Oceania Football Center

What happened to Ba in 2020 OFC Champions League?

Excitement, that was the perfect word to describe Ba FC when they have announced Ricki Herbert as their head coach for 2020 OFC Champions League. However it was worse than a nightmare and Ba finished the group stage in the last position with a shameful campaign.

It has been three months since OFC Champions League group stage finished but we did not hear anything from Ba regarding their bad performance in the continental tournament. Bad luck? Bad management? What happened?

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Ba had an awful campaign in 2020 OFC Champions League

First of all, the final squadlist of the Men in Black was quite strange – too many forwards and few defenders. Ba announced Papua New Guinean defender Alwin Komolong as part of the squad but he was not eligible to play.

Ricki Herbert did not have many options with this squad and it was a disaster inside the pitch. Many players had to play in positions they were not used to and the whole team was completely lost in all three matches.

Having the best head coach or the best players are not enough nowadays. The Men in Black learned it in a very tough way.

Roy Krishna to choose a new club soon

The Fijian national team captain Roy Krishna is attracting huge interest on the football market. The star player had a fantastic season in which he led the Indian Super League team ATK to victory with a total of 15 goals.

Recently, it was reported the player had a number of clubs interested to acquire his services; even clubs from European football were scouting the Fijian wonder. According to local sources, now some of the names of the clubs interested to sign Krishna are released: the Indian sides Mumbai City and East Bengal are interested to have Krishna in their squad for the next season, ATK is also interested to retain the attacker for the next season in Indian Super League.

It is known that Roy Krishna is studying all his options for next season; the player said he will discuss with his agent about the offers in the table and decide what is better for his career. Krishna already achieved success as player of the New Zealand-based side Wellington Phoenix and in the past season when he helped ATK to clinch for the third time the Indian Super League title.

Krishna already played 40 international matches for Fiji and scored a total of 29 goals for his country; making him the second in the list of all-time top goalscorers of the Fijian national team history.

Two more friendlies to be played this weekend in Vanuatu

Football clubs from Port Vila, Vanuatu, keep their preparation for 2019-20 Port Vila Premier League resumption. Two friendly matches were contested last weekend and two more friendlies are scheduled to take place on Saturday at Port Vila Stadium.

The first match is going to be contested by Erakor Golden Star and Tupuji Imere at 12pm while current league leaders Ifira Black Bird will face strong side Galaxy FC at 2pm.

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Ifira Black Bird will have a good challenge against Galaxy

Port Vila Premier League is likely to resume next month. You can check the current standings by clicking here.

Sarpreet Singh remains on bench as Bayern clinch Bundesliga title once again

For the eighth straight season, Bayern München wins Bundesliga – the top-tier of German football. Die Roten have beaten Werder Bremen by 1-0 to clinch the 2019-20 national title with two rounds in advance.

New Zealand youngster Sarpreet Singh remained on the bench during the whole game. Polish striker Robert Lewandowski opened the scoreboard in the last minutes of the first half to give Bayern’s the lead. He also scored another goal – and what a goal – in the 54th minute after a Thomas Müller’s cross from the right wing but it was disallowed by the referees.

Bremen had a great opportunity to equalize in the 89th minute but Manuel Neuer made an outstanding save. At the final whistle the score was 1-0 in the favour of the Bavarian team.

It is Singh’s first title as a Bayern München player. Now that Bayern won the league with two games in advance, it is very possible to see him having some minutes in the first team in the upcoming matches.

All Whites goalkeeper Michael Woud to join Almere City on loan

Michael Woud is going to play for Almere City in the 2020-21 Dutch football season. The 21-year-old goalkeeper from New Zealand will join the team on loan from Willem II Tilburg.

The young player played only one match for Willem II senior squad in 2019-20 Eredivisie. Joining Almere City from Dutch second tier is a great opportunity to have some minutes in an European club – “It is good for my development to get playing minutes at Almere City FC. I need that to grow […] I feel like showing what I can do in Almere,” Woud told to Willem II media.

Woud will play for Almere City in 2020-21

Michael Cornelis Woud joined Willem II in 2018 after spending three years in Sunderland AFC youth system. He made his debut for New Zealand National Football Team two years ago in the 2-1 win against India.

Cook Islands: football season to begin in August

While Oceania is becoming completely free from COVID-19 pandemics, many football leagues being scheduled to resume in the upcoming months like Vodafone Premier League from Fiji and the National Soccer League in Papua New Guinea.

However it is not every place in the world that had it local football leagues postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19. In Cook Islands, for example, the 2020 season is scheduled to begin in August, just like every single year.

The schedules were not released yet but six teams must fight for the title in 2020 Round Cup – the senior football league in the nation. Current league champions Tupapa Maraerenga want to win it for the fourth straight season while Nikao Sokattak and Puaikura must be Tupapa’s challengers. Avatiu, Matavera and Titikaveka complete the list of teams that must take part of the next season.

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Tupapa won men’s and women’s league last year. Source: Tupapa Maraerenga media

The situation in the Senior Women’s Championship is not so different. Tupapa Maraerenga will come strong as ever while Titikaveka must be the biggest challenge to Tupapa.

Oceania Football Center is keeping up with the football situation in Cook Islands to bring the best and most accurate information to our followers.

New Caledonia: 2020 Mobil Super Ligue will not be broadcasted anymore

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Caledonia Channel announced on this Monday that 2020 Mobil Super Ligue matches are not going to be broadcasted due to budget cuts made by the channel’s shareholders.

It was reported by Fédération Calédonienne de Football (FCF) media that broadcasting Mobil Super Ligue matches is something expensive and the “advertising revenue” is clearly not as high as expected.

Ashley Vindin – Managing Director of Caledonia Channel – pointed that the television-football alliance has ended up draining a lot of money in most countries, but not in New Caledonia. The support of Mobil – the major sponsor of the league – alone can not be sufficient on the level of private sponsors as the local league is still an amateur one.

Mobil Super Ligue is not going to be broadcasted this year

This news is really devastating for those who are used to watch Mobil Super Ligue on TV or even in YouTube. The top-tier of Caledonian football was surely the best football league in Oceania when it comes to broadcasting with two fully-broadcasted matches by matchweek. Neither ISPS Handa Premiership – the major football league from New Zealand – have two broadcasted matches week in week out.

Football is one of the most profitable things for TV Channels around the world. Maybe this terrible loss can be the trigger to push New Caledonian football into professionalism. We can not wait to watch the Mobil Super Ligue again.

All Whites midfielder Joe Bell officially debuts in Norway

Joe Bell made his official debut in European football. The 21-year-old midfielder came from the bench in the clash between Viking FK and Bodø/Glimt in the first matchday of 2020 Eliteserien – the top-tier of Norwegian football.

Viking opened the scoreboard in the 21st minute but they saw Bodø/Glimt score the equalizer a few minutes later. Bell’s team scored a second goal before the half time to take the 2-1 lead to the lockroom.

Bodø/Glimt scored in the 57th and 69th to take the lead. Bell entered in the match in the 73rd minute – four minutes after Viking suffered the third goal – to replace Zymer Bytyqi. Despite all efforts, Bell and his teammates could not find the net again and suffered a fourth goal and lost by 4-2. The young player from New Zealand made 11 correct passes and stole a ball in 20 minutes on the pitch.

Bell made his official debut for Viking FK

The young midfielder from New Zealand joined the Norwegian club in January after playing three seasons in the United States. He was one of the most important players of Virginia Cavaliers and he helped them to reach the NCAA College Cup Final last year. Viking’s next match is against SK Brann on Sunday.

Matthew Garbett debuts in Allsvenskan

New Zealand youngster Matthew Garbett made his debut in Allsvenskan – the top-tier of Swedish football. The 18-year-old forward joined the match in the 88th minute when he replaced John Chibuike in Falkenbergs’ 1-1 draw against BK Häcken.

It was Garbett’s third match for Falkenbergs first team. He played two matches in the Swedish Cup in March. He joined the team in January after spending some months in Team Wellington’s youth team in New Zealand.

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Football leagues in Sweden resumed recently. It was just the first matchweek of 2020 Allsvenskan. Falkenbergs’ next match is on Sunday against Kalmar FF.

Wellington Phoenix: Hyundai A-League resumes on July 16

The wait is over! Hyundai A-League will resume on July 16 when Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory will clash in the Melbourne Derby. The remaining matches are going to be played from July to August as the Final Series must take place in late August.

Hyundai A-League clubs are already back to training and now they have one month to get ready for remainder of the season. It was also confirmed that Wellington Phoenix will complete the remainder of their regular season matches in New South Wales, with games to be played at Bankwest Stadium in Parramatta, Netstrata Jubilee Stadium in Kogarah, and McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle.

Wellington Phoenix players celebrating a goal against Brisbane Roar

Phoenix still have six matches to be played in the regular season. They are currently in the third position with 36 points in twenty matches – one of their best ever campaigns in Hyundai A-League.