UEFA and Oceania football clubs establish new three-year strategic partnership

OFC and UEFA will collaborate in the area of ​​football governance within the OFC capacity building programme.
photo: Paul Barena – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images

The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and UEFA have entered into a ground-breaking three-year partnership that will see them collaborate in the areas of football governance within the OFC’s capacity building programme and in football development through the OFC Under-15 Championships.

OFC said the partnership was launched at a seminar held in Düsseldorf, Germany, during the UEFA Euro 2024.

The company said that within the football management scope of the partnership, a workshop was held in Düsseldorf on June 17-18 to kick-start the cooperation between the two parties.

This issue was published by the UEFA Academy team and experts, the OFC team and the secretaries general of the UEFA member associations Wales (Noel Mooney), Malta (Angelo Chetcuti), Faroe Islands (Kristin Dam Ziska) and the president of CONCACAF member association Bermuda (Mark Wade).

The seminar focused on the themes of high performance leadership and high performance membership associations. The conference design was innovative and interactive, allowing for a great deal of peer exchange.

Participants from Oceania football associations include Fiji Football Association CEO Mohamed Yusuf, Tonga Football Association CEO Louis Aho, Samoa Football Association CEO Rona Lee, Solomon Islands Football Association CEO Leonard Paya and Tahitian Football Federation CEO Moama Mu-Gregg.

Participants see the added value of the partnership and these initial interactions are already having a positive impact.

Yusuf said the workshop was very beneficial “because it was interactive and involved everyone.”

He added: “We learned a lot in terms of workload and delegation.”

Yusuf said Fijian football was promoting a high performance culture.

“We have already started this process after the reorganization. This meeting allowed me to focus on understanding the workload of each HOD and creating an atmosphere of appreciation and reward,” said Yusuf.

This is just the beginning of a three-year partnership with UEFA, with further initiatives to follow.

—Oxygen-free copper