| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host countries | Qualifying stage: Tonga Final tournament: Solomon Islands |
| Dates | Qualifying stage: 14–20 July 2018 Final tournament: 9–22 September 2018 |
| Teams | Final tournament: 8 Total: 11 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  New Zealand (8th title) |
| Runners-up |  Solomon Islands |
| Third place |  Tahiti |
| Fourth place |  Fiji |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 22 |
| Goals scored | 100 (4.55 per match) |
| Attendance | 48,200 (2,191 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Raphael Lea'i (8 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Raphael Lea'i |
| Best goalkeeper | Alex Paulsen |
| Fair play award | Solomon Islands |
← 2017 | |
The 2018 OFC U-16 Championship was the 18th edition of the OFC U-16/U-17 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) for the men's under-16/under-17 national teams of Oceania. The qualifying stage was held in Tonga between 14 and 20 July 2018, and the final tournament was held in the Solomon Islands between 9–22 September 2018.[1]
Before the last tournament the age limit was reduced by a year to 16 years of age. However the last tournament remained the name U-17 Championship. For this tournament, the name has changed to U-16 Championship. So players who want to participate in the tournament needed to be born on or after 1 January 2002. At an OFC Executive Committee meeting held at its Auckland headquarters in November 2013 the competition format was modified. The competition was brought forward a year and the age limit was lowered to 16 years of age. The changes were made in order to allow the winner of the competition plenty of time for preparation and player development for upcoming World Cups at Under 17 level.[2]
In March 2015, FIFA decided that the OFC gets two slots at every FIFA U-20 and U-17 World Cup.[3] So the top two teams of the tournament qualified for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil as the OFC representatives. New Zealand, the defending champions, won the title for the eighth time, and qualified together with runners-up Solomon Islands.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
calendarwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "OFC Executive meeting outcomes announced". Oceania Football Confederation. 23 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ^ "Competition calendar outlined". Oceania Football Confederation. 10 December 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-09-24. Retrieved 10 December 2013.