Tahiti will host the 16th modern iteration of the Oceania Champions League in May but just as the competition is showing signs of maturing, its future as the region’s premier club tournament is under threat.
First staged back in 1987 as the Oceania Club Championship, the competition became the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Champions League in 2007 and has since been dominated by clubs from New Zealand.
Since Australia’s move to the Asian Football Confederation in 2006, clubs from New Zealand have won 13 out of 15 titles including last year when Auckland City won their second consecutive title and their 11th in all.
Since 2011, only a solitary success by New Caledonian club Hienghene Sport in 2019 and the subsequent COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted the Kiwi dominance. New Zealand’s representatives, Auckland City, will be favourites again for this year’s tournament at the 11,700-capacity Stade Pater in Papeete.
Previous tournaments were also not helped by an over-reliance on New
