Oceania Football Center

‘WelClasico’ heats up 2020-21 ISPS Handa Men’s Premiership’s opening matchday

Wellington Phoenix Reserves and Team Wellington will clash at Fraser Park – *Wellington Phoenix Media*

The most important football league from New Zealand is ready to kick-off as two matches are going to be contested this Saturday. While Canterbury United are going to face Waitakere United in the Southern Island, Team Wellington and Wellington Phoenix Reserves are ready for the first derby of the season – the WelClasico.

After finishing second in the last season, Team Wellington still have one of the most powerful teams in the country as important players like Hamish Watson, Jack-Henry Sinclair, Justin Gulley, Mario Barcia, Rory McKeown and Scott Basalaj remained in the team for this season. On the other hand, Ollie Whyte and the rising star Marko Stamenic are not with Team Wellington anymore as both players are currently playing in Europe.

It is already known that the main focus of Wellington Phoenix Reserves is to develop players for the first team that plays in the A-League. We should see a very different WeeNix this season: Callan Elliot and Ronan Wynne are currently playing in Europe while Sam Sutton joined the main team for the next A-League season. Another player who left the team is 21-year-old forward Ahmad Othman, who joined Hawke’s Bay United.

Defender Kurtis Mogg has been promoted to captain of the team while Alex Paulsen is likely to be the first-choice goalkeeper this season. Other players like Benjamin Old, Henry Hamilton, Luis Toomey and Riley Bidois are expected to become even more important players in the squad.

The WelClasico will take place at Fraser Park and it is scheduled to kick-off at 2pm (local time). This match is going to be livestreamed by Sky Sport Next and you will be able to watch this regional derby by clicking here.

Eels and Laugu ready for clash of titans in Telekom S-League

The thirteenth matchweek of 2020-21 Telekom S-League will kick-off this Saturday as two matches are going to be contested at Lawson Tama Stadium in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands. Although the match between Central Coast FC and Real Kakamora opens the week at 2pm, most fans are excited for the clash between Henderson Eels and Laugu United at 4pm.

Currently on top of the table with 30 points in eleven matches, Henderson Eels are sovereign in the championship, with a seven-point lead over second-placed Laugu United. The team coached by Eddie Marahare had a good start in the second round of the season by beating Isabel United by 1-0 with a goal scored by Tutizama Tanito.

On the other hand, Laugu United do not bring confidence to fans after losing Gagame Feni to Solomon Warriors, and last week’s 2-1 loss to Real Kakamora left a very bad impression and they now need to show something against the league leaders.

It is important to remember that Henderson Eels smashed Laugu United by 7-0 in the first round. A victory today would put Eels one step closer to lifting the national league trophy for the first time ever. This important clash is set to be livestreamed on Facebook. You can check more details about 2020-21 Telekom S-League by clicking here.

Reformulation needed for Hekari United to move forward

It has been one month since 2019-20 PNG National Soccer League finished. While most players are now focused on taking part of regional tournaments, National Soccer League’s franchises are still working for the next season.

Although there is no proposed date for next season’s kick-off, it seems obvious that the reigning champions Lae City FC must come even stronger – and this is a problem for their rivals, specially for Hekari United that finished third last season.

Finishing third in a national league seems to be something great for almost every team, but not for Hekari. The Reds are not used to being out of the top two in the league, and fans are disappointed with it. Furthermore, the team failed to advance to 2020 OFC Champions League’s knockout stage, although it was cancelled due to restrictions caused by COVID-19 pandemics.

SEE ALSO
A season to learn for Hekari United;
Tommy Semmy ready for another big season in New Zealand;
Youngster from Papua New Guinea joins a new club in England

One of the team’s major problems is the advanced age of some stars, such as David Muta, Koriak Upaiga, Michael Foster and Raymond Gunemba. Despite being excellent players, they are already 33 years old or older, and team’s management must think about adding more youth in the squad, just like they did earlier this year by signing with Carlos Onne and Gregory Togubai.

Another important point concerns the position of head coach. Jerry Allen and Eric Komeng have not done a good job at the club this season and it may be a good time to go in search of a new head coach, whether in Papua New Guinea or abroad.

Hekari is a huge side in the continent and fans want to see the team back to the top, not only in the National Soccer League, but in OFC Champions League as well. Papua New Guinea’s football is bigger and better with the Reds performing in a high level.

Labasa’s Ashnil Raju to miss 2020 Fiji FACT

Labasa are having a great time in the season. The Babasiga Lions lifted Inter-District Championship’s trophy last month and they finished Vodafone Premier League in fifth after winning five matches in a row to escape from relegation.

This good moment raised the team’s morale and it is helping them to prepare for Fiji FACT that is going to be contested later this month. However, head coach Ronil Lal will have to deal with the absence of Ashnil Raju, who is going to miss the tournament for a special reason: his wedding is scheduled for 28 November.

Fiji FACT is the last official tournament for Labasa in 2020, which means that we are not going to see Raju playing another official match this year. The 25-year-old midfielder is a regular starter in Labasa as he played 19 official matches for Babasiga Lions this season, including Vodafone Premier League, Battle of the Giants and Inter-District Championship.

Labasa are drawn in the Group A along with Ba, Nasinu and Rewa. The Babasiga Lions will debut in the tournament against Rewa on 21st of this month. You can check the schedule of 2020 Fiji FACT by clicking here.

Vanuatu: Micah Tommy shines as Tafea beat Seveners in PVFA Vodafone Premier League

The 2020-21 PVFA Vodafone Premier League kicked-off this Thursday when local powerhouse Tafea FC faced newly promoted Seveners United at Port Vila Stadium in the opening match of the season. Tafea had to be cautious to beat their opponents and grab their first three points in the league.

After spending one season in Fiji, forward Micah Tommy is officially back to Tafea and he did not need much time to show his quality by opening the scoreboard in the seventh minute. The second goal of the contest was netted by Don Mansale, while Tommy scored his second goal of the day to put Tafea ahead by three goals in the 22nd minute of the game.

Tafea fans had a lot to celebrate with three goals in 22 minutes. On the other hand, Seveners United did not give in: Spencer Noal and Sidan Wako scored once each to bring the purple and green team back to the game – incredibly, the score was 3-2 for Tafea in the 27th minute.

The festival of goals ended there, with Tafea beating Seveners by 3-2 to secure their first three points in the league. The first matchweek of 2020-21 PVFA Vodafone Premier League will finish on Saturday when the four remaining matches are going to be contested in Port Vila. You can check more information about the tournament by clicking here.

Peter Ravai: I would love to represent Fiji internationally

It is not unusual for football players to be born in one country but decide to play for another internationally. One of the most famous examples is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who was born in France but decided to play for Gabon National Team.

Many national football associations do an extensive search for foreign players who may be eligible to represent them internationally. This work is of great value to smaller nations, which can find talent abroad. In Oceania, however, this work is still done on a small scale.

One of the many players who could be eligible to represent a national team from Oceania is Peter Ravai, a 17-year-old midfielder born in Scotland whose parents are from Fiji: “I was born in Edinburgh but I moved to Germany at a very young age. I lived there for eight years before going back to England with my family as my father was in the British Army,” explained Ravai.

He started to play football at Sportverein Eintracht Bad Fallingbostel e.V. when he whas just seven years old. After one year, he joined the youth system of Hamburguer SV – one of the most traditional teams from Germany – before moving to England.

In England, Ravai played for Park Farm Rangers FC and Ashford United FC before joining Soccer Elite Football Academy in 2019. Ravai is currently part of the U-19 team of Maidstone United, a football club from the 6th tier of English football. Playing in Europe since childhood, the 17-year-old midfielder can be an excellent option to represent Fiji at youth level: “Fiji Football Association has never been in touch with me, but I would love to represent Fiji internationally,” he stated.

Vanuatu: PVFA announces sponsorship agreement for Premier League

The most important regional league from Vanuatu will receive a major boost this season. It was announced by Port Vila Footall Association (PVFA) that they signed a sponsorship contract with Vodafone, a telecommunications company that operates in Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

It was reported that the company has injected a sponsorship of 3 million Vatu, an amount equivalent to US$26,000, into the PVFA Premier League. The league name has also been changed to Vodafone Premier League.

PVFA announces sponsorship agreement with Vodafone for Premier League – *PVFA Media*

If you are already acquainted with football in the Pacific Islands, you know that this is also the name of the top tier league from Fiji. In order to avoid mistakes, the football league from Port Vila will be called PVFA Vodafone Premier League on this website.

Port Vila Football Association’s new board is doing a great job to improve the local structure and value the sport. Once again we congratulate the PVFA Board on the effort that has been made to improve the local football.

Telekom S-League: Tanito takes Eels forward against Isabel United

After three weeks, Henderson Eels and Isabel United are back to the pitch as both sides clashed at Lawson Tama Stadium in the twelfth matchweek of 2020-21 Telekom S-League, the national football league from the Solomon Islands.

Neither team had debutants in the starting eleven. It was only in the second half that we had the opportunity to see new players on the pitch: George Suri (Henderson Eels) and Owen Mani (Isabel United).

It was also in the second half that the only goal of the match was scored: Isabel’s goalkeeper Harold Nauania fouled an opponen inside the box and Tutizama Tanito scored from the penalty spot to seal Henderson Eels’ victory by 1-0.

Henderson Eels moved seven points clear at the top of the table with 30 points in eleven matches while Isabel United remained in the fifth position with sixteen points. You can check the current Telekom S-League standings, results and top scorers by clicking here.

Premier Men’s knockout stage set to kick-of in Samoa

The Premier Men’s National League reached its final stage in Samoa. After clinching a spot in the next OFC Champions League by winning the regular season, Lupe o le Soaga are now ready for the knockout stage.

The top eight teams of the regular season are going to return to the pitch next week to fight for the title. After securing the eighth spot with an 1-1 draw against Vaiusu last week, Togafuafua now have to climb Everest and face local powerhouse Lupe o le Soaga on Wednesday.

Lupe o le Soaga will face Togafuafua in the quarterfinals – *Lupe o le Soaga Media*

With only one defeat so far in the season, Vaipuna will face Fa’atoia United to fight for a spot in the semifinals while third placed side Vaitele-Uta will meet 2018 Samoan champions Kiwi FC on Thursday. The final clash of the quarterfinals is set to be contested between Vaivase-Tai and Sogi. You can check more information about 2020 Premier Men’s National League by clicking here.

Will Ba have a season without trophies?

Ba are the biggest football champions in Fiji. The Men in Black are used to lift trophies every single year, but they still have not lifted a trophy this year, which makes 2020 an atypical year for the team coached by Ronil Kumar.

The Men in Black started the year fighting for Champion vs Champion’s title, but they lost to Labasa. Despite the loss, the year looked bright for Ba when they hired Ricki Herbert to coach the team at OFC Champions League, but, what appeared to be a masterstroke turned out to be a real disaster.

Recently, Olympique de Marseille’s head coach André Villas-Boas stated that before having a poor performance in the Champions League, you have to get there – and this might be the best description for Ba’s shameful campaign in 2020 OFC Champions League: Ba lost all their three matches in the tournament to finish the group stage in the fourth and last position.

However, Villas Boas’ statement will not be appropriate for Ba next year as the Men in Black finished Vodafone Premier League in the third position and they are going to miss the most important club competition from Oceania for the first time since 2016.

Ba did not qualify for the next OFC Champions League – *Fiji FA Media*

The team coached by Ronil Kumar played two other tournaments this year: Battle of the Giants and Inter-District Championship. Both times the team qualified for the knockout stage, but they were eliminated in the semifinals by Rewa and Lautoka respectively.

The Men in Black still have a last chance to lift a trophy this year as the Fiji FACT will to be contested later this month. Ba are drawn in Group A along with Labasa, Nasinu and Rewa. You can check the full schedule of 2020 Fiji FACT by clicking here.