UPDATE: OCEANIA FOOTBALL CONFEDERATION DELAYED THE KICK-OFF DATE. CLICK HERE TO READ
After the 2020 OFC Champions League was cancelled due to restrictions caused by COVID-19, Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) confirmed that the next edition of the major club competition in the region is set to kick-off in January.
It was confirmed by the confederation that the Preliminary Round will be contested in Samoa from 11 to 16 January. Four teams are expected to compete in this stage: one from American Samoa, one from Cook Islands, one from Samoa and one from Tonga.
OFC Champions League trophy
Lupe o le Soaga (Samoa) and Pago Youth (American Samoa) are already qualified for the Preliminary Round while Cook Islands and Tonga’s representatives have not been decided yet. The top two teams from this round will advance to the group stage.
Twelve of the eighteen participants have already been defined, including 2019 OFC Champions League winners Hienghène Sport from New Caledonia. You can check out the complete list of teams qualified for the 2021 OFC Champions League by clicking here.
The 2020-21 ISPS Handa Men’s Premiership is set to kick-off this month and the eight teams participating in the major football league from New Zealand are announcing their squads for the upcoming season.
After a good debut season for Waitakere United, Fijian left-back Shuiab Khan is confirmed in the squad and will play his second season for the club. However, he won’t be the only Fijian in the squad this season as 33-year-old defender Samuela Kautoga joined the team for 2020-21.
Shuiab Khan playing for Waitakere United – NZF Media
Khan is back to Waitakere United after playing the winter football season for Central United at LOTTO NRFL Premier Men’s, one of the most important regional leagues in New Zealand. He was playing regularly for Central United until the season was cancelled due to restrictions caused by COVID-19.
Waitakere’s first match of the season will be against Canterbury United on November 14. You can check the full league schedule by clicking here.
The semifinals of 2020 VFF National Super League were contested this Wednesday at Korman Stadium in Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu. Besides deciding the finalists of the tournament, these clashes also decided the two country representatives in the next OFC Champions League.
Galaxy and RueRue clashed in the first semifinal. Despite not being the favourites, RueRue proved to be a competent team in the first half. However, things got worse for them in the 23rd minute when goalkeeper Charley Liliu got injured. Liliu was replaced by Jojo Hango Bule, who had the responsibility to stop the most powerful attack in the country.
In the final minutes of the first half, Selwyn Vatu opened the scoreboard for Galaxy to take the advantage to the second half. However, RueRue’s Steward Siro equalized in the 56th minute to put some pressure on their opponents.
Selwyn Vatu opened the scoreboard for Galaxy – Galaxy FC Media
RueRue’s happiness didn’t last long, since Roberson and Kensi Tangis scored once each to put Galaxy ahead by 3-1. The final goal of the contest was scored by Henry Namatak who came from the bench to seal the 4-1 with a goal scored in the stoppage time.
The second match of the day was contested between current national champions Malampa Revivors and LL Echo that surprised their opponents with as John Well Wohale scored from the penalty spot in the early minutes of the game. LL Echo kept the lead until the 57th minute when midfielder Claude Aru equalized. It did not take long for Revivors fans to have a big reason to celebrate as Edwin Bai found the net in the 59th minute to put his side ahead.
Edwin Bai found the net to put Malampa Revivors ahead – OFC Media
Both teams still had time to score one more goal each as Malampa’s Jean-Claude Batick and LL Echo’s Densly Natuman found the net in the stoppage time. At the final whistle, the score was 3-2 in favour of Malampa Revivors.
The VFF National Super League’s final will be contested between Galaxy and Malampa Revivors for the second straight year. Also, both sides are qualified for 2021 OFC Champions League’s group stage. The final clash is between Galaxy and Revivors is set to take place at Korman Stadium on Saturday. You can check more information about 2020 VFF National Super League by clicking here.
Currently in the third position in Telekom S-League, Solomon Warriors are looking for new players to strengthen their squad for the second round of the national football league from the Solomon Islands. After signing with Gagame Feni, it was reported that Warriors signed with Micah Lea’alafa.
Lea’alafa is surely one of the most important players of the country. The 29-year-old winger was a free agent since February when he left Maritzburg United from South Africa. His arrival is a major boost for the team coached by William Omokirio in order to fight for the national title.
Lea’alafa was being part of Southern United’s staff along with head coach Stanley Waita. He has used the last few months to study as he took part of the OFC Youth C License coaching course held in Honiara. Now, the talentend winger he resumes his career as a player to help Solomon Warriors in the second round of Telekom S-League.
Solomon Warriors are the current league champions and they want to win it for the fourth straight season. They are currently in the third position in the league with nineteen points in ten matches. You can check the current Telekom S-League standings, results and top scorers by clicking here.
After winning the national title for the 30th time, HJK are now thinking about keeping their squad for next season in Finnish football. It was announced on social media that Papua New Guinean international David Browne had his contract with HJK extended until 2022.
Browne, who officially joined the club in February after spending a couple of weeks on trial, played most of HJK’s games during the season and had his contract deservedly renewed: “David is a technically skilled and fluent team player, whose qualities are in many respects suitable for the team’s way of playing. He has always adapted better and better to the club’s operating environment and its requirements, so it is good to continue this for the coming season,” said Miika Takkula, HJK’s Director of Sports and Development.
David Browne had his contract with HJK extended until 2022 – HJK Media
The 24-year-old winger became the first Papua New Guinean player to win a national league in Europe. He finished his debut season with three goal scored and seven assists in 21 official matches for HJK. With his contract renewed, Browne is expected to become an even more important part of the club next season. Oceania Football Center congratulate him for this accomplishment.
After finishing 2019-20 PVFA Premier League in third place, Tafea FC are now looking for new players to strengthen their squad for next season, and the first player announced by the team was Bob Issac, a 23-year-old forward
Issac is a versatile and quick forward who last played for Ifira Black Bird. His arrival is an excellent replacement for Evaristo Kapalu, who left Tafea to join Galaxy FC. Tafea’s new signing also received new boots from a sponsor.
Despite being young, Tafea’s new player has some experience as he played 2018 OFC Champions League for Nalkutan. He played four games in the tournament and helped his team reach the quarter-finals of the most important club competition in Oceania. We wish him good luck at his new team.
Labasa faced Nadi at Prince Charles Park last weekend and the Babasiga Lions defeated their opponents by 1-0 with a goal scored by Ilisoni Lolaivalu to remain in the fifth position in 2020 Vodafone Premier League with nineteen points in thirteen matches.
Despite the important victory, there is a particular fact that must be highlighted. Labasa had only fifteen players listed for this match, which means that four players started the game on the bench: Akuila Mateisuva, Kirtesh Prasad, Taniela Rakariva and Taniela Waqa.
Waqa and Prasad replaced Siotame Kubu and Ashnil Raju in the second half while goalkeeper Mateisuva and striker Rakariva remained on the bench. In the 79th minute, Rajiv Sharma, who is an outfield player, left the field to be replaced by Mateisuva, while Rakariva remained on the bench because he was not feeling well.
Akuila Mateisuva came from the bench to play as an outfield player
Mateisuva was an outfield player the final minutes of the clash and he had a decent performance. Another player who performed well was goalkeeper Mohammed Alam, who kept a clean sheet to help his side to beat Nadi by 1-0. You can check the current Vodafone Premier League standings, results and top scorers by clicking here.
It has been seventeen days since Roy Krishna arrived in India, but the first training session of the Fijian star with ATK-Mohun Bagan took place this Monday because he had to be in quarentine for two weeks.
Now, the legendary player from Fiji is back to action and he wants to get ready for the next season: “It took 40 long days to get here. Four flight connections, 10 covid tests and 30 days in quarantine in 3 different countries. Yesterday was my first day back at training. So excited to be with the boys again as we prepare for another exciting season,” stated Krishna on social media.
Roy Krishna
It is going to be Krishna’s second season playing at Indian Super League, the major football league from India. He has already proven himself in the league by being one of the best players of 2019-20 season when his side ATK lifted the trophy after beating Chennaiyin by 3-1 in the final.
The 2020-21 Indian Super League is expected to be contested from November 2020 to March 2021 and will be hosted behind-closed-doors across three venues in Goa due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in India.
A temporada 2019-20 está prestes a terminar em Vanuatu, pois a final da liga nacional será disputada nesta semana. Entretanto, um meia brasileiro tem chamado a atenção no país e foi recentemente coroado com o prêmio de Melhor Jogador da PVFA – uma das associações regionais de futebol no país.
Roberson Felipe dos Santos Ribeiro é um meio campista de 29 anos que está em Vanuatu desde o ano passado. O brasileiro ajudou sua equipe, Galaxy FC, a conquistar uma vaga na liga nacional. Com 11 gols marcados na PVFA Premier League, Roberson foi o vice artilheiro da competição, além de ter distribuído muitas assistências e encantado os torcedores locais com sua habilidade e técnica.
Roberson foi eleito o melhor jogador da PVFA Premier League
Agora, Roberson tem a missão de liderar sua equipe rumo ao título nacional. O Galaxy FC enfrentará o RueRue em partida válida pelas semifinais da liga nacional. O confronto será disputado nesta madrugada (horário de Brasília) pois o fuso horário de Vanuatu está 14 horas a frente do nosso. Desejamos sorte ao Roberson nesta reta final de temporada!
The 2020-21 ISPS Handa Men’s Premiership is set to kick-off this month and the eight participating teams are looking for new players to strengthen their squads for the upcoming season. One of the most traditional football teams from New Zealand, Waitakere United, confirmed that Fijian player Samuela Kautoga joined the team.
Kautoga is a 33-year-old defender with great experience. He last played for Western Springs at Lotto NRFL Premier Men’s, one of the most important regional leagues from New Zealand. He was a regular starter at Springs and he played five matches in the season as the league was cancelled due to restrictions caused by COVID-19 pandemics.
He also played 16 matches for Fiji National Team from 2007 to 2017. Now he is ready to strengthen Waitakere City in 2020-21 ISPS Handa Men’s Premiership. Waitakere’s first match of the season will be against Canterbury United on November 14. You can check the full league schedule by clicking here.
Oceania Football Center 