Oceania Football has announced further tournament delays Featured
19 January, 2021. Oceania Football has announced further tournament delays but remains confident the Men's Under 17 and Under 20 Championships will take place this year.
New Zealand won the last OFC Under 16 Championship in 2018. Photo: OFC via Phototek
The regional events were originally scheduled to take place last year but were delayed because of Covid-19.
The tournaments were intended as qualifiers for the Men's Under 17 and Under 20 World Cups but FIFA announced last month that both events had been cancelled.
OFC General Secretary, Franck Castillo, said it was vital to give our region's youth footballers the opportunity to play in these events.
"The players who take part in these tournaments could potentially progress to represent their senior national team and we want to ensure they have as many chances as possible to play in meaningful, competitive matches at youth level," he said.
"We thank the Executive Committee for their vision and patience regarding these tournaments and we hope we can hold them safely at the appropriate time."
New Zealand beat hosts Tahiti in the OFC Under 19 Championship final in 2018. Photo: www.phototek.nz
All of OFC's tournaments have been on hold since March due to the global pandemic and ongoing border restrictions throughout the Pacific.
If the youth events can go ahead this year, the original hosts will be retained with Fiji holding the Under 17 Championship and Samoa staging the Under 20 Championship.
Meanwhile the OFC Under 16 and Under 19 Women's Championships remain on track to be held later this year and will serve as qualifiers for the respective World Cup tournaments scheduled for 2022.
- RNZI
