Auckland FC celebrate their OFC Pro League victory over South Melbourne.
Photo: Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
Oceania Football Confederation’s (OFC) first-ever professional league is financially secured for the next three years.
OFC Pro League general manager Stuart Larman told RNZ Pacific it was rare that a new league could have the financial stability to carry on, and thanked the sport’s world governing body, FIFA, and other commercial partners, that have backed the league.
He said there were learnings and positive feedback, especially commercially from those wanting to be a part of the league going forward.
The OFC Pro League was played across New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea from February to May.
Eight clubs, one from Australia, two from New Zealand and five from the Pacific islands, were part of the first series, which Auckland FC won in the end.
The other clubs that were part of the league were Bula FC from Fiji, Vanuatu United FC, Solomon Kings FC, PNG Hekari FC, Tahiti United FC, South Island United of New Zealand and South Melbourne from Australia.
Eight clubs: one from Australia, two from New Zealand and five from the Pacific Islands were part of the inaugural OFC Pro League season.
Photo: OFC Media via Phototek
Despite some challenging weather conditions and low crowd turn-out at some of the venues, especially in Australia and New Zealand, Oceania Football is confident the league is here to stay.
The league, launched earlier this year, has a four-year budget of NZ$70 million, supplemented by a NZ$35 million investment from the Saudi Tourism Authority.
The Saudi funding is specifically for travel and accommodation expenses for the Pacific-based teams.
Funding and budget
Larman said all that funding support has secured the league for the first four years, with new interests signalling even more positive news beyond that.
“We’re very lucky to have the support of FIFA, I think that goes without saying,” Larman said.
“I think we must acknowledge the importance of FIFA’s role in making sure that the league can exist, and as we’re able to set it up largely because of their support.
“But we also have commercial partners who have supported us, we are working with potential other new partners.
“Any league will long term always be dependent on the commercial and broadcast partners, and we’re no different.”
Larman said the league has gathered a lot of interest globally, with a lot of people expressing their surprise at the quality of the competition, which is testimony to the inclusion of players from other confederations who were recruited by the different competing clubs.
Larman said the OFC Pro League has gathered a lot of interest globally.
Photo: Shane Wenzlick / Phototek.nz
“I know that our marketing department are very busy fielding calls and in discussions with various different partners from different places, from this region and outside of this region,” Larman said.
“We’re very happy in terms of how I think people have been quite surprised at the quality of the league and the level of interest in the region, but further afield a lot of people have picked up on it from a global angle.
“It’s quite interesting to see that, and we’re seeing the follow up with that right now.”
Despite matches being spread out and having postponed matches added to the tight schedule, Larman said the competition was within budget and is concretely secured financially for the next three years.
“We were within budget, and next season we are,” he stated.
“We’ve been working on the budget, actually, this week. So, we’re well within budget for the next few seasons as well, so we know where we stand concretely for next three seasons, which is very rare for a football league.
“And we’re working within the constraints if they are any, of the budget that exists.”
Fans and weather
Heavy rain and flooding affected matches in Australia, Fiji and New Zealand, which forced some postponement.
The humidity also had the better off some teams in Honiara and Port Moresby.
Low crowd turnout at the New Zealand and Australia games were also recorded.
But Larman said despite the setbacks, things look promising.
“With regards to the spectators, I think the first season we saw some really positive signs, and obviously there are other things that we need to look at in terms of how we deliver the league and how we engage potential fan base,” he said.
“But I think that as a first season we’ve got a strong basis to build on, and we’ve taken some learnings in terms of locations and venues and need to spend a bit more time on promotions in certain areas, and we take those learnings with a lot more time this year than we had last year, and hopefully we’ll see a big boost in 2027.”
Larman said despite the low turnout during the season, things look promising.
Photo: OFC Media via Phototek
The experience, especially in tackling the unpredictable weather, has also got the OFC team moving with plans set in place to ensure Plan B is in place for such situations in the future.
“The weather was…I think we were a little bit surprised that we had to postpone matches in New Zealand and Australia because we were expecting other places to be more of a challenge with the weather,” he said.
“But we also experienced weather challenges in Fiji and Solomon Islands. I think that we were already well prepared for that, and I think we’ve also strengthened our processes since we had those experiences.
“So, going forward, for example, we will have a specific period allocated in the 2027 season for matches that do get postponed.”
He said the plan is if matches are “we don’t want to be in a situation where we have to add it to the existing schedule, because it does make things quite crammed for everyone involved, not least the players and the officials from each of the clubs”.
Otherwise, Larman said he and the OFC in general have given the thumbs up to the first-ever competition.
Big achievement
He said just having the league and seeing it completed well was a big achievement.
The trickling effect the league will have on the standard of football in the participating island countries plus flow on to the local economies are also obvious positives.
Larman said the focus for them now is getting better, with discussions also going on about the makeup of the league, and how interested teams can also be part of the competition moving forward.
“We’ve managed to complete the first full season, and I think just getting the league up and running is obviously a major achievement in itself,” he stated.
“I think everyone understands the logistics and the need to go from amateur to professionalism is a major challenge for everyone, the clubs and ourselves.
“So, completing the league is a major achievement off the pitch and on the pitch, what we saw is highly competitive and well-balanced football. I think that it bodes very well for the future editions.”
OFC’s focus is to the focus is to make the OFC Pro League better.
Photo: OFC Media via Phototek
Larman said they have put in place a Pathway Certificate system, where clubs interested in being part of the league can apply through.
He said clubs that have the ambition to join the league at some point in the future, can apply for the pathway certificate, which will assist in the licensing of clubs who might be given the opportunity to be part of the competition, in case a current club or clubs leaves or if the league is expanded.
“We have had four clubs who are part of this pathway certificate process,” he revealed.
“If at any point in time a current club has to pull out for any reason, or they do not get the club license, then the priority for us will be to work with those eight clubs that have a pathway certificate, and to invite those relevant to apply for a full club license.
“That’s the route we currently have to enter the league in the future, so it’s a clear structure, basically.”
But the OFC is set on getting the competition going with stability a major focus for the moment, while working with interests along the way.
“At this point in time, obviously, you want stability, to have those clubs that are already part of the league [and] to invest and to build up their structures, their fan bases, so they need stability as well,” Larman said.
“So, those eight clubs are obviously the eight clubs that we work with for next season as a priority.”
Auckland FC, as OFC Pro League winner, will go on to the FIFA Inter-continental Cup tournament later this year.
There is also the chance for the OFC winner to also compete at the FIFA Club World Cup.
Vanuatu United finished as the top Pacific Island team in the competition, making the semifinals, after they had accounted for Bula FC in the semifinal playoff.
