The MSG Prime Minister's Cup, formerly known as Melanesia Cup, is an association football championship played between the Melanesian countries, it was used (along with the Polynesia Cup) for qualification to the Oceania Nations Cup. The original tournament used a round-robin format involving every team playing each other once at the tournaments location.
In 2008, the Wantok Cup was established as a competition between Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. It was described by the Oceania Football Confederation as "a tournament reminiscent of the now defunct Melanesian Cup". [1]
In 2022 the tournament was revived under the current name, the MSG Prime Minister's Cup, after more than twenty years. [2]
5 | ![]() | 1988, 1989, 1992, 1998, 2000 |
2 | ![]() | 1994, 2023 |
1 | ![]() | 1990 |
1 | ![]() | 2022 |
Year | Host | Winner | Runner-up | 3rd Place | 4th Place | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Melanesia Cup | |||||||||
1988 Details | Solomon Islands | ![]() Fiji | ![]() Solomon Islands | ![]() Vanuatu | ![]() New Caledonia | ||||
1989 Details | Fiji | ![]() Fiji | ![]() New Caledonia | ![]() Solomon Islands | ![]() Papua New Guinea | ||||
1990 Details | New Caledonia | ![]() Vanuatu | ![]() New Caledonia | ![]() Fiji | ![]() Solomon Islands | ||||
1992 Details | Vanuatu | ![]() Fiji | ![]() New Caledonia | ![]() Solomon Islands | ![]() Vanuatu | ||||
1994 Details | Solomon Islands | ![]() Solomon Islands | ![]() Fiji | ![]() Papua New Guinea | ![]() New Caledonia | ||||
1998 Details | Vanuatu | ![]() Fiji | ![]() Vanuatu | ![]() Solomon Islands | ![]() Papua New Guinea | ||||
2000 Details | Fiji | ![]() Fiji | ![]() Solomon Islands | ![]() Vanuatu | ![]() New Caledonia | ||||
MSG Prime Minister's Cup | |||||||||
2022 Details | Vanuatu | ![]() Papua New Guinea | ![]() Vanuatu (Development Team) | ![]() Fiji | ![]() Solomon Islands | ||||
2023 Details | New Caledonia | ![]() Solomon Islands | ![]() New Caledonia | ![]() Vanuatu | ![]() Papua New Guinea |
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
The OFC Nations Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), determining the continental champion of Oceania. The winning team became the champion of Oceania and until 2016 qualified for the FIFA Confederations Cup.
The Solomon Islands men's national football team is the national football team of the Solomon Islands, administered by the Solomon Islands Football Federation. The Solomon Islands national football team was founded in 1978. They were officially recognised by FIFA a decade later, in 1988.
The Fiji men's national football team is Fiji's national men's team and is controlled by the governing body of football in Fiji, the Fiji Football Association. The team plays most of their home games at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.
The Vanuatu men's national football team represents Vanuatu in international football, and is controlled by the Vanuatu Football Federation.
The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) is an intergovernmental organization, composed of the four Melanesian states of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, and the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front of New Caledonia. In June 2015, Indonesia was recognized as an associate member.
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This page details the match results and statistics of the Solomon Islands national football team from 2000 to present.
This page details the match results and statistics of the Papua New Guinea national football team.
The Wantok Cup was an international football competition between the national teams of three Melanesian countries: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The Cup was to be a thrice-a-year competition, to be held in July (twice) and September (once), as part of independence commemoration celebrations in the Solomons, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, respectively. The inaugural edition of the Cup was held during independence celebrations in the Solomon Islands, from July 3 to July 7, 2008, and was won by the hosts.
The inaugural edition of the Wantok Cup was held during Independence Day celebrations in Honiara, Solomon Islands, from 3 to 7 July 2008.
Sport in Oceania varies from country to country. The most popular playing sport for men in Australia is Australian rules football, while for women is netball. Australian rules football is the most popular sport in terms of spectatorship and television ratings. Rugby union is the most popular sport among New Zealanders, while in Papua New Guinea rugby league is the most popular. While, Cricket is the most popular overall sport in Oceania.
The Wantok Blong Yumi Bill was a bill unanimously adopted by the Parliament of Vanuatu in June 2010. It was derived from a "People’s Petition", tabled in Parliament by Independent MP Ralph Regenvanu.
The 2016 OFC Nations Cup was the tenth edition of the OFC Nations Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Oceania organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). The tournament was played between 28 May and 11 June 2016 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The winner qualified for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia.
Moses Hedley Toata is Solomon Islander football manager and former player. He is currently the technical director of the Solomon Islands Football Federation.
The 2017 FIBA Women's Melanesian Basketball Cup was an international basketball tournament contested by nations of the newly formed Melanesia FIBA Oceania sub-zone. The inaugural edition of the women's tournament were held together alongside the Men's tournament in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea from 27 to 30 September 2017. Matches were played at the Taurama Aquatic and Indoor Centre. It was officially launched on 19 May 2017.
The 2018 OFC U-16 Championship was the 18th edition of the OFC U-16/U-17 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) for the men's under-16/under-17 national teams of Oceania. The qualifying stage was held in Tonga between 14 and 20 July 2018, and the final tournament was held in the Solomon Islands between 9–22 September 2018.
The 2022 OFC U-19 Championship was the 23rd edition of the OFC U-19/U-20 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) for the men's under-19/under-20 national teams of Oceania.
The 2023 MSG Prime Minister's Cup was held from 8–15 October 2023. New Caledonia hosted the competition with matches being played at the Stade Numa-Daly Magenta in Nouméa and the Stade Yoshida in Koné.