Top seeded Solomon Islands kurukuru have been drawn in the same pool as New Zealand for the upcoming OFC Futsal Championship next month.
The eight teams involved in the OFC Futsal Championship Invitational now know the route they must take to become champions after confirmation of the official draw.
Five OFC member associations will take part in the tournament – New Caledonia, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Tahiti and Vanuatu – and will be joined by two members of the Asian confederation – Australia and Malaysia – as well as an OFC Invitational team.
The tournament will be held at The Trusts Arena in Auckland, New Zealand, from July 23 to 27.
The teams have been split into two groups and will compete in a round robin system before a semi-final stage and play-offs to determine the other placings. The 3rd/4th play-off and final will both be held on July 27.
The groups are based on seeding in accordance with each team’s most recent performances at the OFC Futsal Championship and AFC Futsal Championship respectively.
Based on those seedings, the groups have been determined as follows:
Group A
Solomon Islands
New Zealand
New Caledonia
Malaysia
Group B
Tahiti
Vanuatu
OFC Invitational
Australia
The match schedule has been confirmed as per below:
Match Day 1 – July 23
Solomon Islands vs. New Zealand
New Caledonia vs. Malaysia
Tahiti vs. Vanuatu
OFC Invitational vs. Australia
Match Day 2 – July 24
Solomon Islands vs. New Caledonia
Malaysia vs. New Zealand
Tahiti vs. OFC Invitational
Australia vs. Vanuatu
Match Day 3 – July 25
Malaysia vs. Solomon Islands
New Zealand vs. New Caledonia
Australia vs. Tahiti
Vanuatu vs. OFC Invitational
Match Day 4 – July 26
Group A – 4th place vs. Group B – 4th place
Group A – 3rd place vs. Group B – 3rd place
Group A – 1st place vs. Group B – 2nd place
Group B – 1st place vs. Group A – 2nd place
Match Day 5 – July 27
Loser SF1 vs. Loser SF2
Winner SF1 vs. Winner SF2
Source: OFC Media