Eight nations have descended on Tahiti with the dream of securing a place at next year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup™ in Qatar.
The OFC U-16 Men’s Championship kicks off this weekend at Stade Pater and Stade Fautaua in Papeete, with each team believing they are a genuine chance of qualifying for the showpiece event in 2025.
That’s partly because for the first time in any OFC competition, three teams from the Confederation will qualify for a FIFA World Cup™. The pinnacle event is being expanded to 48 teams in next year, with Qatar the host country for five years through until 2029.
There are two groups of four teams in Papeete with New Zealand, Vanuatu, Fiji and Cook Islands in Group A and New Caledonia, Samoa, Tahiti and Solomon Islands contesting Group B.
The Group A winners will meet the Group B runners up, and the Group B winners will meet the Group A runners up in the semi-finals.
While the two finalists will be able to celebrate booking their tickets to Qatar next year, the Playoff for 3rd place will have an extra edge to it, with both teams knowing the winner of that match will also be on the plane to the World Cup.
The tournament in Oceania’s easternmost Member Association is likely to be hotly contested with such a mouth-watering prize on offer for the top three teams.
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