Soccer OFC: The Cocos Keeling Islands have an amateur league and a clear goal

In this article we will analyze how football develops on this small island in Oceania.

Writer by Sports & News Continental | From New Zealand, OFC

#Episode2 OFC SOCCER ANALYSIS

A group of two islands near Indonesia with a colonizing influence from Malaysia and which now belongs to Australia is making progress in its proposal to develop football among its community, even though football is not among the most popular sports.

Cocos Keeling Islands is not a member of the OFC, but with the recent accession of the Mariana Islands to the AFC and its favorable geographical position, depending on its development, it could join the AFC. However, for this to happen, it would first need to professionalize its league, which has only two clubs, both islands. The competition is essentially an unofficial championship played between the two inhabited islands: Home Island West Island This is the basis of all football in the community of about 600 people in the Australian territory.

Other sports such as rugby may be more popular due to historical and cultural factors.

Initiatives such as the OFC's, with FIFA's support, to add regional content to FIFA+ and also the possible creation of the OFC Professional League will professionalize the region's elite and consequently bring the spotlight to countries where football is still.

In short, although football may have an unofficial league, they are still in the maturation phase to be able to take the next step in the future, which would be to transform the league into an official one, still far from participating in the 2028 OFC Nations Cup qualifiers if the AFC does not go