Oceania Football Center

Legendary forward James Naka close to join Henderson Eels

Football is back to Solomon Islands as the next Telekom S-League is confirmed to begin on August 8 so local teams are already back to training and looking for new players to strengthen their squads for the upcoming season.

It was announced by Henderson Eels’ head coach Eddie Marahare that legendary forward James Naka is close to join the team for 2020 Telekom S-League – “We sent a mail to Solomon Islands Football Federation to request his release from Vanuatu,” explained Marahare – “His experience and quality not only are an asset to the team but most importantly a leading example for learning and development of young players,” he added.

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Naka is playing in Vanuatu since 2018 when he joined Nalkutan FC to play 2018 OFC Champions League. He is currently part of Galaxy FC squad but he was not part of the team in the current OFC Champions League season.

The 35-year-old forward is one of the greatest Beach Soccer players from Oceania. He also represented Solomon Islands National Football Team in 23 matches and scored three goals.

All Whites’ defender Bill Tuiloma back to action in the United States

Football is back in the United States of America after the COVID-19 pandemics as the MLS is Back Tournament kicked-off in the last weekend with 24 teams divided in six groups. All matches are being contested at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando

Portland Timbers debuted in the tournament on Monday when they faced Los Angeles Galaxy in the Group F. New Zealand international Bill Tuiloma started the match on the bench as he is recovered from a calf strain.

LA Galaxy had the opportunity to open the scoreboard in the 12th minute but Mexican forward Chicharito Hernández missed it. The Timbers found the net twice in the second half to open a 2-0 lead. Tuiloma came from the bench in the 81st minute to replace forward Diego Valeri to recompose Timbers’ defense as central defender Dario Zuparic was sent off.

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Tuiloma came from the bench in the second half

Galaxy’s reduced the difference to one goal when Gordon Wild found the net in the 82nd minute but the goal was disallowed by the referee. Six minutes later Chicharito scored for LA Galaxy but it was not enough as Timbers won the match by 2-1.

Timbers’ next clash will be against Houston Dynamo while LA Galaxy will face Los Angeles FC. Both matches are going to be contested on Saturday.

Lautoka announces new Head Coach

Lautoka is rebuilding its squad and now it is time to look to the staff. After a terrible campaign at 2020 OFC Champions League, Lautoka management decided to fire head coach Anand Sami and sign a number of players to its squad, after also losing some players in the transfer window and also due injury.

Local sources appoints that former Fiji Football Technical Director Ravinesh Kumar is the new Lautoka coach. Lautoka FC President Shalendra Prasad says his inclusion is a major advantage for the Blues: “Master Ravinesh Kumar as the new head coach will be a big boost for the Lautoka FC team. Nevertheless he is the number 1 coach in Fiji. And definitely he can do wonders.”

Ravinesh Kumar and football legend Ryan Giggs

“Kumar is the first Fijian to be accredited with an A-License coaching certificate and is now the highest ranked local coach in terms of qualification“, said FBC.

The debut of Ravinesh Kumar as Lautoka head coach will be in their clash against Ba this Wednesday counting on for Vodafone Premier League.

Mateinaqara ready to debut for Suva

The first choice goalkeeper of Fiji National Team Beniamino Mateinaqara is cleared to feature for his new team Suva. The goalkeeper recently signed for the team from Fijian capital, but only now Fiji FA confirmed documents and allowed Mateinaqara to defend Suva in their upcoming clash this weekened against Rewa for Vodafone Premier League.

Suva recently stated that the team signed a number of players to improve their squad – currently only Ravnesh Singh former Labasa midfielder and Mateinaqara received green light to feature for Suva.

It is known Suva and Ba – four players from Ba are coming to Suva – are negotiating a transfer fee for the remaining players involved to complete the transfer process.

Pacific Islands’ talent lead Hamilton Wanderers to a derby win in New Zealand

Hamilton Wanderers is lucky to count on the best of Pacific Islands talent in their team at Lotto NRFL Premier League. After a bad start in the season, Wanderers won two games in a row – and in the last weekend Pacific talent roared in order to Hamilton to a grab a very much needed win over their rivals Melville United.

The Papua New Guinean international Tommy Semmy scored a brace in the match to help Wanderers to clinch all points from the match – both goals of Semmy were all goals scored in the contest.

Semmy and Henry Fa’arodo – *Henry Fa’arodo*

Semmy also counts on the experience of Solomon Islands international Henry Fa’arodo that plays a major role for Wanderers wearing the N.10 in the attacking midfield of the New Zealand club. Recently, Henry Fa’arodo scored his first goal after his return to New Zealand football against Western Springs – this that was first win of the season for Wanderers.

You can check the updated results and standings of Lotto NRFL Premier visiting our session of New Zealand football tournaments.

Lae City’s Nigel Malagian at hospital after scary incident

Former Madang FC, Eastern Stars, Tusbab Stallions and current Lae City FC defender Nigel Malagian suffered a seriuous incident in this week. Malagian was rushed to the nearest hospital after he fainted during his daily work-out training.

Lots of rumours were created around the situation of the defender’s health, but after some hours unconscious, the player woke up. Malagian is receiving proper treatment and he is already in a stable situation.

Malagian is already back to consciousness and he remembers exactly what happened before fainting. Despite being better, the player is still in the hospital due to precautions as he will undergo more tests before being cleared to leave the health center.

Lae City remains interested on Tusbab Stallions’ rising star Stahl Gubag

The world of football is getting hotter in Papua New Guinea as a new transfer window is confirmed by National Soccer League (NSL) Board. Despite opening only on July 25, clubs’ managers are already working on the backstage to add new players to their teams.

The latest transfer window in Papua New Guinea closed in March when Lae City signed with former Tusbab Stallions’ defender Nigel Malagian. It was also reported that Malagian’s former teammate Stahl Gubag was also approached by Lae City’s management but he remained with Stallions.

With the opening of a new transfer window the rumours linking Gubag to Lae City are getting stronger once again. According to reliable sources the 20-year-old forward was approached by Lae City’s head coach Bob Morris on last week. Morris and Gubag know each other very well as they worked together in 2018 at Madang FC.

It is also known that Tusbab Stallions’ management want to keep Gubag for the remaining of the current season but they will not force Stahl to stay if he does not want to.

The 2019-20 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League season is set to resume on August 1st. You can check the current league standings by clicking here.

Jean-Philippe Saïko debuts for AS Lössi

🇫🇷 Français

Jean-Philippe Saïko played his first official match since he returned to New Caledonia. The 29-year-old forward played a important role at AS Lössi’s 6-1 win against AS Kunié in the second matchweek of 2020 Mobil Super Ligue – the major football league from New Caledonia.

The powerful forward was the team’s captain in the clash and played the entire match. He had an outstanding performance with some dangerous shots and good passes to confuse AS Kunié’s defense. He scored one goal and delivered one assist to help AS Lössi to grab all the points.However the biggest name of the day was Anthony Timoteo who scored a hat-trick. You can watch the full match by clicking here.

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Saïko playing for Tasman United from New Zealand

Saïko is currently in his homeland because he is not able to travel back to New Zealand due to border restrictions. It is already known that he will return to New Zealand once the borders reopen. You can check the Mobil Super Ligue current standings by clicking here.

Fijian defender Scott Wara released by Stoke City

Scott Wara is not a Stoke City’s player anymore. The 20-year-old defender from Fiji was one of the eleven players released by the club this week. The announcement was made through the club’s official website.

Born in Lautoka, Wara moved to England with his parents when he was very young and started to play football seriously when he was 13. He leaves Stoke City after many years representing the club at youth level – “Since I was a young kid I have always dreamt of becoming a professional footballer […] I would like to say a massive thank you to all the staff, players and fans for helping me to grow into not only as a player but also as a person. Unfortunately things did not work out how I hoped they would to but I am excited and looking forward to what future holds,” stated Wara on social media.

Scott Wara playing for Stoke City U-23 team

The Fijian defender was part of the U-23 squad that played the 2019-20 season of Premier League 2, the U-23 national football league. There is no current rumours about Wara but Oceania Football Center is keeping up with the situation to keep our followers informed about his career.

Vodafone Senior League kicks-off in Fiji

Football officially returned in Fiji on Saturday when Ba faced Navua at Fiji FA Academy. The upcoming day was also important as two matches were played in the opening day of 2020 Vodafone Senior League – the second-tier of Fijian football.

Northland Tailevu received Tailevu Naitasiri at Fiji FA Academy in Suva and the final score was a 0-0 draw. In the other match Tavua visited Rakiraki at Garvey Park in a breathtaking match. Tavua is back to the Senior League after spending two seasons in the Premier League. The team coached by Nazeel Ali managed to hold some important players like Atunaisa Livanalagi, Marika Rawasoi and Varinava Telawa.

Marika Rawasoi (left) remained with Tavua for 2020 Vodafone Senior League – *Fiji FA Media*

Avinesh Narayan opened the scoreboard for Rakiraki but Lekima Rokosolia equalized one minute later. The hosts found the net for the second time when Kelemedi Matou scored in the 35th minute. Tavua’s Sikeli Sagatoro scored eight minutes later to equalize once again before the half time.

Tavua finally managed to lead the game when Marika Rawasoi scored in the beginning of the second half to seal the 3-2 win. Tavua’s next clash will be against Tailevu Naitasiri at Fiji FA Academy at Suva while Rakiraki will not play in the next weekend as they have a bye week.

The Vodafone Senior League is divided in two zones: Vanua Levu and Viti Levu. The two matches that were contested this weekend are from Viti Levu Zone. The Senior League’s Vanua Levu Zone have not started yet. You can check the current standings by clicking here.