Oceania Champions League to kick off

Transcript

The Oceania Champions League kicks off in Fiji this weekend, with Auckland City chasing a fifth consecutive regional title. 

However, as Vinnie Wylie reports, a number of rival clubs have splashed the cash in an effort to catch up.

Auckland City put Oceania football on the map in December by finishing third at the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco.  Fresh from retaining the New Zealand domestic title last weekend, City arrived in Fiji heavy favourites to keep hold of the O-League trophy.  The first team standing in their way is Fijian champions Suva FC, who are making their Champions League debut.  Club President Mahend Prasad says they've spent up big on players from Spain, the USA and Italy to complement their Fijian core, and won't be overawed by their opponents.

MAHEND PRASAD:  The pool is harder and the teams get prepared well and we do not go back and think about the hard pool. All teams are rated the same as Auckland City will have 11 players [and] Suva will also have 11 players, so the best team will definitely emerge the winner.

Vanuatu's Amicale FC finished runners-up in both 2011 and 2014 and have recruited from Europe, South America and the Pacific in an effort to go one step better.  Along with domestic rivals Tafea FC their build-up was affected by the devastation caused by Cyclone Pam.  President Andrew Leong says that's given them added motivation to do well.

ANDREW LEONG:  And we're not playing only for Amicale, but they will play for everyone who got affected by Cyclone Pam in the last few weeks. Obviously we were affected mentally, firstly to train and to have our training games with the championship to finish it off and still claim the championship. Amicale has got its own soccer field to train so after four days we were back to normal and now we are just trying to get ready.

Samoan champions Lupe Ole Soaga are embracing their role as underdogs after winning the OFC Preliminary tournament six months ago, to qualify for the main draw.  Team President Taimalelagi Fiti Aimaasu says they've only recruited one import from Australia and are backing their local players to perform for them.  He says every game will be huge but he believes they can be competitive.

TAIMALELAGI FITI AIMAASU:  Same as before when we were newcomers on the block and people didn't know of us and I think that will be the case in Fiji - we are still the underdog. I think that's a positive, looking from our perspective, and we will take on that role and try and play from there and see what we can do on the pitch when they come.

There are three other newcomers to this year's O-League in Gaitcha from New Caledonia, Solomon Islands champions Western United and Team Wellington from New Zealand.  For the first time the full Champions League will be played in one country, with matches in Suva and Ba.  The overall winner will represent Oceania at the FIFA Club World Cup later in the year.