Sport in Oceania varies from country to country. The most popular playing sport for men in Australia is Australian rules football, [1] while for women is netball. Australian rules football is the most popular sport in terms of spectatorship and television ratings. [2] [3] [4] Rugby union is the most popular sport among New Zealanders, [5] while in Papua New Guinea rugby league is the most popular. [6] Cricket is another popular sport throughout the Oceania region. [7]
Australia has hosted two Summer Olympics: Melbourne 1956 and Sydney 2000. Also, Australia has hosted five editions of the Commonwealth Games (Sydney 1938, Perth 1962, Brisbane 1982, Melbourne 2006), and (Gold Coast 2018). Meanwhile, New Zealand has hosted the Commonwealth Games three times: Auckland 1950, Christchurch 1974 and Auckland 1990.
The Pacific Games (formerly known as the South Pacific Games) is a multi-sport event, much like the Olympics on a much smaller scale, with participation exclusively from countries around the Pacific. It is held every four years and began in 1963. Australia and New Zealand competed in the games for the first time in 2015. [8]
The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of six association football confederations [9] under the auspices of FIFA, the international governing body of the sport. The OFC is the only confederation without an automatic qualification to the World Cup. Currently the winner of the OFC qualification tournament must play-off against a team from either Asia, North America, or South America to qualify for the World Cup. [10] [11]
Currently, Vanuatu is the only country in Oceania to call football its national sport. However, it is the most popular sport in Kiribati [ citation needed ], the Solomon Islands [ citation needed ] and Tuvalu, [12] and has a significant (and growing) popularity in New Zealand. Oceania has been represented at four World Cup finals tournaments — Australia in 1974 and 2006 and New Zealand in 1982 and 2010. In 2006, Australia joined the Asian Football Confederation and qualified for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups as an Asian entrant. New Zealand qualified through the Oceania Confederation, winning its playoff against Bahrain. This made 2010 the first time that two countries from (geographic) Oceania had qualified at the same time, albeit through different confederations.
The Oceania Football Confederation was founded in 1966. It organises the FIFA World Cup qualifier, the OFC Nations Cup for national teams and the OFC Champions League for clubs. The Football Federation Australia left the OFC in 2006 to join Asian Football Confederation.
The most successful Oceanian countries in international men's competitions have been Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, American Samoa, Samoa, Cook Islands and Tonga. In women's football, Oceanian team have been dominant, especially Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, New Caledonia, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tahiti and American Samoa.
Football has been regularly included in the Pacific Games, the multi-sports event for Pacific nations, territories and dependencies, since 1963. Until 2011 the competition was known as the South Pacific Games. [13] Since 1971 the men's tournament has been held every four years, but was not played in 1999 due to contractual issues.
In 2007, the men's competition doubled as the Oceania Football Confederation's preliminary qualifying competition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. [14] The men's tournament also became the Olympic qualifier for Oceania for the 2015 edition.
The women's tournament was introduced in 2003, and has doubled up as the preliminary qualifying competition for the Olympic Games since 2007. Football was a compulsory inclusion at the Pacific Games for men's teams for many years but was made a core sport for both men's and women's teams in 2017. [15]
Football has also been held at several editions of the Pacific Mini Games, starting with the first tournament in 1981. [16]
The top three most popular football clubs from Oceania as of March 2023: [17]
| # | Football club | Country | Fans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney FC | Australia | 693,000 |
| 2 | Brisbane Roar | Australia | 595,000 |
| 3 | Melbourne Victory | Australia | 590,000 |
Australian rules football is most popular in Australia [18] and is the most popular football code in Australia in terms of attendance. [19] It has a large following in Papua New Guinea. [20] It is the national sport of Nauru. [21]
Basketball is notably popular in Australia and New Zealand, in terms of their national leagues and teams, as well as the NBA. Australia has its own basketball league called the NBL (National Basketball League) which New Zealand competes in as well. The Australian national team (sometimes referred to as the Boomers) as of 2016 was ranked 4th in the 2016 Summer Olympics, and New Zealand (also known as the Tall Blacks) are ranked 29th according to FIBA. It is the 4th most popular sport in terms of participation in New Zealand and is the 3rd most popular in Australia. Australia has had a lot of NBA players, such as Andrew Bogut, Ben Simmons, Matthew Dellavedova, and Patty Mills. New Zealand has also helped to create some NBA players as well, such as Kirk Penney, Steven Adams, and Sean Marks.
Cricket is one of the most prominent sports in Oceania. [22] Australia had ruled International cricket as the number one team for more than a decade, and have won five Cricket World Cups and have been runner-up for two times, making them the most successful cricket team. New Zealand is also considered a strong competitor in the sport, with the New Zealand cricket team, also called the Black Caps, enjoying success in many competitions. Both Australia and New Zealand are Full members of the ICC.
Fiji, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea are some of the Associate/Affiliate members of the ICC in Oceania that are governed by ICC East Asia-Pacific. Backyard cricket and Beach cricket, which are simplified variants of cricket played at home or on a sand beach, are also popular recreational sports in Australia. Forms of cricket that have been adapted to local cultures are played in Oceania, such as Trobriand cricket in the Trobriand Islands and Kilikiti in Samoa, Tuvalu and in other Pacific Islands.
Cricket is culturally a significant sport for summer in Oceania. The Boxing Day Test is very popular in Australia, conducted every year on 26 December at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne.
Rugby league is the national sport of Papua New Guinea [23] (the second-most populous country in Oceania after Australia) and is very popular in Australia. [24] It attracts significant attention across New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. [25]
Australia and New Zealand are two of the most successful sides in the world. [26] Australia has won the Rugby League World Cup a record eleven times while New Zealand won their first World Cup in 2008. Australia hosted the second tournament in 1957. Australia and New Zealand jointly hosted it in 1968 and 1977. New Zealand hosted the final for the first time in 1985–1988 tournament and Australia hosted the tournament again in 2008. In 2017 the tournament was jointly host by Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
The Fiji national rugby league team, nicknamed the Bati (pronounced [mˈbatʃi]), represents Fiji in the sport of rugby league football and has been participating in international competition since 1992. It has competed in the Rugby League World Cup on three occasions, with their best results coming when they made consecutive semi-final appearances in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup and 2013 Rugby League World Cup. The team also competes in the Pacific Cup.
Rugby union is the region's most popular sport, [27] and is the national sport of New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji and Tonga. Fiji's sevens team is one of the most successful in the world, as is New Zealand's. The Fiji national sevens side is a popular and successful international rugby sevens team, and has won the Hong Kong Sevens a record fifteen times since its inception in 1976. [28]
New Zealand has won the Rugby World Cup a record three times, and were the first nation to win back to back World Cups. New Zealand won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 which was hosted by Australia and New Zealand. Australia hosted it in 2003 and New Zealand was the host and won it in 2011. New Zealand also won in 2015, defeating Australia in the final. The Super Rugby features five teams from each of Australia and New Zealand.
Rugby union is the national sport of Tonga, [29] and the national team (ʻIkale Tahi, or Sea Eagles) has performed quite well on the international stage. Tonga has competed in six Rugby World Cups since 1987. The 2007 and 2011 Rugby World Cups were Tonga's most successful to date, both winning two out of four matches and in a running chance for the quarter-finals.
| Rank | Stadium | Capacity | City | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sir Hubert Murray Stadium | 25,000 | Port Moresby | Papua New Guinea |
| 2 | Sir John Guise Stadium | 15,000 | Port Moresby | Papua New Guinea |
| 3 | HFC Bank Stadium | 15,000 | Suva | Fiji |
| 4 | PNG Football Stadium | 14,800 | Port Moresby | Papua New Guinea |
| 5 | Lawaqa Park | 12,000 | Sigatoka | Fiji |
| 6 | Apia Park | 12,000 | Apia | Samoa |
| 7 | Churchill Park | 10,000 | Lautoka | Fiji |
| 8 | Subrail Park | 10,000 | Labasa | Fiji |
| 9 | Stade Hamuta | 10,000 | Papeete | French Polynesia |
| 10 | Stade Numa-Daly Magenta | 10,000 | Noumea | New Caledonia |
| 11 | Pacific Games Stadium | 10,000 | Honiara | Solomon Islands |
| 12 | Teufaiva Sport Stadium | 10,000 | Nuku'alofa | Tonga |
The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It promotes the game in Oceania and allows the member nations to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.
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 Cook Islands men's national football team is the men's football team that represents the Cook Islands in international competition since 1971. It is governed by the Cook Islands Football Association which is part of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and FIFA.
The OFC Champions League is the premier men's club football competition in Oceania. It is organised by the OFC, Oceania's football governing body. Beginning as the Oceania Club Championship (1987–2006), it has been organised since 2007 under its current format.
The OFC Women's Nations Cup is a women's association football tournament for national teams who belong to the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). It was held every three years from 1983 to 1989. Currently, the tournament is held at irregular intervals. Of the 12 tournaments that have been held, New Zealand won six of them.
The Tuvalu national football team is the international football team of Tuvalu. Football in Tuvalu is played at the club and international level. The Tuvalu national team draws players from the Tuvalu A-Division and trains at the Tuvalu Sports Ground at Funafuti. The national team competes in the Pacific Games, and is controlled by the Tuvalu Islands Football Association, which is an associate member of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) but not a member of FIFA.
The Papua New Guinea women's national soccer team is controlled by the Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA). Its nickname is the Lakatois, which is a Motuan sailing vessel. Their home ground is the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, located in Port Moresby and their current manager is Peter Gunemba. Deslyn Siniu is the team's most capped player and top scorer.
The American Samoa women's national football team represents American Samoa in international women's association football. The team is controlled by the Football Federation American Samoa (FFAS) and managed by Beulah Oney, a former player. The Veterans Memorial Stadium is their home ground and their only goalscorer is Jasmine Makiasi, with only one goal.
The Solomon Islands women's national football team represents Solomon Islands in international women's association football. The team is controlled by the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) and is affiliated to the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). Their current head coach is the former footballer Timothy Inifiri.
The Vanuatu women's national football team represents Vanuatu in international women's association football. The team is controlled by the Vanuatu Football Federation (VFF). Vanuatu's home field is the Port Vila Municipal Stadium, located in the country's capital, Port Vila. The team is managed by Job Alwin.
The 2008 OFC Nations Cup was the eighth edition of the OFC Nations Cup and the first under a new format. It took place as a series of as a home-and-away round-robin tournament on FIFA match dates in 2007 and 2008. Doubling as the qualification tournament for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the tournament was substantially different from earlier editions: 2004 champions Australia did not compete after leaving the Oceania Football Confederation for the Asian Football Confederation and for the first time since the 1996 OFC Nations Cup, no fixed venue was used. Unlike the 2004 OFC Nations Cup, which had featured six teams from the Oceania Football Confederation, the 2008 tournament had just four.
The American Samoa national under-17 football team is the national U-17 team of American Samoa and is controlled by Football Federation American Samoa.
Association football is one of the popular sports in Oceania, and 2 members of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) have competed at the sport's biggest event – the men's FIFA World Cup.
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.
The 2015 OFC U-20 Women's Championship was the 7th edition of the OFC U-20 Women's Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) for the women's under-20 national teams of Oceania. The tournament was held in Tonga between 1–10 October 2015. The tournament was originally scheduled to be held between 16–30 January 2016.
The 2021 OFC Champions League was originally to be the 20th edition of the Oceanian Club Championship, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 15th season under the current OFC Champions League name.
The Rugby League Pacific Championship is a rugby league tournament for national teams in Oceania. Its inaugural tournament was in 2019. Of the seven Oceanian teams, six compete across two divisions of three teams, while a rotating seventh goes on tour.
The 2022 OFC Women's Nations Cup was the 12th edition of the OFC Women's Nations Cup, the quadrennial international football championship organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) for the women's national teams of the Oceanian region. It was originally scheduled from July to August 2022, but was moved to January and February to accommodate changes to the FIFA Women's International Match Calendar. The OFC announced on 4 March 2021 that it was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and on 29 April 2022 announced that Fiji would host the tournament from 13 to 30 July.
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.
But it would still be one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history if Papua New Guinea - the only country to have Rugby League as its national Sport - were to qualify for the last 4.
