13 bidders left. 5 to miss out from here to get the final 8 teams to make up the league.
No clubs from New Caledonia which is a shame, given how well they played against the AWs back in March. I presume the civil unrest there a big factor.
So who are the 4 NZ clubs who are still in the running?
ChCh United?
Nix (reserves)?
Auckland FC (reserves)?
some combined Auckland club bid? - that Auckland City's Ivan Vuksich has talked about
Think Nelson Suburbs said they were also applying.
So 2 of the remaining 4 NZ bids will miss out.
Same 1 of the 2 remaining Australian bids
And maybe PNG & Fiji (each with 2 bids remaining), only get 1 bid successful.
That gives you 8 clubs.
https://www.oceaniafootball.com/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.
No clubs from New Caledonia which is a shame, given how well they played against the AWs back in March. I presume the civil unrest there a big factor.
So who are the 4 NZ clubs who are still in the running?
ChCh United?
Nix (reserves)?
Auckland FC (reserves)?
some combined Auckland club bid? - that Auckland City's Ivan Vuksich has talked about
Think Nelson Suburbs said they were also applying.
So 2 of the remaining 4 NZ bids will miss out.
Same 1 of the 2 remaining Australian bids
And maybe PNG & Fiji (each with 2 bids remaining), only get 1 bid successful.
That gives you 8 clubs.
https://www.oceaniafootball.com/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.