New Pro League will not replace OCL
The OFC Champions League will not be affected by the new OFC Professional League.
OFC brought attention back on a all-Oceania Professional League with a press release last month, stating that the project had entered a new stage, without going into too much detail on what that actually meant.
The only real fact the press release did give, was that the tournament is set for a 2025 kick-off.
Football in Oceania therefore asked the OFC if they could provide a bit more detail about the tournament.
Asked if they had any rough draft for the tournament, how many teams would qualify from each nation, and how they would actually qualify, the OFC responded:
“The OFC Professional League has just been approved by the OFC Executive Committee and is in the very early stages of planning,” an “OFC spokesperson” responded, via the OFC Media department.
Why are there quotation marks around the words “OFC spokesperson”?
The OFC Spokesperson is not a real person, but a name the OFC gives to statements not directly given from one single person. So they are the viewpoint of the organisation.
Football in Oceania believes openess and accountability are key in journalism.
Whenever organisations like OFC avoid using real people to respond to questions asked by the media, but rather hide behind the “OFC spokesperson”, they show a lack of both openess and accountability, as no one can be held accountable for the answers given.
However, the one fact the “OFC spokesperson” could share was that the OFC Champions League will not be affected by the professional league.
“No it will not,” the “OFC spokesperson” responded.
Asked if Associate members Tuvalu and Kiribati would be able to participate, the OFC answered:
“We cannot advise on it at this stage as approval has just come in for the next stage of planning”.
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Well that’s very up-in-the-air !
What the? :))) Instead of improving the OCL, do they “replace” it with a new tournament? For each confederation, there is a main, perhaps symbolic, competition called the Champions League. Oceania Professional League is nothing more than European Super League