The 2017 OFC U-17 Championship was the 17th edition of the OFC U-17 Championship, the biennial international youth football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) for players aged 17 and below. The tournament was held in Tahiti between 11 and 24 February 2017.
In March 2015, FIFA decided that the OFC gets two slots at every FIFA U-20 and U-17 World Cup. So the top two teams qualified for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India.
Format The qualification structure is as follows: First round: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga played a round-robin tournament in Samoa. The winner qualified for the tournament. Tournament (2017 OFC U-17 Championship): A total of eight teams (Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu, and the first round winner) played the tournament in Tahiti. For the group stage, they were divided into two groups of four teams. The top two teams of each group advanced to the knockout stage (semi-finals and final) to decide the winner of the 2017 OFC U-17 Championship and the two teams that qualified for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Teams All 11 FIFA-affiliated national teams from the OFC entered qualification. It is only the third time all 11 OFC member associations have entered an Oceania competition since 2006.
SeedingTeamsNo. of teamsFirst round entrants4Second round entrants7
Squads
Venues The final round of the tournament were played in two venues in Tahiti.
PiraeMahinaStade PaterStade MahinaCapacity:11,700Capacity:2,500
Match officials
Referees
Salesh Chand Médéric Lacour Matt Conger Nelson Sogo Hamilton Siau George Time Norbert Hauata Kader Zitouni Roger Adams Arnold Tari
Assistant Referees
John Pareanga Noah Kusunan Tevita Makasini Folio Moeaki Sione Teu Marc Sinyeue Gareth Sheehan Wase Bafinu Malaetala Sofe Denson Sale
First round The preliminary tournament was hosted by Samoa between 2 and 8 July 2016. Due to unforeseen circumstances, matchday one was postponed from 2 to 4 July, and matchday 2 was postponed from 5 to 6 July. The winner qualified for the final tournament.
All times are local, WST (UTC+13).
Second round The final tournament was scheduled for 11–24 February 2017 (originally 15–29 January 2017). Tahiti were announced as the host in December 2015.
The draw was held on 18 July 2016. The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams. There was no seeding, except that hosts Tahiti were assigned to position A1 in the draw. The top two teams of each group advanced to the semi-finals.
All times are local, TAHT (UTC−10).
Group A
Group A matches of matchday 3 were moved from Stade Mahina, Mahina to Stade Pater, Pirae due to adverse weather conditions.
Group B
Knockout stage Bracket
Semi-finals Winners qualified for 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Final
Goalscorers 7 goals
Charles Spragg
5 goals
Junior Kaoni
4 goals
Barthy Kerobin Max Mata Matthew Palmer
3 goals
Conroy Tiputoa Ratu Dau Paul Gope-Fenepej Junior Allen Ali Mekawir
2 goals
Kimiora Ngametua Bernard Iwa Matthew Jones Elijah Just Oliver Whyte Willie Sauiluma Dilo Tumua Don Keana Steward Toata Tevita Kau Dilland Ngwele
1 goal
Takai Pouli Semi Matalau Pierre Bako Robert Caihe Abiezer Jeno Vita Longue Lionel Thahnaena Liberato Cacace Matthew Conroy Willem Ebbinge Kingsley Sinclair Jake Williams Jonathan Allen Kimson Kapai Aben Pukue Emmanuel Simongi Lotial Mano Osa Savelio Elis Mana Kalahani Beaumert Eddy Kaspard Yann Vivi Kalakaua Faivailo Ofa Kite Petueli Tokotaha Zidane Maguekon Rhydley Napau Jayson Tari
1 own goal
Aben Pukue (playing against New Zealand) Pesamino Tomasi (playing against Cook Islands)
Awards The Golden Ball Award is awarded to the most outstanding player of the tournament. The Golden Glove Award is awarded to the best goalkeeper of the tournament. The Golden Boot Award is awarded to the top scorer of the tournament. The Fair Play Award is awarded to the team with the best disciplinary record at the tournament.
AwardRecipientGolden Ball Charles SpraggGolden Glove Zac JonesGolden Boot Charles Spragg (7 goals)Fair Play Award
Qualified teams for FIFA U-17 World Cup The following two teams from OFC qualified for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Team Qualified on Previous appearances in tournament1 (1997, 1999, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015) (Debut) 1 Bold indicates champion for that year. Italic indicates host for that year.
References
External links 2017 OFC U-17 Championship , oceaniafootball.com Results