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Oceania Football Confederation

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Oceania Football Confederation
AbbreviationOFC
Formation1966; 58 years ago (1966)
TypeSports organisation
HeadquartersAuckland, New Zealand
Region served
Oceania
Membership13 member associations (11 full)
Official language
English
Lambert Maltock
Vice Presidents
Thierry Ariiotima
Kapi Natto John
Lord Ve'ehala
General Secretary
Franck Castillo
Parent organization
FIFA
Websiteoceaniafootball.com

The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It promotes the game in Oceania and allows the member nations to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.

OFC is predominantly made up of island nations where association football is not the most popular sport, with low GDP and low population meaning very little money is generated by the OFC nations. The OFC has little influence in the wider football world, either in terms of international competition or as a source of players for high-profile club competitions. OFC is the only confederation to have not had at least one international title, the best result being Australia making the final of the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup.

In 2006, the OFC's then largest and most successful nation, Australia, left for a second time to join the Asian Football Confederation, leaving New Zealand as the largest federation within the OFC.

The President of OFC is Lambert Maltock since April 2018. The Vice Presidents are Thierry Ariiotima, Kapi Natto John and Lord Ve'ehala while Franck Castillo is the General Secretary.[1] The confederation is headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand.

History

[edit]
OFC Home of Football in Ngahue Reserve, Auckland, New Zealand

The confederation formed in 1966 with the purpose of representing countries in the Pacific, following Australia and New Zealand's failed attempts to join the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).[2][3] The idea of forming a Pacific confederation was first raised in 1964. This proposal was pushed by Sid Guppy of the New Zealand Football Association (NZFA), Jim Bayutti of the Australian Soccer Federation and then-FIFA president Stanley Rous, with Guppy and Bayutti both being spurred on by the AFC's rejections.[4] After initial discussions were held in Tokyo in 1964, Scottish-born Charles Dempsey was approached by the NZFA to work with Bayutti in putting together the bid to create the Oceania Football Confederation.[4] The two garnered enough support for their bid to be approved by FIFA's congress in 1966. The founding OFC members were the following:[5]

Representatives from New Caledonia were also involved in the 1966 OFC founding, but New Caledonia could only be a provisional member, as the territory did not have sporting autonomy from France at that time.[4]

Australia resigned as an OFC member in 1972 to again pursue membership with the AFC, but rejoined the OFC in 1978, and were never official members of the AFC during the 1970s.[7][8] After the 1972 departure from the OFC, Lou Gautier of Australian publication Soccer World said, "[we] have contended from the very start that the conception of an Oceania Confederation was a pipe dream, with no tangible advantages for Australian soccer."[9] Bayutti resigned from the OFC in 1970, in preparation for Australia's planned move to the AFC, with Charles Dempsey being appointed OFC acting secretary as a result. Dempsey also served as the head of the New Zealand national body.[4] Dempsey remained the OFC acting secretary for the next ten years, and he was eventually elected president in 1982. Previous presidents included New Zealanders William Walkley and Jack Cowie, and Australians Vic Tuting and Arthur George. Dempsey served as president until 2000, and he convinced smaller Pacific states to join the confederation, including Samoa (in 1986), Vanuatu (in 1988), Tahiti (in 1990), Tonga and the Cook Islands (both in 1994) and American Samoa (in 1998).[4] Dempsey is currently the last OFC president to have been based in either New Zealand or Australia, with all subsequent presidents having emerged from other countries in the Pacific.

Australia's men's national team (nicknamed the Socceroos) became the first representatives from the area to play at a FIFA World Cup in 1974, being drawn in the same group as Chile, East Germany and West Germany. They failed to score a goal, but were still competitive in all three of their matches.[10] New Zealand's national team the All Whites played in their first World Cup eight years later. At the 1982 tournament they suffered heavier defeats than Australia previously had.[11]

From the 1960s to the early 1980s, OFC countries competed alongside AFC nations in various different mixed World Cup qualifying tournaments. It was not until the 1986 qualifiers that the OFC had their own distinct qualifying tournament. Chinese Taipei was an OFC member from 1975 to 1989. The island state is geographically situated in the north Pacific, off the coast of China, but was a member for political reasons, later joining the AFC.[12] Israel (who were never a member) competed in the 1986 and 1990 OFC World Cup qualifiers for similar political reasons, despite not being located in the Pacific Basin.[13] Australia lost several inter-confederation World Cup playoffs throughout the 1980s and 1990s; first to Scotland in 1985, then Argentina in 1993 and then Iran in 1997.[14] The only time Australia didn't reach the inter-confederation playoff during this period was in 1989, when Israel qualified ahead of Australia in the second round of OFC qualifiers, eventually losing to Colombia. The closest of the Australian defeats in the inter-confederation playoffs came against Iran in 1997. Australia were leading 3-1 on aggregate late during the second leg in Melbourne, but their momentum was interrupted when serial pitch invader Peter Hore entered the ground. They went on to concede two goals in quick succession, failing to qualify on the away goals rule. FIFA confirmed OFC as a full confederation in 1996, and granted it a seat on the FIFA executive.[15] In 1998 the OFC unveiled a new logo and an official magazine, entitled The Wave.

Australia's national team were long considered the biggest challenge in the confederation.[16] There were many highly uncompetitive matches involving them, particularly in the 1990s and 2000s. Their June 1997 second round qualification games for the 1998 FIFA World Cup included a 13–0 defeat of the Solomon Islands.[17] The following year they defeated the Cook Islands 16–0 at the 1998 OFC Nations Cup, while at the 2000 OFC Nations Cup they defeated them 17–0.[18][19] Australia's dominance extended to women's competitions as well. For example, at the 1998 OFC Women's Championship, their women's team The Matildas defeated Fiji 17-0 and American Samoa 21-0.[20] The uncompetitive results escalated in April 2001, during the first round of OFC qualifiers for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Australia beat Tonga 22–0, following this result up with a 31–0 win over American Samoa and an 11–0 win over Samoa.[21][22] The American Samoa game became the largest international victory in the history of the sport (breaking the previous record set in the Tonga game),[23] while Archie Thompson also broke the record for most goals in an international match, scoring 13.

Australia's record-breaking form in the early stages of qualifying ultimately couldn't be replicated in their inter-confederation playoff against Uruguay later that year. For the first leg, the Socceroos managed to defeat the South Americans 1–0 in front of a Melbourne crowd of 84,656, but they were overwhelmed 3–0 in the away leg. The away leg was marred by an incident at Montevideo's airport prior to the game itself, where the Australian players were spat on, punched and abused by a mob of Uruguayan fans.[24] On 24 May 2004, New Caledonia became the 12th member of the OFC.

Australia reached another inter-confederation playoff against Uruguay in late 2005. As well as in 2001, both sides won a game each over the two legs, which led to Australia finally ending their World Cup drought through a dramatic penalty shootout in Sydney. The Socceroos were granted increased security for the first away leg, as a response to the 2001 airport incident, and in the second leg the Uruguayan team were heavily booed while their national anthem played.[25] In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Australia were eliminated by eventual champions Italy during the Round of 16.[26] Their 3–1 group stage victory against Japan remains the only time a team representing OFC has won at the tournament. Australia left the OFC again that same year and joined the Asian Football Confederation. The AFC deal had been struck in June 2005, before Australia beat Uruguay to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. The deal came into effect on January 1st, 2006, although Australia were still officially representing the OFC at that year's World Cup.[27][28] Once Australia joined the AFC in 2006, they began an unsuccessful bid for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, and the fact that the south Pacific area had never hosted the World Cup was one of the bid's selling points. Australian football chief John O'Neill said in July 2006, "the one part of the world that's never hosted the World Cup, after South Africa has hosted in 2010, is the Pacific Basin. We belong to Asia now but we're also part of the Pacific, and I think the equity issue about the Pacific region not having hosted should be in our favor."[29] Australia and New Zealand would later co-host the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup together, despite being members of two separate confederations at the time.[30]

In 2008, an associate member, the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association, also left the OFC and in 2009 joined the AFC as an associate member. In late 2009, the Palau Football Association, geographically a part of Oceania but with no official ties to the OFC, also applied for the same status with the AFC as the Northern Mariana Islands association but was not successful.[31] New Zealand ended their own World Cup drought in 2009 when they defeated Bahrain to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The tournament coincidentally also featured Australia, who were now representing the AFC. New Zealand were the only unbeaten team at the tournament, despite failing to advance past the group stage.[32] With Australia's absence, New Zealand began having a regular presence in World Cup inter-confederation playoffs. They were convincingly defeated by Mexico over two legs in 2013, and narrowly missed out to Peru in 2017[33] and Costa Rica in 2022.[34][35]

Criticism

[edit]

Throughout its history, there have been numerous calls to either merge the OFC and AFC, or dissolve the OFC and have its members join the AFC, in order to form an Asia-Pacific Football Confederation.

The calls grew louder in 2003 when FIFA reversed a decision to grant Oceania an automatic spot at the World Cup.[36] Australia's lack of World Cup participation prior to 2006 has been blamed by many on the OFC qualification process, with football writer Matthew Hall stating in 2003, "For World Cup qualification, the Socceroos will win games by cricket scores and then face a sudden-death play-off against a desperate, battle-hardened opponent given a second, or even third, life."[36] A major reason for Australia's 2006 switch to the AFC was the unpredictable nature of the mandatory inter-confederation playoffs. Australia and New Zealand's 1974 and 1982 qualifications both came in qualifying tournaments where OFC teams were competing alongside AFC teams, and didn't have a playoff with a team from outside these two confederations. When the OFC was given a separate qualification process for the 1986 World Cup, their teams lost five consecutive inter-confederation playoffs (usually against South American nations), with Australia being involved in four of the five losses.[4] Another reason cited for Australia's move was their dominance against the smaller OFC teams, which was causing political tension within the confederation.[4] When announcing Australia's move in June 2005, then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter remarked, "the Oceania delegates have thought for many years that Australia was too powerful and blocked the way of the other 11 countries. Now New Zealand, and the Pacific islands at least have a chance. They can go it alone, I am sure it will be a success."[37]

In 2005, shortly before Australia left the OFC, there was an unsuccessful proposal to merge the AFC and the OFC. The plan was to divide Asia into two distinct confederations. A new Asia-Pacific confederation would have encompassed the OFC nations (including Australia) and AFC nations to the east of India and Bangladesh, or alternatively, to the east of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The Japanese Football Association was said to be keen on the idea of splitting the AFC, but there was resistance from the Middle Eastern countries.[38]

The mandatory inter-confederation playoff for the best performed OFC team was finally abolished with the 2026 World Cup and beyond. Beginning with the qualification for the expanded 2026 tournament, the best performed OFC team is granted an automatic World Cup spot, with the second best being given an inter-confederation playoff spot.[39][40]

Presidents

[edit]

Current leaders

[edit]
Name Position
Vanuatu Lambert Maltock President
French Polynesia Thierry Ariiotima Vice President
Papua New Guinea Kapi Natto John Vice President
Tonga Lord Ve'ehala Vice President
New Caledonia Franck Castillo General Secretary

Source:[41][42]

Member nations

[edit]

Current members

[edit]

OFC is made up of 11 full member associations and 2 associate members. Those two are associate members of the OFC, but are not FIFA members.[43]

Code Association National teams Founded Membership FIFA
affiliation
OFC
affiliation
IOC
member
Note
ASA  American Samoa (M, W) 1984 Full 1998 1998 Yes [Note 1]
COK  Cook Islands (M, W) 1971 Full 1994 1994 Yes [Note 2]
FIJ  Fiji (M, W) 1938 Full 1964 1966 Yes
KIR  Kiribati (M, W) 1980 Associate 2007 Yes
NCL  New Caledonia (M, W) 1928 Full 2004 1999 No [Note 3]
NZL  New Zealand (M, W) 1891 Full 1948 1966 Yes
PNG  Papua New Guinea (M, W) 1962 Full 1966 1966 Yes
SAM  Samoa (M, W) 1968 Full 1986 1986 Yes
SOL  Solomon Islands (M, W) 1979 Full 1988 1988 Yes
TAH  Tahiti (M, W) 1989 Full 1990 1990 No [Note 4]
TGA  Tonga (M, W) 1965 Full 1994 1994 Yes
TUV  Tuvalu (M, W) 1979 Associate 2006 Yes
VAN  Vanuatu (M, W) 1934 Full 1988 1988 Yes

Notes

[edit]

Possible future members

[edit]
  •  Bougainville: The Autonomous Region of Bougainville is set to gain full independence from Papua New Guinea by 2027. The president of the Bougainville Football Federation, Justin Helele, expressed the association's desire to join FIFA and, presumably, the OFC.[44] FIFA has already begun funding projects in the territory.[45] The Melanesian region has also participated in OFC projects and has received funding from the confederation since at least 2012. That year the OFC began youth football programs.[46] The next year, the OFC helped fund the creation of a football academy in Bougainville.[47][48]
  •  Micronesia: The Federated States of Micronesia were announced as new associate members of the OFC following the 2006 Extraordinary Congress. It is unclear when they were removed from the association.[49] In 2010 the Federated States of Micronesia Football Association submitted an application to the East Asian Football Federation in hopes of taking the steps to join FIFA. However, the application was not successful. In 2017 Englishman Paul Watson who was connected to the association said, "I think it's starting to look like Micronesia is best off looking to Oceania rather than Asia. I don't see any reason why they shouldn't get into OFC within the next year or two, but it'll all depend on the people inside the organization."[50] The FSMFA reformed in 2023 and identified gaining membership in the AFC or OFC and FIFA as a main priority.[51] In a July 2023 interview with the Daily Mirror, association President Brian Southwick stated that the goal was to join the OFC because of the level of competition and proximity to other members.[52]
  •  Marshall Islands: The Marshall Islands Soccer Association was created in 2020. The organization's goal is to join the regional and world governing bodies "in the coming years."[53] The association has indicated that the nation may field a first-ever Marshall Islands national soccer team at the 2023 Micronesian Games hosted by the country.[54]
  •  Nauru: Nauru is one of the few fully-sovereign nations that is not a member of FIFA or a regional confederation.[55] The Nauru Soccer Federation has reportedly applied for membership in both the OFC and FIFA but was denied.[56] In 2009 the Nauruan Minister of Sport Rayong Itsimaera indicated that there were challenges preventing them from joining both bodies, presumably the lack of a league system and a preference for Australian rules football by the population.[57] Nauru has been participating in some OFC initiatives since at least 2020.[58] In 2023 the federation was relaunched under the auspices of the Nauru Olympic Committee with the stated purpose of fielding a national team and joining the OFC and FIFA.[59]
  •  Niue: Niue is a former associate member of the OFC. Following the Niue Island Soccer Association's removal from the OFC and its subsequent disbandment in 2021, an OFC official indicated that they were aware of the formation of the new Niue Football Association and encourages its application for associate membership.[60]
  •  Palau: The Palau Football Association has been a member of the OFC in the past, being announced as a new member at the organization's 2006 Extraordinary Congress, alongside the Federated States of Micronesia.[49] In 2009 the association asked to join the East Asian Football Federation, a sub-regional body under the Asian Football Confederation.[61]

Several other sovereign states, associated states, dependencies, and territories in Oceania, including members of the United Nations, have no affiliations to confederations. Some play infrequently while others have been inactive for several years. There are also some which do not have a national team at all.

France's eastern Pacific territory of Clipperton Island does not currently have a human population or any infrastructure.[62] The Galápagos Islands in the eastern Pacific are designated as a special province of Ecuador, and have a small human population,[63] however, they are not represented in Ecuador's national leagues. The sport is not known to be played on the U.S. outlying islands in the central Pacific, such as Midway Island and Wake Island, which have primarily served as military bases throughout their history. It has occasionally been played on some of Alaska's Aleutian Islands in the far north Pacific, but there has never been an outdoor league, due to the cold weather.[64][65]

Former members

[edit]
Association Membership Year
 Australia Full 1966–1972, 1978–2006[66]
 Chinese Taipei Full 1976–1978, 1982–1989
 Micronesia Associate 2006–???[49]
 Niue Associate 1983–2021[67]
 Northern Mariana Islands Associate 1983–2009
 Palau Associate 2006–???[49]

Note

[edit]
  •  Israel had its men's national team enter the OFC qualifying tournaments for the FIFA World Cup in 1986 and 1990 due to political reasons, though it was never an OFC member.

Non-members

[edit]

AFC Members

[edit]

Three associations are geographically in Oceania but not affiliated with the OFC but are instead members of the Asian Football Confederation:

Most of the island states off the Pacific coast of Asia (including Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines) had already joined the AFC prior to the formation of the OFC. The island state of Chinese Taipei (also known as Taiwan) was in the OFC throughout the 1970s and 1980s, as a result of Chinese political tensions.[12] It had been affiliated with the AFC prior to the OFC move, and eventually rejoined it.[12] In international cricket, Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines compete in a division with the countries of Oceania, while Chinese Taipei compete in the same division as mainland Asia.[68][69]

CONIFA Members

[edit]

Three CONIFA members are geographically in Oceania but not affiliated with the OFC nor FIFA as they do not meet membership requirements:

The Juan Fernández Islands in the eastern Pacific are a special territory of Chile and members of Conselho Sul-Americano de Novas Federações de Futebol, which is for teams that are not recognized by CONMEBOL. They also have played games against Chile's other special territory of Easter Island, since they are their nearest island group.[70]

Competitions

[edit]

National teams

[edit]

Men's

Women's

League

[edit]

The OFC Professional League is a region-wide league currently being planned for an inaugural season in 2025 with support from FIFA.[71]

Clubs

[edit]

Men's

Women's

Former tournaments

[edit]

Clubs

Current title holders

[edit]
Competition Year Champions Title Runners-up Next edition
National teams
Nations Cup 2024 (final)  New Zealand 6th  Vanuatu 2028 (final)
Pacific Games 2023  New Caledonia 1st  Solomon Islands 2027
OFC Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2023  New Zealand 5th  Fiji 2027
U-19/U-20 Championship 2024  New Zealand 9th  New Caledonia 2026
U-18 Youth Development Tournament 2019  India 1st  Tahiti TBD
U-16/U-17 Championship 2024  New Zealand 10th  Fiji 2025
U-15 Youth Development Tournament 2023  Tahiti 1st  Fiji TBD
Futsal Nations Cup 2023  New Zealand 2nd  Tahiti TBD
Youth Futsal Tournament 2017  Solomon Islands 1st  New Zealand TBD
Beach Soccer Nations Cup 2023  Tahiti 3rd  Solomon Islands 2024
National teams (women)
Women's Nations Cup 2022 (final)  Papua New Guinea 1st  Fiji 2026 (final)
Pacific Games 2023  Papua New Guinea 6th  Fiji 2027
U-19/U20 Women's Championship 2023  New Zealand 8th  Fiji 2025
U-16/U17 Women's Championship 2024  New Zealand 6th  Samoa 2025
U-15 Women's Youth Development Tournament 2024  New Caledonia 1st  Fiji TBD
U-15 Women's Youth Development Tournament 2024  New Caledonia 1st  Fiji TBD
Futsal Women's Nations Cup 2024  New Zealand 1st  Fiji TBD
Club teams
Champions League 2024 (final) New Zealand Auckland City 12th French Polynesia Pirae 2025 (final)
Futsal Champions League 2024 (final) New Caledonia AS PTT 1st Solomon Islands Mataks FC TBD
Club teams (women)
Women's Champions League 2024 (final) New Zealand Auckand United 1st Papua New Guinea Hekari United 2025 (final)

FIFA World Rankings

[edit]

Overview

[edit]

Historical leaders

[edit]
Men's
New Zealand men's national football teamNew Caledonia national football teamNew Zealand men's national football teamNew Caledonia national football teamFiji national football teamNew Zealand men's national football teamAustralia men's national soccer teamNew Zealand men's national football teamAustralia men's national soccer teamNew Zealand men's national football teamAustralia men's national soccer team

Team of the Year

[edit]
Team ranking in the top four - Men's[72]
Year First Second Third Fourth
2023  New Zealand  Solomon Islands  New Caledonia  Tahiti
2022  New Zealand  Solomon Islands  Papua New Guinea  New Caledonia
2021  New Zealand  Solomon Islands  New Caledonia  Tahiti
2020  New Zealand  Solomon Islands  New Caledonia  Tahiti
2019  New Zealand  Solomon Islands  New Caledonia  Tahiti
2018  New Zealand  Solomon Islands  New Caledonia  Tahiti
2017  New Zealand  Solomon Islands  Tahiti  New Caledonia
2016  New Zealand  Tahiti  New Caledonia  Papua New Guinea
2015  New Zealand  American Samoa  Cook Islands  Samoa
2014  New Zealand  New Caledonia  Tahiti  Solomon Islands
2013  New Zealand  New Caledonia  Tahiti  Solomon Islands
2012  New Zealand  New Caledonia  Tahiti  Solomon Islands
2011  New Zealand  Samoa  Fiji  New Caledonia
2010  New Zealand  Fiji  New Caledonia  Vanuatu
2009  New Zealand  Fiji  New Caledonia  Vanuatu
2008  New Zealand  Fiji  New Caledonia  Vanuatu
2007  New Zealand  New Caledonia  Solomon Islands  Fiji
2006  New Zealand  Fiji  Solomon Islands  Vanuatu
2005  New Zealand  Fiji  Solomon Islands  Tahiti
2004  New Zealand  Tahiti  Solomon Islands  Fiji
2003  New Zealand  Tahiti  Fiji  Solomon Islands
2002  New Zealand  Tahiti  Fiji  Solomon Islands
2001  New Zealand  Fiji  Tahiti  Solomon Islands
2000  New Zealand  Solomon Islands  Tahiti  Fiji
1999  New Zealand  Fiji  Tahiti  Solomon Islands
1998  New Zealand  Tahiti  Fiji  Solomon Islands
1997  New Zealand  Solomon Islands  Fiji  Tahiti
1996  New Zealand  Fiji  Tahiti  Tonga
1995  New Zealand  Fiji  Tahiti  Solomon Islands
1994  New Zealand  Fiji  Tahiti  Solomon Islands
1993  New Zealand  Fiji  Tahiti  Solomon Islands
Team ranking in the top four - Women's[citation needed]
Year First Second Third Fourth
2023  New Zealand  Papua New Guinea  Fiji  Tonga
2022  New Zealand  Papua New Guinea  Fiji  Tonga
2021  New Zealand  Papua New Guinea  Fiji  Tonga
2020  New Zealand  Papua New Guinea  Fiji  Tonga
2019  New Zealand  Papua New Guinea  Fiji  Tonga
2018  New Zealand  Papua New Guinea  Fiji  Tonga
2017  New Zealand      
2016  New Zealand  Papua New Guinea  Fiji  Tonga
2015  New Zealand  Papua New Guinea  Fiji  Tonga
2014  New Zealand  Papua New Guinea  Tonga  Cook Islands
2013  New Zealand      
2012  New Zealand  Papua New Guinea  Tonga  Fiji
2011  New Zealand  Papua New Guinea  Tonga  Fiji
2010  New Zealand  Papua New Guinea  Tonga  Fiji
2009  New Zealand      
2008  New Zealand  Papua New Guinea  Tonga  Fiji
2007  New Zealand  Papua New Guinea  Tonga  Fiji
2006  Australia  New Zealand  Tonga  Papua New Guinea
2005  Australia  New Zealand  Tonga  Papua New Guinea
2004  Australia  New Zealand  Tonga  Papua New Guinea
2003  Australia  New Zealand  Tonga  Papua New Guinea

Major tournament records

[edit]
Legend
  •  1st  – Champion
  •  2nd  – Runner-up
  •  3rd  – Third place
  •  4th  – Fourth place
  • QF – Quarter-finals (1934–1938, 1954–1970, and 1986–present: knockout round of 8)
  • R2 – Round 2 (1974–1978, second group stage, top 8; 1982: second group stage, top 12; 1986–2022: knockout round of 16)
  • R1 – Round 1 (1930, 1950–1970 and 1986–present: group stage; 1934–1938: knockout round of 16; 1974–1982: first group stage)
  •    — Did not qualify
  •  ×  — Did not enter / withdrawn / banned / disqualified
  •     — Hosts

For each tournament, the flag of the host country and the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown.

FIFA World Cup

[edit]

Oceania has sent representatives to the FIFA World Cup four times: Australia in 1974 and 2006, and New Zealand in 1982 and 2010. Of these, only Australia in 2006 progressed beyond the first round.

The OFC was previously the only FIFA confederation that did not have a guaranteed spot in the World Cup finals. Between 1966 and 1982, OFC teams joined the Asian zone qualification tournament, while from 1986 onwards, the winners of the Oceanian zone qualification tournament had to enter the intercontinental play-offs against teams from other confederations in order to gain a spot in the FIFA World Cup.

Beginning in 2026, the OFC will have a guaranteed spot in the FIFA World Cup for the first time in history, result of the competition's expansion from 32 to 48 teams.

FIFA World Cup record
Team 1930
Uruguay
(13)
1934
Italy
(16)
1938
France
(15)
1950
Brazil
(13)
1954
Switzerland
(16)
1958
Sweden
(16)
1962
Chile
(16)
1966
England
(16)
1970
Mexico
(16)
1974
West Germany
(16)
1978
Argentina
(16)
1982
Spain
(24)
1986
Mexico
(24)
1990
Italy
(24)
1994
United States
(24)
1998
France
(32)
2002
Japan
South Korea
(32)
2006
Germany
(32)
2010
South Africa
(32)
2014
Brazil
(32)
2018
Russia
(32)
2022
Qatar
(32)
2026
Canada
Mexico
United States
(48)
Years inclusive
WC Qual.
OFC qualifier[74] 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026
 Australia R1 R2 Part of AFC 2 11
 New Zealand × × × × × R1 R1 2 14
Total (2 teams) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 TBD 4
FIFA World Cup record
Year Qualifier Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Format
1930
Uruguay
(13)
No teams from Oceania entered
1934
Italy
(16)
1938
France
(15)
1950
Brazil
(13)
1954
Switzerland
(16)
1958
Sweden
(16)
1962
Chile
(16)
1966
England
(16)
No OFC team qualified Entered in Africa and Asia
1970
Mexico
(16)
Entered in Asia
1974
West Germany
(16)
 Australia Group stage 14th 3 0 1 2 0 5 Entered in Asia
1978
Argentina
(16)
No OFC team qualified Entered in Asia
1982
Spain
(24)
 New Zealand Group stage 23rd 3 0 0 3 2 12 Entered in Asia
1986
Mexico
(24)
No OFC team qualified Round-robin
Play-off
1990
Italy
(24)
First round
Second round
Play-off
1994
United States
(24)
First round
Second round
1st play-off
2nd play-off
1998
France
(32)
First round
Second round
Third round
Play-off
2002
Japan
South Korea
(32)
First round
Second round
Play-off
2006
Germany
(32)
 Australia Round of 16 16th 4 1 1 2 5 6 First round
Second round
Third round
Play-off
2010
South Africa
(32)
 New Zealand Group stage 22nd 3 0 3 0 2 2 First round
Second round
Play-off
2014
Brazil
(32)
No OFC team qualified First round
Second round
Third round
Play-off
2018
Russia
(32)
First round
Second round
Third round
Play-off
2022
Qatar
(32)
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
Play-off
2026
Canada
Mexico
United States
(48)
To be determined 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
Play-off
Total (2 teams) 4/23 Round of 16 14th 13 1 5 7 9 25

OFC play-off record

[edit]

1966 FIFA World Cup qualification (Africa, Asia and Oceania)

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
North Korea  9–2  Australia 6–1 3–1

1970 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC)

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Israel  2–1  Australia 1–0 1–1

1974 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC)

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Australia  (t) 3–2  South Korea 0–0 2–2 1–0

1982 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC)

Team 1  Score  Team 2
New Zealand  1–0  China

1986 UEFA–OFC play-off

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Scotland  2–0  Australia 2–0 0–0

1990 CONMEBOL–OFC play-off

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Colombia  1–0  Israel 1–0 0–0

Israel played in the OFC zone for political reasons.

1994 CONCACAF–OFC play-off

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Canada  3–3 (p)  Australia 2–1 1–2

1994 CONMEBOL–OFC play-off

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Australia  1–2  Argentina 1–1 0–1

1998 AFC–OFC play-off

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Iran  (a) 3–3  Australia 1–1 2–2

2002 CONMEBOL–OFC play-off

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Australia  1–3  Uruguay 1–0 0–3

2006 CONMEBOL–OFC play-off

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Uruguay  1–1 (p)  Australia 1–0 0–1

2010 AFC–OFC play-off

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Bahrain  0–1  New Zealand 0–0 0–1

2014 CONCACAF–OFC play-off

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Mexico  9–3  New Zealand 5–1 4–2

2018 CONMEBOL–OFC play-off

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
New Zealand  0–2  Peru 0–0 0–2

2022 CONCACAF–OFC play-off

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Costa Rica  1–0  New Zealand

FIFA Women's World Cup

[edit]
FIFA Women's World Cup record
Team 1991
China
(12)
1995
Sweden
(12)
1999
United States
(16)
2003
United States
(16)
2007
China
(16)
2011
Germany
(16)
2015
Canada
(24)
2019
France
(24)
2023
Australia
New Zealand
(32)
Years inclusive
W. WC Qual.
 Australia R1 R1 R1 Part of AFC 3 4
 New Zealand R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 6 8
Total (2 teams) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 12

Olympic Games

[edit]

Men's tournament

[edit]
Olympic Games (Men's tournament) record
Team
Total (3 teams)
1900
France
(3)
1904
United States
(3)
1908
United Kingdom
(6)
1912
Sweden
(11)
1920
Belgium
(14)
1924
France
(22)
1928
Netherlands
(17)
1936
Germany
(16)
1948
United Kingdom
(18)
1952
Finland
(25)
1956
Australia
(11)
1960
Italy
(16)
1964
Japan
(14)
1968
Mexico
(16)
1972
West Germany
(16)
1976
Canada
(13)
1980
Soviet Union
(16)
1984
United States
(16)
1988
South Korea
(16)
1992
Spain
(16)
1996
United States
(16)
2000
Australia
(16)
2004
Greece
(16)
2008
China
(16)
2012
United Kingdom
(16)
2016
Brazil
(16)
2020
Japan
(16)
2024
France
(16)
Years
 Australia × × × × × × × × × × QF × × × × × × × QF 4th GS GS QF Part of AFC 6
 Fiji × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × GS 1
 New Zealand × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × GS GS QF GS 4

Women's tournament

[edit]
Olympic Games (Women's tournament) record
Team
Total (2 teams)
1996
United States
(8)
2000
Australia
(8)
2004
Greece
(10)
2008
China
(12)
2012
United Kingdom
(12)
2016
Brazil
(12)
2020
Japan
(12)
2024
France
(12)
Years
 Australia GS QF Part of AFC 2
 New Zealand GS QF GS GS GS 5

OFC Nations Cup

[edit]
OFC Men's Nations Cup record
Team
(Total 15 teams)
1973
New Zealand
(5)
1980
New Caledonia
(8)
1996
Pacific Community
(4)
1998
Australia
(6)
2000
French Polynesia
(6)
2002
New Zealand
(8)
2004
Australia
(6)
2008
Pacific Community
(4)
2012
Solomon Islands
(8)
2016
Papua New Guinea
(8)
2024
Vanuatu
Fiji
(8)
Years
 New Zealand 1st GS SF 1st 2nd 1st 3rd 1st 3rd 1st 1st 11
 Tahiti 2nd 2nd 2nd 4th GS 3rd 5th 1st GS 3rd 10
 Vanuatu[a] 4th GS GS 4th 4th 6th 4th GS GS 2nd 10
 Fiji 5th 4th 3rd •• GS 4th 3rd GS GS 4th 9
 Solomon Islands × GS SF 3rd GS 2nd 4th SF GS 8
 Australia × 1st 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st Part of AFC 6
 New Caledonia 3rd 3rd GS 2nd 2nd SF × 6
 Papua New Guinea × GS GS × GS 2nd GS 5
 Samoa[b] × × GS GS GS 3
 Cook Islands × × × GS GS × 2
 American Samoa × × × 0
 Tonga × × 0
 Tuvalu × × × × × × × × × × 0
 Kiribati × × × × × × × × × × × 0
 Niue × × × × × × × × × × × 0
  1. ^ Includes results as New Hebrides.
  2. ^ Includes results as Western Samoa.

OFC Women's Nations Cup

[edit]
OFC Women's Nations Cup record
Team
(Total 15 teams)
1983
New Caledonia
(4)
1986
New Zealand
(4)
1989
Australia
(5)
1991
Australia
(3)
1994
Papua New Guinea
(3)
1998
New Zealand
(6)
2003
Australia
(5)
2007
Papua New Guinea
(4)
2010
New Zealand
(8)
2014
Papua New Guinea
(4)
2018
New Caledonia
(8)
2022
Fiji
(9)
Years
 New Zealand 1st 3rd 2nd 1st 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st × 11
 Papua New Guinea × 5th 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 2nd 2nd 2nd 3rd 1st 10
 Australia[a] 2nd 2nd 3rd[b] 2nd 1st 1st 1st Part of AFC 7
 Cook Islands 5th × 3rd 3rd GS QF 5
 Fiji 4th 4th × × GS 2nd 2nd 5
 Tonga × 3rd GS 4th GS QF 5
 Samoa GS 4th × GS 4th 4
 New Caledonia 3rd[c] × 4th QF 3
 Solomon Islands 4th 4th 3rd 3
 Tahiti × × GS GS QF 3
 Chinese Taipei[a] 1st 1st Part of AFC 2
 Vanuatu × × GS GS 2
 American Samoa GS × × 1
 Australia B[a][d] 4th[b] Part of AFC 1
 New Zealand B[d] 4th 1

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Former OFC member, but now a member of the Asian Football Confederation.
  2. ^ a b The third place play-off scheduled to take place between Australia and Australia B was cancelled due to waterlogged pitch, so their group standings are used.
  3. ^ New Caledonia participated and hosted the tournament in 1983, but were not a member of the OFC or FIFA until 2004.
  4. ^ a b Secondary national team.

FIFA U-20 World Cup

[edit]
FIFA U-20 World Cup record
Team 1977
Tunisia
(16)
1979
Japan
(16)
1981
Australia
(16)
1983
Mexico
(16)
1985
Soviet Union
(16)
1987
Chile
(16)
1989
Saudi Arabia
(16)
1991
Portugal
(16)
1993
Australia
(16)
1995
Qatar
(16)
1997
Malaysia
(24)
1999
Nigeria
(24)
2001
Argentina
(24)
2003
United Arab Emirates
(24)
2005
Netherlands
(24)
2007
Canada
(24)
2009
Egypt
(24)
2011
Colombia
(24)
2013
Turkey
(24)
2015
New Zealand
(24)
2017
South Korea
(24)
2019
Poland
(24)
2023
Argentina
(24)
2025
Chile
(24)
Years
 Australia[a] QF R1 R1 R1 4th 4th QF R2 R1 R2 R2 R1 Part of AFC 12
 Fiji R1 R1 2
 New Caledonia Q 1
 New Zealand R1 R1 R1 R2 R2 R2 R2 Q 8
 Tahiti R1 R1 2
 Vanuatu R1 1
Total (6 teams) 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 26
  1. ^ Australia represented OFC before 2006.

FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup

[edit]
FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup record
Team 2002
Canada
(12)
2004
Thailand
(12)
2006
Russia
(16)
2008
Chile
(16)
2010
Germany
(16)
2012
Japan
(16)
2014
Canada
(16)
2016
Papua New Guinea
(16)
2018
France
(16)
2022
Costa Rica
(16)
2024
Colombia
(24)
Years
 Australia QF QF GS Part of AFC 3
 Fiji GS 1
 New Zealand GS GS GS GS QF GS GS GS GS 9
 Papua New Guinea GS 1
Total (4 teams) 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 14

FIFA U-17 World Cup

[edit]
FIFA U-17 World Cup record
Team 1985
China
(16)
1987
Canada
(16)
1989
Scotland
(16)
1991
Italy
(16)
1993
Japan
(16)
1995
Ecuador
(16)
1997
Egypt
(16)
1999
New Zealand
(16)
2001
Trinidad and Tobago
(16)
2003
Finland
(16)
2005
Peru
(16)
2007
South Korea
(24)
2009
Nigeria
(24)
2011
Mexico
(24)
2013
United Arab Emirates
(24)
2015
Chile
(24)
2017
India
(24)
2019
Brazil
(24)
2023
Indonesia
(24)
Years
 Australia QF QF R1 QF QF QF 2nd QF R1 R1 Part of AFC 10
 New Caledonia R1 R1 2
 New Zealand R1 R1 R1 R2 R2 R1 R2 R1 R1 R1 10
 Solomon Islands R1 1
Total (4 teams) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 23

FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup

[edit]
FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup record
Team 2008
New Zealand
(16)
2010
Trinidad and Tobago
(16)
2012
Azerbaijan
(16)
2014
Costa Rica
(16)
2016
Jordan
(16)
2018
Uruguay
(16)
2022
India
(16)
2024
Dominican Republic
(16)
Years
 New Zealand R1 R1 R1 GS GS 3rd GS GS 8
Total (1 team) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8

FIFA Futsal World Cup

[edit]
FIFA Futsal World Cup record
Team 1989
Netherlands
(16)
1992
Hong Kong
(16)
1996
Spain
(16)
2000
Guatemala
(16)
2004
Taiwan
(16)
2008
Brazil
(20)
2012
Thailand
(24)
2016
Colombia
(24)
2021
Lithuania
(24)
2024
Uzbekistan
(24)
Years
 Australia R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 Part of AFC 5
 New Zealand R1 1
 Solomon Islands R1 R1 R1 R1 4
Total (3 teams) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10

FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup

[edit]
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup record
Team 2005[†]
Brazil
(12)
2006
Brazil
(16)
2007
Brazil
(16)
2008[†]
France
(16)
2009
United Arab Emirates
(16)
2011
Italy
(16)
2013
French Polynesia
(16)
2015[†]
Portugal
(16)
2017[†]
The Bahamas
(16)
2019
Paraguay
(16)
2021
Russia
(16)
2024
United Arab Emirates
(16)
2025
Seychelles
(16)
Years
 Australia R1 Part of AFC 1
 Solomon Islands R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 5
 Tahiti R1 4th 2nd 2nd R1 QF QF 7
Total (3 teams) 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 13
Notes
  1. ^
    In 2005, 2008, 2015 and 2017, no OFC qualifiers for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup were held and teams were selected to represent OFC (2005: Australia; 2008: Solomon Islands; 2015 and 2017: Tahiti).

Former tournaments

[edit]

FIFA Confederations Cup

[edit]
FIFA Confederations Cup record
Team 1992
Saudi Arabia
(4)
1995
Saudi Arabia
(6)
1997
Saudi Arabia
(8)
1999
Mexico
(8)
2001
South Korea
Japan
(8)
2003
France
(8)
2005
Germany
(8)
2009
South Africa
(8)
2013
Brazil
(8)
2017
Russia
(8)
Years
 Australia[note 1] × × 2nd 3rd GS Part of AFC 3
 New Zealand × × GS GS GS GS 4
 Tahiti × × GS 1
Total (3 teams) 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8
Notes
  1. ^ Australia was an OFC member until 2005, and played three times in the FIFA Confederations Cup as an OFC member (1997, 2001, 2005). They became an AFC member in 2006, and qualified in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup as an AFC member.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
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[edit]