| Founded | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Region | Western Melanesia |
| Number of teams | 3 |
| Current champions | Solomon Islands |
| Most successful team(s) | Solomon Islands (2 titles) |
The Wantok Cup was an international football competition between the national teams of three Melanesian countries: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The Cup was to be a thrice-a-year competition, to be held in July (twice) and September (once), as part of independence commemoration celebrations in the Solomons, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, respectively.[1] The inaugural edition of the Cup was held during independence celebrations in the Solomon Islands, from July 3 to July 7, 2008,[2] and was won by the hosts.
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."[3] The Cup has been described by the Oceania Football Confederation as "a tournament reminiscent of the now defunct Melanesian Cup".[4] Ngava, however, has stated that "these two competitions are not linked in any way".[5][6]
Wantok 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.[7] 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.[5]