Vanuatu captain Brian Kaltak hoping to inspire with long-awaited A-League debut

With his professional club debut coming up at the mature age of 29, Brian Kaltak is used to waiting for his opportunity. So when his first appearance for A-League side Central Coast Mariners was postponed last weekend due to a rainstorm, the Vanuatu men’s national team captain immediately looked at the positives – and a…

Beach soccer has reached a new level of development in Samoa, as they hosted their first-ever FIFA Beach Soccer Coaching Course earlier this month.   The five-day course saw 25 participants combine at the Federation Football Samoa (FFS) headquarters in Tauanaimato, Apia. It was facilitated by American-based FIFA instructor Ramon Raya, with a key focus…

A round-up of some of the recent fixtures across the region including cup winners in Fiji and Tahiti, action from Solomon Islands and New Zealand plus updates from Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia.  Suva FC have won the Inter-District Championship in Fiji after a convincing win over Navua FC concluded the competition on Monday….

As part of their Coupe de Calédonie (New Caledonia Cup) semi-final earlier this month, Hienghène Sport hosted residents from Nouméa disabled home Maison Gabriel Poedi. The initiative is something the club has been doing since 2019, when they visited MGP as part of their pre-match walk ahead of the Oceania Champions League final in Nouméa….

New Zealand’s U-17 side kick off their FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022™ campaign this week, aiming to follow in the footsteps of their impressive showing at the 2018 edition where they finished third. The Young Football Ferns have been drawn in Group B of the competition alongside three tough opponents in Nigeria, Germany…

The fourth annual FIFA Compliance Summit held in September this year offered a valuable learning opportunity, and a chance to contribute ideas, for the OFC and representatives from Member Associations. Held in Costa Rica, the theme of the Summit was Beyond Best Practice, inviting participants to look at compliance in a different way and reflect…

New Caledonia’s domestic cup competitions came to a dramatic conclusion at Stade Yoshida in Koné this weekend. ASAF won the women’s Coupe de Calédonie after a stunning first-half display saw them defeat FCF Académie 5-1 while Hienghène Sport won the men’s tournament for the fifth time with a stunning second-half comeback securing a 4-3 triumph…

For the first time in history, female match officials took centre stage at this year’s Fiji Football Association IDC tournament, Torika Delai was the referee for the Premier Division match between Tailevu Naitasiri and Tavua at HFC Bank Stadium, while Jemaima Rao officiated the opening match of the Senior Division between Bua FC and Lami…

A round-up of some of the recent action across the region including new champions in Fiji, men’s national football kicking off in New Zealand and upcoming cup finals in New Caledonia. The tail-end of last month saw the conclusion of Fiji’s Digicel Women’s Super League with Labasa FC creating history and winning the competition for…

Twenty-five Tongan referees had the opportunity to upskill at their latest FIFA MA Futsal Referees Course, the first-ever done in person by a FIFA Futsal Referees Instructor.   Ken Wallace, who is based in New Zealand, travelled to Nuku’alofa, Tonga to facilitate the course between September 26-30. Wallace was assisted by local Tonga Football Association…