The New Zealand national football team will receive a "direct" NZ$1M ($680,000) boost from its World Cup playoff against Peru, according to Liam Hyslop of STUFF. In a deal negotiated in '14, the New Zealand Professional Footballers Association will receive the money "in part thanks to" the Westpac Stadium in Wellington "being close to selling out" for the first leg on Nov. 11. Under the deal, the NZPFA has spent NZ$500,000 ($342,200) over the last three years to support the All Whites, "predominantly on ensuring the players flew business class to and from important games." The "majority of that money came from the NZPFA's funding" from int'l players union FIFPro. In return, the NZPFA negotiated a financial boost should it "succeed in qualifying for the game in Wellington -- and attracting a significant crowd for the game." New Zealand qualified by beating the Solomon Islands in September, and has "succeeded in attracting a big crowd," with fewer than 1,500 of the 38,000 tickets left as of Tuesday. NZPFA Chair Harry Ngata said that the deal was about ensuring the All Whites, as well as the Football Ferns and other int'l teams, "had enough support for the next World Cup cycle." Ngata said, "It was part of our relationship with New Zealand Football and understanding that getting players to games and back to their clubs in tip-top condition proved to be a challenge in previous years." While it would "technically take money away from New Zealand Football," Ngata said that the money "would still be spent" on the organization's teams. He added, "It'll be a fund that will be assigned to help resource the next World Cup cycle potentially" (STUFF, 10/31).
