A Sporting Kick In The Shins For New Zealand Soccer- Is Rugby Next?

The issue of travel visas for sports has come home to roost in Wellington as a New Zealand Herald article suggests, following the canceled soccer match in North Harbour by the game's ruling organization FIFA.
An opinion article in the Manawatu Standard describes the unintended consequences of such boisterous diplomatic posturing by the Foreign Minister, Winston Peters. If soccer world cup qualifiers where so cavalierly trivialized by the New Zealand Government, perhaps the economic impact report of the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia should be a stark reminder of the ripple effects of involving sports and petty politics; displayed recently by the New Zealand Government.

Fiji opposition an own goal
Manawatu Standard | Wednesday, 24 October 2007

Isn't it wonderful how our money can be spent on our behalf by politicians?

New Zealand Football is in line for compensation from taxpayers, possibly to the tune of half a million dollars, because Winston Peters decided he had an issue with Fiji's goalkeeper's father-in-law.

The goalkeeper's offence was being married, or possibly engaged, to a fairly lowly army officer in a country where there is a non-democratic government.

The same Mr Peters, and his Prime Minister, were recently in Europe watching the rugby World Cup, in which a team from Fiji was competing and doing rather well. The country's rugby side had had long links with the Fiji army, but that seems to have been ignored by our pious politicians.

And a cabinet minister is free to holiday in Cuba, which is as undemocratic as it is possible to be, without anyone batting an eye. And what about Tonga? Their move to democracy is half-hearted, yet there is no talk of banning sporting contact with that nation.

Then there is China. Our politicians are busy grovelling and greasing in a bid to establish a free-trade deal, but when did the residents of China last see a ballot box?

Now that the All Whites' home game against Fiji has been moved to Sydney, due to Mr Peters' meddling, what sanctions will our government propose to punish Australia for allowing the hated goalkeeper into their country? A ban on Kiwis holidaying on the Gold Coast, perhaps?

And if the game is going to be played anyway, what will have been achieved by the original ban apart from a big bill for New Zealand's taxpayers and the loss of home advantage for a sporting side fighting to win a place in the next Football World Cup?

Let us hope there is more astute thinking around these issues if Fiji hasn't returned to a form of democracy approved of by our politicians by the time the Rugby World Cup rolls around. If those in Wellington start banning players because it doesn't approve of their relatives' occupations, or their country's type of government, then the compensation bill in 2011 could make the Fiji football fiasco look like chicken feed.

The recent RWC grossed $NZ495m, with half of that going as profits to the IRB. That sort of money as compo would give taxpayers a serious headache if our meddling politicians choose to disrupt that tournament.

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