| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Solomon Islands |
| Dates | 21–26 October |
| Teams | 4 (from 1 confederation) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Fiji (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Solomon Islands |
| Third place |  Vanuatu |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 8 |
| Goals scored | 30 (3.75 per match) |
The 1988 Melanesia Cup was the first Melanesia Cup football tournament held. It took place in the Solomon Islands and four teams participated in the tournament: Fiji, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu.
The teams played each other according to a round-robin format, and the top two teams (Fiji and Solomon Islands) played off in a final to determine the winner. New Caledonia and Vanuatu also played each other, on the same day as the final, to determine third place.
Fiji won the tournament with a 3–1 victory in the final, while Vanuatu retained third place by defeating New Caledonia 1–0.
