OFC set new membership criterias

The OFC have adopted a new set of criterias for becoming associate and full members of the confederation.

The criterias were approved by the Executive Committee of the Oceania Football Confederation earlier this year.

OFC General Secretary Franck Castillo tells Football in Oceania that the wording and definition on each individual criterion will be further expanded upon, and that the criterias presented are a baseline.

These are the criterias (as of March this year):

If any of the current associate members, Kiribati and Tuvalu, or the potential new members such as Nauru, the Marshall Islands or Palau, want to apply, they can do so right away, Castillo confirms to FiO.

Then the Executive Committee will decied if their application can be sent to the OFC Congress for approval.

For some of the nations the requirement for two match/training venues might be a hurdle, and for the Marshall Islands and Palau the lack of a direct flight to a current OFC member is a problem.

The Marshall Islands International Airport at Majuro does not currently fly to any OFC member, according to the website FlightRadar, but should Kiribati get a full membership, then that problem will resolve itself.

While Palau have had a flight to Port Moresby, but Air Niugini shut the route down as of May 1st this year, so as of right now, they too must hope for a full membership from someone else first.

PS: The Federated state of Micronesia could also be a possible OFC member, but they have previously hinted at looking to Asia for a membership there.