The OFC Champions League has grown in strength each year and our 12 best football clubs have no greater incentive to target victory than qualification for the FIFA Club World Cup scheduled for December.
A lot has been said about the performance of the Oceania champions Auckland City FC last December and I have no doubt the 11 competing clubs Amicale, Ba, Lupe Ole Soaga, AS Pirae, AS Tefana, FC Gaitcha, Suva, Team Wellington, Tafea, Hekari United and Western United will give their absolute best as they seek to emulate the reigning New Zealand and OFC champions performances.
The venues chosen were carefully selected to reflect the growing standard of stadia in the pacific where the ANZ Stadium in Suva sits as a shining example while also taking into account the sense of football tradition and passion that is part of the special match day experience at a packed Govind Park, Ba.
The competition, unlike in previous editions of the OFC Champions League, concludes with two one-off semi-finals and a winner-takes-all final at ANZ Stadium. It is fitting that our flagship club tournament concludes in the capital city of a nation gripped by football fever.
This is in no small way due to the excitement generated by the recent draw for the FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015. Fiji, as you will be aware, have drawn Germany, Uzbekistan and Honduras at this tournament and will be based in Christchurch, a mouthwatering prospect for the Fiji FA who, for the first time, take part in a FIFA world event.
New Zealand, as host nation, were drawn in Group A and take on Myanmar, the USA and Ukraine, a draw that while difficult also presents the Junior All Whites with a wonderful opportunity to make a big impact on this, FIFA’s second biggest men’s event.
The spin-offs and benefits for New Zealand as host nation, and for the OFC member associations, are many with football taking centre stage in our region with two of our teams competing. One only needs to recall the impression made by Tahiti when they finished fourth at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup two years ago. While Tahiti went close to achieving a podium finish, Solomon Islands came within a whisker of reaching the knock-out stages, a truly remarkable performance.
I firmly believe our two representative teams can do the OFC proud in this regard as we are now less than 100 days away from their opening matches when the Junior All Whites take on Ukraine on May 30 and Fiji take on the might of Germany a day later in Christchurch. With global football powers Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Mexico, Portugal and Uruguay on our own doorstep, we are in for a football treat that only rarely visits our region. Together, let’s make the most of this opportunity.
Yours in football,
David Chung
OFC President
FIFA Vice-President
PNGFA President