OFC U-20 Women’s Championship – Samoa 2006

The 2006 OFC U-20 Women’s Championship marked the beginning of a bright new era for women’s football in the region. Now more than ever the cream of our women’s talent has the opportunity to shine on the world stage. New Zealand proved worthy winners of the championship scoring 33 goals in the process and conceding just one.

In 2006 we welcomed New Caledonia and Vanuatu to age-group women’s football, indeed this was the highest number of participating teams at any OFC women’s tournament clearly indicating the popularity of the sport amongst the female football family.

Tonga were the surprise package of the tournament downing the host nation Samoa 3-2 in the semi-finals in one of the more entertaining matches of the championship. It seemed no coincidence that the top four places at the tournament – New Zealand, Tonga, Papua New Guinea and Samoa – were filled by teams that had a pre tournament training and game schedule.

The event calendar shows there are many varied opportunities for these players to participate in both FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Olympic Football Tournament in the near future. In truth, some of the competitors will still be eligible for both the 2008 OFC U-17 Women’s Championships and 2008 OFC U-20 Women’s Championships.

New Zealand performed with distinction at the FIFA U-20 Women’s Championship – Russia 2006 against Brazil (0-0), Australia (0-3) and Russia (2-3).