OFC News

Auckland City and AS Manu Ura will kick-off the 2007/2008 Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) O-League at Kiwitea Street October 27, 2007, at Kiwitea Street.

The match signals the start of O-League action around the South Pacific with defending champions Waitakere United hosting AS Manu Ura at Trusts Stadium just four days later.

In Melanesia, the excitement will be at fever pitch as Solomon Islands champions Kossa FC host Vanuatu rivals Tafea FC in a mouthwatering encounter on October 27th, 2007, at Lawson Tama Stadium.

Four days later Tafea FC will travel to face the yet to be determined Fiji champions in their own backyard.

The winner of the 2007/2008 O-League will qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup - 2008.

In Group A, New Zealand Football Championship (NZFC) rivals Auckland City and Waitakere United will reignite their domestic rivalry alongside Tahitian newcomers AS Manu Ura who deposed AS Temanava as club champions in French-Polynesia.

New Auckland City coach Colin Tuaa will look to use his intimate knowledge of the Tahitian environment to guide his new charges to the final.

Meanwhile, Waitakere United face the difficult task of playing in the NZFC, O-League and facing a one-off match against Japan's J-League champions for a berth at the FIFA Club World Cup - Japan 2007.

Group B looks likely to be the toughest of the two pools with highly-fancied Vanuatu club champions Tafea FC returning to the head table of Oceania club football after an absence of two years.

Tafea FC won their way into the O-League after winning the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) O-League Preliminary Tournament in New Caledonia in emphatic fashion.

Kossa FC triumphed in the Solomon Islands Football Federation National Clubs Championship in Honiara earlier this year.

James Naka and Joe Luwi - both recent Beach Soccer heroes for Solomon Islands - will help bolster the Kossa FC attack.

Fiji's representatives are yet to be determined, but it looks likely that Ba will return to O-League action after maintaining a 100% winning record in the New World National Football League in Fiji.

Ba have won four domestic trophies this season to go alongside their 2007 O-League runners-up appearance and will be hoping to go one step further this time around - provided they can seal their fifth domestic trophy of the year.


GROUP A

AUCKLAND CITY (NZL)
WAITAKERE UNITED (NZL)
AS MANU URA (TAH)

GROUP B

TAFEA FC (VAN)
KOSSA FC (SOL)
TBA (FIJ)

GROUP A

27/10/07 - Auckland City vs. AS Manu Ura
31/10/07 - Waitekere United vs. AS Manu Ura
17/02/08 - AS Manu Ura vs. Waitakere United
20/02/08 - Auckland City vs. Waitakere United
26/03/08 - AS Manu Ura vs. Auckland City
30/03/08 - Waitakere United vs. Auckland City

GROUP B

27/10/07 - Kossa FC vs. Tafea FC
30/10/07 - FIJI CLUB vs. Tafea FC
20/02/08 - Tafea FC vs. FIJI CLUB
24/02/08 - Kossa FC vs. FIJI CLUB
26/03/08 - Tafea FC vs. Kossa FC
29/03/08 - FIJI CLUB vs. Kossa FC

O-LEAGUE FINAL

26/04/08 - 1st LEG
04/05/08 - 2ND LEG

Austria will face Czech Republic in a do-or-die semi-final few would have predicted prior to the FIFA U-20 World Cup - Canada 2007.

Spain, Brazil, USA and Congo have fallen by the wayside as the tournament surprise packets Austria and Czech Republic have surged toward today´s clash at Edmonton.

For up-to-date news on all the news from Canada click here:

FIFA U-20 World Cup - Canada 2007

Sky television will show live coverage of both semi-finals. For further details click the link below at NZF Media:

FIFA U-20 World Cup - Canada 2007 live coverage

Tuvalu will begin it´s preparations for the XIII South Pacific Games (SPG)in Samoa with a three match tour of Fiji after more than four years without competition.

The tiny island nation of Tuvalu - an associate member of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) - will meet Rewa at Ratu Cakobau Park in Nausori in their tour opener hopeful of achieving a decent result after years in the international wilderness.

The tourists follow up with a match against high-flying Suva at the Post Fiji Stadium on Thursday night with opponents for Tuvalu´s third match yet to be determined.

Tuvalu open the South Pacific Games football tournament on August 25th with a difficult clash against Juan Carlos Buzzetti´s highly-rated Fiji squad at the Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Complex Apia, Samoa.

Comprising four reef islands and five true atolls, with a total land area of just 26km squared, Tuvalu is the second-least populated independent country in the world with just over 10,000 people populating the islands according to the last census taken in 2005.

Only Vatican City has less people.

Expectation levels are understandably not high and their track record makes for strange reading.

Tuvalu produced a mixed bag of results in their first South Pacific Games in 1979 after they were humiliated 18-0 by Tahiti in their opening match only to inflict a 5-3 defeat on Tonga just two days later.

Tuvalu face Tahiti on August 29th in their third group match.

Tuvalu had to wait for 24 years before they participated in another South Pacific Games football tournament and they turned in respectable performances with a 3-2 win over Kiribati and a narrow 1-0 defeat against Vanuatu.

Fiji and Solomon Islands both recorded 4-0 wins over Tuvalu leaving the minnows in fourth place in the five team group.

Despite Tuvalu´s inclusion in the 2007 South Pacific Games draw they will not be eligible to progress all the way to the FIFA World Cup - South Africa 2010 even if they perform to a miraculous standard, yet, ironically, they could still win an SPG gold medal.

The South Pacific Games doubles as OFC´s 1st phase World Cup qualifying event.

Tuvalu´s full fixture list:

vs. Fiji 25/08/07
vs. New Caledonia 27/08/07
vs. Tahiti 29/08/07
vs. Cook Islands 01/08/07

It has been a season that has yielded unparallelled domestic successes as well as an uninterrupted run to this year´s O-League Final.

Ba´s domination of Fiji´s club football scene has been almost absolute with the ´Men in Black´ on the verge of sealing the Fiji National League title and the mouthwatering prospect of O-League football.

Ba face Nadi this Wednesday knowing a victory against their near neighbours will be enough to clinch a second consecutive appearance in the Oceania Football Confederation´s showpeice club event.

Victories in the Fiji FACT, Champion of Champions and Battle of the Giants could soon be buffeted by a New World National Football League title - an emphatic exclamation mark to Ba´s dominance against all-comers in Fiji.

The only blip on the radar for Yogendra Dutt´s men - and a source of pain and considerable heartache - was their inaugural O-League Final defeat against Waitakere United on away goals back in April.

Now the ´Men in Black´ are on the verge of sealing Fiji´s New World National Football League title giving them a another bite at qualification for the FIFA Club World Cup - and a chance to wipe away the memory of an O-League Final match many Ba supporters feel they let slip from their grasp.

Ba´s bruising 2-1 win over Labasa means a victory in their next match against Nadi on Wednesday will propel Dutt´s charges into the group stage of the O-League and allow the club to dream of going one step further.
Ba´s domination of Fiji´s football scene has been almost absolute.

It has been a season that has yielded unparallelled domestic successes as well as an uninterrupted run to this year´s O-League Final.

Osea Vakatalesau and Keni Doidoi were on target for Ba in a side which remains virtually unchanged from the one that won an O-League group featuring Marist FC and AS Temanava.

Ba, it appears, are a team experiencing a golden era - an era that doesn´t look like ending any time soon.

The defence - led by penalty-taking goalkeeper Laisenia Tuba - and marshalled by four Fijian internationals, Peni Finau, Malakai Kenihewe, Shalen Lal and Jone Vesikula, has an impregnable look about it.

The only time this quintet has been bettered was by Labasa striker Maciu Dunadamu - and only once Ba had become complacent and comfortable with a handy 2-0 lead.

Labasa´s Roy Krishna - undoubtedly Fiji´s brightest young thing and no stranger to goalscoring at international level - was unable to find a way past Ba´s solid defences.

The semi-finalists at the FIFA U-20 World Cup - Canada 2007 have been found with surprise packets Austria, Czech Republic joining Chile and tournament heavyweights and five-times champions Argentina in the last four.

Austria will face Czech Republic in Edmonton on Wednesday 18 July with over 23,000 tickets already sold.

Toronto´s National Soccer Stadium is expected to be another sell-out with the mouthwatering all-South American derby between Chile and Argentina expected to grip the local communities of both nations.

For more news on the FIFA U-20 World Cup click the link below:

FIFA U-20 World Cup - Canada 2007

Solomon Islands humbled the visiting PNG national side 2-1 in an action-packed match at Lawson Tama this afternoon.

Goals from Abraham Iniga in the first half and Alick Maemae in the second half was enough to separate the two teams as PNG canceled out Iniga's goal when match re-started in the second half.Influential midfielder George Lui beat his marker and sent a neat ball over PNG goalkeeper David Aua to an unmarked Iniga who nodded the ball in much to the delight of hundreds of soccer fans who converged at Lawson Tama.

However, Solomons celebrations was shortlived as PNG bounced back through Reginald Davani whose free-kick hit the far post before it rolled in to cancel out Iniga's goal. That goal ignited PNG into action.

Solomon's Airton Andrioli made replacements pulling out George Aba and replacing him with Gideon Omokirio. He also sent in Jack Samani for Tinoni Ratu and Godwin Bebeu for Judd Molea.

Bebeu immediately made impact and his shot which deflected off PNG's goalkeeper Aua, fell into Maemae's path who tapped it in for Solomons second goal.

Bebeu twice had one-on-one chance but Aua stood his ground well and denied the young and upcoming striker from scoring. PNG also fumbled their chances and in the end had to accept another defeat but this time on Solomon's soil.

Papua New Guinea striker Reginald Davani helped himself to a second-half double against Solomon Islands club champions Kossa FC - then paid tribute to the contribution of team-mates Andrew Lepani, Mauri Wasi and younger brother Alex Davani for their part in the team´s 2-1 win.

Papua New Guinea endured a torrid opening 45 minutes against a Kossa FC side still bouyed by their victory in the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) Telekom National Clubs Championship and populated with international talent such as Joe Luwi.

Davani was critical of the 1st half performance but once Papua New Guinea settled down in front of the reknowned and passionate Lawson Tama Stadium crowd, the game became much easier once coach Marcos Gusmao introduced Lepani, Alex and Wasi due to the quartet´s cumulative experience.

Davani opened his account in the 52nd minute after Joe Luwi had earlier watched Papua New Guinea goalkeeper David Aua save his penalty.

Davani then bagged a second goal ten minutes later with a trademark finish from close range that left Kossa FC goalkeeper John Morgan stranded.

Kossa FC were left ruing a number of missed chances in the first half with Godwin Beubeu spurning a decent chance prior to halftime.

Papua New Guinea face Solomon Islands at Lawson Tama Stadium in a friendly international in Honiara tomorrow.

The Bilikiki Boys from Solomon Islands are once again OFC Beach Soccer Champions after beating Vanuatu 5-3 after a pulsating encounter on the winter-blasted North Shore in Auckland today.

In a dramatic afternoon`s action at Narrow Beck beach Solomon Islands held their nerve as Vanuatu mounted a stirring comeback after falling 2-0 behind within minutes of the kickoff.

Vanuatu's hopes were alive and kicking when they pulled back the deficit to 4-3 until chief goal predator James Naka struck a decisive fifth goal for Solomon Islands that quashed any hopes of a comeback and sent fans of the Bilikiki Boys into a state of delerium.

Solomon Islands victory means a second successive OFC Beach Soccer Championship title and a return visit to the glamorous Copacabana for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup - Rio de Janeiro 2007.

In the earlier game, New Zealand in their first ever Oceania event defeated Tahiti 5-3 to take third place.

"This tournament has been an overwhelming success," said OFC General Secretary Tai Nicholas, "We wanted to introduce this format of football to the New Zealand football public and we have heard nothing but positive feed back. We (OFC) are delighted with the outcome and potential of this form of football to make an impact in New Zealand."

Tournament sponsors such as Cue Sports Foundation, Lotto, Ole Ole.com, North Shore City Council, Vuksich and Borich expressed an interest to be involved in future editions of this tournament.

OFC Beach Soccer Championship - New Zealand 2008 will be shifted to February next year in the North Shore as part of an agreement to be signed between North Shore City Council and OFC to have the event in the city until 2010.

"We are drawing a line in the sand, if you like, about establishing a permanent base for beach soccer in the oceania region. I'm sure the tournament will continue to grow and the North Shore City Council's attitude towards helping us that aim has been nothing less than outstanding," Nicholas said.

Awards

Fair play trophy: New Zealand

Best goal keeper: Chikau MANSALE (Vanuatu)

Top scorer: Teva ZAVERONI (Tahiti) 11 goals

Best player: James NAKA (Solomon Islands)

Bronze Medal: New Zealand

Silver Medal: Vanuatu

Gold Medal: Solomon Islands



Match Day 2

Match #5: Solomon Islands vs Tahiti
Score: 5 - 3

Goal scorers:

Solomon Islands:
KOTO Henry #7 (3:02 -1st period)
KOTO Henry #7 (4:00 -1st period)
MELA Benjamin #8 (0:25 -3rd period)
NAKA James #10 (6:25 -3rd period)
NAKA James #10 (10:00 -3rd period)

Tahiti:
ZAVERONI Teva #5 (4:22-1st period)
ZAVERONI Teva #5 (9:22-2nd period)
PITOEFF Georges #5 (3:32-3rd period)

Cautions: None

Match #6: New Zealand vs Vanuatu
Score: 8 - 10

Goal scorers:

New Zealand:
FRY Nathan #8 (6:50-1st period)
FRY Nathan #8 (9:33-1st period)
FRY Nathan #8 (0:02-2nd period)
ELLENSOHN Daniel #10: (5:51-3rd period)
GWYTHER Michael #9 (7:06-3rd period)
JOHNSTON Dean #5 (3:31-3rd period)
HOGG Stuart #7 (10:30-3rd period)
HOGG Stuart #7 (11:48-3rd period)


Vanuatu:
SAM Simon Moussa #8 (2:00-1st period)
MASAUVAKALO Ken #4 (4:50-1st period)
SOROMON Seule #7 (8:53-1st period)
SAM Simon Moussa #8 (10:42-1st period)
SOROMON Seule #7 (11:50-1st period)
SAM Simon Moussa #8 (2:06-2nd period)
SAM Simon Moussa #8 (2:51-3rd period)
SOROMON Seule #7 (7:50-3rd period)
SOROMON Seule #7 (8:11-3rd period)
MASAUVAKALO Ken #4 (10:34-3rd period)

Cautions: None

FINAL STAGE

MATCH FOR THE 3RD RANK:
Match #7: Tahiti vs New Zealand
Score: 3 - 5

Goal scorers:

Tahiti:
KUGOGNE Pierre #3 (3:11-1st period)
PETILLON Johan #8 (7:54-1st period)
ZAVERONI Teva #5 (11:39-3rd period)

Cautions:
#6 LEE FUNG KUEE Raimana (8:24-3rd period)

New Zealand:
MUNDAY Michael Olof #6 (2:23-1st period)
ELLENSOHN Daniel #10 (3:14-1st period)
FRY Nathan Daniel #8 (10:00-1st period)
FRY Nathan Daniel #8 (3:36-2nd period)
GWYTHER Michael #9 (8:01-2nd period)

MATCH FOR THE WINNER OF THE TOURNAMENT
Match #8: Vanuatu vs Solomon Islands
Score: 3 - 5

Goal scorers:

Vanuatu:
SOROMON Seule #7 (1:05-3rd period)
SOROMON Seule #7 (3:27-3rd period)
YELOU Jean Robert Ken #5 (6:37-3rd period)

Solomon Islands:
TAKAYAMA Samson #6 (6:53-1st period)
MELA Benjamin #8 (11:13-1st period)
KOTO Henry #7 (3:01-3rd period)
NAKA James #10 (3:31-3rd period)
NAKA James #10 (10:43-3rd period)

Cautions: None


2. Standings after Group Stage

STANDINGS AFTER GROUP STAGE
Rank Team Play WRT WET Lost GF GA Diff Points
1 VANUATU 3 3 0 0 23 15 8 9
2 SOLOMON ISLANDS 3 2 0 1 11 9 2 6
3 TAHITI 3 1 0 1 17 20 -3 3
4 NEW ZEALAND 3 0 0 0 16 23 -7 0

3. Standings after the Final Stage

FINAL STANDINGS
Rank Team
1 SOLOMON ISLANDS
2 VANUATU
3 NEW ZEALAND
4 TAHITI

4. Goal scorers Standings

Rank PLAYERS Player Team Numbers of goals
1 Teva ZAVERONI 5 Tahiti 11
2 Seule SOROMON 7 Vanuatu 8
3 Nathan FRY 8 New Zealand 7
James NAKA 10 Solomon Islands 7
5 Ken MASAUVAKALO 4 Vanuatu 6
Henry KOTO 7 Solomon Islands 6
7 Simon Moussa SAM 8 Vanuatu 5
Fenedy MASAUVAKALO 9 Vanuatu 5
Daniel ELLENSOHN 10 New Zealand 5
10 Michael GWYTHER 9 New Zealand 3
11 Stuart HOGG 7 New Zealand 2
Raimana LEE FUNG KUEE 6 Tahiti 2
Dean JOHNSTON 5 New Zealand 2
Johan PETILLON 8 Tahiti 2
Mikael Olof MUNDAY 6 New Zealand 2
Benjamin MELA 8 Solomon Islands 2
17 Thierry QAEZE 10 Tahiti 1
Georges PITOEFF 4 Tahiti 1
Dereck MALAS 3 Vanuatu 1
Billy MATAITAI 9 Tahiti 1
Samson TAKAYAMA 6 Solomon Islands 1
Pierre KUGOGNE 3 Tahiti 1
Jean Robert YELOU 5 Vanuatu 1

OFC Beach Soccer Championship - New Zealand 2007 kicked off today at Narrow Neck Beach on Auckland's North Shore.

The Narrow Neck venue is a former army barracks used for training of Pacific Islanders from Cook Islands, Niue, Tahiti and Fiji for World War I, a fitting analogy as Tahiti, New Zealand, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu gather to wage a beach soccer battle for a place at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup - Rio de Janeiro 2007.

www.oceaniafootball.com in association with the North Shore City Council will bring daily updates as the tournament progresses toward its exciting finale when Oceania´s representative on the sands of the Copacabana will be found.

Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) representatives New Zealand will require a miracle victory over highflying Mexico to qualify for the Round of 16 at the FIFA U-20 World Cup - Canada 2007 - and then hope Portugal inflict a heavy defeat on Gambia and wait for results elsewhere to go their way.

In Group A, Congo and Canada retain similarly faint hopes of qualifying for the last 16. Congo have one point and a win over Canada would all but gaurentee them 3rd place in the group with a healthy points tally. A draw would eliminate Canada and leave Congo looking anxiously over their shoulder at results elsewhere.

Group B teams Zambia and Jordan both face daunting tasks as they clash with Spain and Uruguay respectively. Anything less than a draw would prove fatal for either team with defeat appearing more likely, at least on paper.

Out of form Brazil have finished Group D in third place and will likely face a derby match with arch-rivals Argentina in Toronto next Thursday.

North Korea has finished in third place in Group E with two points and a minus one goal difference that may just be enough to sneak into the last 16 if none of the other nations pinch a shock victory.

In Group F, Scotland and Costa Rica face off in a winner takes all clash in Burnaby. Victory for either side would give both sides a chance to seal one of the four best third placed qualifying slots with Costa Rica at an advantage with a healthier goal difference. A draw would likely eliminate both teams after they both lost their first two games.

New Zealands slim hopes will also depend on the outcome of a host of results going their way as teams battle it out for the four third-placed qualification slots.

For more news, results and information at the FIFA U-20 World Cup - Canada 2007 follow the link below:

FIFA U-20 World Cup - Canada 2007