Oceania Football Center

Galaxy and Tafea win as PVFA Independence Cup starts in Port Vila

The traditional Independence Cup had kicked-off in Vanuatu’s capital with important matches in the starting matchweek of the competition. Four matches were going to take place in Port Vila Municipal Stadium, but the contest between Mauwia and Yatel were postponed to a date that is still to be determinated. In the Friday, the powerhouse Galaxy FC kicked-off the tournament with an emphatic win over the good side of Sia-Raga. Octav Meltecoin opened the scoreline for Galaxy in the 5th minute of play and the Brazilian midfielder Roberson Felipe doubled the margin in the 20th minute. Still in the first half, Yvong Wilson added another for the team coached by Moise Poida. Sia-Raga still managed to pull one goal back after a penalty-kick – the goalkeeper Seiloni Iaruel defended the shot but in the rebound Iaruel had no chance to stop the finish from Juju Ala. The first 45 minutes of the match had all goals of the clash – Galaxy starts with a strong performance in their first official match after COVID-19 break.

Galaxy was captained by Nelson Sale in this clash – *Vanuatu Sport*

Erakor Golden Star had a very hard clash against Ifira Black Bird. The team counted with the punctual addition of the star defender Jason Thomas in the match, as well the Malampa Revivors’ players Dondy Kileteir and Tasso Jeffery. Jean Kaltack returned to EGS and opened the score for his team, but it did not take long as Tonly Kalotang equalised for Ifira BB. Erakor took the lead once again through the effort of Junior Daniel, but in the second half Jean-Marie Manuriki created a great chance for Sam Kalter that leveled the game once again. The 2-2 result reflected the good quality of both sides in the pitch. The Ifira Black Bird star player Jonathan Spokeyjack expressed his feelings after match: “It was very challeging; a tough match. Many fans came to support and enjoy the game this Saturday,” stated the winger.

Erakor and Ifira played an entertaining match in Port Vila – *Vanuatu Sport*

The final match of the day saw Tafea fight hard against a revamped side of Tupuji Imere. Alex Saniel added firepower to his former club Tupuji Imere; the same happened to Tafea that counted with the quality of Ba’s Micah Tommy in the clash. Both players are expected to return Fiji to represent Lautoka and Ba respectively as the Vodafone Premier League is set to restart in the next week.

Tupuji managed to take the lead in the first half through Mackenzie Malapa, but could not defend their goal in the second half: Evaristo Kapulu scored for Tafea in the first minutes of the second part of the match and the young Waiwo Kalmet scored the winning goal from the penalty spot for his team in the final stages of the clash, giving Tafea a hard fought victory in the final match of the day.

Micah Tommy (red) was an important addition for Tafea squad – *Vanuatu Sport*

As the various Independence Cups that are played in Vanuatu traditionally in the month of July – 30th July, the day of Vanuatu’s independence is when normally the competitions have their final matches – are not recognised as official tournaments, clubs can add players to their squads for the competition as it happened to Tafea, Erakor and Tupuji. Galaxy took the first place of Group A as Erakor Golden Star and Ifira Black Bird only draw in the first matchweek – Tafea is the first placed side of the Group B after beating Tupuji Imere while the match of Yatel against Mauwia is still to be played.

See updated results and standings before the initial matches of the competition.

Ivan Kumar shines as South Auckland Rangers beat Puhoi in New Zealand

Former Suva player and Fiji youth representative Ivan Kumar continues to show his potential in New Zealand NFF Men’s Conference Division. As Kumar recently told Oceania Football Center, his team South Auckland Rangers is really aiming for the promotion to Lotto NRFL Division 2 as they smashed Puhoi at Puhoi Domain by 4-0. Kumar contributed with two goals for his side and with one assist – Kumar’s new club had won all matches in the season so far and the full-back already scored three goals in the league.

Team Captain Rinal Prasad and Ivan Kumar – *NZFFI*

South Auckland Rangers is captained by former Ba and Fiji National Team player Rinal Prasad. Prasad alongside Kumar are key members of squad – South Auckland counts with various Fijian players including also the former national team member Lorima Dau that also member of technical staff of the Auckland-based side. The club has a strong link with New Zealand Fiji Football Incorporated; an organisation that promotes football in the Fijian community in New Zealand, responsible for traditional tournaments such as Pacific Cup.

Roimata Karika joins Napier City Rovers

Roimata Karika joins Napier City Rovers from New Zealand. The 19-year-old defender will have his first opportunity to play in a club outside Cook Islands.

Karika was part of Cook Islands U-17 squad that played the OFC U-17 preliminary tournament held in Samoa in 2016.

He also played OFC Champions League for Tupapa Maraerenga in 2018 and 2019. Two other young players from Tupapa Maraerenga are also playing in New Zealand: Avi Enoka and Lee Harmon. Both joined Ellerslie AFC and they are playing in Ellerslie’s reserve team.

Suva denies interest on Mateinaqara

The Fijian transfer window opened on July 1st and there was a speculation linking some important players like goalkeeper Beniaminio Mateinaqara, Simione Nabenu and Praneel Naidu to Suva.

Oceania Football Center got in touch with the team’s management and they denied these links. According to them they have not approached these players which means that they are not going to join Capital City Boys this month.

It was also reported by FBC News that Benjamin Totori could be joining Suva in this transfer window. Suva’s management revealed that they have interest on signing with Totori but there was no successful contact with the player until the present moment.

The Capital City Boys are currently in the second position in 2020 Vodafone Premier League – the top-tier of Fijian football. You can check the current league standings by clicking here.

Henry Fa’arodo scores first goal after his return to New Zealand football

One of the most celebrated footballers of the Pacific Henry Fa’arodo scored his first goal for Hamilton Wanderers since the star-player returned to New Zealand. The Solomon Islands international helped his new club to beat Western Springs by 3-2 away from home with a goal in the first half.

This was the first win of Hamilton Wanderers in the new season of the Lotto NRFL Premier. Derek Tieku and the Papua New Guinean star Tommy Semmy scored the other goals of Wanderers in the contest that took place at Seddon Fields, Auckland.

Fa’arodo returned to New Zealand to compete at top-tier league ISPS Handa Premiership for Wanderers, unfortunately the COVID-19 pandemic forced the league to an end before as it was scheduled. In the last month the winter leagues started in the country after months of social distancing restrictions and finally the Solomon Islands that wears the 10. jersey for Hamilton Wanderers found the nets after four matches for the club.

OFC Champions League: new schedule proposal under discussion

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OFC Champions League is the biggest club competition in Oceania. The current edition of the continental tournament was stopped due to COVID-19 pandemics and the upcoming matches are not scheduled yet. However, Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) organized an on-line meeting with clubs and federations on Wednesday to discuss about this issue.

The 2020 OFC Champions League was initially scheduled to finish in May but everything has changed due to COVID-19 pandemics. Now the Confederation, federations and clubs are discussing the best way to resume the tournament.

OFC set some minimum conditions to resume the tournament like: borders open, commercial flights operating, no entry restrictions, no limit to gathering of people for sporting events and availability to train without restrictions. According to OFC, any variation of these minimum conditions will create unfair situations to affected clubs.

At the present moment there is a proposal to play the whole knockout stage in a “mini-tournament” in September. The eight teams qualified to quarter-finals would have two months to get ready for the next challenge in the continental tournament. Seven of eight teams support this idea.

The “mini-tournament” might be the best way to finish 2020 OFC Champions League – *OFC Media*

The “mini-tournament” would be played in only one location from 19 to 26 September with the same format: Winners of each Group Stage play a Runner up in a Quarter Final. Despite being accepted by most teams, it still depends on these minimum conditions that were mentioned above.

If travel restrictions for all teams continue until July 19, the final decision about playing or not 2020 OFC Champions League would be postponed to August 24. If the current OFC Champions League edition cannot be played due to the current situation impacted by COVID-19, and if the FIFA Club World Cup 2020 still goes ahead, OFC will be required to nominate a representative anyway.

An Executive Committee meeting is scheduled to take place on July 24 to keep discussing about the current issues. Oceania Football Center team is keeping up with this situation in order to bring the most accurate information to our followers.

Vanuatu: Lucien Hinge joins Yatel FC

Lucien Hinge is the newest player of Yatel FC from Vanuatu. The 28-year-old defender joined the team and he is already eligible to play. His first appearance with Yatel must be today against Mauwia at Korman Stadium in the first matchweek of 2020 PVFA Independence Cup.

Hinge was playing for Tafea FC before joining his new club. The transfer was approved by Port Vila Football Association (PVFA) and was confirmed by Yatel’s president John Stephens Tougon.

Lucien Hinge left Tafea and joined Yatel. *Tafea FC Media*

The former Tafea FC player has already represented Vanuatu National Team in three matches. His last appearance was in a 2-1 win against New Caledonia in 2017 Pacific Mini Games.

Melanesian Cup one step closer to be revived in Oceania

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Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) president Lambert Maltock confirmed that an agreement between OFC and Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) to relaunch the traditional Melanesian Cup.

According to Maltock, the tournament name will be changed to “MSG Prime Ministers’ Cup” in order to avoid discrimination of ethnicity and also to allow other OFC members to take part of the tournament. Despite the latest news, it is not known when the next edition will be contested.

Maltock (left) with MSG Secretariat members – *Malampa FA Media*

Melanesian Cup was a very traditional tournament that was played for seven times from 1988 to 2000. It used to be contested by five Melanesian nations: Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

Fiji is the most successful country in the competition’s history as they won five out of seven tournaments.

Solomon Islands: 2020 Telekom S-League proposed to begin on August 8

Good news for football fans from Solomon Islands: the 2020 Telekom S-League season has been proposed to start on Saturday 8th August 2020 at Lawson Tama Stadium in Honiara – the capital of the country.

According to reliable sources, the nine teams that played the past season are confirmed in a meeting with organising board for next season: Solomon Warriors, Henderson Eels, FC Isabel United, Kossa FC, FC Guadalcanal, Real Kakamora Malaita Kingz, Laugu United and Marist.

Solomon Warriors are the title holders – SIFF Media

According to Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF), the application for new franchises is still open as the Telekom S-League Board and SIFF want to increase the number of teams in the league to ten.

Solomon Warriors are the current league champions. You can check the last sesason’s standings by clicking here.

David Browne debuts in top-tier league in Finland

The 2020 Veikkausliiga has finally started. The top-tier football league from Finland kicked-off on Wednesday with six matches being played in the opening day.

HJK faced FC Lathi at Lahti Stadium and they won by 4-0. Papua New Guinean forward David Browne came from the bench in the 79th minute to replace Lucas Lingman who scored HJK’s second goal in the first half. Rasmus Schüller and Roope Riski scored once each while the remaining goal was an own goal scored by Lathi’s player Teemu Jantti.

David Browne came from the bench in the second half

It was Browne’s first match in the Veikkausliiga. However he has already played seven matches and scored one goal in the Finnish Cup that started in January.