The OFC Extraordinary Congress held at Kigali in Rwanda has elected Lambert Maltock (Vanuatu) unopposed as President for a second four-year term.
Maltock was first elected at the March 2019 Congress in Auckland New Zealand.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino addressed the Congress saying “this year is huge for the Oceania region, for Women’s football and for the Oceans 11.” (referring to the 11 full Member Associations that make up OFC)
Maltock is proud of what OFC has achieved over the past four years with one of his major accomplishments being the driving force behind the establishment of the OFC’s new headquarters ‘The Home of Football’ at St Johns in Auckland.
“We have implemented the OFC Football Development Strategy, raising the quality of football through competitions, launching OFC’s first ever Women’s Football Strategy and launching OFC Learn which has revolutionised capacity building workshops for all involved in the game on and off the pitch.” Maltock said.
And while there have been some impressive results during his first term Maltock is excited by OFC’s ambitious goals for the next four years.
“I will lead and drive three priorities that are aligned with the OFC Strategy 2023-2026 to stay on track to meet out Confederation wide goal of qualifying two teams for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and 2027.”
“Priority one is Development and Education with our Member Associations prioritised to improve and professionalise their respective management and administration.”
“Priority two is High Performance with the planned launch of the OFC Professional League by 2025 likely to be revolutionise the game in Oceania and place OFC in a new era of a professional confederation.”
“Priority three looks to Good Governance which must be upheld at the core of all our Member Associations.” Maltock said.
The 2023 OFC Extraordinary Congress was held in Kigali the day before the 73rd FIFA Congress takes place in the Rwandan Capital.
OFC’s two FIFA Council representatives Johanna Wood (NZF President) and Rajesh Patel (Fiji) have also been elected unopposed for a second term.
SOURCE: OFC/PACNEWS
