![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oceaniafootball.com\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/190406pt35.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a>Lae City FC prepare for their OFC Men\u2019s Champions League 2019 quarter-final with Auckland City FC. Photo credit: OFC Media via Phototek.<\/p>\nLae City FC have progressed past the group stage twice before, both times when the competition was an expanded 16-team tournament, reaching the quarterfinals back-to-back in 2018\u00a0and 2019.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their last campaign in 2022 was a\u00a0disappointing\u00a0one though, finishing bottom of Group B with just a single point.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Coach: Valentine Nelson\u00a0<\/p>\n
Club stalwart Valentine Nelson will take the reins for Lae City FC at OFC Men\u2019s Champions League 2026, having played in five of their six\u00a0previous\u00a0campaigns.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThose experiences helped shape me both as a player and as a person,\u201d he says. \u201cPlaying against the best clubs in the region taught me the importance of discipline, teamwork, and\u00a0maintaining\u00a0high standards\u00a0on and off the field.\u201d<\/p>\n Nelson is also a former Papua New Guinea international, collecting 8 caps, 3 of which came during FIFA World Cup\u2122 2014 qualifying.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Squad\u00a0<\/p>\n Goalkeeper Ronald Warisan, and defenders Phillip Steven and Langarap Samol are the only three players in Nelson\u2019s squad to have played at an OFC Men\u2019s Champions League\u00a0before, all three of whom are also Papua New Guinea internationals, and\u00a0will be relied upon heavily.\u00a0<\/p>\n The average age of Lae City\u2019s squad is 22.7, making them the second-youngest squad at the tournament, only above AS V\u00e9nus.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n U-16 national team captain Matthew Sopo\u00a0and teammate\u00a0Bomcege\u00a0Basananuc\u00a0are two that recently impressed at OFC U-16 Men\u2019s Championship\u00a02026 but\u00a0will have to bridge the gap in experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n Player to Watch: Ronald\u00a0Warisan\u00a0<\/p>\n Of the three to have played at the tournament before, 36-year-old goalkeeper Ronald Warisan is the most experienced, and has played in all six of Lae City\u2019s\u00a0previous\u00a0OFC Men\u2019s Champions League campaigns.\u00a0<\/p>\n He\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0have the number one jersey for the 2026 edition but will be key anywhere he steps around the Lae City camp.\u00a0Warisan\u00a0also 32 international caps for Papua New Guinea and was an OFC Men\u2019s Nations Cup runner-up in 2016.\u00a0<\/p>\n Squad List<\/p>\n<\/a>Head coach Valentine Nelson previously played in five OFC Men\u2019s Champions League campaigns for Lae City. Photo credit: OFC Media via Phototek.<\/p>\n<\/a>Lae City FC have the second-youngest squad at OFC Men\u2019s Champions League 2026. Photo credit: OFC Media via Phototek.<\/p>\n<\/a>Goalkeeper Ronald Warisan has played in all six of Lae City\u2019s previous OFC Men\u2019s Champions League group stage campaigns. Photo credit: OFC Media via Phototek.<\/p>\n