OFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2025
The 2025 edition of the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship took place in Apia, Samoa in August, with eight proud nations competing to be crowned regional champions. Alongside the trophy, two qualification spots at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2026 in Morocco were also up for grabs for the top two teams.
Hosts Samoa were joined by New Caledonia, Fiji and Tahiti in Group A. Fiji and Samoa made strong starts to their campaign, with Fiji dominating Tahiti in the tournament opener 4-0 and Samoa following suit, cruising to a 5-0 win over New Caledonia.
New Caledonia, though, bounced back from the loss with a 4-2 win over a spirited Tahiti side in the second round. Samoa continued their dominance with an impressive 4-0 win against Fiji, securing their place atop the group.
On the final day of Group A action, New Caledonia outclassed Fiji 6-0 to secure their semi-final spot. Tahiti finished group action with a spirited effort against Samoa, losing 1-0 to the hosts in wet conditions.
Defending champions New Zealand were joined by Solomon Islands, Tonga and new faces American Samoa in Group B. Solomon Islands started their campaign with a spirited 1-0 victory over the newcomers American Samoa, while New Zealand kicked off their 2025 campaign with a commanding 4-0 win over Tonga.
Tonga came back strongly in the second round of group matches, coming from behind to beat American Samoa 2-1 to keep their semi-final hopes alive. Meanwhile New Zealand cruised past Solomon Islands with a 5-0 victory, securing their place atop Group B.
On the final group match-day, Solomon Islands won a 1-0 nailbiter over Tonga to claim their place in the semi-finals, the first ever for a Solomon Islands team at the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship level. In the final group-play match, New Zealand dominated American Samoa 6-0, to head in to the play-offs with confidence.
The semi-finals saw hosts Samoa and defending champions New Zealand book their place in the final, an exciting rematch of the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2024 final. Samoa cruised past Solomon Islands 5-0 in the first semi-final, and in doing so secured a historic second consecutive place at a FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
New Zealand overcame a determined New Caledonia side, who were eager to upset the champions. New Caledonia held New Zealand to 1-1 in the first half, but their opponents came firing back in the second, winning 4-2 to book their place in the final and secure another qualification spot at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
In the 7th place play-off, Tahiti finished with a strong 2-0 victory over American Samoa, while Tonga beat Fiji 1-0 to secure 5th place at the tournament.
Preceding the final, New Caledonia dominated Solomon Islands 9-0, securing 3rd place at the tournament. Talismanic forward Kinë Hmaen was the star of the show scoring a double hat-trick in an outstanding performance that ultimately secured her Player of the Match and two tournament trophies (Golden Boot, Golden Ball). New Caledonia goalkeeper Kessyna Nyipie won the Golden Glove for best keeper while New Caledonia also won the fair play award.
In the final, New Zealand proved too strong for the hosts with a convincing 3-0 victory. Alana Gunn’s side streaked away with a 3-0 lead in the first half and held firm to their lead for the remainder of the match, shutting out Samoa completely. Despite a spirited effort from the home side, New Zealand emerged victorious claiming another OFC U-16 Women’s Championship title.
For the second year in a row, New Zealand and Samoa will look ahead to the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup next year in Morocco. Both countries will also feature in this year’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, retaining plenty of talent from their squads who competed in Apia.