OFC Beach Soccer Championship 2006

The inaugural edition of the OFC Beach Soccer Championship, now known as the OFC Beach Soccer Nations Cup, took place in 2006 and was the first beach soccer competition to be established by OFC. The tournament was held on Temae Beach in Moorea, Tahiti, with the winner also qualifying for the 2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup™ in Brazil. The tournament was contested in a round-robin format between four nations, Vanuatu, Tonga, Solomon Islands and hosts Tahiti with the top two qualifying for the final.

Vanuatu made a statement in the very first OFC Beach Soccer Championship fixture, defeating the Solomon Islands 9-4, before going on to win all three of their matches including a tight 5-4 victory over hosts Tahiti on the final match day. They finished atop the standings, whilst the Solomon Islands edged Tahiti 3-2 to join them in the final.

Despite defeating the Solomon Islands earlier in the tournament, Vanuatu fell apart in the final as the Solomon Islands secured a 6-2 victory to claim the inaugural OFC Beach Soccer Championship title. Richard Anisua and Henry Koto both bagged two goals each for the Solomon Islands as they qualified for the 2006 FIFA Beach Soccer Championship™ in Brazil. Hosts Tahiti defeated the Cook Islands 12-4 to clinch third place.

As continental champions, the Solomon Islands became the first nation to represent OFC at the FIFA Beach Soccer Championship™ at the 2006 event in Brazil. They opened the tournament with a victory beating Cameroon 5-2 but they failed to capitalise on this victory falling to Uruguay 10-5. They rounded out the group stages with a heavy 14-2 defeat against Portugal.