."

Martin, who officially informed OFC of NZF's switch before the vote, alluded to friction within the confederation.

"It's always an interesting balance between the demands of New Zealand, and previously Australia, and the island nations," said Martin.

Despite being the largest nation, New Zealand often have little sway within OFC and currently don't have a representative on the OFC executive committee.

But the blowback of New Zealand's backtrack is not yet clear.

Will Blatter now be so supportive of a country who have actively voiced their disapproval of his leadership? And if there are repercussions to OFC, how will that affect New Zealand's relationship with other member associations?

Moves had been made for Oceania to gain direct entry to the World Cup, something Blatter has supported, but there were suggestions this might have been in jeopardy. A decision on this was expected overnight. Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke said any repercussions against New Zealand would be wrong.

"I would understand, the way we've been criticised, why [people would think] that would be the way we would behave," said Valcke. "Blatter was very clear yesterday that he is the president of all 209 member associations. He is not just the president of the 133 who voted for him in the first round.

"An election is an election. It's the most democratic way to express your wish and your feelings and to decide who you want to have as a president. The majority of members have decided that Blatter is still the right person to lead Fifa and bring Fifa out of this situation."