OFC Men's Nations Cup facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
OFC Men's Nations Cup

Organising body	OFC
Founded	1973; 52 years ago (1973)
Region	Oceania
Number of teams	8 (finals) 11 (qualification)
Current champions	New Zealand (6th title)
Most successful team(s)	New Zealand (6 titles)
Television broadcasters	FIFA+

The OFC Men's Nations Cup is a big football (soccer) competition in Oceania. It used to be called the OFC Nations Cup. This tournament brings together the best men's national teams from countries that are part of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). The team that wins becomes the champion of Oceania! Until 2016, the winner also got to play in the FIFA Confederations Cup.

For a long time, two teams, Australia and New Zealand, were much stronger than the other island teams. Most of the time, one of them would win. But in 2012, something special happened: Tahiti won the cup, becoming the first team other than Australia or New Zealand to do so!

History of the OFC Nations Cup

Early Tournaments (1973–1980)

The competition started in 1973 and was called the "Oceania Cup." The first tournament was held in Auckland, New Zealand. New Zealand won the final match, beating Tahiti 2–0. Interestingly, the Australian team didn't play in this first event. Some teams that weren't even part of FIFA yet, like New Hebrides (which is now Vanuatu), also took part.

The second Oceania Cup happened in 1980 in New Caledonia. Australia won this time, defeating Tahiti 4–2 in the final. New Zealand didn't do so well in this tournament, even though they qualified for the 1982 FIFA World Cup two years later! These first two tournaments didn't have any qualifying rounds. After 1980, the tournament stopped for a while. Australia held the title of Oceania Champion for 16 years without playing another tournament! During this break, the most important football event in the region was the Trans-Tasman Cup, played only between Australia and New Zealand.

The Cup Returns (1996–2004)

In 1996, the tournament came back as the "Oceania Nations Cup." This was after the OFC became an official Confederation for FIFA. This time, the winner would qualify for the Confederations Cup. The 1996 tournament didn't have one host country. Instead, teams played semi-finals and a final over two games. Australia easily won the final against Tahiti, with scores of 6–0 and 5–0. An Australian player named Kris Trajanovski scored seven goals in the final! Australia then played in the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup.

In 1998, Australia hosted the tournament. Six teams played, but Australia and New Zealand were still the strongest. In the final, New Zealand beat Australia 1–0 in Brisbane. An Australian player, Damian Mori, scored 10 goals in this tournament, which is still a record! He's also the top scorer in the history of the OFC Nations Cup with 14 goals.

Tahiti hosted the fifth tournament in 2000. Australia and New Zealand again met in the final. Australia won their third title by beating New Zealand 2–0. This win sent Australia to the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup. Australia later finished third in that big tournament!

The 2002 edition was in New Zealand, with eight teams. Australia and New Zealand reached the final for the third time in a row. New Zealand won 1–0 in Auckland. Australia had some money problems, and their players even had to pay their own way to get to New Zealand, which meant they had a weaker team.

In 2004, the tournament was held in Australia and also served as a qualifier for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Six teams played in one big group. Vanuatu surprisingly beat New Zealand 4–2! Solomon Islands made it to the final against Australia. Australia won both final games easily, 5–1 and 6–0. This was the fourth and last OFC title for Australia. In 2006, Australia decided to join the AFC, which changed football in Oceania a lot.

A New Era (2006–Present)

When Australia left the OFC in 2006, New Zealand became the strongest team left in Oceania. The 2007 South Pacific Games helped teams qualify for the 2008 OFC Nations Cup. The 2008 tournament didn't have one host. Four teams played each other home and away. This tournament also helped teams qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. New Zealand won easily, winning five out of six matches. New Zealand's Shane Smeltz was the top scorer with eight goals.

The 2012 OFC Nations Cup was supposed to be in Fiji, but it moved to the Solomon Islands. Eight teams played in two groups. After nine days of matches, Tahiti and New Caledonia reached the final. Tahiti won 1–0, making history as the first team other than Australia or New Zealand to win the Oceania championship! This tournament also helped teams qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

After the 2020 OFC Nations Cup was cancelled, the tournament was confirmed for 2024. The 2024 OFC Men's Nations Cup will follow a similar style, but it won't be a World Cup qualifier this time.

How the Tournament Works

The first two tournaments (1973 and 1980) didn't have any special qualifying rounds. Teams just played.

Later, for the 1996, 1998, and 2000 tournaments, Australia and New Zealand automatically got a spot. Other teams had to play in smaller regional cups, like the Polynesia Cup and Melanesia Cup, to qualify.

In 2002, the rules changed. All twelve teams were ranked by FIFA. The lower-ranked teams played a group stage to get two spots in the main tournament. The main tournament then had two groups of four teams, followed by knockout games (semi-finals and a final).

The format changed again in 2004. It went back to being similar to the 1996-2000 tournaments. Five teams played in two qualifying groups, and Australia and New Zealand were already in the main tournament. The main tournament was a group stage of six teams, with the top two playing a final over two games. This tournament also counted as a qualifier for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

For the 2008 tournament, the Football at the 2007 South Pacific Games was used as a qualifier. The top three teams from those games joined New Zealand (who qualified automatically) in the main tournament. New Zealand won and qualified for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

This map shows how well countries have done in the OFC Nations Cup. Three countries have won, including Australia, which is no longer part of the OFC. Dark gray means a country has never qualified. Yellow squares show nations that have hosted a whole tournament.

Here's a quick look at how the tournament format has changed over the years:

Tournament Results

Here's a table showing the winners and top teams over the years:

Ed.	Year	Host		Final				Third Place Match or losing semi-finalists				Number of teams
				Champion	Score	Runner-up		Third place	Score	Fourth place
1	1973	New Zealand		New Zealand	2–0	Tahiti		New Caledonia	2–1	New Hebrides		5
2	1980	New Caledonia		Australia	4–2	Tahiti		New Caledonia	2–1	Fiji		8
3	1996	(various)		Australia	6–0 5–0	Tahiti		New Zealand and  Solomon Islands				4
4	1998	Australia		New Zealand	1–0	Australia		Fiji	4–2	Tahiti		6
5	2000	Tahiti		Australia	2–0	New Zealand		Solomon Islands	2–1	Vanuatu		6
6	2002	New Zealand		New Zealand	1–0	Australia		Tahiti	1–0	Vanuatu		8
7	2004	Australia		Australia	5–1 6–0	Solomon Islands		New Zealand	Round robin	Fiji		6
8	2008	(various)		New Zealand	Round robin	New Caledonia		Fiji	Round robin	Vanuatu		4
9	2012	Solomon Islands		Tahiti	1–0	New Caledonia		New Zealand	4–3	Solomon Islands		8
10	2016	Papua New Guinea		New Zealand	0–0 4–2 (p)	Papua New Guinea		New Caledonia and  Solomon Islands				8
–	2020	New Zealand		(Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania)								8
11	2024	Fiji  Vanuatu		New Zealand	3–0	Vanuatu		Tahiti	2–1	Fiji		7

• The 2004 tournament was played as a round-robin tournament in Australia. The top two teams then played a final over two games (home and away).

Summary of Team Success

This table shows how many times each team has won, been runner-up, or placed third or fourth.

Team	Winner	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place	Semi-finalist	Top 4 Total
New Zealand	6 (1973, 1998, 2002, 2008, 2016, 2024)	1 (2000)	2 (2004, 2012)	N/A	1 (1996)	10
Australia1	4 (1980, 1996, 2000, 2004)	2 (1998, 2002)	N/A	N/A	N/A	6
Tahiti	1 (2012)	3 (1973, 1980, 1996)	2 (2002, 2024)	1 (1998)	N/A	7
New Caledonia	N/A	2 (2008, 2012)	2 (1973, 1980)	N/A	1 (2016)	5
Solomon Islands	N/A	1 (2004)	1 (2000)	1 (2012)	2 (1996, 2016)	5
Papua New Guinea	N/A	1 (2016)	N/A	N/A	N/A	1
Vanuatu	N/A	1 (2024)	N/A	4 (1973, 2000, 2002, 2008)	N/A	5
Fiji	N/A	N/A	2 (1998, 2008)	3 (1980, 2004, 2024)	N/A	5

Notes:

Bold text means the team was the host country.
¹ Australia left the OFC in 2006. They became a full member of the AFC.

Awards for Players

After each tournament, special awards are given to players who did really well:

• The Best Player award goes to the most valuable player in the tournament.
• The Top Goalscorer award is for the player who scores the most goals.
• The Best Goalkeeper award is for the best goalie.
• The Fair Play Award is given to the team that plays the game most fairly.

See also

In Spanish: Copa de las Naciones de la OFC para niños