The Oceania Cup is the biennialfootball competition of the Oceanian nations. It has been held every two years since 1996 by the Oceania Football Confederation; before 1996 there were two other tournaments at irregular intervals. Participating nations are Australia, New Zealand and various Pacific Islands. The latter have to qualify in a preliminary tournament.
A very large gulf separates Australia and New Zealand from the small, poorly-resourced island competitors. The tournament is paid little attention by the rest of the football world. Australia's top players, based in Europe, are generally not even selected on the basis that they would refuse to play in what they regard as a meaningless event - allowing New Zealand to embarrass its larger neighbour on a regular basis.
