Stacked group for Auckland City in O-League
- Feb 24
- 2 min read
The draw for the 2026 OFC Champions League has been confirmed at the OFC Home of Football in Auckland.
Auckland City FC, the 13-time champions from New Zealand, will be attempting to defend their crown and have drawn Central Coast FC of the Solomon Islands, AS Venus of Tahiti, and AS Tiga Sport of New Caledonia, in Group A.
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Auckland City’s clash with AS Venus will be a replay of the 2022 OFC Champions League final, while Central Coast FC were also semifinalists in 2022, with AS Tiga Sport reaching the last four in 2025.
Meanwhile, host club Rewa FC of Fiji will be joined by Lae City FC of Papua New Guinea, Galaxy FC of Vanuatu, and the qualifying tournament winner Tupapa Maraerenga FC of the Cook Islands, in Group B.
Rewa FC were semifinalists in 2024, while Tupapa Maraerenga FC won the qualifying tournament for the second consecutive edition in Samoa earlier this year. Galaxy FC and Lae City FC are both making long-awaited returns the competition.
The OFC Champions League will be held in Fiji from August 9-22, with matches to be played in both Lautoka and Ba.
The 2026 tournament will be the 25th edition, since its inception in 1987.
This will be the first year the OFC Champions League winners will not qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup or FIFA Intercontinental Cup, with the newly-launched OFC Pro League supplanting it.
Auckland City has appeared in 13 Club World Cups and two Intercontinental Cups, but currently has no path to the international tournaments.
Auckland FC’s Under-23 team and South Island United represent New Zealand in the OFC Pro League.
New Zealand’s two fully-professional clubs, Auckland FC and the Wellington Phoenix, in the A-League also cannot qualify for the FIFA tournaments.
