YOKOHAMA -- Oceania will be awarded one spot at the 2006 World Cup, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Friday at a press conference following a FIFA executive committee meeting held earlier in the day.
"All confederations shall have at least one team at the World Cup and therefore Oceania shall have direct access to the World Cup," Blatter said.
The re-elected president of soccer's world governing body said that awarding one slot to the region would not cause any conflict among the confederations over the share of allocations, as Oceania can take advantage of the spot released by the defending World Cup champion. FIFA had already decided not to give an automatic qualification spot to the defending champion for the 2006 tournament.