2026 OFC Professional League
| Season | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 17 January – 24 May 2026 |
2027 → | |
The 2026 OFC Professional League will be 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
Locations of clubs competing in the 2026 season.
Clubs and locations
| Team | City |
|---|---|
| Auckland FC | Auckland |
| Bula FC | Suva |
| PNG Hekari | Port Moresby |
| Solomon Kings | Honiara |
| South Island United | Christchurch |
| South Melbourne | Melbourne |
| Tahiti United | Pīraʻe |
| Vanuatu United | Port Vila |
Personnel and kits
| Club | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland FC | Luke Casserly[9] | New Balance[10] | ANZ[11] | |
| Bula FC | Stéphane Auvray[12] | |||
| PNG Hekari | Marcos Gusmão[13] | |||
| Solomon Kings | Ben Cahn[14] | Solomon Ports[15] | ||
| South Island United | Rob Sherman[16][17] | New Balance[18] | Go Media[19] | |
| South Melbourne | Siniša Cohadzić[20] | Kappa[21] | ||
| Tahiti United | Samuel Garcia[22] | Teaonui Tehau[23] | ||
| Vanuatu United | Lars Hopp[24] |
Foreign players
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | OFC player 1 | OFC player 2 | OFC player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland FC | Tass Mourdoukoutas[25] | Daniel Normann[26] | ||||
| Bula FC | Zacariah Harang[27] | Adam Supyk[28] | ||||
| PNG Hekari | Erick Joe[29] | Kaue Silva[29] | Rafael Chaves[29] | Leon Kofana[30] | John Orobulu[31] | John Alick[31] |
| Solomon Kings | Jez Lofthouse | |||||
| South Island United | Steven van Dijk | Dauntae Mariner[32] | ||||
| South Melbourne | Yuki Uchida[33] | |||||
| Tahiti United | ||||||
| Vanuatu United | Matt Acton[34] | Hassan Ramazani[35] | William Cardona[36] | Otto Ingham[37] | Owen Smith[38] | Raymond Diho[39] |
Format
The competition features five circuit series rounds followed by two playoff groups (Leaders and Challengers) before the semi-finals and final.[40]
Venues
The circuit-series matches will be played in Auckland, Australia, Ba, Honiara, Port Moresby and Suva.[41]
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland | Port Moresby | Australia | |
| Eden Park | North Harbour Stadium | PNG Football Stadium | TBD Stadium |
| Capacity: 50,000 | Capacity: 14,000 | Capacity: 14,800 | Capacity: TBD |
| Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | |
| Honiara | Ba | Suva | Auckland |
| National Stadium | Govind Park | Buckhurst Park | Eden Park |
| Capacity: 10,000 | Capacity: 13,500 | Capacity: 15,446 | Capacity: 50,000 |
Circuit Series
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auckland FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification for Leaders play-off group |
| 2 | Bula FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | PNG Hekari | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Solomon Kings | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | South Island United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification for Challengers play-off group |
| 6 | South Melbourne | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | Tahiti United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | Vanuatu United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 17 January 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[42]
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[42]
Results
See also
References
- ^ "OFC plans to deliver professional league in 2021". The National. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ Ewart, Richard (December 2022). "OFC Pro League could feature composite Pacific island teams and marquee players from overseas". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "Preferred clubs announced for historic OFC Professional League". oceaniafootball.com. Oceania Football Confederation. 29 August 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Monteverde, Marco (29 August 2025). "Australia to be represented in new Oceania professional competition by South Melbourne". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 29 August 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "New Zealand's newest professional club will compete as South Island United". Friends of Football. 2025-10-07. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
- ^ "Expressions of interest open for inaugural OFC Professional League". Oceania Football Confederation. 2025-02-11. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
- ^ "OFC Professional League Enters Next Stage". Papua New Guinea Post Courier. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "Match schedule confirmed for OFC Pro League". OFC Pro League. 24 November 2025. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
- ^ "Auckland FC". OFC Pro League. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
- ^ Sacha Pisani (14 March 2024). "Historic day for A-Leagues as new Auckland team reveals name, logo and inaugural jersey". A-Leagues.
- ^ "All in for Auckland: Auckland FC Launches 25/26 Season Home & Away Jersey". Auckland FC. 28 August 2025.
- ^ Chand, Simran (24 October 2025). "Auvray, Rodu to lead Bula FC in Pro League". FBC News. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
- ^ "Brazilian imports boost PNG Hekari ahead of OFC Professional League launch". friendsoffootballnz.com. 22 October 2025. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
- ^ "With the 2026 OFC Pro League campaign fast approaching, we're excited to announce Ben Cahn as head coach for our debut season 👊". Solomon Kings. 13 December 2025. Retrieved 14 December 2025 – via Instagram.
- ^ "Solomon Kings gets big sponsorship deal from Solomon Ports". Solomon Star. 11 November 2025. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ^ "Christchurch United sign coach Rob Sherman". NZ Sports Wire. 2 October 2025. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
- ^ "South Island United to play in new pro football league". Otago Daily Times. 8 October 2025. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
- ^ "South Island United confirm partnership for OFC Pro League apparel". friendsoffootballnz.com. 17 December 2025. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
- ^ "Our new foundation partner…". South Island United. 14 December 2025. Retrieved 14 December 2025 – via Instagram.
- ^ "South Melbourne FC". OFC Pro League. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
- ^ "Kappa joins forces with South Melbourne FC". South Melbourne FC. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
- ^ "Tahiti United FC". OFC Pro League. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
- ^ "Le Tahiti United FC dans les starting-block de l'OFC Pro League 2026 !" [Tahiti United FC is ready to go for the OFC Pro League 2026!]. Tahiti United (in French). 3 November 2025. Retrieved 12 November 2025 – via Instagram.
- ^ "Lars Hopp Appointed as Head Coach of the Vanuatu Men's National Team and Vanuatu United FC". Vanuatu Football Federation. 17 October 2025. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
- ^ "Auckland FC reveal five new signings for their OFC Pro League squad". friendsoffootballnz.com. 11 December 2025. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ "Five New Signings as Auckland FC's OFC Pro League Squad Assembles". Auckland FC. 18 December 2025. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
- ^ Basiyalo, Taino (14 December 2025). "Australian midfielder to strengthen Bula FC squad". FBC News. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
- ^ Laddpeter, Meli (20 December 2025). "Bula FC signs first foreign player". FBC News. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ^ a b c "Brazilian imports boost PNG Hekari ahead of OFC Professional League launch". Friends of Football NZ. 22 October 2025. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
- ^ "PNG Hekari FC". OFC Professional League. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
- ^ a b Chandar, Reginald (13 November 2025). "Orobulu and Alick join PNG's Hekari for Pro League". Fiji Live. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
- ^ Brew, Andy (4 December 2025). "Nelson footballers embark on professional football dream with South Island United". The Press NZ. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ^ "South Melbourne sign Yuki Uchida". South Melbourne FC. 13 September 2025. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
- ^ Molivakoro, Vourie (31 October 2025). "Vanuatu United FC signs first player". Daily Post Digital. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
- ^ Molivakoro, Vourie (6 November 2025). "Vanuatu United FC signs second foreign player". Daily Post Digital. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
- ^ Molivakoro, Vourie (14 November 2025). "Vanuatu United FC signs Jordy Tasip". Daily Post Digital. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
- ^ "Vanuatu United FC adds two more players". Daily Post Digital. 13 November 2025. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
- ^ "Men's National League MVP Owen Smith to play in OFC Pro League". friendsoffootballnz.com. 14 December 2025. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
- ^ "Vanuatu United FC Signs PNG Young Defender Raymond Diho". Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation. 14 November 2025. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
- ^ "Expressions of interest open for inaugural OFC Professional League". Oceania Football Confederation. 2025-02-11. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
- ^ friendsoffootballnz_irqgpj (2025-10-26). "Saudi tourism body to invest almost NZ$35 million in new OFC Pro' League". Friends of Football. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
- ^ "OFC Professional League Competition Regulations" (PDF). Oceania Football Confederation. Retrieved 24 October 2025.