First ever OFC Futsal Champions League will be played this week

Futsal in Oceania now have a new competition; the OFC Futsal Champions League will have its first edition this weekend in New Zealand, counting with national champions of six Oceania Football Confederation members. The confederation made a very important step towards the evolution of the sport in the region.

Some months ago the OFC Futsal Nations Cup – the top tournament of the sport in the South Pacific – was held in New Caledonia and Solomon Islands was once again champions after beating New Zealand in the grand final after penalty shootout. Various players that defended their nations in the Nations Cup will be stepping in the courts once more to play for the best futsal teams of the confederation. You can see the full schedule of the competition by clicking here.

One of the most anticapated teams to watch is the Solomon Islands champion Kooline FC. The team comes from the most important futsal nation in the region and has very important players in their squad – you can see the full Kooline squad here.

Important players from Kurukuru – five in total – will be representing the Solomon Islands champions. The first choice Solomon Islands national team goalkeeper Anthony Talo will be also playing for Kooline in the competition, as another Kurukuru members as Arnold Maeluma and Alwin Hou.

Despite not winning this year national league in New Zealand, AFF – Auckland Football Federation – team will be hungry to show the power of New Zealand futsal. The Auckland-based side was only 6th in the national championship that ended in the last week. The Futsal Whites almost qualified for their first World Cup in the previous month, but could not win a strong Solomon Islands team.

The squad the Kiwis are bringing for the tournament is really strong and can be seem as one of the strongest of the competition. Dylan Manickum was awarded the best players of the previous OFC Futsal Nations Cup and will be donning the jersey of the Auckland team. Marvin Eakins, the player/coach of the Futsal Whites will be also taking part of the tournament, as well Josh Margetts and the national team first choice goalkeeper Ellias Billeh.

Pirae, the Tahiti representatives, will be counting with one of the most important players of Tahiti Futsal national team, Olivier Hirihiri. The player was the joint top-goalscorer of the previous edition of OFC Futsal Nations Cup, where Tahiti just in the semifinals for New Zealand, but could end up with the bronze medal after beating the home team New Caledonia in the third place match. Matana Bea, another player with international experience, also promises to be key for the Tahitian side.

The VFF National Futsal champions, D’York Stret, qualified for the regional tournament after beating Tonga United in the grand final of VFF Futsal Top Four. The team will count with the experience of some players that competed for Vanuatu in the previous OFC Futsal Nations Cup. Jesse Takaro might be the key man for D’York Stret – Takaro has experience of playing his club futsal previously in New Zealand.

Suva is current Fiji Futsal national league winners and will also count with some important players of the national team that took part in the previous OFC Nations Cup. The national team captain Setareki Hughes might be a key man for the team, alongside another important teammates as Bruce Hughes. Fiji ended up in the 5th position in the last regional national teams tournament.

The last side to secure a spot in the regional club tournament was the New Caledonians ide AS PTT Nouméa that recently won the Coupe de Caédonie de Futsal in its nation. The club will count with important players that represented the country in the OFC Nations Cup held in their nation, the national team captain Cédric Humuni will be key for the team alongside Christ Pei.

The tournament will take place in Auckland, New Zealand, starting on 5th December and finishing on 8th December to seal the winners of the first OFC Futsal Champions League ever. There is an expectance to see more natios of the confederation represented in the upcoming editions of the tournament that can increase a lot the interest in the sport in the region.