The Lautoka Football side has been drawn in a tough pool for 2018 OFC Champions League following the draw last week in New Zealand.

The Vodafone Premier League champions are drawn in Group C with the defending and eight-time champions Auckland City FC, Papua New Guinea runner-up Madang FC and AS Venus from Tahiti.

Vodafone Premier League runners-up Ba FC have drawn in Group A with Papua New Guinea champions Lae City Dwellers who will be making their third-consecutive appearance in the competition, Vanuatu’s Nalkutan FC who claimed Vanuatu’s top berth after winning the VFF National Super League then defeating Port Vila Football League champions Erakor Golden Star FC in their play-off.

The make-up of Group B includes the winner of Solomon Islands’ Telekom S-League, Tahiti Ligue 1 VINI winners AS Dragon, New Caledonia Super Ligue runner-up AS Lossi and Erakor Golden Star FC.

In Group C the defending and eight-time champions Auckland City FC have drawn Fiji Vodafone Premier League winners Lautoka FC, Papua New Guinea runner-up Madang FC and AS Venus from Tahiti.

Drawn first for Group D, New Zealand Premiership winner and three-time OFC Champions League runner-up Team Wellington will meet their 2016 and 2017 OFC Champions League semi-final opponent AS Magenta in the group stage after the New Caledonia champions were drawn in second position.

The runner-up from the Qualifying Stage and the second-place team from Solomon Islands have also been drawn in Group D.

The draw for the Qualifying Stage of the OFC Champions League 2018 also took place at the OFC Headquarters last week, positioning American Samoa champions and Qualifying Stage hosts Pago Youth FC in the top position, followed by the national league winners from Cook Islands, Samoa then Tonga. The 2018 edition will introduce a quarter-final stage, expanding the competition to five stages which will be played at different venues across Oceania and see 18 teams’ battle for qualification to the FIFA Club World Cup.

The champions of American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga will open the competition calendar in 2018 when they meet for the Qualifying Stage held in American Samoa from January 20-26.