Oceania Football Center

Marlon Nonone shows his quality despite Nasinu’s defeat against Navua

The Solomon Islands attacker Marlon Nonone played a brilliant individual match against Navua in the last weekend. Despite his side defeat in the final moments of the clash, Nonone skills entertained the fans at Ratu Cakobau Park in Nausori. The 21-year Solomon Islander was influential in every offensive action of the Giant Killers – assisting for the first goal of his side scored by Nasoni Mereke and doing it all by himself and passing by two Navua defenders to score the second for his side. You can watch the marvelous goal of Nonone by clicking here.

Nonone (left) playing for Nasinu against Ba – *FFA Media*

The student of mechnical engineering of Fiji National University, played his club football back in his country for top-tier sides such as Real Kakamora and Isabel United before moving to Fiji. The young player seems to be one of the upcoming stars in the Vodafone Premier League and deserves to receive attention from Solomon Islands national team staff. Nonone, that just scored his first goal for Nasinu, is being a key player for his team that is currently at the 7th position of the national league.

Tasman and Southern to merge with Canterbury for 2020/21 New Zealand’s national league

The New Zealand Football released very important news regarding the next season of the New Zealand top-tier league – ISPS Handa Premiership. After to be forced to finish the league before as previously scheduled due COVID-19 pandemic, the NZF stated everything is clear for the new season that is set to restart in mid-November – but, very important changes are noticed in the press released for the upcoming season.

“For this season, Tasman United and Southern United will join with Canterbury United Dragons to form a united South Island team, under the Canterbury United Dragons banner. The team will play home games in Christchurch, Dunedin and Nelson,” said the NZF, “reigning champions Auckland City FC, Waitakere United, Eastern Suburbs, Hamilton Wanderers, Hawke’s Bay United, Team Wellington and Wellington Phoenix FC will make up the remaining clubs in the eight-team competition,” completed the entity. So, the next season will have only 8 teams as no new franchises will take the spot left by Tasman and Southern.

“We also want to acknowledge the contribution that the players, coaches and staff at Tasman United and Southern United have made to the competition. I’m sure it was a difficult decision for them not to take part this year but sustainability of football in this country in the long term has to be the priority. I look forward to seeing them again in future seasons,” said Paula Walker Chair of National League (Mens) Stakeholder Group.

The governing body also informed that “the Men’s Futsal SuperLeague will run 31 October – 22 November across three weekends […]” and the National Women’s League “[…] will run from the weekend of 31 October and feature teams representing each of the seven football federations“.

Nikko Boxall: ready for a new adventure in Finland

After spending two years in Denmark playing for Viborg FF, Nikko Boxall returned to Finland. The 28-year-old defender from New Zealand joined SJK Seinajöki and made his official debut on Sunday by playing 90 minutes in SJK’s 2-1 loss against KuPS.

That is Boxall’s third team in Finland: he played for VPS from 2015 to 2016 and he also played for KuPS in 2017 before moving to Denmark – “SJK is also a club I am already familiar with and I remember it from my own previous years in Finland as one of the “big boys” in the series. They won the Finnish championship in my first season and did well after that. I definitely want to do my best in SJK’s shirt and be involved in lifting the club back to success,” Boxall said.

SJK’s manager Jani Honkavaara also expressed his happiness for counting on Boxall – “A very tenacious defender and a good team player who leads downstairs with his own example,” he said in a press conference.

Boxall’s next challenge will be against Haka on Saturday. SJK is currently in the ninth position in the table with four points in five maches.

Michael Boso hopes to return to Solomon Islands National Team

One of the most important players from Solomon Islands, 28-year-old defender Michael Boso is currently stuck in his homeland due to border restrictions which means that he is currently unable to travel to Fiji to rejoin Suva.

Despite being far from Fiji, Boso keeps training in Solomon Islands as his situation remains uncertain. The central defender is focused on proving himself to be back to the National Team – “I am working hard to have a chance to prove myself in the National Team,” said Boso.

It was said by Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) technical director Moses Toata that Boso and three other players were suspended from Solomon Islands National Football Team due to an indiscipline case. However there was no official statement about it.

The Solomon Islands National Football Team remains without a head coach as the official appointment was delayed for 2021.

Tahiti: Sandro Tau wins Ligue 1 VINI Golden Boot

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The 2019-20 Tahitian football season was called off in May due to COVID-19 pandemics and the Ligue 1 VINI title was awarded to AS Pirae that was on top when the tournament stopped in March. After some months, the trophy was finally delivered to AS Pirae.

It was AS Pirae’s ninth title in the history of Ligue 1 and they are now qualified for 2021 OFC Champions League alongside with AS Vénus that finished the league in the second position.

AS Pirae players celebrating the title – *FTF Media*

This season was very special for Sandro Tau who scored 21 goals in the league and was awarded with the Golden Boot Award. The 23-year-old forward managed to overcome AS Vénus’ legend Teaonui Tehau who won the Golden Boot Award in the past two seasons.

Despite being the top scorer of 2019-20 Ligue 1, Tau was not in Tahiti National Team provisional squad that was training together earlier this month. According to National Team’s head coach Samuel Garcia, Sandro was not in the list because he decided to put priority on his professional career as football is amateur in there.

Sandro Tau holding the Golden Boot Award – *FTF Media*

The next Tahitian football season is currently set to begin in September and twelve teams must contest the 2020-21 Ligue 1 because there was no relegation in 2019-20.

OFC announces new calendar changes

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The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Executive Committee reached an agreement to change the tournament calendar for 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemics as the borders of Oceanian countries remain closed or have extremely limited access.

It was reported by the Confederation that they are going to submit a proposal to FIFA for the rescheduled World Cup qualifiers. The qualifiers were initially scheduled to kick-off in the next month but this new proposal will change the kick-off date to March 2021.

The eleven Member Associations would be split in two groups based on their FIFA Ranking and the matches would be played in March and June. The top two teams from each group would advance to the semi-finals in September and then a final would be played in October. The winner of the regional qualifiers would go for an interconfederation play-off in June 2022.

As it was previously reported, there is a schedule proposal being discussed for 2020 OFC Champions League knockout stage. A further decision regarding the Champions League, including when and where a potential finals tournament would take place, will be made by the Executive Committee on August 31.

It is important to remember that the 2020 OFC Nations Cup was previously cancelled due to COVID-19 situation. OFC also announced that other tournaments were postponed while some were cancelled as you can check in the list below:
OFC U-19 Championship 2020: Rescheduled to January 2021 (Hosts: Samoa)
OFC U-16 Championship 2020: Rescheduled to April 2021 (Hosts: Fiji)
OFC Futsal Youth Development 2020: Cancelled
OFC U-15 Girls Centre of Excellence 2020: Cancelled
OFC Futsal Champions League 2020: Cancelled

Looking ahead to next year, the Executive Committee confirmed that Tahiti would host the OFC Beach Soccer Nations Cup in January and the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2021 in September. OFC General Secretary Franck Castillo said these postponements and cancellations were the only option given the ongoing challenges of the coronavirus pandemic – “We look forward to international football returning in our region when it is logistically possible,” Castillo said.

PNG National Soccer League’s resumption uncertain due to lockdown in Port Moresby

Papua New Guinea’s prime minister James Marape announced on this Monday that it was ordered a swift lockdown of the country’s capital Port Moresby as the country recorded its first confirmed COVID-19 death.

In the face of the country’s first confirmed COVID-19 death, a 35-year-old man, Marape announced a swath of restrictions to help curb the spread of the virus. The capital Port Moresby will close to non-essential business for 14 days from Tuesday, schools will be shuttered and a nighttime curfew imposed.

This new lockdown in Port Moresby brought many uncertainties for football lovers in the country as the 2019-20 PNG National Soccer League was scheduled to resume on this Saturday. It was previously reported that all remaining league matches would be played in Lae and Port Moresby, but the new lockdown must be a turnaround for the league’s resumption.

2019-20 National Soccer League’s resumption can be delayed

According to reliable sources, all ten National Soccer League clubs are yet to receive a formal message from Papua New Guinea Footbal Association (PNGFA) and National Soccer League Board whether the competition resumed or be cancelled.

Oceania Football Center team is keeping up with all updates in order to bring the most accurate information to our followers.

Nouvelle-Calédonie: Thierry Sardo quitte le poste d’entraîneur de l’équipe nationale

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Le célèbre entraîneur français Thierry Sardo n’est plus en Nouvelle-Calédonie – il est rentré en France aujourd’hui (27 juillet) après 15 ans de service pour le football néo-calédonien, dont cinq ans comme entraîneur des Cagous. Il a également guidé l’AS Mont-Dore vers un titre de Mobil Super Ligue pendant son séjour en Nouvelle-Calédonie.

Sardo a mené l’équipe nationale de football de Nouvelle-Calédonie à la médaille d’or des Jeux du Pacifique de 2015 et a également guidé l’équipe nationale jusqu’en demi-finale de la Coupe des Nations de l’OFC de 2016, où elle a été battue par la Nouvelle-Zélande. À l’époque de Thierry Sardo, différents joueurs basés à l’étranger ont été présentés à l’équipe nationale; des noms tels que Jorys Mene, Jean-Philippe Saïko et Stéphane Tein-Padom ont reçu leurs premières convocations pour Les Cagous avec Sardo comme entraîneur principal. Le Français a également été commentateur de Caledonia TV pour les matchs de football de la Mobil Super Ligue, de la Coupe de Calédonie et de la Ligue des champions de l’OFC.

En raison de la pandémie de COVID-19, les matchs amicaux prévus en Estonie ont été annulés – puis, le dernier match de Sardo à la tête de l’équipe nationale de Nouvelle-Calédonie a été la défaite 2-1 contre la Nouvelle-Zélande en finale des Jeux du Pacifique de 2019. On ne sait toujours pas qui va remplacer Sardo, mais ce qui est certain, c’est l’important héritage qu’il a laissé au football calédonien.

New Caledonia: Thierry Sardo leaves National Team head coach spot

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The well-known French head coach Thierry Sardo is not anymore in New Caledonia – he departed back to France today (27th July) after 15 years of service for New Caledonian football, including five years as Les Cagous head coach. He also guided AS Mont-Dore to a Mobil Super Ligue title during his time in New Caledonia.

Sardo led New Caledonia National Football Team 2015 Pacific Games’ gold medal and also guided the national team to the semi-finals of 2016 OFC Nations Cup where they were defeated by New Zealand. During Thierry Sardo’s era, various players based overseas were introduced to the national team; names such as Jorys Mene, Jean-Philippe Saïko and Stéphane Tein-Padom received their first call-ups for Les Cagous having Sardo as a head coach. The Frenchman was also commentator of Caledonia TV for the football matches of Mobil Super Ligue, Coupe de Calédonie and OFC Champions League.

Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the arranged friendly matches in Estonia were cancelled – then, the final match of Sardo in charge of New Caledonia national team was the 2-1 defeat against New Zealand in 2019 Pacific Games final. It is still unsure who is going to replace Sardo, but he leaves an important legacy to New Caledonian football.

All Whites’ defender Nando Pijnaker debuts for Grasshoppers

One of the most talented defenders from New Zealand, 21-year-old central back Nando Pijnaker made his official debut for Grassoppers senior team in the 3-2 loss against FC Wil in the Challenge League – the second tier of Swiss football.

FC Wil scored two goals to take the 2-0 lead. Pijnaker came from the bench in the 63rd minute to replace Elias Mesonero to make his first official appearence for his new club. Mychell Chagas scored a brace to tie the match for Grasshoppers but FC Wil still had time to find the net for the third time to seal the 3-2 win.

Nando’s countryman Max Mata was not with the squad for this match. Grasshoppers are currently in the third position in the league with 60 points, only one point behind second-placed team FC Vaduz.

Pijnaker joined the Swiss team in January after spending some months playing for Torslanda from Sweden. Pijnaker was part of New Zealand U-20 squad that played the FIFA U-20 World Cup last year. He made his debut for All Whites last year in a friendly match against Lithuania.