Details of the OFC Champions League are yet to be confirmed and will be released in due course.
The OFC U-17 and U-20 Championships, which both act as FIFA World Cup qualifiers, will be held in Vanuatu from April 17 – 27 and in Fiji from March 17 – 30 respectively. The preliminary tournament for the U-17 Championship, the winner of which will qualify for the championship proper, will take place in Samoa from January 22 – 26.
The small-sided versions of the world game will also be in focus next year when the OFC Beach Soccer Championship, likewise a FIFA World Cup qualifier, is held in Tahiti from June 12 – 14 and the OFC Futsal Championship takes place in New Zealand. The exact dates and host city for the futsal tournament are yet to be confirmed.
The OFC Executive Committee approved the competitions schedule following a review of the events calendar in which a number of factors were considered including participation, logistics, finance and other matters.
The Executive Committee meeting, which took place in Noumea, New Caledonia on November 24, also included an address from Minister of Youth and Sports for New Caledonia, Hon. Jean Claude Briault, who acknowledged the significant work OFC is doing in using football as a tool for social development and emphasised the government’s support for the 2013 Pacific Youth and Sports Conference (PYASC).
The PYASC will be held in Noumea in December 2013 and is being organised and staged in a joint effort by OFC, the New Caledonia government and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), an inter-governmental organisation based in Noumea that works towards improving the lives of Pacific Island people.
Another notable feature of the Executive Committee meeting was the presence for the first time of a women’s representative. This role was filled by Nicola Demaine, OFC Women’s Development Officer, who was appointed as women’s representative by the Executive Committee earlier this year.
OFC Competitions Schedule 2013
Preliminaries – OFC U-17 Championship
Date: Jan 22 – 26
Venue: Apia, Samoa
Format: Round robin
Entries: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga
Winner will qualify for the 2013 OFC U-17 Championship
OFC U-20 Championship
Date: March 17 – 30
Venue: Lautoka, Fiji
Format: Round robin
Entries: Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu
Winner will represent OFC at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey from June 21 – July 13
OFC U-17 Championship
Date: April 17 – 27
Venue: Santo, Vanuatu
Format: Round robin, semi-finals, final
Entries: Winner of preliminaries, Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu
Winner will represent OFC at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates from October 17 – November 8
OFC Champions League
Details TBC
OFC Beach Soccer Championship
Date: June 12 – 14
Venue: Papeete, Tahiti
Format: Round robin
Entries: TBC
Winner will join hosts Tahiti in representing OFC at the 2013 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Tahiti from September 18 – 28
OFC Futsal Championship
Date: TBC
Venue: New Zealand
Format: TBC
Entries: TBC