OFC Debuts Professional Club Competition Backed by FIFA Support.

Roger Hampel

Image: FIFA

The Oceania Football Confederation has launched its first fully professional club competition, with the opening round of the OFC Professional League played in Auckland, New Zealand. The new league represents a structural shift in how club football is organised across the Pacific region, introducing a professional environment designed to support long-term player development and competitive stability.

The inaugural matches were staged at Eden Park, marking the formal start of an eight-team competition featuring clubs from Fiji, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Tahiti.

A Structural Step Toward Professionalisation OFC

The creation of the OFC Professional League addresses a long-standing gap in Oceania’s football ecosystem: the absence of a consistent, fully professional club competition operating across national borders. Until now, elite players from the Pacific region have largely relied on semi-professional domestic leagues or overseas moves to pursue full-time careers.

By consolidating top clubs into a centralised league structure, OFC is aiming to establish regular professional training, competition and governance standards across the region, rather than relying on fragmented national systems.

FIFA’s Role in League Development

The league has been developed with direct support from FIFA, which has provided strategic expertise, targeted funding and operational support during the planning phase. This included workshops focused on governance, commercial operations, player registration and communications, reflecting FIFA’s broader objective of raising club-level standards globally.

All matches of the OFC Professional League will also be distributed on FIFA+, giving the competition immediate international visibility and ensuring global access for scouts, agents and audiences beyond Oceania.

Executive Comments

Mattias Grafström, Secretary General of FIFA, said the league provides a structured professional pathway for players, coaches, referees and officials across the Pacific, while helping raise standards locally and creating connections beyond the region.

Franck Castillo, General Secretary of the OFC, described the league as the final component in Oceania’s long-term football development strategy, noting that a professional club environment had been the missing link for converting regional talent into sustained international performance.

He added that the quality and intensity of the opening fixtures highlighted both the competitiveness of the league and the demand for professional football in Oceania.