2022 OFC Champions League

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2022 OFC Champions League
Tournament details
Teams18 (expected) (from 11 associations)
← 2021
→

The 2022 OFC Champions League will be the 21st edition of the Oceanian Club Championship, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 16th season under the current OFC Champions League name.

Hienghène Sport, having won the title in 2019, were the title holders, since the 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled due to border closures throughout the Pacific caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the titles were not awarded.[1][2]

Teams[]

A total of 18 teams from all 11 OFC member associations are eligible to enter the competition. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the format of the competition was changed, with all teams entering a qualifying stage consisting of a qualifying tournament and national play-offs, in order to keep travel to a minimum:[3]

  • The seven developed associations (Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu) are awarded two berths each in the national play-offs, which are played as a single match in their own country between the two teams from each association, with the seven winners advancing to the final tournament.
  • The four developing associations (American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga) are awarded one berth each in the qualifying tournament, which is played at a centralised venue, with the winners advancing to the final tournament.
Teams from developed associations, eligible to enter the national play-offs
Association Team Qualifying method
 Fiji Lautoka champions
Rewa runners-up
 New Caledonia 2021 New Caledonia Super Ligue champions
2021 New Caledonia Super Ligue runners-up
 New Zealand Team Wellington 2020–21 New Zealand Football Championship champions
Auckland City 2020–21 New Zealand Football Championship regular season premiers
 Papua New Guinea 2021 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League champions
2021 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League runners-up
 Solomon Islands Central Coast 2021 Solomon Islands S-League champions
Solomon Warriors 2021 Solomon Islands S-League runners-up
 Tahiti Pirae 2020–21 Tahiti Ligue 1 champions
Vénus 2020–21 Tahiti Ligue 1 runners-up
 Vanuatu Galaxy champions
runners-up
Teams from developing associations, eligible to enter the qualifying tournament
Association Team Qualifying method
 American Samoa 2021 FFAS Senior League champions
 Cook Islands Nikao Sokattak F.C. champions
 Samoa Lupe o le Soaga 2020 Samoa National League top eight round winners
 Tonga Veitongo champions

Schedule[]

On 4 March 2021, the OFC announced that the qualifying stage, which would have been played in Tonga between 16–22 October 2021, had been postponed to early 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4][5] On 4 June 2021, the OFC announced that the tournament would be moved from its traditional slot at the beginning of the year to August, and a revised format for the event would be presented at the next OFC Executive Committee meeting.[2] On 8 October 2021, the OFC announced the new format of the competition.[3]

The original schedule of the competition, as planned before the pandemic, was as follows.[6]

Original schedule for 2022 OFC Champions League
Stage Match dates
Qualifying stage 16–22 October 2021, later postponed to January 2022 (Tonga)
Group stage
  • Group A: 29 January – 6 February 2022
  • Group B: 29 January – 6 February 2022
  • Group C: 12–20 February 2022
  • Group D: 12–20 February 2022
Quarter-finals 12–13 March 2022
Semi-finals 2–3 April 2022
Final 23 April 2022

References[]

  1. ^ "OFC Champions League 2020 cancelled". Oceania Football Confederation. 4 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b "OFC competitions calendar rescheduled". Oceania Football Confederation. 4 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b "OFC competitions schedule update for 2022". Oceania Football Confederation. 8 October 2021.
  4. ^ "OFC confirms schedule changes". Oceania Football Confederation. 4 March 2021.
  5. ^ "OFC Competitions 2021 Calendar (updated 4/06/2021)" (PDF). Oceania Football Confederation. Fédération Tahitienne de Football. 4 June 2021.
  6. ^ "OFC Competitions 2022 Calendar (updated 4/06/2021)" (PDF). Oceania Football Confederation. Fédération Tahitienne de Football. 4 June 2021.

External links[]

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