TheOceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of internationalassociation football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated withFIFA. It promotes the game inOceania and allows themember nations to qualify for theFIFA 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 makingthe final of the1997 FIFA Confederations Cup.
In 2006, the OFC's then largest and most successful nation,Australia, left for a second time to join theAsian Football Confederation, leavingNew Zealand as the largest federation within the OFC.
The president of OFC isLambert 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 inAuckland, New Zealand.
OFC Home of Football inNgahue 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 theAsian 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 theNew Zealand Football Association (NZFA),Jim Bayutti of theAustralian Soccer Federation and then-FIFA presidentStanley Rous, with Guppy and Bayutti both being spurred on by the AFC's rejections.[4] After initial discussions were held inTokyo in 1964,Scottish-bornCharlie 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]
the Australian Soccer Federation (subsequently rebrandedFootball Australia in 2005)
New Zealand Football Association[6] (also known as New Zealand Soccer: subsequently rebrandedNew Zealand Football)
Representatives fromNew 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 fromFrance 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 publicationSoccer 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 ZealandersWilliam Walkley andJack Cowie, and Australians Vic Tuting andArthur George. Dempsey served as president until 2000, and he convinced smaller Pacific states to join the confederation, includingSamoa (in 1986),Vanuatu (in 1988),Tahiti (in 1990),Tonga and theCook Islands (both in 1994) andAmerican 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 theSocceroos) became the first representatives from the area to play at aFIFA World Cupin 1974, being drawn in the same group asChile,East Germany andWest Germany. They failed to score a goal, but were still competitive in all three of their matches.[10] New Zealand's national team theAll Whites played in their first World Cup eight years later. Atthe 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 the1986 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 ofChina, but was a member for political reasons, later joining the AFC.[12]Israel (who were never a member) competed in the1986 and1990 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 toScotland in 1985, thenArgentina in 1993 and thenIran in 1997.[14] The only time Australia didn't reach the inter-confederation playoff during this period wasin 1989, when Israel qualified ahead of Australia in thesecond round of OFC qualifiers, eventually losing toColombia. 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 inMelbourne, but their momentum was interrupted when serial pitch invaderPeter Hore entered the ground. They went on to concede two goals in quick succession, failing to qualify on theaway 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 newlogo and an official magazine, entitledThe 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 the1998 FIFA World Cup included a 13–0 defeat of theSolomon Islands.[17] The following year they defeated the Cook Islands 16–0 at the1998 OFC Nations Cup, while at the2000 OFC Nations Cup they defeated them 17–0.[18][19] Australia's dominance extended to women's competitions as well. For example, at the1998 OFC Women's Championship, their women's teamThe Matildas defeatedFiji 17–0 andAmerican Samoa 21–0.[20] The uncompetitive results escalated in April 2001, during thefirst round of OFC qualifiers for the2002 FIFA World Cup. Australiabeat Tonga 22–0, following this result up with a31–0 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] whileArchie 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 theirinter-confederation playoff againstUruguay later that year. For the first leg, the Socceroos managed to defeat theSouth 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 atMontevideo'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 anotherinter-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 dramaticpenalty shootout inSydney. 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 the2006 FIFA World Cup, Australia were eliminated by eventual championsItaly during the Round of 16.[26] Their 3–1 group stage victory againstJapan 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 1, 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 unsuccessfulbid for the2018 and2022 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, afterSouth Africa has hosted in2010, 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 the2023 FIFA Women's World Cup together, despite being members of two separate confederations at the time.[30]
In 2008, an associate member, theNorthern Mariana Islands Football Association, also left the OFC and in 2009 joined the AFC as an associate member. In late 2009, thePalau 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 droughtin 2009 when they defeatedBahrain to qualify for the2010 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 byMexico over two legsin 2013, and narrowly missed out toPeruin 2017[33] andCosta Ricain 2022.[34][35] On March 24, 2025, New Zealand qualified for the2026 edition after defeating New Caledonia 3–0 in the final game of the newOFC qualification tournament, which has one guaranteed spot for the OFC.[36]
In November 2024, the OFC revealed plans to launch a five month longOFC Professional League, beginning in January 2026.[37] The inaugural competition will feature eight of the top clubs from various Pacific nations, including potential teams from Australia and Hawaii (whose clubs would normally compete underCONCACAF due to Hawaii being part of the United States). 32 clubs have publicly expressed a desire to participate,[38] including four Australian clubs and teams from New Caledonia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and Tahiti.[39] The Australian clubs include theMarconi Stallions,South Melbourne FC andSunshine Coast Fire, who all compete outside of Australia's nationalA-League competition, which was founded around the time Australia joined the AFC.[40][37][41] Clubs from non-OFC countries which seek to join will have to pay for their own travel and accommodation, and will presumably not have access to theFIFA Club World Cup if they win the competition.[42] The competition is expected to replace the pre-existingOFC Champions League, which has been run since 1987.[43][44][45] A New Zealand-based club in Australia's A-League,Auckland FC, have expressed a desire to participate, with a reason for this being since they cannot qualify for theAsian Champions League by winning the A-League, since New Zealand is an OFC country.[46] Additionally, two other New Zealand-based clubs which compete outside of the A-League have also publicly expressed a desire to participate, with these teams beingChristchurch United andNelson Suburbs.[47] The OFC has initiated the application process for clubs interested in joining the league, with the selection of the final eight teams expected by September 2025.[37][41][48] Applicant clubs will have to show they are financially sustainable for four years and meet key specifications, including financial, sporting, infrastructure, personnel and legal criteria.[49] In May 2025, it was confirmed the OFC had chosen 13 potential teams for the final Club Licensing phase, with two of the 13 teams being Australian, and the other 11 being from OFC nations.[50][51]
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.[52] 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 bycricket scores and then face a sudden-death play-off against a desperate, battle-hardened opponent given a second, or even third, life."[52] 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 presidentSepp 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."[53]
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 ofIndia andBangladesh, or alternatively, to the east ofCambodia,Laos andVietnam. TheJapanese Football Association was said to be keen on the idea of splitting the AFC, but there was resistance from theMiddle Eastern countries.[54]
The mandatory inter-confederation playoff for the best performed OFC team was finally abolished with the2026 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.[55][56]
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.[60] In 2010 theFederated States of Micronesia Football Association submitted an application to theEast 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."[61] The FSMFA reformed in 2023 and identified gaining membership in theAFC or OFC and FIFA as a main priority.[62] In a July 2023 interview with theDaily 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.[63]
Nauru: Nauru is one of the few fully-sovereign nations that is not a member of FIFA or a regional confederation.[65] TheNauru Soccer Federation has reportedly applied for membership in both the OFC and FIFA but was denied.[66] 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 forAustralian rules football by the population.[67] Nauru has been participating in some OFC initiatives since at least 2020.[68] In 2023 the federation was relaunched under the auspices of theNauru Olympic Committee with the stated purpose of fielding anational team and joining the OFC and FIFA.[69]
Bougainville: The Autonomous Region of Bougainville is set to gain full independence fromPapua New Guinea by 2027. The president of theBougainville Football Federation, Justin Helele, expressed the association's desire to join FIFA and, presumably, the OFC.[71] FIFA has already begun funding projects in the territory.[72] TheMelanesian 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.[73] The next year, the OFC helped fund the creation of a football academy in Bougainville.[74][75]
Niue: Niue is a former associate member of the OFC. Following theNiue 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 newNiue Football Association and encourages its application for associate membership.[76]
Wallis and Futuna: TheWallis and Futuna national football team has played twenty-four international matches, all at theSouth Pacific Games between 1966 and 1995, and holds an overall record of five wins and nineteen defeats.[77] The last time Wallis and Futuna played a game was at the1995 South Pacific Games, where the team was eliminated in the group stage, having lost all 4 games it played. Since then it has been inactive, with no active football association governing body.
Other semi-autonomous territories inOceania have teams with no affiliations to confederations, and play infrequently or are inactive. Others have never had an organized a national team.
France's eastern Pacific territory ofClipperton Island does not currently have a human population or any infrastructure.[78] TheGalápagos Islands in the eastern Pacific are designated as a special province ofEcuador, and have a small human population,[79] however, they are not represented inEcuador's national leagues. The sport is not known to be played on theU.S. outlying islands in the central Pacific, such asMidway Island andWake Island, which have primarily served as military bases throughout their history. It has occasionally been played on some ofAlaska'sAleutian Islands in the far north Pacific, but there has never been an outdoor league, due to the cold weather.[80][81]
Israel had itsmen's national team enter the OFC qualifying tournaments for the FIFA World Cup in1986 and1990 due to political reasons, though it was never an OFC member.
Most of the island states off the Pacific coast of Asia (includingIndonesia,Japan, and thePhilippines) 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]
QF – Quarter-finals (1934–1938, 1954–1970, and 1986–present: knockout round of 8)
R3 – Round 3 (2026–present: knockout round of 16)
R2 – Round 2 (1974–1978: second group stage, top 8; 1982: second group stage, top 12; 1986–2022: knockout round of 16; 2026–present: knockout round of 32)
R1 – Round 1 (1930, 1950–1970 and 1986–present: group stage; 1934–1938: knockout round of 16; 1974–1982: first group stage)
•• — Qualified but withdrew
• — 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.
Oceania has sent representatives to theFIFA World Cup four times:Australia in 1974 and 2006, andNew Zealand in 1982 and 2010. Of these, only Australia in 2006 progressed beyond the first round.
The OFC was previously the onlyFIFA confederation that did not have a guaranteed spot in theWorld 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 theFIFA 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.
^abThe 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.
^New Caledonia participated and hosted the tournament in 1983, but were not a member of the OFC or FIFA until 2004.
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).
^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.
^Between the editions from1966 to1982, teams from Oceania played the qualifiers together with the Asian teams (they also played together with the African teams, but only in the1966 edition).
1 Associate member of OFC - Not a member of FIFA 2 Not a member of OFC and consequently not a member of FIFA 3 Northern Mariana Islands was only an associate member of OFC between 1998 and 2009 - Not a member of FIFA 4 Although not geographically in Oceania, Chinese Taipei was a member of the OFC between 1976–1978 and 1982–1989 Although not geographically in OceaniaIsrael entered OFC World Cup qualification in1986 and1990 due to political reasons, though it never became a formal OFC member.
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