2016 OFC Champions League
# 2016 OFC Champions League

The 2016 OFC Champions League was the 15th edition of the Oceanian Club Championship, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 10th season under the current OFC Champions League name. The final stage of the tournament was held in New Zealand for the first time under its current format, with the preliminary stage held in the Cook Islands.

Auckland City were the five-time defending champions, and won their sixth title in a row and eighth overall title with a 3–0 final victory over fellow New Zealand opponents Team Wellington. As the winners of the 2016 OFC Champions League, they qualified as the OFC representative at the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan (a record eighth Club World Cup appearance). Their sixth consecutive continental club title was also a record, surpassing a tie they previously shared with Real Madrid, who won five consecutive European Cups between 1956 and 1960.

## Teams

A total of 15 teams from all 11 OFC member associations entered the competition.

* The four associations with the best results in the 2014–15 OFC Champions League (Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea) were awarded two berths each in the group stage.
* Three other associations (Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu) were awarded one berth each in the group stage.
* The four developing associations (American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga) were awarded one berth each in the preliminary stage, with the winner advancing to the group stage.

| Association | Team | Qualifying method |
| - | - | - |
| Teams entering the group stage |||
| Fiji | Nadi | 2015 Fiji National Football League champion |
| Fiji | Suva | 2015 Fiji National Football League runner-up |
| New Caledonia | Magenta | 2014 New Caledonia Super Ligue champion |
| New Caledonia | Lössi | 2014 New Caledonia Super Ligue runner-up |
| New Zealand | Auckland City | 2014–15 New Zealand Football Championship grand final champion 2014–15 New Zealand Football Championship regular season premier |
| New Zealand | Team Wellington | 2014–15 New Zealand Football Championship regular season runner-up |
| Papua New Guinea | Hekari United | 2015 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League first stage winner |
| Papua New Guinea | Lae City Dwellers | 2015 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League first stage runner-up |
| Solomon Islands | Solomon Warriors | 2015–16 Solomon Islands S-League regular season winner |
| Tahiti | Tefana | 2014–15 Tahiti Ligue 1 champion |
| Vanuatu | Amicale | 2015 VFF National Super League champion |
| Teams entering the preliminary stage |||
| American Samoa | Utulei Youth | 2014 FFAS Senior League champion |
| Cook Islands | Tupapa Maraerenga | 2015 Cook Islands Round Cup champion |
| Samoa | Kiwi | 2013–14 Samoa National League champion |
| Tonga | Veitongo | 2015 Tonga Major League champion |

## Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows.

| Stage | Host country | Venues | Round | Dates |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Preliminary stage | Cook Islands | CIFA Academy Field, Matavera | Round 1 | 26 January 2016 |
| Preliminary stage | Cook Islands | CIFA Academy Field, Matavera | Round 2 | 28 January 2016 |
| Preliminary stage | Cook Islands | CIFA Academy Field, Matavera | Round 3 | 30 January 2016 |
| Final stage (Group stage & Knockout stage) | New Zealand | QBE Stadium (Main Field & Oval), Auckland | Round 1 | 8–10 April 2016 |
| Final stage (Group stage & Knockout stage) | New Zealand | QBE Stadium (Main Field & Oval), Auckland | Round 2 | 11–13 April 2016 |
| Final stage (Group stage & Knockout stage) | New Zealand | QBE Stadium (Main Field & Oval), Auckland | Round 3 | 15–17 April 2016 |
| Final stage (Group stage & Knockout stage) | New Zealand | QBE Stadium (Main Field & Oval), Auckland | Semi-finals | 20 April 2016 |
| Final stage (Group stage & Knockout stage) | New Zealand | QBE Stadium (Main Field & Oval), Auckland | Final | 23 April 2016 |

## Preliminary stage

The preliminary stage was played in Matavera, Cook Islands from 26 to 30 January 2016. The draw for the fixtures was held on 16 November 2015, 15:00 NZDT (UTC+13) at the OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. The four teams played each other on a round-robin basis. The winner advanced to the group stage to join the 11 direct entrants.

All times UTC−10.

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Kiwi | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 | +11 | 9 | Group stage |
| 2 | Tupapa Maraerenga (H) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 3 | +14 | 6 | |
| 3 | Utulei Youth | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 17 | −11 | 3 | |
| 4 | Veitongo | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 17 | −14 | 0 | |

## Group stage

The group stage was played in Auckland, New Zealand from 8 to 17 April 2016. The draw for the group stage was held on 16 November 2015, 15:00 NZDT (UTC+13) at the OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. The 12 teams were drawn into three groups of four, with each group containing one team from each of the four pots. The allocation of teams into pots was based on the results of their associations in the previous edition of the OFC Champions League. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.

| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
| - | - | - | - |
| Auckland City Team Wellington Nadi | Magenta Hekari United Amicale | Suva Tefana Solomon Warriors | Lössi Lae City Dwellers Kiwi (Preliminary winner) |

In each group, the four teams played each other on a round-robin basis. The group winners and the best runner-up advanced to the semi-finals.

All times UTC+12.

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Auckland City (H) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 9 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Amicale | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 6 | |
| 3 | Solomon Warriors | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 11 | −6 | 3 | |
| 4 | Lae City Dwellers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 0 | |

The match originally ended 1–1. However, Solomon Warriors were later ruled to have forfeited the match for fielding an ineligible player.

The kick-off of Group A matches on matchday 9 were delayed due to heavy rain.

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Team Wellington | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 9 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Hekari United | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 6 | |
| 3 | Suva | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 3 | |
| 4 | Lössi | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 0 | |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Magenta | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 9 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Tefana | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 5 | +10 | 6 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | Nadi | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 3 | |
| 4 | Kiwi | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 | −10 | 0 | |

### Ranking of second-placed teams

| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | C | Tefana | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 5 | +10 | 6 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | A | Amicale | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 6 | |
| 3 | B | Hekari United | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 6 | |

## Knockout stage

The knockout stage was played in Auckland, New Zealand from 20 to 23 April 2016. The four teams played on a single-elimination basis. The semi-final matchups were:

* Winner Group A vs. Best runner-up
* Winner Group B vs. Winner Group C

All times UTC+12.

### Bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - |
| 20 April | 20 April |
| Auckland City | 4 |
| Auckland City | 4 | 23 April | 23 April |
| Tefana | 2 | 23 April | 23 April |
| Tefana | 2 | Auckland City | 3 |
| 20 April | 20 April | | Auckland City | 3 |
| 20 April | 20 April | Team Wellington | 0 |
| Team Wellington | 2 | Team Wellington | 0 |
| Magenta | 0 | | |

## Statistics

### Tournament statistics

| Stage | Matches | Goals | Avg. goals | Attendance | Avg. attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Preliminary stage | 6 | 41 | 6.83 | 970 | 162 |
| Final stage (Group stage & Knockout stage) | 21 | 90 | 4.29 | 6200 | 295 |

### Awards

| Award | Player | Team |
| - | - | - |
| Golden Ball | Micah Lea'alafa | Auckland City |
| Golden Boot | João Moreira | Auckland City |
| Golden Gloves | Scott Basalaj | Team Wellington |
| Fair Play Award | — | Hekari United |
