13 Clubs Now In Contention To Be Part Of The Inaugural OFC Professional League
From the 24 clubs who expressed interest in being part of the OFC Professional League due to start in January 2026, OFC can confirm that 13 will continue to the Club Licensing phase.
There are 11 clubs from six OFC Member Associations including four from New Zealand, two from Fiji, two from Papua New Guinea, one each from Solomon Islands, Tahiti, and Vanuatu, with the other two clubs from Australia.
The 13 clubs will be reduced to eight for the 2026 competition. There will be a maximum of two entries from a single OFC Member Association and one from Australia.
The competition will feature eight teams and run from early January until the end of May with each club playing a minimum of 17 matches.
'Any club that wants to participate in the OFC Professional League 2026 must meet the requirements to receive an OFC Professional League Club License', stated Stuart Larman, OFC Professional League Project Manager.
'We expect the quality of submissions to continue at the same level as we have seen in the first phase of the Club Application Process. If that happens, we will have 13 clubs licensed and eight slots available in the OFC Professional League 2026. In countries where more than one club has attained a license, we have a defined methodology to distinguish between the clubs based on their Club Licensing submissions.' Larman added.
In August, the OFC Club Licensing Committee will pass on its recommendations to the OFC Executive Committee, with confirmation on the eight selected clubs happening in September.
The competition will run from early January until the end of May, with a minimum of 17 matches for each club. There will be five circuit series rounds at various Pacific locations in a double round-robin format before the teams are split into two playoff groups, Leaders and Challengers.
The Leaders Playoff Group will see the top four teams compete for three semi-final spots. The Challengers Playoff Group will see the top team after three round-robin matches compete against the bottom team from the Leaders Playoff Group for the final semi-final spot. This is designed to keep fans and players engaged throughout the season. The semi-finals and the grand final will be single leg matches at yet to be determined venues.
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