Photo: MI NEWS
Cook Islands' Tinirau Arona celebrates after scoring against Tonga in last year's Rugby World Cup
Rugby League - World Cup
The numbers of Pacific teams contesting the next Rugby League World Cup could drop after the governing body decided to cut the number of participating teams from 16 at the 2021 event to just 10 for the next event.
The International Rugby League (IRL) has moved the 2025 tournament back a year, to 2026, and it will now be held in the Southern Hemisphere after France withdrew from hosting it in 2025 as it could not offer the necessary financial guarantees.
The women's event will again feature eight teams - but the 2025 event was due to be expanded to 16.
In the 2021 World Cup - which was delayed by a year due to covid-19 - five Pacific nations competed in the men's event - finalists Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands. The women's event featured PNG and the Cook Islands.
The President of Cook Islands Rugby League Association, Charles Carlson, told Cook Islands News the changes were "disappointing and disheartening".
Carlson said that means both their men's and women's teams, who had qualified directly after the world cups last year, will now have to go through qualification matches again.
Fiji - football
FIFA boss Gianni Infantino has opened new football facilities in Fiji and discussed football development with Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and the Deputy Prime Minister Biman Prasad.
The FIFA President inaugurated a new fitness centre, named after the late Brazilian legend Pelé, and a futsal pitch built with the support of FIFA Forward.
Mr Infantino also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the FFA and the government to launch a Football for Schools project in the country.
The FFA is also planning to build a high performance centre, for players graduating from football academies, which will include a 15,000-capacity stadium.
Football - Marianas
The Northern Marianas football team made history in the Marianas Cup last week by beating neighbouring Guam on Saipan.
The CNMI men's U-23 team lost the first game against Guam's U-23 team, 0-1, on Thursday, but avenged the loss with a 3-0 win on Saturday to take the series through goal difference.
It's the first time since the Marianas Cup was conceived in 2007 that the CNMI men have defeated Guam which plays in the Asian Football Confederation.
The CNMI women's U-23 team beat their Guam counterparts in both their games.
It's the third straight win for the CNMI women against Guam.
Markus Attao-Toves and Summer Manahane were adjudged the 2023 Marianas Cup MVPs.
Futsal - Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands futsal team has lost their opening game of the Continental Futsal Championship in Thailand.
The Kurukuru lost 6-2 to Myanmar in Bangkok and next play the hosts Thailand.
Thailand defeated Myanmar 5-0 in their first game of the round-robin stage.
Rugby - Tonga
'Ikale Tahi players battling for spots in the Rugby World Cup squad for France will have two Test matches against the visiting Canadian team to cement their claims.
Tongan head coach Toutai Kefu says he has a fair idea of who he will take to France but has to see some players whose fitness is fifty-fifty at the moment.
The two matches against Canada, on Thursday and Tuesday, will be the last opportunity for players to impress.
The Tonga Rugby Union expects to announce the 33-member squad for the World Cup next Wednesday.
Rugby - Fiji youth
The Fiji youth sevens teams have claimed a silver and a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago.
Fiji's men's team lost 25-20 to Scotland in the final on Tuesday night.
The Fijians had defeated Scotland 32-5 in the early stages of the competition.
Fiji's women's team won bronze after they defeated Kenya 22-10 in the bronze medal play-off.
Beach volleyball - Vanuatu
The Vanuatu beach volleyball pair of Stephanie Joel and Eleno Mouele have finished 11th at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago after they defeated Cayman Islands in their play-off on Tuesday night.
Earlier in the tournament the two girls had recorded Vanuatu's first ever wins at the event, also defeating the Cayman Islands 2-1 in their first pool match.
But they lost 2-0 to Mozambique on Sunday and 2-1 to Scotland in the round of 16.
Vanuatu Beach Volleyball said it was proud of the duo's performance.
Canoeing - Samoa
More than a thousand canoe paddlers from 28 countries will converge in Apia, Samoa this week for the World Distance Championships.
The event, hosted by the Samoa Outrigger Canoe Association, is from August 10-19 in Apia Harbour.
A purpose-built stage on the seawall will be the main staging area for the championships.
Samoa's Tourism Minister Cedric Schuster said the event will be a major boost for tourism.
