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". This tournament was also abolished, with the last two editions played in 2011.
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. 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 ==