Photo Credit: OFC Media
Seven participants from OFC Member Associations attended match day five of the FIFA World Cup 26™ Oceania Qualifiers in Auckland as part of the OFC Match Coordinator Programme.
It’s an initiative under the OFC Strategy aimed at developing skilled competition organisers across the region.
Representing Tonga, Fiji, Tahiti, Vanuatu and New Zealand, the participants observed matches between Tahiti and Vanuatu, and New Zealand and Samoa, before attending a workshop led by the OFC Competitions team at the Home of Football, Te Kahu o’ Kiwa in Auckland.
Attendees included Jay Aickin and Shannon Hewetson (New Zealand), Hemaloto Polovili and Lositika Feke (Tonga), Naea Bennett (Tahiti), Batick ‘Bong’ Shem (Vanuatu) and Shweta Shankar (Fiji).
The dual practical-theoretical approach offered insights into the intricacies of organising world-class football events.
OFC Head of Competitions Amir Navon hailed the programme as OFC’s first-ever educational initiative in competition management, describing it as a pathway to achieving consistent standards across regional competitions.
“Top performers from this programme may advance to the OFC Match Director initiative,” Navon said.
“One of the goals is to create the same standard of organising competitions in the region and to create a community of competitions managers who can work in collaboration with the OFC team and share their ideas,” he added.
Highlighting the programme’s impact, Vanuatu Football Federation Competitions Manager Batick ‘Bong’ Shem, praised the collaborative approach during match preparations.
“The preparations for the matches between Vanuatu and Tahiti, as well as New Zealand and Samoa, were a reminder of the scale and importance of the World Cup Qualifiers in Oceania. The OFC Coordinator staff’s attention to detail, from managing the stadium set-up, to ensuring player welfare, showed the dedication to creating an environment where the teams could focus solely on their performance.
“There was a real sense of unity and purpose among the staff, coaches, and players—everyone had a role to play, and every action was a step closer to achieving a dream,” Shem said.
Through initiatives like this, OFC aims to unify competition standards and foster a thriving network of regional competitions managers, equipped to elevate football across Oceania.
