FIFA show OFC qualifiers in New Zealand digs

Article posted by Coliseum, November 22^nd, 2024

Image: New Zealand Football

The host venues for the final stage of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ – Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Qualifiers have been confirmed with games set to be played at the Sky Stadium in Te Whanganui a Tara Wellington and Eden Park in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland (New Zealand) in March 2025.

‘New Zealand Football’ stated that the two semi-finals will take place at the Sky Stadium on March 21^st kicking off at 3 pm and 7 pm.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup™, marketed as the FIFA World Cup 26™, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup™, the quadrennial international men’s soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will take place from June 11^th-July 19^th, 2026. It will be jointly hosted by 16 Cities in three North American countries: Canada, Mexico and the United States. The tournament will be the first hosted by three nations and the first North American World Cup since 1994.

Auckland (New Zealand)-based the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with the FIFA. It promotes the game in Oceania and allows the member- nations to qualify for the FIFA World Cup™.

The 34,500-capacity Sky Stadium is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. The stadium’s bowl site size is 48,000 m². The stadium was built in 1999 by Fletcher Construction and is situated close to the major transport facilities one kilometer North of the central business district (CBD).

The Eden Park is a sports venue in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located three kilometers Southwest of the Auckland CBD on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland. The main stadium has a nominal capacity of 50,000 and is sometimes referred to as New Zealand’s national stadium.

‘New Zealand Football’ further stated that the final where the winner will secure direct entry to the FIFA World Cup 2026™ in Canada, Mexico and the US will take place at the Eden Park on March 24^th kicking off at 7 pm.

The All Whites prevailed 8-0 over the Pacific team at the 25,000-capacity Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland in their final group match of the Oceania World Cup qualifiers. It wasn’t the massacre that many had feared – which would have been a bad look for football in the region – as Samoa put in a courageous, resolute performance.

The losing finalist will be entered into a playoff match against a country from another FIFA confederation to have a second opportunity to fight for their place at the tournament.

The New Zealand Football (the governing body for the sport of association football in New Zealand) head honcho Andrew Pragnells highlights the significance of these games being played in Aotearoa (New Zealand), “It is an honor to host these incredibly significant games in New Zealand and all going well over the week ahead we will bring together our professional players from around the globe to compete on the international stage as the final hurdle for the teams from Oceania to qualify for the biggest sporting event in the world. We saw the Kiwis turn out in their thousands for the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ last year so we look forward to welcoming the fans to these games which are the most significant men’s matches played in this country since 2017. The All Whites qualifying for the FIFA World Cup™ for the first time since 2010 would have a transformational impact on the game in Aotearoa so we are doing everything we can to ensure the team are in the best place to perform and call on the fans across the country to get behind them. Bringing our senior national teams’ home has been a huge part of our wider strategy, with our senior football and futsal teams having played at home 28 times across Auckland, Napier, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin in the past three years.”

General sale of tickets for the games will be on November 26^th, 2024.

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