# 2018 OFC Champions League

The 2018 OFC Champions League was the 17th edition of the Oceanian Club Championship, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and the 12th season under the current OFC Champions League name.
In the final, Team Wellington defeated Lautoka 10–3 on aggregate and qualified as the OFC representative at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Auckland City are the defending champions, having won the last seven titles straight, but they were eliminated in the semi-finals.

## Format change

For this season, the top two teams of each group (instead of only the group winners) in the group stage advanced to the knockout stage, which included a quarter-final round played as a single match hosted by the group winners.

## Teams

A total of 18 teams from all 11 OFC member associations enter the competition.
* The seven developed associations (Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu) are awarded two berths each in the group stage.
* The four developing associations (American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga) are awarded one berth each in the qualifying stage, with the winners and runners-up advancing to the group stage.
Teams entering the group stage :
| Association | Team | Qualifying method |
| Fiji | Lautoka | 2017 Fiji Premier League champions |
| Fiji | Ba | 2017 Fiji Premier League runners-up |
| New Caledonia | Magenta | 2016 New Caledonia Super Ligue champions |
| New Caledonia | Lössi | 2016 New Caledonia Super Ligue runners-up |
| New Zealand | Team Wellington | 2016–17 New Zealand Football Championship finals series champions |
| New Zealand | Auckland City | 2016–17 New Zealand Football Championship regular season premiers |
| Papua New Guinea | Toti City | 2017 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League regular season premiers |
| Papua New Guinea | Madang | 2017 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League regular season runners-up |
| Solomon Islands | Solomon Warriors | 2017–18 Solomon Islands S-League champions |
| Solomon Islands | Marist | 2017–18 Solomon Islands S-League runners-up |
| Tahiti | Dragon | 2016–17 Tahiti Ligue 1 champions |
| Tahiti | Vénus | 2016–17 Tahiti Ligue 1 runners-up |
| Vanuatu | Nalkutan | 2016–17 VFF National Super League grand final champions |
| Vanuatu | Erakor Golden Star | 2016–17 VFF National Super League grand final runners-up |
Teams entering the qualifying stage :
| Association | Team | Qualifying method |
| American Samoa | Pago Youth | 2016 FFAS Senior League champions |
| Cook Islands | Tupapa Maraerenga | 2017 Cook Islands Round Cup champions |
| Samoa | Lupe o le Soaga | 2017 Samoa National League champions |
| Tonga | Veitongo | 2017 Tonga Major League champions |

## Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.
| Stage | Draw date | Match dates |
| Qualifying stage | 15 September 2017 (Auckland, New Zealand) | 20–26 January 2018 |
| Group stage | 15 September 2017 (Auckland, New Zealand) | Group A: 10–16 February 2018 Group B: 11–17 February 2018 Group C: 25 February – 3 March 2018 Group D: 24 February – 2 March 2018 |
| Quarter-finals | 5 March 2018 (Auckland, New Zealand) | 7–8 April 2018 |
| Semi-finals | 5 March 2018 (Auckland, New Zealand) | First leg: 22 April 2018 Second leg: 29 April 2018 |
| Final | 5 March 2018 (Auckland, New Zealand) | First leg: 13 May 2018 Second leg: 20 May 2018 |

## Qualifying stage

The draw for the qualifying stage was held on 15 September 2017 at the OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. The champions of the four developing associations were drawn from Pot A into each of the four positions 1–4 to determine the fixtures. The four teams in the qualifying stage played each other on a round-robin basis at a centralised venue. The winners and runners-up advanced to the group stage to join the 14 direct entrants. Matches were played between 20 and 26 January 2018 in Pago Pago, American Samoa.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | TUP | LUP | VEI | PAG |
| 1 | Tupapa Maraerenga | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | +13 | 9 | Group stage | — | 1–0 | — | — |
| 2 | Lupe o le Soaga | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 2 | +17 | 6 | Group stage | — | — | 6–0 | — |
| 3 | Veitongo | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 16 | −13 | 1 | | 2–9 | — | — | 1–1 |
| 4 | Pago Youth (H) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 19 | −17 | 1 | | 0–5 | 1–13 | — | — |

## Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 15 September 2017 at the OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. The 16 teams (14 teams entering the group stage and two teams advancing from the qualifying stage) were drawn into four groups of four, with each group containing two teams from Pot B (which were drawn into positions 1–2 to determine the fixtures) and two teams from Pot C (which were drawn into positions 3–4 to determine the fixtures). Teams from the same association, as well as the two teams advancing from the qualifying stage, could not be drawn into the same group. The teams were seeded based on the following:
* Pot B contained the champions of the seven developed associations, and the runners-up of New Zealand, by virtue of having the best second team in the 2017 OFC Champions League.
* Pot C contained the runners-up of the six developed associations apart from New Zealand, and the two teams advancing from the qualifying stage, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw.
The four teams in each group played each other on a round-robin basis at a centralised venue. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the quarter-finals of the knockout stage. The hosts of each group were announced by OFC on 31 October 2017.
* Group A matches were played between 10 and 16 February 2018 in Port Vila, Vanuatu.
* Group B matches were played between 11 and 17 February 2018 in Pirae, Tahiti.
* Group C matches were played between 25 February – 3 March 2018 in Auckland, New Zealand.
* Group D matches were played between 24 February – 2 March 2018 in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

### Group A

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | NAL | TOT | BAF | TUP |
| 1 | Nalkutan (H) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 9 | Knockout stage | — | — | 1–0 | — |
| 2 | Toti City | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 6 | Knockout stage | 1–4 | — | 1–0 | — |
| 3 | Ba | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 3 | | — | — | — | 4–1 |
| 4 | Tupapa Maraerenga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 | −12 | 0 | | 0–4 | 2–7 | — | — |

### Group B

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | DRA | SOL | ERA | LOS |
| 1 | Dragon (H) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 6 | Knockout stage | — | — | — | 4–0 |
| 2 | Solomon Warriors | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 6 | Knockout stage | 2–1 | — | — | 6–1 |
| 3 | Erakor Golden Star | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 4 | | 3–4 | 2–0 | — | — |
| 4 | Lössi | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | −9 | 1 | | — | — | 2–2 | — |

### Group C

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | AUC | LAU | VEN | MAD |
| 1 | Auckland City (H) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | +13 | 9 | Knockout stage | — | 1–0 | — | 5–0 |
| 2 | Lautoka | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | Knockout stage | — | — | — | 3–1 |
| 3 | Vénus | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 3 | | 0–7 | 1–2 | — | — |
| 4 | Madang | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 0 | | — | — | 1–2 | — |

### Group D

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | WEL | MAR | MAG | LUP |
| 1 | Team Wellington | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 3 | +10 | 7 | Knockout stage | — | — | 5–1 | 7–1 |
| 2 | Marist (H) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 5 | Knockout stage | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | — |
| 3 | Magenta | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 4 | | — | — | — | 2–0 |
| 4 | Lupe o le Soaga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 12 | −10 | 0 | | — | 1–3 | — | — |

## Knockout stage

The eight teams in the knockout stage played on a single-elimination basis. In the quarter-finals, each tie was played as a single match, while in the semi-finals and final, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis.

### Bracket

The bracket was decided after the draw for the knockout stage (quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final) was held on 5 March 2018 at the OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand.
| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| Team Wellington | 11 | | | | | | | | |
| Toti City | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| Toti City | 0 | Team Wellington (a) | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | |
| | | Auckland City | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | |
| Auckland City | 2 | Auckland City | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | |
| Solomon Warriors | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| Solomon Warriors | 0 | | | | | Team Wellington | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| | | | | | | Lautoka | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Dragon | 1 | | | | | | | | | Lautoka | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Lautoka | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| Lautoka | 2 | Lautoka | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | |
| | | Marist | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | |
| Nalkutan | 1 | Marist | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | |
| Marist | 2 | | | | | | | | |

### Quarter-finals

In the quarter-finals, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group (teams from same group cannot play each other), with the group winners hosting the match, and the matchups decided by draw.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Team Wellington | 11–0 | Toti City |
| Auckland City | 2–0 | Solomon Warriors |
| Dragon | 1–2 | Lautoka |
| Nalkutan | 1–2 | Marist |

### Semi-finals

In the semi-finals, the four quarter-final winners played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Lautoka | 2–1 | Marist | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Team Wellington | 2–2 (a) | Auckland City | 0–0 | 2–2 |

### Final

In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the order of legs decided by draw.
Team Wellington won 10–3 on aggregate.

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Team | QS1 | QS2 | QS3 | GS1 | GS2 | GS3 | QF | SF2 | F1 | F2 | Total |
| 1 | Angus Kilkolly | Team Wellington | | | | 1 | | 1 | 4 | 1 | | 1 | 8 |
| 1 | Emiliano Tade | Auckland City | | | | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | | | 8 |
| 2 | Ross Allen | Team Wellington | | | | | 3 | 2 | | | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 2 | Sean Latimer | Tupapa Maraerenga | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | | 1 | | | | | | | | 7 |
| 4 | Suivai Ataga | Lupe o le Soaga | | 5 | 1 | | | | | | | | 6 |
| 4 | Maro Bonsu-Maro | Tupapa Maraerenga | | 3 | 2 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | 6 |
| 7 | Tamatoa Tetauira | Dragon | | | | 2 | 2 | | 1 | | | | 5 |
| 8 | Raymond Gunemba | Toti City | | | | 4 | | | | | | | 4 |
| 8 | Nathanael Hailemariam | Team Wellington | | | | | 1 | | 3 | | | | 4 |
| 8 | Azariah Soromon | Nalkutan | | | | | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | 4 |
| 8 | Lapalapa Toni | Lupe o le Soaga | | | 2 | | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | 4 |

## Awards

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.
| Award | Player | Team |
| Golden Ball | Roy Kayara | Team Wellington |
| Golden Boot | Angus Kilkolly | Team Wellington |
| Golden Glove | Eñaut Zubikarai | Auckland City |
| Fair Play Award | — | Auckland City |
Note: Although Angus Kilkolly and Emiliano Tade both scored eight goals in the competition, Kilkolly won the Golden Boot as he played less minutes than Tade.