The Oceania Champions League football competition costs too much and needs a revamped format, according to one of the Pacific’s highest profile club owners.
Vanuatu club champions Amicale FC have recruited heavily from overseas, with six Italians, an Argentinian, a Brazilian, a Scot and two New Zealander joining the club’s Solomon Island imports and local Vanuatu contingent.
Argentinian striker, Diego Nadaya is one of Amicale FC’s many foreign imports.
Photo: Facebook / Amicale FC
They finished third three years ago and runners-up in 2014 but last year failed to make it out of the group phase.
Club owner and president Andrew Leong said the current format, with 12 teams playing in one location over a two-week period, should be changed.
“They should do four pools (instead of three) and try to change the format (to) home and away games because in the islands football is big, crowds are bigger and financially too it’s better for the club to play home and away”, he said.
“Going to New Zealand (for this year’s Champions League) and spending two weeks, OFC only pays 25 tickets for the clubs and we have to pay the rest of expenses, like the hotel, food and the rest. It’s expensive – by the time you finish the tournament and you don’t even get qualified it’s cost already $NZ100,000. OFC has to understand that and change the format and give opportunity to the islanders to see top football and also the crowds to generate some cash for the clubs to enter.”
Amicale FC would like to play Oceania Champions League games on home soil.
Photo: Facebook / Amicale FC
Andrew Leong said Oceania Football has also just introduced an entry fee of $NZ10,000, including a $NZ5,000 deposit, for all teams involved in the Champions League.
He said clubs could raise significant money if they were able to host some matches.
“We’re playing at QBE Stadium this year (in Auckland, New Zealand) and we don’t get any gate-takings, nothing…in Vanuatu there will be 10,000 in the stadium and maybe 5-8,000 outside so in one game you could raise maybe $NZ50-60,000. We’ve done it in the past, it works and also too it’s a good crowd – I mean Auckland City and Waitakere United had some good experiences in Vanuatu and the crowd is amazing. Now we’re going to New Zealand this time just to play for three games and, especially when you go to Auckland, you’ve got only 300-400 people watching the game – that doesn’t make sense for me.”
Amicale are in the same pool as defending champions Auckland City, Solomon Warriors and Lae City Dwellers from Papua New Guinea, who they face on Sunday.
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