PNG Conference - premiers Lae City and Hekari United will play a single leg match of the OFC Champions League qualifier on June 25 in Port Moresby to determine the winner to represent PNG.
Both Lae City and Hekari United lead their respective Conferences when the Kumul Petroleum-sponsored men’s National Soccer League was abandoned due to COVID-19 last year.
PNG is one of two countries to play single-leg match. The other is Tahiti.
According to OFC, June will see the return of Oceania’s flagship club football competition, the OFC Champions League, which will decide who represents the region at the 2022 edition of the FIFA Club World Cup™.
The revised competition format, which was adapted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce travel requirements on teams, is split into two phases. Stage one will determine which clubs contest stage two, which will be an eight-team centralised finals tournament scheduled for August this year.
Fiji, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu will stage home and away playoffs – involving the champion and runner up from their respective national league – through June, from which each winner will secure qualification to the final’s tournament.
Papua New Guinea and Tahiti meanwhile will each host a single leg match between their national league champion and runner up, also in June, to decide their representative.
New Zealand Football has already selected Auckland City FC as their representative for the finals tournament.
The club champions of American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga are scheduled to play each other in a centralised qualifying tournament to decide who takes the final qualification spot, with details still to be confirmed pending border restrictions.
OFC Champions League 2022 National Playoffs (dates and times are listed in local time)
June 4 | Sc Ne Drehu v Hienghène Sport at Stade Yoshida, Kone – 3.00pm kickoff
June 6 | Hienghène Sport v Sc Ne Drehu at Stade Numa Daly, Noumea – 3.00pm kickoff
June 6 | Solomon Warriors FC v Central Coast FC details TBC
June 10 | Central Coast FC v Solomon Warriors FC details TBC
June 14 | AS Pirae v AS Venus at Stade Pater, Papeete – 8.00pm kickoff
June 17 | Rewa FC v Lautoka FC at Churchill Park, Lautoka – 7.00pm kickoff
June 18 | RueRue FC v Galaxy FC at Luganville Stadium, – 2.00pm
June 19 | Lautoka FC v Rewa FC at Ratu Cakobau Park, Suva – 3.00pm kickoff
June 25 | Galaxy FC v RueRue FC at Korman Stadium, Port Vila – 2.00pm kickoff
June 25 | Lae City FC v Hekari United FC at PNG Football Stadium, Port Moresby – kickoff TB