OFC Champions League
The OFC Champions League is a football club competition in Oceania, which was organized by the OFC and the first time in 1987, still under the name OFC Champions Cup discharged. He is, albeit much less powerful, comparable to the analog Champions League competitions in Europe, Africa, Asia, North and Central America and South America. Currently, the competition is only the masters of the seven powerful associations of OFC reserved. These are Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tahiti and Vanuatu. New Zealand is since 2007 regular two participants; with the exception of 2010 each as defending champion. For the Master of the less powerful associations American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga a qualifying round was introduced in 2012. Whose winner is then qualified for one play-off for the OFC Champions League.
History
For the first time took place in 1987 in Adelaide, Australia, a competition between oceanic teams instead, the most likely was, however, only unofficial character. Occasion for an official tournament under the auspices of the Continental Association OFC offered the FIFA Club World Championship 2000, which also includes Oceania is expected to send a subscriber. Also in early 2001 a OFC Champions Cup was held. The Club World Cup was canceled by FIFA and set the competition for now.
Since the 2005 FIFA announced the return of the Club World Cup, it came to the new edition of the OFC Champions Cup. With Sydney FC for the fourth time in a row won an Australian team. It should also be the last time, as the Australian Football Association in the same year withdrew from the OFC and joined the AFC. 2006 won the New Zealand club Auckland City FC, who represent Oceania at the FIFA Club World Cup 2006.
In 2007, the tournament was renamed and now bears the name of OFC Champions League. The first two victories won Waitakere United.
Mode
The actual group stage with eight clubs from the seven play most countries (Fiji, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu and the defending champion ) is 2012/13, a qualifying round upstream for the first time since the season, which takes place in the previous year and at the the masters of American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga to participate. These four teams will play in a single league round each against all the group winners from. The latter shall thereafter in a play-off to the masters of the country's most poorly placed in the CL preseason. The winner of the play-off, in turn, completes the lineup for the eight clubs in the group stage of the main competition.
In these two groups of four teams each will (09 two groups of three to season 2008 / ) FFA played in home and away leg of the group winners. The two group winners will then face each other in the final, which will also be played in home and away matches, against.
From the 2012/13 season, the first and second in each group crossed the two finalists will play out in a semi-final return match. The final will take place in a game at a neutral site. First venue was Auckland in New Zealand.
The winner of the tournament will qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup, which will each be held in December after the finals. There he denies then a playoff game against the champions of the host country to participate in the quarterfinals.
The finals and prize
Rankings
The most successful club is Auckland City FC, which was the last OFC Champions Cup win (2006 ) and the first " OFC competition without Australian participation " before it was renamed the OFC Champions League. 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013, they could win the competition again for themselves. The toughest competitor is the national rival Waitakere United. This also reached four times the final of the OFC Champions League, but unlike Auckland could not make all the games for themselves one, but each lost in the finals in 2010 and 2013.
The first four OFC Champions Cups were distributed among four Australian clubs, the two-time Australian champions South Coast Wolves (as Wolongong Wolves ) and Sydney FC, the three-time Australian champion Adelaide City and the four-time Australian champion South Melbourne FC, whose triumph after by changing the dressing Asia has been terminated. Since then dominated the two New Zealand clubs Auckland City FC and Waitakere United, which so far were in every final and successful decision also up to the 2010 OFC competition for themselves. The biggest surprise in 2010 succeeded four times the Papua New Guinea - master Hekari United FC, as he beat the favored team Waitakere United of New Zealand.