OFC News

Auckland, 2 Sep 2003: OFC Nations Cup champion, New Zealand, has been confirmed to play Iran for the AFC/OFC Challenge Cup in Tehran on 12 October. The match was originally scheduled back in March/April as a two-match home and away series, but this was not possible due to the situation in the Middle East at the time.

The Cup will now be contested under the original format as a one-off fixture. This format was used when the AFC/OFC Challenge Cup was first played for in 2001 with Japan the inaugural winner after beating Australia, 3-0, at home in a one-off match.

New Zealand Soccer confirmed today it will name a squad of 18 traveling players within the next two weeks.

The AFC/OFC Challenge Cup will continue to be a regular fixture every two years. The winner of the OFC Nations Cup will represent Oceania at future tournaments, while the Asian representative will alternate between the winner of the Asian Cup and the winner of the Asian Games. Iran is the current Asian Games champion, while Japan was the Asian Cup champion last year.