March 4 – Twenty-four clubs have expressed interest in playing in the OFC Professional League, the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) has confirmed.
The deadline was February 28 and six clubs from New Zealand, four from Fiji, four from Papua New Guinea, four from Australia, two from New Caledonia and one each from Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti and Vanuatu applied for the first edition of the tournament, which is due to kick off in January 2026 with eight teams.
“Over the last few years a lot of work has gone into structuring a professional league that will accelerate the growth of football across the region, including detailed preparation of the club application process,” said OFC Professional League manager Stuart Larman in a statement. “It is very exciting for all involved that the response shows so many clubs share our vision and passion to develop professional football across Oceania.”
Through the Professional League the OFC wants to professionalise football across the Pacific. It was conceived to be part of a global network of super leagues akin to the super league in Africa, which was watered down to the African Football League. It’s understood that FIFA will invest $10million in the competition, but that may not be enough to sustain the professional league in the long term.
In September the OFC will issue licences to the eight selected clubs. The format will see the participants compete in five circuit series rounds in a double round-robin format. Each club will be guaranteed a minimum of 17 matches. The competition will then be split into two playoffs before a last-four stage and the final. The league will serve as a pathway to the 2029 Club World Cup.
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