KEY POINTS:
In the wake of the Fijian football debacle, Helen Clark must immediately quit as honorary president of next year's Under-17 Women's World Cup.
To stay in the role for the tournament which will be held in New Zealand late next year, would send mixed messages to Fifa and
their president Sepp Blatter who appointed her in June.
At that time, Clark said she had no hesitation in backing a sport clearly on the move in New Zealand.
In thanking the Prime Minister for accepting the role, Blatter said: "On behalf of the Fifa family I thank you for the difference you make to women's sport and football in your region."
Blatter went further by saying Fifa were determined to ensure next year's under-17 World Cup left a legacy for the game, for the world, for New Zealand and the women.
One can only wonder how Blatter and the Fifa hierarchy feel now after being forced to take such drastic action in light of Clark and her government's decision to selectively refuse a visa to a Fijian soccer player on what at best can only be seen as tenuous grounds.
That decision led to an embarrassing last-minute postponement of the scheduled Oceania World Cup opener between New Zealand and Fiji at North Harbour Stadium on Saturday.
In a statement from Fifa headquarters in Zurich, the Bureau of the Organising Committee for the Fifa World Cup said they found the goalkeeper should have the right to play.
They went on to say to preserve this sporting principle as well as the competitive integrity of the 2010 Fifa World Cup preliminary competition, Fifa could not allow the match [between the All Whites and Fiji] to take place under the current conditions.
No one is denying the Government's right to reject visa applications but their stance must raise questions on how they view Fijian teams scheduled to play forthcoming sporting events in this country, including next month's World Netball Championships and the annual IRB 7s in Wellington next year.
The Government will argue that both are world events and as tournaments they will not oppose any applications.
Fifa will, of course, point out the match they were forced to call off was part of the world's biggest sporting tournament.
The $200,000 loss New Zealand Football is expected to cop from the late cancellation of the game will, no doubt, be the subject of a compensation claim but just where such money comes from remains debatable.
There have been suggestions from the Government they will consider such a claim but the on-going ramifications extend far beyond monetary concerns.
Players brought back to New Zealand from Europe, the United States and Australia must be wondering why they bothered and whether they will be keen to repeat the trek next month for the home-and-away Cup clashes with Vanuatu.
In the meantime, the All Whites continued their preparations for the second-leg match in Lautoka on Wednesday with an in-house affair with the national squad boosted by a handful of Auckland City players.
It has hardly been an ideal preparation for All Whites Ricki Herbert and his team. Now they can only hope there will be no repercussions when they turn up in Fiji tomorrow or at Churchill Park 24 hours later.
Helen Clark and her Government must be fervently hoping the same. To further inflame an already volatile situation does not bear thinking about.
