The MSG Prime Minister's Cup, formerly known as the Melanesia Cup, is an association football competition played between the Melanesian countries. It was formerly used (along with the Polynesia Cup) for qualification to the OFC Nations Cup. The original tournament used a round-robin format with every team playing each other once at the tournament's location.
History Melanesia Cup (1988–2000) The Melanesia Cup was founded in 1988, with Fiji becoming the inaugural champions following a 3–1 victory against Solomon Islands. The tournament was played on an annual basis until the 1990 tournament saw the Melanesia Cup become a biennial tournament. It was then played every two years until 2000 except for 1996.
The 1996 Melanesia Cup was cancelled for unknown reasons, and the scheduled 2002 Melanesia Cup was cancelled due to security issues in Honiara as the tournament was moved from July to September 2002.
The tournament also served as OFC Nations Cup qualifiers, first doing so in 1994.
2002–2022 In 2008, the Wantok Cup was established as a competition between Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. It was described by the Oceania Football Confederation as "a tournament reminiscent of the now defunct Melanesian Cup"."Wantok Cup Honiara 2008 – Solomon Islands name 64-man squad". . Oceania Football Confederation. June 19, 2008.
This tournament was also abolished, with the last two editions played in 2011."Bonitos fall to Vanuatu" , Solomon Star, 1 August 2011Solomon Islands men's football team fixtures and results, July to September 2011, FIFA
MSG Prime Minister's Cup (2022–present) In 2022 the tournament was revived under the current name, the MSG Prime Minister's Cup, after more than twenty years. The name was changed at the impetus of FIFA. It is organised by the Melanesian Spearhead Group.
The inaugural tournament was won by first-time champions Papua New Guinea in 2022, and the 2022 MSG Prime Minister's Cup also saw the introduction of "B" teams into the tournament.
Participants
Total wins (men's tournament) Total 6 1988, 1989, 1992, 1998, 2000, 2026 2 2022, 2024 2 1994, 2023 2 1990, 2025
Melanesia Cup 5 1988, 1989, 1992, 1998, 2000 1 1994 1 1990 MSG Prime Minister's Cup 2 2022, 2024 1 2023 1 2025 1 2026
Results Men's YearHostWinnerRunner-up3rd Place4th PlaceMelanesia Cup1988DetailsSolomon Islands1989DetailsFiji1990DetailsNew Caledonia1992DetailsVanuatu1994DetailsSolomon Islands1998DetailsVanuatu2000DetailsFijiMSG Prime Minister's Cup2022DetailsVanuatu(Development Team)2023DetailsNew Caledonia2024DetailsSolomon Islands2025DetailsPapua New Guinea and 2026DetailsFiji2027DetailsVanuatu
Source: RSSSF
Results Women's YearHostWinnerRunner-up3rd Place4th PlaceMSG Prime Minister's Cup2025DetailsPapua New Guinea2026DetailsFiji2027DetailsVanuatu
See also Melanesian Super Cup Polynesia Cup Wantok Cup
References