NZ coach slams FIFA over World Cup qualifying tournament

Wellington, Nov. 30 (BNA): New Zealand coach Danny Hay has criticized FIFA for scheduling part of Oceania’s World Cup qualifiers outside the international window, saying it would not happen in any other region.

The nine-team tournament will be held in Qatar from March 14-30 to determine which team will qualify for the playoff against the fourth-placed CONCACAF, which includes countries from North and Central America and the Caribbean, Reuters reports.

FIFA has given Oceania countries a one-day extension of the international window from March 21-29, but they will have to bargain with clubs to release players during the first week of the tournament.

New Zealand is disproportionately affected by scheduling as there are more players in professional clubs than their Pacific rivals.

“This will not happen anywhere else in the world,” Hay told New Zealand media.

“I’m here in Denmark at the moment and trying to explain how it happened, nobody can turn it around.

“I spoke with the Danish Football Association today, and they were just cheating.

“Imagine telling the Danish national team that you have a World Cup qualifier, but you can’t choose your best players?

“For me and our players, this is very disappointing.”

New Zealand were the last Oceania team to qualify for the World Cup when they reached the 2010 finals in South Africa.

The draw for the second set of the Oceania Championship was placed against New Caledonia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

“Every player I have contacted so far is a professional player, they work in professional environments, but the clubs will not be willing to hand over their players in the middle of the season,” Hay said.

“It’s hard to swallow, and we won’t have the opportunity to bring our best players together to give us the best chance of qualifying.”