The five men who ranked the applicants for the new OFC Professional League
- Friends of Football
- Oct 23
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 24
The Oceania Football Confederation have named the five independent members of the panel that recommended which eight clubs should play in the region’s new professional league.
The OFC Professional League will launch in January 2026, with South Island United and Auckland FC among the eight clubs.
OFC have shared details of the five members of their OFC Professional League club licensing committee, and released a copy of their licensing regulations.
OFC say the licensing committee was formed on June 13, 2025, “as a wholly independent body to ensure objectivity, transparency, accountability and fairness throughout the assessment process..
“The committee was assisted by the outstanding work done by the operational staff and advisors of the OFC, who were highly professional and instrumental in the committee’s work.”
The five members of the independent committee are:
Earl Cochrane is a Canadian national and sports strategy advisor. He is the founder and chief executive of Kinova Consulting & Solutions, a sports and entertainment consulting firm incorporated in Canada.
Noel Mooney is an Irish sports official currently serving as the chief executive, board member, and secretary of the Football Association of Wales (FAW). He is also a member of the United Kingdom and Ireland 2028 board for the UEFA Euro 2028 championships, UEFA national associations committee, and International Football Association Board (IFAB).
Mauro Barsi is a New Zealand-based legal consultant and executive leader with more than two decades of experience in law, governance, and strategic leadership.
Nilesh Sharma is an Indian lawyer currently serving as the principal partner of the Fiji-based law firm Nilesh Sharma Lawyers.
Charles Handler is an Australia-based lawyer currently serving as a legal counsel and member protection officer for Football Victoria.
“Each member is a vastly experienced professional from across the football industry, each bringing unique expertise in areas such as club licencing, governance, sports administration, financial management, legal compliance, integrity and security, and safeguarding,” OFC say.
Licensing regulations
OFC have made available copies of their 33-page document which sets out the regulations for licensing clubs to participate in the OFC Professional League.
Under the regulations, the club licensing committee is responsible for:
Evaluating the overall compliance of clubs with licensing requirements.
Making recommendations to the OFC executive committee on whether a licence should be granted or withdrawn.
Recommending sanctions for breaches of the regulation.
Download a PDF of the licensing regulations by clicking on the following link:
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