Tongan club Nukuhetulu FC will make their continental debut when they compete in OFC Men’s Champions League 2026 – Qualifying in Apia, Samoa this weekend.
In doing so, they will also become just the third club from Tonga to play in the OFC Men’s Champions League, following in the footsteps of Lotoha’apai United and Veitongo FC, who have previously carried the flag for Tonga in continental club competition for over two decades dating back to 1999.
“We might be a new team, and the new kids on the block, but we are in this competition to win,” says coach Lafaele Moala.
Moala is a former Tongan international and spent 12 years of his playing career with Lotoha’apai United between 2003-2015, at a time where the club competed in six different OFC Men’s Champions League campaigns.
He makes his return to Oceania’s premier club competition as a coach, having led Nukuhetulu FC to both the Tonga Major League title and Challenge Cup in 2025.
Those domestic successes ensured Nukuhetulu’s spot in OFC Men’s Champions League 2026 – Qualifying, and their first continental campaign.
“The players are very excited to compete in the OFC Men’s Champions League,” says Moala. “This is the first time that they’ve been able to compete against other champion clubs from within the Pacific.”
The club only made their senior debut in 2020, but in just six years have created a winning formula that only few Tongan clubs have mastered.
“It means a lot to us to compete on the continental stage, and it shows to other clubs that nothing is impossible. If we can do it, they can also do it.”
One obvious goal for Moala and his team, is to win the qualifying stage and secure a spot in the final tournament in Fiji in August, something neither Veitongo FC or Lotoha’apai United have previously managed to achieve.
“Our club aims to be very competitive and to fulfil what our two previous clubs haven’t been able to do at the tournament.”
The qualifying tournament runs from the 31st of January to the 6th of February, with all games to be played at Samoa Football HQ in Apia.
Nukuhetulu FC open their campaign against Tupapa Maraerenga FC from the Cook Islands, before facing Pago Youth FC from American Samoa, and host club Vaivase-Tai FC from Samoa, playing three games in seven days.
Watch the full interview with Nukuhetulu FC head coach Lafaele Moala here:
OFC Men’s Champions League 2026 – Qualifying Match Schedule:
Photo credit: Tongan Football Association (TFA) Media