Soccer: Dempsey no-vote casts a shadow

By TERRY MADDAFORD

The ghost of Charlie Dempsey's infamous abstention from the vote for the 2006 World Cup hosting rights will be rattling around the Oceania Football Confederation executive meeting today when members consider who to support as host in 2010.

Dempsey's abstention - with the OFC's one vote - was seen by many as the reason South African hopes were scuttled. Subsequent voting went in Germany's favour when the Asian vote did not support Fifa president Sepp Blatter's push for the Republic.

Blatter has, according to OFC acting secretary-general Tai Nicholas, again come out strongly in favour of South Africa.

"The OFC executive will discuss the matter," said Nicholas. "We have had presentations from South Africa, Egypt and Morocco. Tunisia and Libya are also in the mix."

The World Cup vote will be taken at the Fifa executive meeting from May 15-16 in Zurich - five days before the Fifa Congress in Paris, where a vote will be taken on whether Australian Ron Harvey should be endorsed as a Fifa vice-president.

Fifa executive member Ahongalu Fusimalohi, of Tonga, will represent the OFC at the Fifa executive meeting with Harvey, if elected, taking those reins at the congress.

Fusimalohi and Fiji's Dr Mohammad Sahu Khan have challenged Harvey's position.

Today's meeting is also expected to discuss the draw for next month's Oceania Nations Cup tournament in Adelaide.

Nicholas said that as hosts, the Australians had the right to make the draw.

It has been suggested the Australians are keen to pit the two seeded teams, Australia and New Zealand, against each other in the opening, rather than last, round.

They are apparently keen to play the perceived hardest match first-up and then release up to six of their European-based players.

New Zealand would prefer to follow tradition and play the transtasman contest as the tournament finale.

Australia, who outbid New Zealand Soccer for matches against Turkey next month, have two games against the world's eighth-ranked team as their lead-up to the Nations Cup, from May 29 to June 6.

New Zealand and Australia will be joined in Adelaide by the top two teams from preliminary tournaments in the Solomon Islands and Samoa.

The 23-man All Whites squad will be named next week.

The top two teams at the Nations Cup will meet home and away to find Oceania's representative at next year's Confederation Cup in Germany.

The same two teams will again play home and away some time next year to find the OFC representative for the playoffs to discover the 32nd qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup finals.