Oceania Football Confederation (OFC)

Oceania Football Confederation is an umbrella organisation which encompasses all of the national football associations in the Oceania region. OFC has eleven member associations which it supports both financially and logistically through a number of programmes and initiatives. Internationally, it also works alongside similar regional confederations to support FIFA, football’s international governing body.

OFC has a dual role in Oceania; it services and administers football throughout the region and also uses the game as a tool for social development. The current leadership is focused on raising the overall standard of football in Oceania and utilising the sport to help promote education, capacity building, health awareness, cultural exchange and community and economic development.

The programmes administered by OFC include football competitions like the OFC Nations Cup and the O-League as well as education courses for coaches, referees, administrators and sports medical personnel.

Special Olympics New Zealand formed an investment partnership with OFC in 2009 which focuses on the following key objectives:

To strengthen the social role and participation of young people in society;
To reinforce associative youth and sport networks and structures at regional, national and international levels;
To utilise Special Olympics wealth of global coaching resources as the basis for the programme development;
To promote and increase the partnerships between youth associations, governments, education providers, sports organizations and allied organisations;
To change public attitudes, build community support and positive inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities in the communities in which they reside;
To support a collaborative environment and knowledge sharing that further supports the quality experiences through quality support that enable people with intellectual disability to experience a positive difference in their lives.

With a medium term horizon, the programme that has been developed for 2010-2011 adds further weight to our football programme. It includes the addition of the “Just Play” Programme designed to connect with new athletes and coaches at community level and indoor futsal, an option offered in tandem with New Zealand Football.