OFK. What is the Nations Cup and in what format is it held?

The OFC Nations Cup is a tournament of the international football association. It is held among the teams that make up the Football Confederation of Oceania. Shortly - OFC. The abbreviation is explained in English and looks like the following: Oceania Football Confederation.

History

First the tournament was held once in two years from 1996 to 2004. Until 1996, there were two stages, held at unequal intervals under the name of the Cup of Nations of Oceania.

In 2006, no competitions were held, but two years later, in order to determine the participating team in the Confederations Cup 2009 and in the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup, a qualifying tournament was held, the winner of which was the team of New Zealand.

It so happened that during all the time of the competition two main favorites were selected - Australia and New Zealand, which until 2012, when the Tahiti team unexpectedly won, competed exclusively among themselves for the right to own the OFC cup. What is the Nations Cup and in what format does it take place?

Cup Format

A cup is an interethnic continental competition. The first two tournaments of his were played without any qualifying rounds. In the following three, Australia and New Zealand were approved for participation automatically, and the remaining ten teams passed qualifying matches. In the framework of the Polynesian and Melanesian Cups, each of the teams competed with five participants, grouped according to a geographical principle. The qualifying round was held by those who found themselves on the first two lines of the final table.

After the cancellation of the Cups in 2002, changes were also made in the OFC format. What is the change entailed? Based on the FIFA rating, 12 teams were singled out, 6 of which, having a low rating, passed the group selection stage. In the competition, two groups of 4 teams were formed, in each round the weakest fell out.

In 2004, the format changes again - a scheme similar to that practiced between 1996-2000 in the OFK is returned. What is the return meant? Each of the five teams plays in two qualifying rounds, and Australia and New Zealand are eliminated closer to the actual tournament. In group stage games, the teams met both at home and away. The tournament was the first time to qualify for the World Cup, which was held in 2006. The winner of OFC, what will happen, no one doubted, was the Australian team, whose leadership after the competition decided to join the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

For the tournament held in 2008, the organizers decided to change the format again. South Pacific Games 2007 served as qualifications for participation in the OFC for the teams that won the first three places. New Zealand has traditionally been selected automatically as the winner of the 2008 games, ensuring at the same time the right to participate in the Confederations Cup in 2009 and place in the playoffs in the 2010 World Cup.

The OFK is currently

In 2016, the format of the exercise was as follows.

Group stage: eight teams were divided into two groups of four in each. For the two strongest, the place in the playoffs is secured. In addition, the first three teams of both teams are entering the third round of the 2018 World Cup in the qualifying round.

The final stage: four play-off participants play for the elimination, until the winner is determined.

In 2016, the OFC Cup was held for the 10th time in the period from 28.05 to 11.06 in Papua New Guinea. The winner is New Zealand, which secured a place in the Confederations Cup-2017, which will be held in Russia.