David Koloamatangi: I have a lot of interest on representing Tonga

New Zealand is a country with lots of immigrants. Every year thousands of people come from all over the world to live in the Oceanian country. The reflection of immigration can be seen in the local football.

Many football clubs have foreign roots like Central United (Croatia) and Wellington Olympic (Greece). The same happens in New Zealand National Team as there are a bunch of players with the most varied ancestry like Liberato Cacace (Italy) or Sarpreet Singh (India).

Lots of people from the Pacific Islands moved to another countries in the past decades and now we can see many football players that were born in New Zealand representing their parents’ homeland like Fiji or Samoa.

David Koloamatangi is one of these players that are eligible to represent another nation. Born in New Zealand, both his parents are from Tonga. The 19-year-old goalkeeper currently plays for Metro FC in Lotto NRFL Division 1 while his older brother – Fred – is a central back that represents Mt Albert Ponsonby Reserves.

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Despite having many players with eligible to represent Tonga living in Australia or New Zealand, Tonga Football Association (TFA) usually do not contact players that are living abroad and that is Koloamatangi’s current situation – “Tonga Football Association have never been in touch with me,” revealed David – “I definitely have a lot of interest on representing Tonga internationally,” he added.

The next official challenge of Tonga National Football Team must be 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers that is not scheduled yet. Playing in New Zealand, David surely has the goods to be part of Tonga National Football Team – “I would be excited for a call up to Tonga National Team,” he said.

There are some good talented players with Tongan citizenship that have never been contacted by TFA. David and his brother Fred would be two big additions for Tonga and the local football association should consider contacting them.