The Press Box | New Zealand to host majority of World Cup matches amidst Niue visa denial debacle

[Till Valhalla]

Response from Niue Cricket & Kilikiti Board to World Cricket Conference


Well, well, well, look who's showing their true colors. The World Cricket Conference (WCC) has certainly outdone themselves this time, haven't they?

How dare they even insinuate that they have the audacity to strip us of our hosting rights? Let's get one thing straight: we earned our hosting rights fair and square, unlike some other nations (cough Denmark cough) who seem to have landed the Club World Cup hosting gig on a silver platter. What's the reasoning behind that, WCC? Maybe because they couldn't host a tea party, let alone a cricket tournament? Oh, but they showed us some fancy photoshopped pictures of renovated stadiums, didn't they? Well, newsflash: we've seen those stadiums firsthand during the Club World Cup, and let's just say they're not exactly up to snuff. Looks like a little scam orchestrated by the WCC and the Dansk Cricket-Union (DCU), doesn't it?

And now, since we've snagged the co-hosting rights for the World Cup, WCC is suddenly sniffing around, trying to snatch it away from us. Is it because we're not one of their golden boys? Or could it be something more insidious, like a hint of racism behind their decisions? Let's not forget about another one of their favorites, Morocco, who gets to play in different continental leagues like the African Cup of Nations and the Sahara Shield. And when they can't win, what do they do? They get their own little Arab Cup to play in. Meanwhile, a cricket-loving nation like Niue gets denied a chance to play in their continental league because, oh, WCC can't be bothered to create a window for it. Lazy, much?

A global body like WCC should have the decency to respect the ethics of a nation like Niue, who actually gives a damn about the future. Unlike some others who are just sitting in their chairs, filling their pockets and playing favorites.

So, WCC, before you go pointing fingers and making threats, maybe take a good, hard look in the mirror. Because the world is watching, and we're not buying what you're selling.

Sincerely,

Niue Cricket & Kilikiti Board​

 

[World Cricket Conference]

New Zealand to host majority of World Cup matches amidst Niue visa denial debacle
Despite having eight internationally-accredited cricket grounds in the country, Niue will only host a select-few matches​

Müller Schwanstegger presides over an emergency meeting convened in Berlin © Associated Press, September 14, 2003​

News coming from Berlin solidifies the World Cricket Conference's decision regarding match allocation between the two host nations for the Cricket World Cup. Following the visa denial controversy instigated by Niue immigration, and exacerbated by the Niue Cricket & Kilikiti Board, the World Cricket Conference was backed into a corner and forced to make a major decision regarding the scheduling of the upcoming event. Initially met with immense remorse, the Conference quickly turned from being regretful of handing over the hosting rights to Niue, to finding a solution for the predicament they were forced into due to discrimination by the host island.

With many possibilities levied at the Management Committee of the World Cup, the one that emerged seemingly as the sole solution to this problem was the allocation of matches to be New Zealand-heavy, with the nations singled-out by Niue immigration to play their matches in only New Zealand. Additionally, Niue would not be compensated by having other teams' matches swapped and played in Niue, in fact, the schedule of the World Cup will now favor New Zealand a lot more overall.

With the World Cup draw scheduled for after the ASCON Asia Cup, it remains to be seen which nation ends up in which group, and how the schedule of the tournament pans out. It is inevitable however, that Niue will have to travel to New Zealand to play teams such as Denmark, Israel and perhaps even Morocco, should they end up being grouped together, given their visa policy. If they had issued visas neutrally, they would've played all their group matches at their own home, like their co-hosts.