MSG Prime Minister's Cup

For the rugby league competition, see Melanesian Cup.

MSG Prime Minister's Cup

Organising body	Melanesian Spearhead Group
Founded	1988 as Melanesia Cup 2022 as MSG Prime Minister's Cup
Number of teams	Between 4 and 6
Current champions	Papua New Guinea (2nd title)
Most successful team(s)	Fiji (5 titles)
2024 MSG Prime Minister's Cup

The MSG Prime Minister's Cup, formerly known as Melanesia Cup, is an association football competition played between the Melanesian countries. It was formerly used (along with the Polynesia Cup) for qualification to the OFC Nations Cup. The original tournament used a round-robin format involving every team playing each other once at the tournaments location.

History

Melanesia Cup (1988–2000)

The Melanesia Cup was founded in 1988, with Fiji becoming the inaugural champions following a 3–1 victory against Solomon Islands. The tournament was played on an annual basis until the 1990 tournament saw the Melanesia Cup become a biennial tournament. ^[1] It was then played every two years until 2000 except for 1996.

The 1996 Melanesia Cup was cancelled for unknown reasons, and the scheduled 2002 Melanesia Cup was cancelled due to security issues in Honiara as the tournament was moved from July to September 2002. ^[2]

The tournament also served as OFC Nations Cup qualifiers, first doing so in 1994. ^[3]

2002–2022

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". ^[4]

This tournament was also abolished, with the last two editions played in 2011. ^{[5] [6]}

MSG Prime Minister's Cup (2022–present)

In 2022 the tournament was revived under the current name, the MSG Prime Minister's Cup, after more than twenty years. ^[7] The name was changed at the impetus of FIFA. ^[7] It is organised by the Melanesian Spearhead Group. ^[8]

The inaugural tournament was won by first-time champions Papua New Guinea in 2022, and the 2022 MSG Prime Minister's Cup also saw the introduction of "B" teams into the tournament. ^[9]

Participants

The seven the competition is currently played between are: ^[10]

•   Fiji
•   Papua New Guinea
•   New Caledonia
•   Solomon Islands
• Solomon Islands "B"
•   Vanuatu
• Vanuatu "B"

Total wins

5	Fiji	1988, 1989, 1992, 1998, 2000
2	Papua New Guinea	2022, 2024
2	Solomon Islands	1994, 2023
1	Vanuatu	1990

Results

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	Vanuatu	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
2024 Details	Solomon Islands	Papua New Guinea	Fiji	Solomon Islands	Vanuatu

Source: RSSSF

See also

• Melanesian Super Cup
• Polynesia Cup
• Wantok Cup

References

1. "Melanesian Cup". RSSSF.
2. "2002 Melanesian Cup". RSSSF.
3. "OFC Men's Nations Cup 1996". Oceania Football Federation. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
4. "Wantok Cup Honiara 2008 – Solomon Islands name 64-man squad". Archived 2008-09-05 at the Wayback Machine . Oceania Football Confederation. June 19, 2008.
5. "Bonitos fall to Vanuatu" Archived 2 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine , Solomon Star, 1 August 2011
6. Solomon Islands men's football team fixtures and results, July to September 2011, FIFA
7. Ewart, Richard (September 2022). "FIFA back revival of the Melanesian Cup, but insist on a new competition name". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
8. "Sports Development – Melanesian Spearhead Group Secretariat" . Retrieved 2024-04-16.
9. Romena, Romeka. "Fiji in Pool B for MSG PM Cup". Fiji Live. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
10. Mamu, Moffat (2024-11-12). "Preparations to host MSG cup underway". Solomon Star News. Retrieved 2024-12-03.