The Fiji Football Association (Fiji FA) have launched their Women’s Super League that is set to get underway at the end of the month.

The six-team competition will feature the following teams: Ba, Labasa, Suva, Rewa, Tailevu Naitasiri, and Nadroga and the draw will be confirmed in the coming fortnight. There will also be a 12-team Senior division that will operate below the Women’s Super League.

Fiji FA President Rajesh Patel said the new league represented a step forward for the women’s game in their nation.

“This would not have been possible without FIFA who has embarked on propelling women’s football together with the men,” Patel said at the launch, which was held in Suva on Saturday.

“Fiji FA will not leave any stones unturned in ensuring the Women’s Super League is a success.”

In the men’s game in Fiji, the Champion vs Champion series will take place this week with Suva and Labasa set to play across a two-leg tie.

This series serves as a precursor to the Vodafone Premier League.

In the Solomon Islands, the league-leading Henderson Eels kept up their strong campaign with a 4-1 win over Marist on Saturday.

The Eels have a seven-point lead ahead of the Solomon Warriors who topped Isabel United 6-3 on Sunday.

In this week’s other matches, Real Kakamora edged Kossa 2-1 and Honiara City beat Laugu United 2-0. Southern United will meet Central Coast on Wednesday to complete the round.

In Papua New Guinea’s Women’s National Soccer League, the Conference leaders continued their dominance.

Poro FC, who sit atop the Northern Conference, made it 11 wins on the bounce with a 4-0 victory over Pacific Gardens FC.

Sepik FC brushed aside Rainy Lae FC 2-1, Bara FC slipped past Morobe Tulip FC with a 1-0 win, while Markham Raings and Tusbab Laidamon played out a thrilling 3-3 draw.

Southern Conference front-runners FC Genesis hammered Amoana FC 8-0, NCD FC beat POM City Academy 4-0 and POM City FC battled NCD Hekari United to a 1-1 draw.

In New Zealand’s ISPS Handa Men’s Premiership, Auckland City FC have a stranglehold on top spot on the ladder with two rounds to go.

The Navy Blues beat Canterbury United 2-0 at Kiwitea Street on Sunday, which kept them six points ahead of Team Wellington.

Team Wellington produced the performance of Matchweek 12 as they hammered Eastern Suburbs AFC 7-0 on Saturday courtesy of a hat-trick from Hamish Watson who kept himself at the top of the Golden Boot chart.

Scott Hales, Team Wellington head coach, said it was a great performance from his side having suffered some disappointing results recently.

“Great reaction from the last couple of weeks, especially from the Auckland City result against us last week, which really hurt. The boys have shown this week that they’re made of solid stuff,” Hales said.

“And I’m really pleased that they’ve turned the reaction into a good three points. The performance was really strong and, without being rude, it could have been more.”

In the week’s other results, the Hamilton Wanderers pinched three points after Derek Tieku completed his hat-trick in the 94th minute to seal a 3-2 win over Waitakere United.

The victory kept Hamilton safely inside the top four and they’re well-placed to earn a spot in the playoffs, while Hawke’s Bay United kept their finals hopes alive with a 3-2 win over the Wellington Phoenix Reserves.

The Cook Islands Football Association recently broke ground on the Mangaia Football Association football field and facilities project that has been made possible through the FIFA Forward Programme.

The ceremony was attended by more than 150 people, including a host of local dignitaries and the site will be the focal point for all football activities, programmes and competitions on the island of Mangaia. More info on the project can be found here.

Ground has been broken at the Mangaia Football Association facilities project. Photo Credit: CIFA Media

In Tahiti, football is set to return this weekend following a lengthy delay due to COVID-19.

The men’s Ligue 1 has been on hold since November and Dragon are the early leaders; they will meet Pueu on Sunday.

In Samoa, they recently confirmed Paul Ifill will coach their national women’s team and Matt Calcott will coach their men’s side.

At a local level, their business house competition is underway, while they also held a technical workshop this week in Savai’i for junior coaches.

Following a successful National League Championship in Vanuatu, a wider national men’s squad was selected for development programme training sessions in Port Vila this week with head coach Etienne Mermer.

Mermer said the key focus would be on ball possession and giving players an opportunity to push for national selection in the future. The full squad can be found here.

Off the pitch, Vanuatu Football Federation (VFF) is operating an OFC C Licence coaching course at the Teouma Academy complex this week.

VFF Technical Director Peter Takaro said the course was a valuable opportunity to develop more full-time coaches.

“Our theory sessions include coaching process, leadership and coaching process trainings,” he said.

“It is a step forward in building the capacity of coaches and our job is to provide assistance into their knowledge as well.”

Once the coaches have completed the theory sessions they will be assessed in the field before they can be awarded their licence.

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