FIFA chief Gianni Infantino with OFC President Lambert Maltock Photo: OFC Media via Phototek
FIFA chief Gianni Infantino has thrown his "200 percent support" behind a professional football league in Oceania, which he says will be a crucial step for the development of the game in the region.
Infantino, who is in New Zealand for the Women's World Cup being co-hosted by Aotearoa and Australia, said FIFA is working with the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) to establish the pro-league.
He told the OFC's 29th Ordinary Congress in Auckland that OFC's ambitions to qualify two teams for senior world cups can only happen if there is such a high-level competition for men and women.
He said it would be a "true game-changer" for Oceania.
"We are aware that there are challenges, distances, travels, and finances, but we have to transform these challenges into opportunities and that's exactly what we are doing together with the FIFA team, the OFC team, working together in a true partnership. To establish this professional league here in Oceania.
"I'm 200 percent behind it. I believe in it. I will be here for the opening for sure and for the final as well. So it gives me good reasons to come back."
President to travel around the Pacific
Infantino vowed to visit all 11 OFC member associations over the next month of the tournament - he has already briefly visited Tahiti - and had a message to Pacific communities about the legacy the tournament would leave.
"The World Cup being played here, connecting it with the grassroots of the game being played in your countries, is exactly the link we need to take on board and foster to make it prosper," Infantino said.
He expressed FIFA's continued commitment to helping to continue developing football in Oceania with the FIFA Forward programme managing the development aspects and the new FIFA Talent Development Scheme, which is helping with players, coaches and academies, is now coming on stream as well.
"It's making an impact. We will continue with the development programmes and full-time coaches will be sent to your countries to develop academies. So we are continuing to cooperate and work together."
Earlier this year, the OFC and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) signed an agreement they say would see more matches between the two continents.
The member countries of the OFC are: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Cook Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, and Tahiti.