FOUR NATIONS TOURNAMENT – FINLAND FREEZE OUT FERNS

AUCKLAND – A 0-2 defeat to Finland on Wednesday night in Guangzhou, China ensured the Football Ferns finished winless in their Four Nations campaign, but their coach believes the tour’s long-term benefits would prove invaluable.  After a lifeless and scoreless first half, the Scandinavians – ranked seven places above New Zealand in the world rakings…

AUCKLAND – Unbeaten Waitakere United begin a busy period in the NZFC which will see them play six matches in 22days starting with a crunch home tie against play-off potentials Hawke’s Bay United. The Bay are one of four teams who are only one point behind them but Waitakere have two games in hand on…

TAHITI – A trio of match officials in Tahiti have been awarded FIFA status – Referees Averii Jacques and Norbert Hauata joined Assistant Referee Phillipe Revel were handed their badges from Maco Ploton and Tino Wohler of the CFA. The trio’s FIFA accreditation begins on January 1 and ends on December 31 – one calendar…

Hawke’s Bay United have wasted little time in the transfer window luring Oly-White fullback Ian Hogg (left) back to Park Island for the reminder of the 2008-09 New Zealand Football Championship. The transfer should also be processed in time for the Junior All White Captain to line-up for Hawke’s Bay in their friendly against a…

AUCKLAND – Defending O-League and NZFC champions Waitakere United begin a tough 6 match schedule over the next 22 days with their home encounter against Hawkes Bay United on Sunday at Douglas Field and coach Chris Milicich is again emphasizing the need for standards to be maintained. Despite having two games in hand, Waitakere United…

AUCKLAND – The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Executive Committee will convene in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, from 13 – 15 February 2009. The main issues on the agenda relate to OFC Competitions.  As such, the newly-formed OFC Competitions Committee will present their report and recommendations of meetings convened in December 2008 for approval by the OFC…

AUCKLAND – A late flurry of goals – including a brace from 17-year-old substitute Hannah Wall – was not enough to prevent the Football Ferns losing a 4-3 thriller to Korea Republic in the Four Nations tournament in Guangzhou, China on Monday night. Korea scored directly from a corner in the fifth minute then took…

SUVA – Fiji soccer giants Ba is on the verge of disassociating itself from its major sponsors Vodafone Fiji Ltd. The Men In Black who struck a three –year deal in 2007 with the telecommunication company are hunting for new sponsors this season, hoping to put more sponsorship to its value as the best premier…

TAHITI – AS Venus caused the shock of the Coupe de Polynesie after dumping D1 club AS Excelsior in the Round of 16. A first-half injury-time goal to Joseph Taune helped guide the D2 club into the last eight as Excelsior’s season of struggle continued. AS Pirae’s Coupe de Polynesie curse continued with another exit…

AUCKLAND – Reigning champions Waitakere United stormed to the top of the New Zealand Football Championship after a 2-0 victory over Team Wellington on a rainy day in Auckland. With Hawke’s Bay toppling previous leaders Waikato, and Auckland City and YoungHeart Manawatu both notching wins on the weekend just one point separate the top five…