The Draw Show will be conducted by FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke, and will outline the paths that the teams from five of the six confederations will take as they hope to qualify for the finals in just under three years’ time. The only confederation not affected by the event is the Asian Confederation as their respective qualifying campaigns are already underway.
The first procedure to take place at the Palace is a short but important one as AFC, CONCACAF, OFC and COMNEBOL all have a place open to them via a two legged play-off. A draw will be made to see which confederations are paired together.
Teams hoping to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ from Oceania could face up to three rounds of matches as the qualifier extends from August 2015 through to October 2017.
The first round of competition will be held in Tonga from 31 August to 4 September and will feature the four lowest ranked OFC Member Associations (based on FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking and sporting reasons).
American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga will be playing in one round robin group with the winner advancing to Round
Two of the competition, where they will join the seven remaining Member Associations.
At this point the eight teams will be drawn into two round-robin groups of four teams each. The two group winners and runners-up will advance to two single match semi-finals and the two semi-final winners will advance to a one-off final.
The matches are forseen to be played between 28 May 2016 to 12 June 2016 under the OFC Nations Cup title, with the winner also progressing to the FIFA Confederations Cup. The group winners, runners-up and third place teams from both groups will also advance to Round Three.
Altogether six teams will progress to Round Three where they will be placed into two round-robin, home-and-away groups of three teams each. The winners of each group will advance to a single home-and-away series to find the Round Three champion, who then progresses to the Inter-Continental Play-Off. These matches will be played between 20 March and 10 October 2017.
Please note: The draw procedures for the Preliminary Draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ and the format for Oceania qualifying are both subject to approval by the FIFA Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup.