New Zealand Football yesterday announced the venues for the first two of three home qualifiers.
North Harbour Stadium and AMI Stadium, in Christchurch, will host the opening qualifiers on September 11 and October 16 respectively.
The matches are part of the third stage of Oceania qualifying, from which the winner progresses to a home-and-away playoff against the fourth-placed qualifier from the North and Central America region, in November 2013, for a place at the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.
North Harbour Stadium hosts New Zealand's second match of the stage, against Solomon Islands, on September 11.
The October 16 match against Oceania champion Tahiti at the new AMI Stadium will be the first All Whites match in the South Island since a 1-0 win over Malaysia at QEII Park in February 2006.
That just leaves a game against New Caledonia on Friday, March 22. New Zealand Football has indicated the game will be taken to a different venue, and it is believed Forsyth Barr Stadium is the favourite.
NZF chief executive Grant McKavanagh said the strong influence of Canterbury players on past and present All Whites sides and the region's footballing tradition made it an easy decision to take a World Cup qualifier to the Garden City.
"It's been a long time between drinks for All Whites fans down south and it's exciting to be able to bring the national team back to Christchurch, given what the region has given to the All Whites.
"It's a strong footballing region and I'm sure they get out in numbers to help us get the points we need to get closer to a place in the intercontinental playoff.
"We have one venue yet to announce but that decision will be made in line with our desire to take games around the country, where possible."
