Football pales in comparison with rugby for popularity in New Zealand but the All Whites can carve a niche for themselves if they win a two-leg play-off and qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
New Zealand will meet either Bahrain or Saudi Arabia in a two-leg play-off for a place in the finals, and extra support in the stadium could prove decisive.
The first match is on October 10 in the Gulf with the second match to be played at Wellington's Westpac Stadium on November 14.
"We have to be aware of what is happening in the commmunity. There is a recession," NZF chief executive Michael Galding told Reuters at the launch of a marketing campaign for the match.
"We have been told that some other sports are suffering because they are pricing very high. Football is a game for the masses and we want to fill the stadium."
"I feel if we do...that could well be the influencing factor."
"It was always a gamble because you have to book these friendlies a long way out in advance and there was always the chance we could have got North Korea, but we felt as those groups went on it was always likely to be a Middle Eastern team.
"Jordan is also a country that is relatively secure so we will try to duplicate as much as we can for October.
"But there is still a job to be done. ...Goal number one is to reach the World Cup finals.
"In New Zealand people don't really fully appreciate what the World Cup means.
"Billions of people around the world are interested ...(and) making the World Cup finals is truly (putting us on) a world stage.
"If we qualify we are moving into the first division."
