ABSTRACT
In Oceania, beach soccer is regarded as a growth sport and, at the same time, a sport with some longevity. Of 11 Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) members, eight men's national teams have competed at the OFC Beach Nations Cup, the qualifying tournament for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. The Cook Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Tonga, and Vanuatu all participated between 2006 and 2017 at one time or another. Solomon Islands are the only team to compete in every edition of the competition. The region's most successful team, Tahiti (French Polynesia), have challenged for medals with the best teams in the world and are the region's reigning champions. Such is the recent growth in the game, OFC staff anticipate for the first time in the competition's history at least six teams will compete in the forthcoming 2023 OFC tournament. In its capture of the histories of two men's national teams, this chapter charts the emergence of beach soccer in the region and a view of its contemporary state of play.
