THE A-League could be set for an expansion into the Pacific Islands with FFA chairman Frank Lowy encouraging the Oceania Football Confederation to set up a franchise in the area.
Lowy met with OFC representatives in New Caledonia on Saturday and discussed the possibility of a combined team from the Pacific Islands competing in the A-League, which currently contains seven sides from Australia and one from New Zealand.
"I invited the Oceania Confederation to create a team of all the islands and if they do that, we will be able to accommodate them in the A-League and they certainly seemed very interested in that," he said.
"I think it would be very good for the A-League, there are 11 million people in Oceania and if we can attract a team from the islands to play in the A-League we can another 10 or 11 million viewers."
These discussions mark a new era of cooperation between the OFC and FFA, which turned its back on Oceania in January 2006 in opting to move to the Asian Football Confederation.
Lowy said there was many similarities between the two areas despite Australia taking a different direction and that both areas could benefit from further co-operation with one another.
"We have reacquainted ourselves with one another. And we are interested in helping the Oceania confederation to get established in football," he said.
The main benefit for Australia in these latest discussions is that the OFC has agreed to back Australia's bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
"I invited the Oceania Confederation to create a team of all the islands and if they do that, we will be able to accommodate them in the A-League and they certainly seemed very interested in that," he said.
"I think it would be very good for the A-League, there are 11 million people in Oceania and if we can attract a team from the islands to play in the A-League we can another 10 or 11 million viewers."
These discussions mark a new era of cooperation between the OFC and FFA, which turned its back on Oceania in January 2006 in opting to move to the Asian Football Confederation.
Lowy said there was many similarities between the two areas despite Australia taking a different direction and that both areas could benefit from further co-operation with one another.
"We have reacquainted ourselves with one another. And we are interested in helping the Oceania confederation to get established in football," he said.
The main benefit for Australia in these latest discussions is that the OFC has agreed to back Australia's bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
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