Inaugural senior Oceania Cup to become triennial fixture

In ground-breaking news, a senior Oceania Cup will be played every three years in the year prior to the International Cup.

Supplementing this much-awaited regular competition is likely to be an international fixture held in the year after the International Cup. The first senior Oceania Cup will be hosted by Auckland, New Zealand, in November 2010.

Likely Calendar :

2010 Oceania Cup. Seniors. November 12-15th, Auckland, New Zealand.

2011 International Cup. Seniors. August. Australia.

2012 International Fixture (All Pacific Countries to be rostered). Seniors. November.

It would be interesting to consider whether there may also be a place for footy at the Pacific Games which are held on a regular basis too. This has been discussed at various times by those involved in the international football community, but until recently was not really viable in terms of having sufficient countries and resources.

Invited countries for the first senior Oceania Cup at this stage include: PNG, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Nauru, New Caledonia, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and New Zealand. Expressions of interest are currently being sought for the 2010 tournament with expected final numbers by the end of April.

Also of interest is that an invite is being formulated for distribution to Australian Clubs to tour Pacific Countries over the next 3-5 year period. It would be expected that many of the Pacific countries would both be keen and have the capability to make such a tour a huge success for the touring parties.