Oceania President Reynald Temarii - New Zealand Should Stay In Oceania And Not Head To Asia

The Kiwis are going nowhere if the boss has any say in the matter...

Tim Brown, New Zealand (Getty Images)

Oceania's president Reynald Temarii has told New Zealand that they must remain in his confederation and not join the Asian Football Confe

deration (AFC).

Recently, New Zealand stars Ryan Nelsen and Sh

ane Smeltz said that they were in favour of following in Australia's footsteps though Japan Football Association vice-president Junji Ogura told Goal.com that he was not in favour.

Temarii agrees with his fellow FIFA Executive Committee member and believes that New Zealand

can use Australia's absence for their own benefit.

"When we agreed for Australia to leave our confederation I believed that New Zealand could replace them as the leading country," Temarii told New Zealand media in Auckland as the World Cup trophy visitied the city.

"When we looked at the results coming through the youth teams it seemed that New Zealand had the potential to definitively replace Australia in the international scenes," Temarii said.

The Tahitian was behind the deal that saw Oceania's champion play Asia's fifth-placed team for a place at the World Cup, one taken by New Zealand.

"It has helped