While the Round Cup does not begin, football activities are slowly resuming in Cook Islands as two important events took place there during this month.
The first one was a Senior Coaching Course held at Atiu from 1st to 4th of June that counted on twenty participants. The Course was delivered by Tahiri Elikana – the Development Officer of Cook Islands Football Association (CIFA). Atiu is an island 187 km northeast of Rarotonga – the main island in the archipelago.
The second event is the Cook Islands U-16 Men’s Academy 2020, a development program for players from 14 to 16 years old that is also part of the preparation for National Team duties at youth level. This program is also being delivered by Elikana who is doing great efforts to develop the sport there.
U-16 players training
Cook Islands is likely play the next OFC U-16 Championship that must take place later this year or in the first months of 2021. Oceania Football Center congratulates CIFA and Elikana for their efforts on promoting the sport.
Jeremy Brockie is ready to leave Mamelodi Sundowns. The 32-year-old forward from New Zealand will become a free agent when his contract with Sundowns expire at the end of this month.
According to Kickoff the New Zealand international could be returning to SuperSport United as United’s Chief Executive Officer revealed that they are interested on signing Brockie.
Brockie is ready to leave Mamelodi Sundowns
Brockie spent the 2019-20 season on loan to Maritzburg United. He scored only one goal in fifteen matches for Maritzburg. The All Whites forward is playing in South Africa since 2015.
Samuel Garcia has a long history in football. The former midfielder represented Tahiti in 22 matches and scored two goals for his National Team. He also played four OFC Nations Cup editions and helped his nation to finish 2002 OFC Nations Cup in the third position.
After his retirement, Garcia remained involved with football and now he is one of the most important head coaches in Oceania. He is the current head coach of Tahiti National Football Team and AS Vénus – one of the strongest team from his homeland.
His first big challenge as a coach was five years ago when he managed AS Pirae in 2014-15 OFC Champions League. Garcia’s side did not have a good performance and they were eliminated in the group stage. Later on he was appointed to coach AS Vénus – a team that he knows very well as he played there for many years.
Since then he is building a very successful career leading Vénus by winning Coupe de Polynésie and Ligue 1 VINI – the top-tier of Tahitian football – once each. However his major accomplishment with the team happened this year when they qualifyed to 2020 OFC Champions League knockout stage. Garcia expressed his satisfaction – “We have reached our qualification goal. Auckland City was logically the favourite team in our group by the level of its championship, but we can not be ashamed of our 1-0 defeat against them,” he said.
It is important to remember that 2020 OFC Champions League quarter-finals were scheduled to be played in April but it was postponed due to COVID-19 pandemics. Despite having all eight qualified teams decided, the quarter-finals matches were not drawn yet but Garcia shows optimism – “We have qualified for the quarter-finals and now the objective is advancing to semi-finals even if we have to play outside,” he stated.
Garcia (in red) in a AS Vénus training session
After winning 2018-19 Ligue 1 VINI, Garcia had his first challenge as Tahiti’s head coach – the 2019 Pacific Games. Tahiti won three out of five matches but it was not enough as they finished the Group B in the third position behind New Caledonia and Fiji.
Tahiti is one of the strongest National Teams in Oceania and the only nation except New Zealand and Australia to win the OFC Nations Cup in 2012. It was surely the biggest moment of Tahitian football and you can read more about it by clicking here. This unprecedented title was a major accomplishment and it helped to boost the football in the French Polynesia – “Financially it must have helped Fédération Tahitienne de Football (FTF) and football in general. Our football needs a big game to progress which is not always easy because we are far away. In addition to progress, it will bring people back to our stadiums. We saw it during the last As Vénus vs Auckland City in Mahina,” said Garcia.
The 45-year-old head coach recently released a 30-men list as Tahiti National Team provisional squad and you can check this list clicking here. The To’a Aito (Tahiti National Team’s nickname) started training this week as part of their preparation for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Some known players like talented goalkeeper Moana Pito and 2019-20 Ligue 1 VINI top scorer Sandro Tau are not in this list due to work commitments – “They are not in the list because they decided to put priority on their professional careers. This is a respectable reason because Tahitian football is amateur,” explained Garcia.
As Tahiti is a French territory (part of French Polynesia), FTF holds a partnership with FFF – the French Football Federation – “FFF help in some areas like youth development, the training of educators and the support of club infrastructures. It also allows one Tahitian club to qualify for French Cup each season,” said Garcia.
Every year a football club from Tahiti qualifies for the seventh round of French Cup and AS Vénus was the last club from French Polynesia to play this tournament. They received Racing Besançon from the fifth-tier of French football at Stade Pater in Pirae last year but unfortunately they lost to the French side by 4-1.
As 2019-20 football season was cancelled in and there is no scheduled date for 2020 OFC Champions League resumption, Garcia is having plenty of time to dedicate his time to prepare the National Team. With a strong squad, the head coach will have the opportunity to eternalize his name in the history of Tahitian football.
Labasa fans might be in heaven after their team performance in the 2019 season in Fiji – the BabasigaLions won two major tournaments this year, Battle of Giants and the Inter-District Championship, and began 2020 with a convincing win over Ba in the Champion vs Champion series.
Players like Siotame Kubu, Atonio Tuivuna and Akuila Mateisuva were decisive for the good time of Labasa. Despite their good moment only Tuivuna already played for the national team of Fiji. Goalkeeper Mateisuva is an obioval requirement for the Bula Boys, as names like Beniamino Mateinaqara and Simione Tamanisau are getting older and older and their time with the national team could be in the final stages.
Mateisuva represented Fiji in 2019, but at the OFC Futsal Nations Cup where they failed to qualify for the FIFA Futsal World Cup finishing 5th in the tournament. The 28-year-old player is also capped by Fiji in the U20 and U23 youth national teams, but he is still to be properly recognised in the senior national team.
The new head coach of the Bula Boys, Danish and former Papua New Guinea coach Flemming Serritslev, could bring changes to the team that will be battling for a place at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Labasa’s good moment is usually enough to give a chance to some of their key players, notably Akuila Mateusiva. The giant goalkeeper was a rock in the 2019 season and is proving to be the most regular goalkeeper in the Vodafone Premier League.
Labasa fans and the majority of football fans in Fiji are demanding the presence of Mateisuva in the national team – and this is nothing new for the Fijians. The goalkeeper has been a good performer, at least for the past three seasons in Fiji, and he still to be receive a chance in the national team.
Akuila Mateisuva
With the return of football competitions to Fiji next month after the compulsory break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mateisuva and his teammates from Labasa hope to recover from their defeats in the first matches of the 2020 edition of the national league. The goalkeeper will want to continue his good form and expect for the national team call- up that he is truly deserving.
Fiji Football Association (FFA) confirmed that the next transfer window in the country will open in July. However the mid-season transfer window is going to be different this year.
According to FFA chief executive officer Mohammed Yusuf the window will be open for only a week – from 1st to 7th July. It was also confirmed that this upcoming transfer period is only for free transfers which means that any player having an ongoing contract with their districts cannot apply for a transfer – “Players on contract will not be allowed to seek transfers if they will be breaching a current contract duly registered,” said Yusuf.
The next window is only for free players. Source: Fiji FA Media
It is important to remember that 2020 Vodafone Premier League – the top-tier of Fijian football – is going to resume in July which means that the window will open before the league’s resumption.
The year of 2019 was a great one for talented midfielder Dane Schnell. The Waitakere United player helped his team to finish at 3rd in the last season of the ISPS Handa Premiership – the best Waitakere campaign in years. The 21-year-old player also represented clubs in New Zealand such as Western Springs and Eastern Suburbs before joining Waitakare in 2019.
Schnell already played for New Zealand at the 2015 U17 World Cup and he saw his side being eliminated in the round of 16 against Brazil. He returned to the New Zealand youth squad in 2019 to play at the U-20 World Cup in Poland – Schnell and his team-mates were eliminated again in the round of 16 against Colombia, but New Zealand impressed in the tournament with a 5-0 win over Honduras and also beating Norway in the group stage.
Schnell (right) with New Zealand U23 side
In the same year, Schnell was called-up by Des Buckingham to play the OFC Olympic Qualifiers in Fiji and fight for a spot at Tokyo Olympics. New Zealand did not face any resistance in the group stage. They also beat easily the hosts by 6-1 in the semi-final and smashed the Solomon Islands in the decisive match by 5-0 to book a spot in the next Olympics. Schnell played a major role for New Zealand and was a regular starter in Buckingham’s squad.
For his club, Schnell’s season could not be better: The midfielder scored eleven goals for his side in the ISPS Handa Premiership season and also recorded two assists. Along with his team-mate Sam Burfoot, Schnell was the main man responsible for reviving former OFC Champions League champions Waitakere United after several seasons away from the limelight in New Zealand football.
Schnell (right) playing for Waitakere United – Simon Harmer
The still 21-year-old player has proven his quality in 2019 and early 2020; Schnell has what it takes to advance to the next level. As a regular player for New Zealand’s youth teams, the player also impressed in the National League with his regularity, which made him one of the best players of the season.
New Zealand has a lot of talent at the moment; Sarpreet Singh and Liberato Cacace are certainly the best known of them, but Dane Schnell can also be part of a golden generation for New Zealand in the coming years.
Australia and New Zealand are getting closer to co-host 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup as Brazil’s candidature was withdrawn. There are now three active bids to host the tournament: Colombia, Japan and Australia-New Zealand.
With FIFA’s plan to expand the tournament o 32 teams, a joint Australian–New Zealand bid was announced to be under consideration in July 2019.On 10 December 2019, shortly before the FIFA bid deadline, Football Federation Australia (FFA) and New Zealand Football (NZF) announced an agreement to submit a joint bid with 13 stadiums (eight in Australia and five in New Zealand) in 12 host cities.
According to Stuff, FIFA revealead that the joint-bid was judged the strongest during the technical evaluation phase. Each of the three bids was assessed across six categories and given an overall average score out of 5 – the scores are:
1) Australia-New Zealand 4.1 2) Japan 3.9 3) Colombia 2.8
Australia and New Zealand want to co-host the next FIFA Women’s World Cup
Both countries have tradition when it comes to women’s football. Australia played seven out of eight World Cup editions and won 2010 AFC Women’s Asian Cup while the Football Ferns appeared in five World Cups and won OFC Women’s Nations Cup for six times.
The final decision about the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup’s host will be taken on June 25. Hosting this tournament is an important step for both countries as Australia and New Zealand have already expressed interesting on co-hosting 2034 FIFA World Cup.
Bayern München received Eintracht Frankfurt at Allianz Arena in a clash valid for 2019-20 DFB Pokal semi-finals and won by 2-1 to reach the German Cup’s final for the third straight season.
New Zealand rising star Sarpreet Singh remained on the bench during the whole match and now he is very close to win his first title with Bayern. It was his third straight match with the main squad since football resumed in Germany.
Singh was on Bayern’s bench once again
Ivan Perisic opened the scoreboard for Bayern in the first half. Danny da Costa tied the match in the 69th minute but five minutes later Polish forward Robert Lewandowski found the net to take Bayern to the final.
Sarpreet Singh’s team will face Bayer Leverkusen in 2019-20 DFB Pokal’s final. The match is scheduled to take place at Olympiastadion (Berlin) on July 4. Bayern is the team with most DFB Pokal titles (19) while Leverkusen won the German Cup only once in 1993.
HJK from Finland keep the preparation for 2020 football season resumption in the country. The club from Helsink – the capital of Finland – played a friendly match against FC Honka.
Papua New Guinea international David Browne started the match on the bench. He entered in the pitch in the beginning of the second half when he replaced Matti Peltola, one of the most talented young players from HJK.
Browne played in the second half
Browne played 45 minutes in the second half and helped his team to win the friendly by 2-1. Despite starting this match on the bench, the 24-year-old winger from Papua New Guinea keeps being an important player in the squad.
The 2020 edition of Shefa Futsal League reached its end in Vanuatu. The tournament was contested by 13 teams that were divided in four groups.
The league started on May 29 with the group stage matches and finished on this Wednesday when Huka FC beat Arab6Y by 5-1 in the final to clinch the title. George Mani led Huka to the title by scoring a hat-trick. The other goals were scored by Terry Bong and Ritchie Toka.
Goalkeeper Christopher Quai also played an important role in the match by making some good saves during the final clash.
Huka FC won the tournament
Oceania Football Center congratulates all teams specially league champions Huka FC. It is very nice to see futsal growing in Oceanian countries.
Oceania Football Center 