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108-687: Eddie Ngava, General Secretary of the Solomon Islands Football Federation, had stated: "We hope this will be the inaugural start of the Wantok Cup when each of the three countries will be having a competition on each of their countries' independence days." The Cup has been described by the Oceania Football Confederation as "a tournament reminiscent of the now defunct Melanesian Cup ". Ngava, however, has stated that "these two competitions are not linked in any way". Wantok

216-431: A Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.84/10, ranking it 17th globally out of 172 countries. Mangrove swamps stretch along the coast, and in the inland it is inhabited by nipa palm (Nypa fruticans), and deeper in the inland the sago palm tree inhabits areas in the valleys of larger rivers. Trees such as oaks, red cedars, pines, and beeches are becoming predominant in the uplands above 3,300 feet. Papua New Guinea

324-708: A land bridge , particularly during ice ages when sea levels were lower than at present. As the Indo-Australian Plate (which includes landmasses of India , Australia, and the Indian Ocean floor in between) drifts north, it collides with the Eurasian Plate . The collision of the two plates pushed up the Himalayas , the Indonesian islands, and New Guinea's Central Range . The Central Range is much younger and higher than

432-471: A landslide hit the village of Kaokalam in Enga Province , about 600 kilometers (372 miles) northwest of the capital, Port Moresby , at about 3 a.m. local time. The landslide buried more than 2000 people alive, caused major destruction to buildings, and food gardens and caused major impact on the economic lifeline of the country. The casualty figure surpasses the 2006 Southern Leyte mudslide tragedy where

540-638: A Junior Wantok Cup, for under-15s. Originally scheduled to be launched in 2008, it was -like the adult version- delayed. The official inaugural edition was hosted by Vanuatu in January 2010, with five teams competing (three from the host country, one from the Solomon Islands and one from New Caledonia ). The Solomon Islands defeated Vanuatu South 4-1 to take the title, replicating the achievement of their adult counterparts. Wins Oceania Football Confederation The Oceania Football Confederation ( OFC )

648-443: A chain of earthquakes hit Hela Province , causing widespread landslides and the deaths of 200 people. Various nations from Oceania and Southeast Asia immediately sent aid to the country. Another severe earthquake occurred on 11 September 2022, killing seven people and causing damaging shaking in some of the country's largest cities, such as Lae and Madang , it was also felt in the capital Port Moresby . On May 24, 2024,

756-509: A colony named German New Guinea , while the southern part of the country became a British protectorate . In 1888, the British protectorate, as well as some adjacent islands, were annexed by Britain as British New Guinea. In 1902, Papua was effectively transferred to the authority of the new British dominion of Australia . With the passage of the Papua Act 1905, the area was officially renamed

864-461: A goal, but were still competitive in all three of their matches. New Zealand's national team the All Whites played in their first World Cup eight years later. At the 1982 tournament they suffered heavier defeats than Australia previously had. From the 1960s to the early 1980s, OFC countries competed alongside AFC nations in various different mixed World Cup qualifying tournaments. It was not until

972-521: A national election and within 12 months of the next election. In 2012, the first two (of three) readings were passed to prevent votes of no confidence occurring within the first 30 months. This restriction on votes of no confidence has arguably resulted in greater stability, although perhaps at the cost of reducing the accountability of the executive branch of government. Elections in PNG attract numerous candidates. After independence in 1975, members were elected by

1080-465: A national election, a maximum of five years after the previous national election. In the early years of independence, the instability of the party system led to frequent votes of no confidence in parliament, with resulting changes of the government, but with referral to the electorate, through national elections only occurring every five years. In recent years, successive governments have passed legislation preventing such votes sooner than 18 months after

1188-471: A national team at all. France's eastern Pacific territory of Clipperton Island does not currently have a human population or any infrastructure. The Galápagos Islands in the eastern Pacific are designated as a special province of Ecuador , and have a small human population, however, they are not represented in Ecuador's national leagues . The sport is not known to be played on the U.S. outlying islands in

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1296-449: A playoff with a team from outside these two confederations. When the OFC was given a separate qualification process for the 1986 World Cup, their teams lost five consecutive inter-confederation playoffs (usually against South American nations), with Australia being involved in four of the five losses. Another reason cited for Australia's move was their dominance against the smaller OFC teams, which

1404-459: A seat on the FIFA executive. In 1998 the OFC unveiled a new logo and an official magazine, entitled The Wave . Australia's national team were long considered the biggest challenge in the confederation. There were many highly uncompetitive matches involving them, particularly in the 1990s and 2000s. Their June 1997 second round qualification games for the 1998 FIFA World Cup included a 13–0 defeat of

1512-594: A second time to join the Asian Football Confederation , leaving New Zealand as the largest federation within the OFC. The President of OFC is Lambert Maltock since April 2018. The Vice Presidents are Thierry Ariiotima, Kapi Natto John and Lord Ve'ehala while Franck Castillo is the General Secretary. The confederation is headquartered in Auckland , New Zealand . The confederation formed in 1966 with

1620-578: A short curve of the river's thalweg to where it meets the 141°01'10" E meridian flowing west, then southwards to the south coast. The 141° E meridian formed the entire eastern boundary of Dutch New Guinea according to its 1828 annexation proclamation. By the Treaty of The Hague (1895) the Dutch and British agreed to a territorial exchange, bringing the entire left bank of the Fly River into British New Guinea and moving

1728-623: A spot in the FIFA World Cup . Beginning in 2026, the OFC will have a guaranteed spot in the FIFA World Cup for the first time in history, result of the competition's expansion from 32 to 48 teams. 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification (Africa, Asia and Oceania) 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC) 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC) 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC) 1986 UEFA–OFC play-off 1990 CONMEBOL–OFC play-off Israel played in

1836-445: A sudden-death play-off against a desperate, battle-hardened opponent given a second, or even third, life." A major reason for Australia's 2006 switch to the AFC was the unpredictable nature of the mandatory inter-confederation playoffs. Australia and New Zealand's 1974 and 1982 qualifications both came in qualifying tournaments where OFC teams were competing alongside AFC teams, and didn't have

1944-460: A total of 1,126 people lost their lives as the debris flow from a landslide followed 10 days of heavy rain. With over 2,000 reported dead by the Papua New Guinea government, this disaster has now emerged as the deadliest landslide of the 21st century. The climate on the island is essentially tropical, but it varies by region. The maximum mean temperature in the lowlands is 30 to 32 °C, and

2052-483: Is a Tok Pisin and Pijin word which comes from the English "one talk", and means people who speak the same language, belong to the same culture, and are comrades. The name was chosen so as to emphasise the similarities of the pidgin languages spoken in the three countries - namely Tok Pisin, Pijin and Bislama . From the start, the competition was plagued by financial difficulties. Papua New Guinea's team withdrew from

2160-654: Is a megadiverse country . Many of the other islands within PNG territory, including New Britain, New Ireland, Bougainville, the Admiralty Islands , the Trobriand Islands , and the Louisiade Archipelago , were never linked to New Guinea by land bridges. As a consequence, they have their own flora and fauna; in particular, they lack many of the land mammals and flightless birds that are common to New Guinea and Australia. Australia and New Guinea are portions of

2268-734: Is a full member of the Commonwealth of Nations , the Pacific Community , the Pacific Islands Forum , and the United Nations . Papua is derived from a local term of uncertain origin. Regarding the islands of New Guinea, the Portuguese captain and geographer António Galvão wrote that: The people of all these islands are blacke, and have their haire frisled, whom the people of Maluco do call Papuas. "New Guinea" ( Nueva Guinea )

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2376-463: Is a region-wide league currently being planned for an inaugural season in 2025 with support from FIFA . Men's Women's Clubs For each tournament, the flag of the host country and the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown. Oceania has sent representatives to the FIFA World Cup four times: Australia in 1974 and 2006, and New Zealand in 1982 and 2010. Of these, only Australia in 2006 progressed beyond

2484-522: Is currently the last OFC president to have been based in either New Zealand or Australia, with all subsequent presidents having emerged from other countries in the Pacific. Australia's men's national team (nicknamed the Socceroos ) became the first representatives from the area to play at a FIFA World Cup in 1974 , being drawn in the same group as Chile , East Germany and West Germany . They failed to score

2592-465: Is famous for its frequent seismic activity, being on the Ring of Fire . On 17 July 1998, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck north of Aitape . It triggered a 50-foot-high tsunami, which killed over 2,180 people in one of the worst natural disasters in the country. In September 2002, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Wewak , Sandaun Province , killing six people. From March to April 2018,

2700-451: Is generated by the OFC nations. The OFC has little influence in the wider football world, either in terms of international competition or as a source of players for high-profile club competitions. OFC is the only confederation to have not had at least one international title, the best result being Australia making the final of the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup . In 2006, the OFC's then largest and most successful nation, Australia , left for

2808-478: Is made up of 11 full member associations and 2 associate members. Those two are associate members of the OFC, but are not FIFA members. Several other sovereign states, associated states, dependencies, and territories in Oceania , including members of the United Nations , have no affiliations to confederations. Some play infrequently while others have been inactive for several years. There are also some which do not have

2916-466: Is often the most efficient and reliable means of transportation. The highest peak is Mount Wilhelm at 4,509 metres (14,793 ft). Papua New Guinea is surrounded by coral reefs which are under close watch, in the interests of preservation. Papua New Guinea's largest rivers are in New Guinea and include Sepik , Ramu , Markham , Musa , Purari , Kikori , Turama , Wawoi and Fly . The country

3024-400: Is one of the few regions close to the equator that experience snowfall , which occurs in the most elevated parts of the mainland. The border between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia was confirmed by a treaty with Australia before independence in 1974. The land border comprises a segment of the 141° E meridian from the north coast southwards to where it meets the Fly River flowing east, then

3132-470: 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 FIFA . It promotes the game in Oceania and allows the member nations to qualify for the FIFA World Cup . OFC is predominantly made up of island nations where association football is not the most popular sport, with low GDP and low population meaning very little money

3240-420: Is part of the humid tropics, and many Indomalayan rainforest plants spread across the narrow straits from Asia, mixing with the old Australian and Antarctic floras. New Guinea has been identified as the world's most floristically diverse island in the world, with 13,634 known species of vascular plants. Papua New Guinea includes several terrestrial ecoregions : Three new species of mammals were discovered in

3348-410: Is rich in various species of reptiles, indigenous freshwater fish and birds, but it is almost devoid of large mammals. Papua New Guinea is a Commonwealth realm with Charles III as King of Papua New Guinea . The monarch's representative is the governor-general of Papua New Guinea , who is elected by the unicameral National Parliament of Papua New Guinea . Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands are

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3456-666: Is situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire , at the point of collision of several tectonic plates . Geologically, the island of New Guinea is a northern extension of the Indo-Australian tectonic plate , forming part of a single land mass which is Australia-New Guinea (also called Sahul or Meganesia ). It is connected to the Australian segment by a shallow continental shelf across the Torres Strait , which in former ages lay exposed as

3564-749: The Vanuatu Daily Post commented that the Solomon Islands Football Federation was preparing seriously for the Cup, while the Vanuatu Football Federation was yet to do so. On July 9, the Solomon Star reported that Papua New Guinea would not be attending, as it was "occupied by other football programs", and that even scheduled host Vanuatu had yet to confirm it would be taking part. The article concluded: "If Vanuatu agrees to host

3672-444: The 1986 qualifiers that the OFC had their own distinct qualifying tournament. Chinese Taipei was an OFC member from 1975 to 1989. The island state is geographically situated in the north Pacific, off the coast of China , but was a member for political reasons, later joining the AFC. Israel (who were never a member) competed in the 1986 and 1990 OFC World Cup qualifiers for similar political reasons, despite not being located in

3780-555: The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup together, despite being members of two separate confederations at the time. In 2008, an associate member, the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association , also left the OFC and in 2009 joined the AFC as an associate member. In late 2009, the Palau Football Association , geographically a part of Oceania but with no official ties to the OFC, also applied for

3888-581: The Denisovans , indicating that the ancestors of Papuans interbred in Asia with these archaic hominins. Agriculture was independently developed in the New Guinea highlands around 7000 BC, making it one of the few areas in the world where people independently domesticated plants. A major migration of Austronesian-speaking peoples to coastal regions of New Guinea took place around 500 BC. This has been correlated with

3996-451: The King . There are 840 known languages of Papua New Guinea (including English), making it the most linguistically diverse country in the world. It is also one of the most rural countries, with only 13.25% of its population living in urban centres in 2019. Most of its people live in customary communities . Although government estimates reported the country's population to be 11.8 million, it

4104-472: The Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions , a pontifical institute, reestablished the mission on Woodlark Island, encountering sickness and resistance from local people. The country's dual name results from its complex administrative history before independence. Beginning in 1884, the region was split between two colonial powers. Germany ruled the northern half of the country for several decades as

4212-594: The Solomon Islands , scheduled editions for 2008 were cancelled, and no games were held in 2009. The Solomon Islands national football team confirmed its participation. As of early July, it was the only country to have done so. The Oceania Football Confederation in February spoke of the Solomon Islands team facing Vanuatu in the Wantok Cup in July, thus suggesting that Papua New Guinea would be absent, or that its participation

4320-533: The Solomon Islands . The following year they defeated the Cook Islands 16–0 at the 1998 OFC Nations Cup , while at the 2000 OFC Nations Cup they defeated them 17–0. Australia's dominance extended to women's competitions as well. For example, at the 1998 OFC Women's Championship , their women's team The Matildas defeated Fiji 17-0 and American Samoa 21-0. The uncompetitive results escalated in April 2001, during

4428-705: The Territory of New Guinea . In contrast to establishing an Australian mandate in former German New Guinea, the League of Nations determined that Papua was an external territory of the Australian Commonwealth; as a matter of law it remained a British possession. The difference in legal status meant that until 1949, Papua (former British protectorate Territory of Papua ) and New Guinea (former German territory German New Guinea ) had entirely separate administrations, both controlled by Australia. These conditions contributed to

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4536-811: The dark skin of the inhabitants. Archaeological evidence indicates that humans first arrived in Papua New Guinea around 42,000 to 45,000 years ago. They were descendants of migrants out of Africa , in one of the early waves of human migration. A 2016 study at the University of Cambridge by Christopher Klein et al. suggests that it was about 50,000 years ago that these peoples reached Sahul (the paleocontinent consisting of present-day Australia and New Guinea). The sea levels rose and isolated New Guinea about 10,000 years ago, but Aboriginal Australians and Papuans diverged from each other genetically earlier, about 37,000 years BP. Evolutionary geneticist Svante Pääbo found that people of New Guinea share 4%–7% of their genome with

4644-522: The first round of OFC qualifiers for the 2002 FIFA World Cup . Australia beat Tonga 22–0 , following this result up with a 31–0 win over American Samoa and an 11–0 win over Samoa. The American Samoa game became the largest international victory in the history of the sport (breaking the previous record set in the Tonga game), while Archie Thompson also broke the record for most goals in an international match, scoring 13. Australia's record-breaking form in

4752-534: The 16th of September 1975 as the date of independence. Whitlam and then- Prince Charles attended the independence ceremony, with Somare continuing as the country's first Prime Minister. A secessionist revolt in 1975–76 on Bougainville Island resulted in an eleventh-hour modification of the draft Constitution of Papua New Guinea to allow for Bougainville and the other eighteen districts to have quasi-federal status as provinces. A renewed uprising on Bougainville started in 1988 and claimed 20,000 lives until it

4860-741: The 1880s between German New Guinea in the North and the British Territory of Papua in the South, all of present-day Papua New Guinea came under Australian control following World War I , with the legally distinct Territory of New Guinea being established out of the former German colony as a League of Nations mandate . The nation was the site of fierce fighting during the New Guinea campaign of World War II . Papua New Guinea became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1975 with Elizabeth II as its Queen. Since Elizabeth II's death in 2022, Charles III has been

4968-459: The 1966 OFC founding, but New Caledonia could only be a provisional member, as the territory did not have sporting autonomy from France at that time. Australia resigned as an OFC member in 1972 to again pursue membership with the AFC, but rejoined the OFC in 1978, and were never official members of the AFC during the 1970s. After the 1972 departure from the OFC, Lou Gautier of Australian publication Soccer World said, "[we] have contended from

5076-598: The AFC's rejections. After initial discussions were held in Tokyo in 1964, Scottish -born Charles Dempsey was approached by the NZFA to work with Bayutti in putting together the bid to create the Oceania Football Confederation. The two garnered enough support for their bid to be approved by FIFA's congress in 1966. The founding OFC members were the following: Representatives from New Caledonia were also involved in

5184-545: The AFC, in order to form an Asia-Pacific Football Confederation. The calls grew louder in 2003 when FIFA reversed a decision to grant Oceania an automatic spot at the World Cup. Australia's lack of World Cup participation prior to 2006 has been blamed by many on the OFC qualification process, with football writer Matthew Hall stating in 2003, "For World Cup qualification, the Socceroos will win games by cricket scores and then face

5292-480: The Australian defeats in the inter-confederation playoffs came against Iran in 1997. Australia were leading 3-1 on aggregate late during the second leg in Melbourne , but their momentum was interrupted when serial pitch invader Peter Hore entered the ground. They went on to concede two goals in quick succession, failing to qualify on the away goals rule . FIFA confirmed OFC as a full confederation in 1996, and granted it

5400-514: The Australian players were spat on, punched and abused by a mob of Uruguayan fans. On 24 May 2004, New Caledonia became the 12th member of the OFC. Australia reached another inter-confederation playoff against Uruguay in late 2005. As well as in 2001, both sides won a game each over the two legs, which led to Australia finally ending their World Cup drought through a dramatic penalty shootout in Sydney . The Socceroos were granted increased security for

5508-617: The Cup , due to be hosted in Vanuatu in July 2008, was cancelled due to the host's financial difficulties. There is no record of the July 2010 edition having taken place. Matches played in 2011 do not appear to have been formally described as an edition of the Wantok Cup. The inaugural edition of the Wantok Cup was held during Independence Day celebrations in Honiara , Solomon Islands, from July 3 to July 7, 2008. The host nation fielded two teams, and Vanuatu one. The Solomons' team of under-23 year-olds won

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5616-470: The Cup never took place. The second edition of the Cup was rescheduled for July 2010, to be hosted by Vanuatu. The second edition of the Wantok Cup was due to be held in Vanuatu , and to begin on July 31, 2010. Had the Cup being held according to schedule, this would have been the seventh or eighth edition, as the Wantok Cup was supposed to be held thrice yearly. Following the inaugural edition in July 2008 in

5724-422: The Cup. Though it was intended to be the first in a series of regular events, all subsequent editions of the adult Wantok Cup were cancelled. The second edition of the Wantok Cup was scheduled to be held during Independence Day celebrations in Vanuatu , in late July 2008. Papua New Guinea having withdrawn from the first edition of the Cup earlier in July, due to financial reasons, the country's participation in

5832-551: The OFC again that same year and joined the Asian Football Confederation. The AFC deal had been struck in June 2005, before Australia beat Uruguay to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. The deal came into effect on January 1st, 2006, although Australia were still officially representing the OFC at that year's World Cup. Once Australia joined the AFC in 2006, they began an unsuccessful bid for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups , and

5940-463: The OFC nor FIFA as they do not meet membership requirements: The Juan Fernández Islands in the eastern Pacific are a special territory of Chile and members of Conselho Sul-Americano de Novas Federações de Futebol , which is for teams that are not recognized by CONMEBOL . They also have played games against Chile's other special territory of Easter Island, since they are their nearest island group. Men's Women's The OFC Professional League

6048-556: The OFC zone for political reasons. 1994 CONCACAF–OFC play-off 1994 CONMEBOL–OFC play-off 1998 AFC–OFC play-off 2002 CONMEBOL–OFC play-off 2006 CONMEBOL–OFC play-off Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea , is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia (a region of

6156-412: The OFC, there was an unsuccessful proposal to merge the AFC and the OFC. The plan was to divide Asia into two distinct confederations. A new Asia-Pacific confederation would have encompassed the OFC nations (including Australia) and AFC nations to the east of India and Bangladesh , or alternatively, to the east of Cambodia , Laos and Vietnam . The Japanese Football Association was said to be keen on

6264-482: The Pacific Basin. Australia lost several inter-confederation World Cup playoffs throughout the 1980s and 1990s; first to Scotland in 1985 , then Argentina in 1993 and then Iran in 1997 . The only time Australia didn't reach the inter-confederation playoff during this period was in 1989 , when Israel qualified ahead of Australia in the second round of OFC qualifiers , eventually losing to Colombia . The closest of

6372-529: The Solomons on and around its independence day (July 7), followed by two match in Vanuatu on and around that country's independence day, July 30 - as intended originally by the Wantok Cup. On aggregate, over the span of the four games, Vanuatu scored three goals to the Solomons' two. If the events are considered separately, Solomon Islands won its Independence Day games 2-1 on aggregate, while Vanuatu won its Independence Day games on aggregate 2-0. There has also been

6480-566: The Territory of Papua, and the Australian administration became formal in 1906. Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Australian forces captured German New Guinea and occupied it throughout the war. After Germany and the Central Powers were defeated in the war, the League of Nations authorised Australia to administer this area as a League of Nations mandate territory, which became

6588-536: The Wantok Cup was scheduled to be held during Independence Day celebrations in Papua New Guinea , in September 2008. The Solomon Islands initially confirmed their participation, and were due to play against the hosts on September 20, but then pulled out, citing financial constraints. The September 2008 edition of the Wantok Cup was then expected to be an encounter between Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. This edition of

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6696-420: The aim of the Wantok Cup, although the media did not use the Cup's name. Vanuatu won the final match 2-0, and the four matches on aggregate by 3-2. Nonetheless, if one considers the Solomons' Independence Day matches (July 7 & 9) separately from those held around Vanuatu's Independence Day (July 27 & 30), and treats them as separate competitions, then the Solomons won the former 2-1 on aggregate, and Vanuatu

6804-673: The ancient supercontinent of Gondwana , which started to break into smaller continents in the Cretaceous period, 65–130 million years ago. Australia finally broke free from Antarctica about 45 million years ago. All the Australasian lands are home to the Antarctic flora , descended from the flora of southern Gondwana, including the coniferous podocarps and Araucaria pines, and the broad-leafed southern beech ( Nothofagus ). These plant families are still present in Papua New Guinea. New Guinea

6912-623: The cash economy. Their traditional social groupings are explicitly acknowledged by the Papua New Guinea Constitution , which expresses the wish for "traditional villages and communities to remain as viable units of Papua New Guinean society" and protects their continuing importance to local and national community life. Papua New Guinea has been an observer state in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN ) since 1976, and has filed its application for full membership status. It

7020-488: The central Pacific, such as Midway Island and Wake Island , which have primarily served as military bases throughout their history. It has occasionally been played on some of Alaska 's Aleutian Islands in the far north Pacific, but there has never been an outdoor league, due to the cold weather. Israel entered the FIFA World Cup OFC qualifying tournaments in 1986 and 1990 due to political reasons, though it

7128-496: The complexity of organising the country's post-independence legal system. The highland valleys were first explored by Australians in the 1930s and were found to be inhabited by over a million people. During World War II , the New Guinea campaign (1942–1945) was one of the major military campaigns and conflicts between Japan and the Allies . Approximately 216,000 Japanese, Australian, and U.S. servicemen died. After World War II and

7236-481: The country is the eastern half of New Guinea island, where the largest towns are also located, including Port Moresby (capital) and Lae ; other major islands within Papua New Guinea include New Ireland , New Britain , Manus and Bougainville . Located north of the Australian mainland, the country's geography is diverse and, in places, extremely rugged. A spine of mountains, the New Guinea Highlands , runs

7344-400: The early stages of qualifying ultimately couldn't be replicated in their inter-confederation playoff against Uruguay later that year. For the first leg, the Socceroos managed to defeat the South Americans 1–0 in front of a Melbourne crowd of 84,656, but they were overwhelmed 3–0 in the away leg. The away leg was marred by an incident at Montevideo 's airport prior to the game itself, where

7452-491: The fact that the south Pacific area had never hosted the World Cup was one of the bid's selling points. Australian football chief John O'Neill said in July 2006, "the one part of the world that's never hosted the World Cup, after South Africa has hosted in 2010 , is the Pacific Basin. We belong to Asia now but we're also part of the Pacific, and I think the equity issue about the Pacific region not having hosted should be in our favor." Australia and New Zealand would later co-host

7560-446: The first Papua New Guinean Chief Minister of the Territory. In December, Whitlam was elected as Prime Minister at the 1972 Australian federal election . The Whitlam Government then instituted self-governance under the rule of Somare in late 1973. Over the next two years, further arguments for independence were forwarded, culminating in the Whitlam Government passing the Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975 in September 1975, citing

7668-534: The first administrator of this new council. In 1964, the Council was replaced by the 64-member House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea , which for the first time had a majority of Papua New Guinean members. The Assembly increased to 84 members in 1967 and 100 by 1971. Debate began over Australian administration both in Papua New Guinea and Australia, with the Bougainville independence movement pushing for greater autonomy as Australian mining company Rio Tinto 's exploitative practices became extremely controversial to

7776-505: The first away leg, as a response to the 2001 airport incident, and in the second leg the Uruguayan team were heavily booed while their national anthem played. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup , Australia were eliminated by eventual champions Italy during the Round of 16. Their 3–1 group stage victory against Japan remains the only time a team representing OFC has won at the tournament. Australia left

7884-549: The first round. The OFC was previously the only FIFA confederation that did not have a guaranteed spot in the World Cup finals. Between 1966 and 1982, OFC teams joined the Asian zone qualification tournament, while from 1986 onwards, the winners of the Oceanian zone qualification tournament had to enter the intercontinental play-offs against teams from other confederations in order to gain

7992-560: The forests of Papua New Guinea by an Australian-led expedition in the early 2010s. A small wallaby, a large-eared mouse and a shrew-like marsupial were discovered. The expedition was also successful in capturing photographs and video footage of some other rare animals such as the Tenkile tree kangaroo and the Weimang tree kangaroo. Nearly one-quarter of Papua New Guinea's rainforests were damaged or destroyed between 1972 and 2002. Papua New Guinea had

8100-410: The group stage. With Australia's absence, New Zealand began having a regular presence in World Cup inter-confederation playoffs. They were convincingly defeated by Mexico over two legs in 2013 , and narrowly missed out to Peru in 2017 and Costa Rica in 2022. Throughout its history, there have been numerous calls to either merge the OFC and AFC, or dissolve the OFC and have its members join

8208-510: The idea of splitting the AFC, but there was resistance from the Middle Eastern countries. The mandatory inter-confederation playoff for the best performed OFC team was finally abolished with the 2026 World Cup and beyond. Beginning with the qualification for the expanded 2026 tournament, the best performed OFC team is granted an automatic World Cup spot, with the second best being given an inter-confederation playoff spot. Source: OFC

8316-470: The inaugural edition at the last moment, citing financial constraints, and Vanuatu announced that it would be unable to host the second edition of the Cup, for the same reason. Nonetheless, the Wantok Cup was expected to continue, Vanuatu having pledged to host it in July 2009. The 2009 games did not take place. The second edition of the Wantok Cup was then due to be hosted by Vanuatu to coincide with its Independence Day celebrations in July 2010. In March 2010,

8424-470: The introduction of pottery, pigs, and certain fishing techniques. In the 18th century, traders brought the sweet potato to New Guinea, where it was adopted and became a staple food . Portuguese traders had obtained it from South America and introduced it to the Moluccas . The far higher crop yields from sweet potato radically transformed traditional agriculture and societies. Sweet potato largely supplanted

8532-594: The island until the 19th century, although Portuguese and Spanish explorers, such as Dom Jorge de Menezes and Yñigo Ortiz de Retez , had encountered it as early as the 16th century. Traders from Southeast Asia visited New Guinea beginning 5,000 years ago to collect bird-of-paradise plumes. Christianity was introduced to New Guinea on 15 September 1847 when a group of Marist missionaries came to Woodlark Island . They established their first mission on Umboi Island . Following that year, they were forced to withdraw their mission endeavour. Five years later on 8 October 1852,

8640-520: The island's long houses, a demonstration of past practices. According to Marianna Torgovnick, writing in 1991, "The most fully documented instances of cannibalism as a social institution come from New Guinea, where head-hunting and ritual cannibalism survived, in certain isolated areas, into the Fifties, Sixties, and Seventies, and still leave traces within certain social groups." Little was known in Europe about

8748-510: The latter 2-0 on aggregate. No further editions of the Cup have been reported as scheduled; the Cup appears to be defunct as such, or to continue only in an informal manner. Thus, Papua New Guinea never actually competed in a Wantok Cup event. New Caledonia never participated in the adult Wantok Cup either, but sent a national team to the inaugural (and so far only) edition of the Junior Wantok Cup in January 2010. The second edition of

8856-505: The length of the island of New Guinea , forming a populous highlands region mostly covered with tropical rainforest , and the long Papuan Peninsula , known as the 'Bird's Tail'. Dense rainforests can be found in the lowland and coastal areas as well as very large wetland areas surrounding the Sepik and Fly rivers. This terrain has made it difficult for the country to develop transportation infrastructure. This has made it so that air travel

8964-585: The minimum 23–24 °C. In the highlands above 2100 metres, colder conditions prevail and night frosts are common there, while the daytime temperature exceeds 22 °C, regardless of the season. Many species of birds and mammals found on New Guinea have close genetic links with corresponding species found in Australia. One notable feature in common for the two landmasses is the existence of several species of marsupial mammals , including some kangaroos and possums , which are not found elsewhere. Papua New Guinea

9072-496: The mountains of Australia, so high that it is home to rare equatorial glaciers . There are several active volcanoes , and eruptions are frequent. Earthquakes are relatively common, sometimes accompanied by tsunamis . On 25 February 2018, an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 and depth of 35 kilometres struck the middle of Papua New Guinea. The worst of the damage was centred around the Southern Highlands region. Papua New Guinea

9180-514: The next ten years, and he was eventually elected president in 1982. Previous presidents included New Zealanders William Walkley and Jack Cowie , and Australians Vic Tuting and Arthur George . Dempsey served as president until 2000, and he convinced smaller Pacific states to join the confederation, including Samoa (in 1986), Vanuatu (in 1988), Tahiti (in 1990), Tonga and the Cook Islands (both in 1994) and American Samoa (in 1998). Dempsey

9288-541: The only realms in which the governor-general is elected by parliament, although the governor-general is still formally appointed by the monarch in accordance with the parliamentary vote. The national constitution provides for the executive to be responsible to parliament as the representative of the Papua New Guinean people. The prime minister of Papua New Guinea is elected by the National Parliament, while

9396-551: The other ministers are appointed by the governor-general on the prime minister's advice and form the National Executive Council , which acts as the country's cabinet. The National Parliament has 111 seats, of which 22 are occupied by the governors of the 22 provinces and the National Capital District . Candidates for members of parliament are voted upon when the prime minister asks the governor-general to call

9504-493: The previous staple, taro , and resulted in a significant increase in population in the highlands. Although by the late 20th century headhunting and cannibalism had been practically eradicated, in the past they were practised in many parts of the country as part of rituals related to warfare and taking in enemy spirits or powers. In 1901, on Goaribari Island in the Gulf of Papua , missionary Harry Dauncey found 10,000 skulls in

9612-601: The purpose of representing countries in the Pacific, following Australia and New Zealand's failed attempts to join the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The idea of forming a Pacific confederation was first raised in 1964. This proposal was pushed by Sid Guppy of the New Zealand Football Association (NZFA), Jim Bayutti of the Australian Soccer Federation and then- FIFA president Stanley Rous , with Guppy and Bayutti both being spurred on by

9720-514: The region's indigenous landowners, with demands for compensation being made. Australian Opposition Leader Gough Whitlam visited Papua New Guinea in 1970 and 1971, amid further calls for independence by the Tolai people in Gazelle Peninsula . He called for self-governance for the Territory as early as 1972. At the 1972 Papua New Guinean general election in July, Michael Somare was elected as

9828-472: The same status with the AFC as the Northern Mariana Islands association but was not successful. New Zealand ended their own World Cup drought in 2009 when they defeated Bahrain to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup . The tournament coincidentally also featured Australia, who were now representing the AFC. New Zealand were the only unbeaten team at the tournament, despite failing to advance past

9936-432: The second edition remained uncertain. The Solomon Islands was to be represented by two teams. On July 18, it was announced that Vanuatu would be unable to host the Cup that month, due to financial difficulties. The second edition of the Wantok Cup was consequently cancelled. The Vanuatu Football Federation stated that the country would host the Cup in July 2009. In the end, no games were held in 2009. The third edition of

10044-469: The southern border east to the Torasi Estuary . The maritime boundary with Australia was confirmed by a treaty in 1978. In the Torres Strait it runs close to the mainland of New Guinea, keeping the adjacent North Western Torres Strait Islands ( Dauan , Boigu and Saibai ) under Australian sovereignty. Maritime boundaries with the Solomon Islands were confirmed by a 1989 treaty . Papua New Guinea

10152-408: The southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia ). It shares its only land border with Indonesia to the west and its other close neighbours are Australia to the south and the Solomon Islands to the east. Its capital, located on its southern coast, is Port Moresby . The country is the world's third largest island country , with an area of 462,840 km (178,700 sq mi). Split in

10260-501: The third-largest island country . Papua New Guinea is part of the Australasian realm , which also includes Australia , New Zealand , eastern Indonesia , and several Pacific island groups, including the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu . Including all its islands, it lies between latitudes 0° and 12°S , and longitudes 140° and 160°E . It has an exclusive economic zone of 2,402,288 km (927,529 sq mi). The mainland of

10368-438: The tournament then it is likely that the Wantok Cup will only feature Solomon Islands and Vanuatu." There is no record of the July 2010 edition of the Cup having taken place - presumably due to a withdrawal by the hosts. No further editions of the Cup have been reported as scheduled. These may not have been official editions of the Cup. Nonetheless, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands met for four games in July, beginning with two in

10476-439: The tournament then it is likely that the Wantok Cup will only feature Solomon Islands and Vanuatu." There is no record of the July 2010 edition of the Cup having taken place - presumably due to a withdrawal by the hosts. In 2011, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands met for four games, beginning with a match in the Solomons on its Independence Day and culminating in a match held in Vanuatu on the latter's Independence Day, which had been

10584-466: The very start that the conception of an Oceania Confederation was a pipe dream, with no tangible advantages for Australian soccer." Bayutti resigned from the OFC in 1970, in preparation for Australia's planned move to the AFC, with Charles Dempsey being appointed OFC acting secretary as a result. Dempsey also served as the head of the New Zealand national body. Dempsey remained the OFC acting secretary for

10692-546: The victory of the Allies, the two territories were combined into the Territory of Papua and New Guinea . This was later referred to as "Papua New Guinea." After World War II, Australia administered the two newly combined territories of Papua and New Guinea. By 1951, a 28-member Legislative Council was instituted, although this was largely dominated by Australian administrative members, with only 3 seats allocated to Papua New Guineans. Sir Donald Cleland , an Australian soldier, became

10800-485: Was a choice between greater autonomy within Papua New Guinea and full independence for Bougainville, and voters voted overwhelmingly (98.31%) for independence. Negotiations between the Bougainville government and national Papua New Guinea on a path to Bougainville independence began after the referendum, and are ongoing. At 462,840 km (178,704 sq mi), Papua New Guinea is the world's 54th-largest country and

10908-490: Was causing political tension within the confederation. When announcing Australia's move in June 2005, then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter remarked, "the Oceania delegates have thought for many years that Australia was too powerful and blocked the way of the other 11 countries. Now New Zealand, and the Pacific islands at least have a chance. They can go it alone, I am sure it will be a success." In 2005, shortly before Australia left

11016-505: Was in the OFC throughout the 1970s and 1980s, as a result of Chinese political tensions. It had been affiliated with the AFC prior to the OFC move, and eventually rejoined it. In international cricket , Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines compete in a division with the countries of Oceania, while Chinese Taipei compete in the same division as mainland Asia. Three CONIFA members are geographically in Oceania but not affiliated with

11124-459: Was never an OFC member. Three associations are geographically in Oceania but not affiliated with the OFC but are instead members of the Asian Football Confederation : Most of the island states off the Pacific coast of Asia (including Indonesia , Japan , and the Philippines ) had already joined the AFC prior to the formation of the OFC. The island state of Chinese Taipei (also known as Taiwan)

11232-550: Was reported in December 2022 that its population was in fact closer to 17 million. Papua New Guinea is the most populous Pacific island country. The country is believed to be the home of many undocumented species of plants and animals. Papua New Guinea is classified as a developing economy by the International Monetary Fund ; nearly 40% of the population are subsistence farmers , living relatively independently of

11340-615: Was resolved in 1997. Bougainville had been the primary mining region of the country, generating 40% of the national budget. The native peoples felt they were bearing the adverse environmental effects of the mining, which contaminated the land, water and air, without gaining a fair share of the profits. The government and rebels negotiated a peace agreement that established the Bougainville Autonomous District and Province. The autonomous Bougainville elected Joseph Kabui as president in 2005, who served until he died in 2008. He

11448-412: Was succeeded by his deputy John Tabinaman as acting president while an election to fill the unexpired term was organised. James Tanis won that election in December 2008 and served until the inauguration of John Momis, the winner of the 2010 elections. As part of the current peace settlement, a non-binding independence referendum was held, between 23 November and 7 December 2019. The referendum question

11556-564: Was the name coined by the Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez . In 1545, he noted the resemblance of the people to those he had earlier seen along the Guinea coast of Africa. Guinea, in its turn, is etymologically derived from the Portuguese word Guiné . The name is one of several toponyms sharing similar etymologies , ultimately meaning "land of the blacks" or similar meanings, in reference to

11664-472: Was unconfirmed. In March, the Vanuatu Daily Post commented that the Solomon Islands Football Federation was preparing seriously for the Cup, while the Vanuatu Football Federation was yet to do so. On July 9, the Solomon Star reported that Papua New Guinea would not be attending, as it was "occupied by other football programs", and that even scheduled host Vanuatu had yet to confirm it would be taking part. The article concluded: "If Vanuatu agrees to host

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