Oceania prepares for football 'revolution' with official launch of first-ever professional league

The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Professional League, which will kick off in January, has been described a "the dawn of a new era" for the sport in the region.

With eight teams, representing seven countries confirmed to be part of the first-ever professional football competition in the region, there is a lot of excitement in the air, with club signings now getting into their final stages.

The league is set to kick off at Eden Park in Auckland on 17 January 2026.

OFC president Lambert Maltock said the competition "marks the defined moment in the history of football in Oceania", as he welcomed guests, club coaches management and stakeholders to the official launch in Auckland on Wednesday.

"A moment that has been years in the making, tonight we celebrate our pioneering clubs, who will carry the hopes of our region into this new era," he said.

The confirmed teams for the league are Auckland FC and South Island United (New Zealand), Bula FC (Fiji), Hekari FC (Papua New Guinea), Solomon Kings FC (Solomon Islands), Tahiti United (Tahiti), Vanuatu United (Vanuatu), and South Melbourne FC (Australia).,

Maltock said for decades, the Pacific Island nations and New Zealand have shared a common dream to see Pacific football stand tall on the football global stage, not only through passion, but through a sustainable professional pathway that empowers players, coaches and clubs.

He said the new league is realisation of such dream.

"It is the dawn of a new era, one that gives our best players the chance to stay in the region, develop their careers and inspire the next generation," he said.

"It is about creating opportunity, not just for our footballers, but for entire communities who live and breathe this beautiful game."

Maltock said the new league "is a movement" that will change the football landscape in Oceania forever.

"We are proud as part of the global football family writing Oceania's own chapter in the world's game, and this is more than just a league. It is a movement, a revolution of football in the Pacific. It is about giving our children heroes to look up to. It is about building careers, communities and dreams."

Former All Black Ali Williams the chief guest at the launch event, told guests he was confident his own club Auckland FC would benefit from the league as much as the seven other clubs.

Williams co-owns Auckland FC, who have been in impressive form since making their A-League debut in 2024.

He excited about being able to offer opportunities for young people who can develop and compete in the league.

"The exciting part is what we, all as a collective group of nations, can do, and we can excel the game down here," he said.

"We all know how big football is... it is the global game. So the reality of what we have is we have an opportunity to take a global grain, but put our own flavour on it, put on how the country, how different islands will play, the personalities, the charm, the charisma, the energy, the flare, all those sorts of things that we're renowned for here in the Pacific."

Funding and top teams

OFC secretary general general Franck Castillo told reporters before the launch that funding for the new competition has been secured, with ongoing work on securing more funding for the expansion.

When pressed to give more information and whether Saudi Arabia was involved in funding the competition, Castillo said they have partnered with those interested in supporting the league.

"We are still finalising, and I know that may have some questions, but we cannot answer yet," Costello told reporters.

"We are formalising everything, but in due course, we will announce all the funding. But let's say that it's secured. We will confirm everything in due course."

Castillo also stressed that the new league will feature the best players from each club teams, amid concerns that Auckland FC, who play in the A-League, and South Melbourne, a regular in the Australia league, might be forced to field B teams.

Castillo said both clubs will also be gunning to win the new league title.

"They are going to create another team. The intention is to win the professional league. They will also have some of the players they have in the A-League, which is part of the negotiations that we have had."

Castillo said OFC is focused on sustaining the Pro League and expanding it.

"The league needs to grow and we are starting now with eight teams because, again, it's about funding. We had the funding for eight teams.

"But but we want to have more than eight teams in the future and we are very confident with that."

He said the first year is always "the most difficult" but he is confident the competition will get the attention of international funders and stakeholders.

"You'll see amazing results and because of the amazing results, people will talk about this league around the world and we'll secure more funding, and with more funding, we can get more than eight teams."

Positive outlooks

Alot of positivity has enveloped the new league, with club officials praising the project.

Auckland FC chief executive Nick Becker said they look forward to playing their part in growing the competition.

"It's immensely exciting. We're really, really excited about the opportunity ahead of us," he told RNZ Pacific.

"Obviously, we're a new team in the a league down here (A-League), and then to get the opportunity to play in the OFC Pro League is massive for the club - not only in developing players the game in this region, but also the opportunity and time to go, potentially to intercontinental club or the Club World Cup. It's massive for all professional clubs in this region."

Becker said the new competition creates a whole new opportunity for young players in Oceania to "come through an incredible pathway, a talent pathway for the region".

With Oceania being the only confederation without a professional league, Becker said, having the Pro League now means the region has now started a movement that will see Oceania make it into the global stage.

"I think this is the first step and a massive opportunity for the whole region to get up there and start competing and showing the athleticism and the the talent that's in this region coming through and playing the world game," he added.

South Melbourne coach Sinisha Cohadzic said the league will give them the opportunity to look at island players and work with the island clubs.

For the club, the OFC Pro League will present opportunities for their players to step up and make their mark.

"It's a new lease of life for many players that can't make that next step, or don't get an opportunity to make their next step into the a league, and this is the step," he said.

"I mean they will have the opportunity to play in the Pro League, opportunity to showcase themselves for the future years in front of them. And it's a very big challenge and important moment for the younger players to be able to showcase themselves in a competition like this."

He said Pacific Island players will also be available for possible contracts, with a lot of young talents waiting to be indentified and given the opportunity to showcase their talents in the islands.

"This is a great opportunity for us to look at the countries and the players in those countries, because we have limited resources of actually seeing them playing," he said.

"I believe that there are many young players there that we are going to see and that we will be interested to bring them over to Australia and try and develop them in our own way.

"A big opportunity for those players to showcase themselves, to be picked up, either by us or another team or league. And that's a win bonus within itself, for every single player that's actually going to play."

'A dream for us'

Tahiti United coach Sam Garcia believes the new competition is going to make Tahiti football stronger in many ways.

He said their name has been selected to help united the people of Tahiti behind the club.

And he is confident having players train and play together for a longer period will also boost the national team's performance.

"We are very happy to embark in this new project," Garcia told RNZ Pacific.

"It's really a dream for us that is finally coming through, and it's also a dream, I think, for many Pacific countries, to finally have, for the first time in history, a professional football league starting in Oceania.

"Right at this moment, not all of our players have signed a contract with us, but we are working towards this. We do have a lot of great, skilled players in Tahiti.

"This going to be great for the national team too because the difference with the national team is we bring the players together for maybe three weeks, and then you can see over the period of three weeks that the level is improving, whereas now, with this new project, you know, the players will have regular games at a high intensity level, and over time, it will help bridge the gap."

That effect is not lost on Bula FC coach Stephane Auvray, who has recently been appointed by Fiji Football to be head coach of both the club and the Fijian national team.

Auvray, who had played football in South America, Europe, United States of America and Asia before turning to coaching, said the grow-on effect of the league in the islands will be massive.

"This competition is an amazing one, it is going to change the landscape of football in Oceania, definitely in Fiji as well," he said.

"We're talking about a professional league in an entire region.

"I believe it's definitely positively going to affect the competition and lifting the standards of Fiji football, because as a head coach, I'm thinking that most of my players will be with me on a daily basis, which is a privilege, because when you have a national team, you see them only a week or 10 days here and there.

"Now we're going to have the luxury of working together on a daily basis, implementing a style of play which is very difficult for a national team and identity many things that we will have time to experiment until we find the right formula. So very, very positive."

The OFC Pro League will be played across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

The league will be played from January through to the end of May, in a series of circuit rounds, with each team playing a minimum of 17 matches, leading to a semi-final and final, to determine the inaugural champion.

The winner of the OFC Pro League will also qualify for the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.

In addition, the OFC Pro League will determine which club from Oceania will represent the region at the quadrennial FIFA Club World Cup.