2026 OFC Professional League

2026 OFC Professional League
Tournament details
DatesCircuit series:
17 January – 18 April 2026
Playoff groups:
May – 24 May 2026
Teams8 (from 7 associations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played21
Goals scored62 (2.95 per match)
Attendance21,870 (1,041 per match)
Top scorer(s)Jordan Swibel (South Melbourne)
5 goals
2027
All statistics correct as of 8 February 2026.

The 2026 OFC Professional League is the inaugural season of the OFC Professional League, a men's professional football league in the Oceania region. It is organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and features eight clubs from seven nations, competing in a circuit series format across various Pacific locations.

The league champion will qualify for the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup and provide a pathway to the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup,[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] apart from the South Melbourne team (who cannot qualify for other competitions as they are based in Australia, which is part of the Asian Football Confederation).

The fixtures were released on 24 November 2025.[8]

Clubs

Clubs and locations

Club City
New Zealand Auckland FC Auckland
Fiji Bula FC Suva
Papua New Guinea PNG Hekari Port Moresby
Solomon Islands Solomon Kings Honiara
New Zealand South Island United Christchurch
Australia South Melbourne Melbourne
French Polynesia Tahiti United Pīraʻe
Vanuatu Vanuatu United Port Vila

Personnel and kits

Club Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
New Zealand Auckland FC Australia Luke Casserly[9] Australia Tass Mourdoukoutas[10] New Balance[11] ANZ[12]
Fiji Bula FC Guadeloupe Stéphane Auvray[13] Fiji Roy Krishna[14] RK21[15] Extra Supermarket[16]
Papua New Guinea PNG Hekari Solomon Islands Jerry Allen (interim)[17] Papua New Guinea David Tomare[18]   MRDC[19]
Solomon Islands Solomon Kings England Ben Cahn[20] Solomon Islands Philip Mango[21] Stanno[22] Solomon Ports[23]
New Zealand South Island United Wales Rob Sherman[24][25] New Zealand Christian Gray[26] New Balance[27] Go Media[28]
Australia South Melbourne Australia Siniša Cohadzić[29] Australia Marko Janković[30] Kappa[31] Directed Group[32]
French Polynesia Tahiti United French Polynesia Samuel Garcia[33] French Polynesia Teaonui Tehau[34] Adidas[35] None
Vanuatu Vanuatu United Germany Lars Hopp[36] Vanuatu Michel Coulon[37] Cikers None

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position on table Incoming manager Date of appointment
New Zealand South Island United Inaugural Pre-season Wales Rob Sherman[24] 2 October 2025
Papua New Guinea PNG Hekari Brazil Marcos Gusmão[38] 10 October 2025
Vanuatu Vanuatu United Germany Lars Hopp[36] 17 October 2025
Fiji Bula FC Guadeloupe Stéphane Auvray[13] 24 October 2025
French Polynesia Tahiti United French Polynesia Samuel Garcia[33] 30 October 2025
New Zealand Auckland FC Australia Luke Casserly[39] 1 December 2025
Solomon Islands Solomon Kings England Ben Cahn[20] 13 December 2025
Papua New Guinea PNG Hekari Brazil Marcos Gusmão[17] Stepped down 3 February 2026 8th Solomon Islands Jerry Allen (interim)[17] 3 February 2026

Foreign players

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 OFC player 1 OFC player 2 OFC player 3
New Zealand Auckland FC Australia Tass Mourdoukoutas[40] Norway Daniel Normann[41] United States Jonathon Robinson[42]
Fiji Bula FC France Didier Desprez[43] Japan Yuta Konagaya[44] Trinidad and Tobago Kaïlé Auvray[45] New Zealand Matthew Foord[46] New Zealand Fergus Gillion[47] New Zealand Adam Supyk[48]
Papua New Guinea PNG Hekari Brazil Erick Joe[49]  Brazil Kaue Silva[49] Brazil Rafael Chaves[49] Solomon Islands Leon Kofana[50] Solomon Islands John Orobulu[51] Vanuatu John Alick[51]
Solomon Islands Solomon Kings Australia Jez Lofthouse[52] Japan Sota Higashide
New Zealand South Island United Australia Deen Hasanovic[53] Australia Jacob Krayem[54] Netherlands Steven van Dijk[55] Samoa Dauntae Mariner[56] Solomon Islands Rovu Boyers[57]
Australia South Melbourne Japan Yuki Uchida[58] New Zealand Ishveer Singh[54]  
French Polynesia Tahiti United Canada Jackson Gardner[54] New Caledonia Joseph Athale[54] Fiji Tevita Waranaivalu[54] New Caledonia Germain Haewegene
Vanuatu Vanuatu United Australia Matt Acton[59] Australia Hassan Ramazani[60] United States William Cardona[61] New Zealand Otto Ingham[62] New Zealand Owen Smith[63] Papua New Guinea Raymond Diho[64]

Format

The competition features five circuit series rounds followed by two play-off groups (Leaders and Challengers) before the semi-finals and final.[65]

Venues

The circuit-series matches will be played in Auckland, Ba, Honiara, Melbourne, Port Moresby and Suva.[66]

Round 1 Round 2 Round 3
New Zealand Auckland Papua New Guinea Port Moresby Australia Melbourne
Eden Park North Harbour Stadium PNG Football Stadium Olympic Village The Home of the Matildas
Capacity: 50,000 Capacity: 14,000 Capacity: 14,800 Capacity: 12,000 Capacity: 3,500
The stadium from the south-east.
Round 4 Round 5 Round 6
Solomon Islands Honiara Fiji Ba Fiji Suva New Zealand Auckland
National Stadium Govind Park Buckhurst Park Eden Park
Capacity: 10,000 Capacity: 13,500 Capacity: 15,446 Capacity: 50,000
Govind-Park-Fiji

Circuit series

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 New Zealand Auckland FC 6 5 0 1 14 4 +10 15 Qualification for Leaders play-off group
2 Australia South Melbourne 5 3 2 0 16 7 +9 11
3 Solomon Islands Solomon Kings 5 2 2 1 4 2 +2 8
4 New Zealand South Island United 5 2 2 1 7 8 −1 8
5 Fiji Bula FC 5 1 2 2 4 5 −1 5 Qualification for Challengers play-off group
6 French Polynesia Tahiti United 5 1 2 2 4 8 −4 5
7 Vanuatu Vanuatu United 6 0 3 3 10 16 −6 3
8 Papua New Guinea PNG Hekari 5 0 1 4 3 12 −9 1
Updated to match(es) played on 8 February 2026. Source: OFC Pro League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head to head; 5) Head to head goal difference; 6) Head to head goals scored; 7) Disciplinary record; 8) Coin toss[67]


Results

Circuit 1
Home teamScoreAway team
Vanuatu United Vanuatu2–2Fiji Bula FC
Auckland FC New Zealand3–0New Zealand South Island United
Tahiti United French Polynesia1–2Australia South Melbourne
PNG Hekari Papua New Guinea0–1Solomon Islands Solomon Kings
Bula FC Fiji3 MarNew Zealand South Island United
Auckland FC New Zealand3–1Vanuatu Vanuatu United
Tahiti United French Polynesia3 MarPapua New Guinea PNG Hekari
South Melbourne Australia4 MarSolomon Islands Solomon Kings
South Island United New Zealand2–1Vanuatu Vanuatu United
Auckland FC New Zealand1–0Fiji Bula FC
Solomon Kings Solomon Islands0–0French Polynesia Tahiti United
PNG Hekari Papua New Guinea0–5Australia South Melbourne
Circuit 5
Home teamScoreAway team
Vanuatu United Vanuatu11 AprNew Zealand South Island United
Tahiti United French Polynesia11 AprSolomon Islands Solomon Kings
Auckland FC New Zealand12 AprAustralia South Melbourne
Bula FC Fiji12 AprPapua New Guinea PNG Hekari
South Island United New Zealand14 AprFrench Polynesia Tahiti United
Solomon Kings Solomon Islands14 AprVanuatu Vanuatu United
Auckland FC New Zealand15 AprPapua New Guinea PNG Hekari
South Melbourne Australia15 AprFiji Bula FC
South Island United New Zealand17 AprSolomon Islands Solomon Kings
Tahiti United French Polynesia17 AprVanuatu Vanuatu United
South Melbourne Australia18 AprPapua New Guinea PNG Hekari
Bula FC Fiji18 AprNew Zealand Auckland FC


Season statistics

Top goalscorers

As of 8 February 2026
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Australia Jordan Swibel Australia South Melbourne 5
2 Vanuatu Alex Saniel Vanuatu Vanuatu United 4
3 Australia Bailey Ferguson New Zealand Auckland FC 3
Australia Andrew Messourouni Australia South Melbourne
Japan Yuki Uchida Australia South Melbourne
6 Fiji Nabil Begg Fiji Bula FC 2
United States William Cardona Vanuatu Vanuatu United
New Zealand Ryan Feutz New Zealand South Island United
New Zealand Liam Gillion New Zealand Auckland FC
Japan Sota Higashide Solomon Islands Solomon Kings
Australia Max Mikkola Australia South Melbourne
New Zealand Owen Smith Vanuatu Vanuatu United
Argentina Emiliano Tade New Zealand Auckland FC
French Polynesia Teaonui Tehau French Polynesia Tahiti United
Pakistan Haris Zeb New Zealand South Island United

Clean sheets

As of 8 February 2026
Rank Player Club Clean
sheets
1 Solomon Islands Philip Mango Solomon Islands Solomon Kings 3
New Zealand Oscar Mason New Zealand Auckland FC
3 French Polynesia Jackson Teamotuaitau French Polynesia Tahiti United 2
4 New Zealand Blake Callinan New Zealand Auckland FC 1
France Didier Desprez Fiji Bula FC
Australia Iliya Shalamanov-Trenkov Australia South Melbourne
Netherlands Steven van Dijk New Zealand South Island United

See also

References

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