OFC

Fiji secured the spot after defeating Solomon Islands 3-1 in the second semi-final yesterday at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.

The Solomon Islanders struck first via a penalty early in the match with Eileen Pegi putting them in front 1-0.

But it did not take long for the hosts to get to the score board after Cema Nasau connected well with a cross from Trina Davis to head home the equalizer.

Backed by the home fans, Fiji slowly found their way into the game.

The regional championship was set to be held in Tahiti and serves as the Oceania qualifier for the Beach Soccer World Cup, but was rescheduled multiple times due to border closures throughout the Pacific.

OFC General Secretary Franck Castillo said the organisation exhausted all possible options to play the tournament before coming to this decision.

"The sad reality of the coronavirus pandemic is that we have a number of hurdles to overcome to operate our tournaments and we are still unable to do so given the border closures throughout the Pacific," he said.

However, the tournaments remain on track to take place this year.

The events were supposed to take place last year to stage as qualifiers for the FIFA U-17 and FIFA U-20 World Cups but were delayed due to travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Last month, FIFA cancelled the FIFA U-17 World Cup that was meant to be held in Peru in October and the FIFA U-20 World Cup that was set for Indonesia in May-June. 

The OFC’s Executive Committee has agreed to try and exhaust all possible options to play them in 2021. 

OFC's 11 Member Associations will receive $NZ700,000 across two years - an increase of $NZ150,000 each year - while associate members Tuvalu and Kiribati will each receive $NZ60,000.

Of the $NZ350,000 annual grant, $NZ100,000 will be dedicated to national team costs with at least 25 per cent to be invested into the women's squad.

A further $NZ100,000 will be assigned to governance and management with the remaining $NZ150,000 to be spent on football development, with at least 25 per cent allocated to women's football.

OFC announced this week it had postponed all tournaments and meetings until 6 May, following advice from health authorities and member nations.

The affected events include the Under 16 Women's Championship, due to take place next month in Tahiti, which had already been postponed from December following the regional measles outbreak.

The knockout rounds of the OFC Champions League club competition are also being delayed.

OFC General Secretary Franck Castillo said the decision was made to ensure the safety and well-being of all their members.

The executive, David Chung, was the president of the Oceania Football Confederation, whose 14 members wield little power competitively or politically in FIFA. But Chung, of Papua New Guinea, had outsize influence as the most senior of FIFA’s eight vice presidents.

Chung cited personal reasons for his decision, but the announcement came as he found himself under mounting pressure to step down after an audit into a multimillion-dollar project to build a new headquarters for the O.F.C.

Tonga, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, and Fiji have gone the extra mile to create opportunities in women’s football while using the worldwide celebration as a platform to promote the #ENDviolence campaign, a joint OFC and UNICEF initiative to raise awareness about violence against women and children in the Pacific.

     One year on from the devastation of Tropical Cyclone Pam and six months on from Tropical Cyclone Winston, the Just Play Emergency Programme has been shortlisted for the Beyond Sport Innovation award in recognition of the work in both Vanuatu and Fiji.

Many attempts by Papua New Guinea in the first half shook the Solomon Islands side before flanker Nigel Dabinyaba found an opening at the corner for a cross which Michael Fosters  who was  in front of the goal  mouth dribbled  to confuse the opposition before slamming home the first goal of the match.

However, Solomon Islands retaliated seven minutes  later with a corner kick from striker Judd Molea that curved right through the corner post slipping off PNG goal keepers hand Ronald Warrisan to even the scores at 1-1.

Since the start of the partnership in 2013, Just Play – the Oceania Football Confederation’s sport for development programme – has worked alongside UNICEF on several projects, to reach thousands of children through the powerful medium of sport.