Both organisations will work together to film, package and broadcast a regular flow of football content from around the Pacific region and further abroad starting next month with the OFC U-20 Women’s Championship to be held in Auckland from 5-9 October. This will be closely followed by coverage of the first round of OFC’s premier club competition, the 2009/10 O-League.
The football programming will be available free-to-air on Triangle Television and through Stratos on the Sky Digital, Freeview and Telstra Clear cable platforms.
OFC General Secretary Tai Nicholas says he is delighted that the venture will bring back quality football to ‘free TV.’
“Whether it’s beach soccer, futsal or the 11-a-side game, OFC is committed to delivering greater exposure of football across the region,” says Nicholas.
“We are pleased to join forces with Triangle and Stratos to provide coverage of OFC’s 11 competitions and various other regional and international matches.
“Given that football is regarded as the ‘World Game’, I think it is highly appropriate that our content will be broadcast on Triangle TV – the station that specialises in culturally diverse programming from all corners of the globe.”
Jim Blackman, Chief Executive and co-founder of Triangle and Stratos Television, says he and his team are happy to play a key role in such an exciting initiative.
“I congratulate OFC on its courage and determination to make the sport more widely available,” he says. “We are looking forward to working with OFC to screen football at its many levels.”
With over half a million players in Oceania (FIFA Big Count Survey), football enjoys one of the largest participation bases for any sport in the region. In countries such as the Solomon Islands, where the game is a national passion, it is common to see over 20,000 fans turn out for O-League matches.
The 2009/10 O-League will feature the champion clubs of Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tahiti and Vanutau. Meanwhile the upcoming OFC U-20 Women’s Championship will involve American Samoa, Cook Islands, New Zealand and Tonga.