Another accomplishment for Fijian legend Roy Krishna. The 32-year-old forward was named for EA FIFA Mobile 2019-20 Indian Super League (ISL) team of the season. He is in the ISL’s starting eleven as one of the most powerful players of the league – his card has a 91 rate.
He was also part of Indian Super League Team of the Tournament, an award given by the league. Krishna helped ATK to win the 2019-20 Indian Super League by scoring 15 goals in 21 matches.
On 1 January 2006, Football Federation Australia moved from Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) to Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and since then the Socceroos qualified for all FIFA World Cups at senior level – 2010, 2014 and 2018. New Zealand – the biggest rival of Australia in OFC – became the “Kings of Oceanian football” since their rivals moved to AFC.
Today we will go back to the Oceanian 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the same qualifiers that almost took Israel to FIFA World Cup as an OFC member. This qualifying tournament was divided in two rounds. In the first one four of the five teams were drawn into two home-and-away ties and the two winners advanced to the second round.
Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) were the first round’s participants in 1988. Chinese Taipei was not a trouble for New Zealand as the All Whites have smashed them in both matches. The same thing was supposed to happen in the clash between Australia and Fiji, but it did not happen…
BACKGROUND
Australia was living a huge moment in football in 1988 as they have beaten 1986 FIFA World Cup champions Argentina by 4-1 a couple of months before the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifiers’ beginning. This unexpected result against one of the biggest football nations of the world took place in the Australia Bicentenary Gold Cup.
The Australia Bicentenary Gold Cup was an one-off association football tournament to celebrate the bincentennial of first settlement at Port Jackson by Captain Arthur Phillip in 1788. It was contested by 1988 AFC Asian Cup winners, Saudi Arabia, 1986 FIFA World Cup winners, Argentina, world number one ranked side, Brazil and host nation Australia.
On the other hand, Fiji was also excited about this clash against the Socceroos as they were 1988 Melanesia Cup champions exactly one month before facing the Australian side at Prince Charles Park in Nadi.
Fiji won 1988 Melanesia Cup held in Solomon Islands
This match would be the fourth clash between Australia and Fiji in football’s history. Their last meeting at that time was in 1981 when the Socceroos smashed the Bula Boys by 10-0 in the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
THE MATCH
More than six thousand people went to Prince Charles Park in Nadi to watch the first leg of this home-and-away tie on November 26, 1988. Fiji counted on some important players like the talented 22-year-old player Ivor Evans who spent many years playing in North America and Simons Peters – one of the biggest local football idols of Roy Krishna. The team led by head coach Billy Singh is considered by local people as one of the best teams Fiji has ever produced.
Singh fielded Nasoni Buli (Lautoka) in goal, skipper Pita Dau (Lautoka), Dan Lutumailagi (Nadi), Maretino Nemani (Suva), Lote Delai (Ba) and Abraham Watkins (Nadroga) in defence. Ivor Evans (Vancouver 86ers), Vimal Sami (Ba) and Meli Vuilabasa (Ba) were the midfielders. The strikers were Jone Watisoni (Nadroga) and Simon Peters (Labasa).
Singh also revealed before the match that it was the match of their lives – “Our preparation has been the best it has ever been and the players are believing in themselves,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald – “Normally they play for fun, but this time it is serious. They have tasted the glory of winning and they like it,” – he added. The Fijian squad was also offered a $500 bonus for each in case of winning.
The Australian side counted on Charlie Yankos (30-time Socceroos captain), the Argentine Australian Oscar Crino, current Socceroos head coach Graham Arnold and Jeff Olver – regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers Australia has ever produced.
Fiji and Australia’s line-ups for the match
The Australian side had a strict plan: Get in, win, and get out – “We were not necessarily at the peak of our fitness because the expectation would have been we are playing Fiji, the minnows… so it does not really matter,” said Charlie Yankos told Guardian Australia.
“The first thing I can remember about that was there was at least 200 frogs on the pitch,” remembered Socceroos winger Scott Ollerenshaw told Guardian Australia – “There were frogs everywhere […] There were also hundreds of people hanging off the trees. It was a very unusual setting with the frogs, and people hanging out of trees,” he completed.
It was a tough match between Fiji and Australia
After a 0-0 draw in the first half, Ravuama Madigi came from the bench to replace Rokova Watisoni and write his name in the history. After a cross from from the left, Madigi unleashed a left-foot volley to put the hosts ahead – “It was the best moment of my life,” revealed Abraham Watkins, who was representing Fiji that day. He was later named the Fijian Sportsman of the Year for his role in the victory – “It was a big achievement for us, and the country. The whole country was celebrating. The party was big,” he added.
It was a huge achievement for Fiji but they could not forget that they should play the second leg in the upcoming week. Despite playing with their hearts, they could not level up with the Australian side and lost by 5-1 and the Socceroos advanced to the second round of 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. You can check the highlights of this match in the video below:
In 2018 Fiji Football Association (FFA) honoured those involved in this historical win against Australia. An amazing attitude showing respect and gratitude. Time goes on but they never forgot that 26 November 1988.
They were honoured by FFA in 2018. Source: Fiji FA
Unfortunately Fiji did not qualify for the upcoming round at that time but they showed their power against their opponents that certainly learned to never underrate their opponents.
In the past few years the number of Samoan descendants representing Samoa National Team is increasing. Most of them are from Australia, New Zealand or United States and they have been helping the Oceanian nation to move forward internationally. One of these players comes from Hawai’i (USA) and represented the country in the 2016 OFC Nations Cup and in the 2019 Pacific Games, he is Keone Kapisi.
Born in Hawai’i in 1994, Kapisi has Samoan heritage as his father is from the Oceanian nation. He started to play football competitively at school by representing Maui Sabers from 2008 to 2012. The opportunity to represent his father’s country came in 2016 when he was called-up to play the OFC Nations Cup – “My family from Samoa reached out to me about playing,” said Keone.
Kapisi (number 14) represented Samoa in the 2016 OFC Nations Cup
In 2017 he joined Brigham Young University (BYU) to study and play football. In the same year he was called-up to represent the United States in the 2017 Summer Universiade – an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU) – held in Taiwan. He was eligible to represent USA in this tournament because it is not linked to FIFA.
Kapisi represented BYU from 2017 to 2019. Last year he had the opportunity to play for Samoa one more time in the 2019 Pacific Games. He played just two matches in the tournament because he got injured against New Zealand – “I injured my knee so I was out for a time,” he said.
Kapisi played for BYU from 2017 to 2019
Back from injury, Keone recently moved back to Hawai’i and he is currently a free agent – “I have not found a new club yet […] I am no longer injured but I am still working back to where I was” he explained. The 26-year-old is still available to play for Samoa and he would be a huge addition for the National Team in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying round.
The number of footballers from New Zealand playing in the United States grows yearly. There are eight Kiwis attached to Major League Soccer – the main football league in the USA – clubs this year. There are also dozens of young players studying and playing at college level in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The NCAA Division I men’s soccer is ready to count on another player from New Zealand as Henry Hamilton has committed to the University of Maryland, one of the most important teams at college level – “Ever since I can remember it has been my dream become a professional footballer. I believe this route will allow me to continue working towards my dream as well as further my education,” he expressed on Social Media.
Hamilton (right) playing for New Zealand in the 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup
The 18-year-old midfielder played the 2019-20 ISPS Handa Premiership season for Wellington Phoenix Reserves and he was part of the national team that played the FIFA U17 World Cup in Brazil last year.
Oceania Football Center congratulates Henry for joining University of Maryland. We wish him good luck in this upcoming challenge.
Football is slowly returning to normality in Oceania; New Zealand, one of the countries that has responded best to the COVID 19 pandemic, has already allowed teams to start training with some restrictions. After speculation, New Zealand football – in agreement with the New Zealand government – announced that the winter football league could start next month, June.
The Central League, that counts on clubs from central and southern parts of North Islands in New Zealand, is set to start in the weekend of June 13-14th. One week later all other Capital Football leagues will also kick-off – Central League is the most important league organised by Capital Football.
Napier City Rovers are the currently winners of Chatham Cup
The Lotto NRFL football leagues could start on 20 June, but confirmation from the organisation of the leagues is still awaited. The NRFL competitions are played by clubs from Auckland and region.
The ISPS Handa Premiership, New Zealand’s premier league, had to end three weeks ahead of schedule due to a COVID 19 pandemic that forced the New Zealand government to adopt a restrictive policy of self-isolation.
In the past few months Fiji faced two big problems simultaneously: COVID-19 and Tropical Cyclone Harold. The worst is gone and they are now ready to come back to normality. However there is a specific class that is suffering a lot during this period: football players.
According to Fiji Football Association (FFA) official media, more than 400 people linked to local football – including players and officials – applied for assistance. “We have analysed the applications. There are some extreme cases whereby football seemed to be the only form of income earned while there are many other moderate cases,” said Rajesh Patel, current FFA’s president.
Footballers ask for assistance in Fiji. Source: Fiji FA Media
Fiji FA successfully applied for OFC Solidarity Fund. The OFC Solidarity Fund was created to support the football community in Oceania during the COVID-19 pandemic – “I believe Fiji FA has a duty and responsibility to reach out and assist the needs of the football family who are affected by the current health crisis and by Tropical Cyclone Harold that recently had a major impact in Fiji,” stated Patel.
The current Vodafone Premier League’s season is going to resume in July. You can check the league standings by clicking here.
One of the good surprises of the season in Papua New Guinea’s top league, the Madang-based Tusbab Stallions, are slowly returning to normality after the forced suspension of competition in the country due to COVID-19 concerns. After much speculation, the national league is expected to return to action this July, giving clubs a month to prepare for the season’s remaining matches.
The team, led by coach Rachel Wadunah, expects to continue their good run – they are currently ranked 4th in the PNG National Soccer League standings. According to the team’s management, no new players will be added to the squad for the remaining matches of the season, and the players were already called back for training in the last week.
Tusbab Stallions squad before match against Hekari United – PNGFA Media
Although they have lost good central defender Nigel Malagian to FC Lae City, the Stallions can count on players such as Stahl Gubag, the young striker who is currently the season’s top scorer, and Ricky Wadunah in midfield, a highly-rated youth player who already represented Papua New Guinea at youth level.
According to the team’s management, the club expects to arrange a friendly match with Lae City to prepare the team for league games that are about to restart for the only Madang-based side in the 2019/20 PNG National Soccer League season.
Spanish LaLiga is one of the biggest national football leagues in the world. But their success is not only inside the pitch as LaLiga is also a very strong brand outside the pitch. They run lots of offices and projects around the world in that help the development of the sport worldwide. One of these projects is based on a partnership with Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF).
The partnership between LaLiga and began in June 2016 and since then the Spanish side has been helping the Pacific Islands’ country to develop its football – specially at youth levels. The first act of this partnership was promoted by Fernando Sanz – LaLiga’s MENA office manager and director of international projects – with the objective of selecting a national team coach and preparing the U20 team for 2016 OFC U20 Championship held in Vanuatu.
Pedro Mateo travelled to Oceania with the mission to take charge of the team by LaLiga’s Sporting Projects. He holds a degree in Sports Science and led the U20 team for a month before the 2016 OFC U20 Championship. During this period they played friendlies against some local teams, the full Solomon Islands National Team and some clubs from Australia who viseited the country – “This project marks the first step towards future collaboration between the two countries. Very strong links have been established, and not solely on the sporting side of thing,” said Mateo after returning from his stint in Oceania.
Mateo (circled) with Solomon Islands youth team in 2016. Source: LaLiga Media
This project is part of LaLiga’s internationalisation strategy, takes its place alongside the other programmes that the organisation is currently working on with various leagues and federations across the world, which relate not only to on-field issues, but also to aspects of security, the fight against piracy and violence, and best practice on governance, transparency, marketing and management (Source: LaLiga.com)
The second big act came in the upcoming year when Felipe Vega-Arango was appointed as Solomon Islands Football Federation’s Technical Director – “I sent my curriculum to LaLiga because they have collaboration agreements with various federations around the world… There the possibility arose of becoming the Technical Director of Solomon Islands Football Federation and I did not think twice about taking the charge,” he told to Spanish newspaper Marca.
Vega-Arango arrived in Solomon Islands in March 2017 to be the SIFF’s Technical Director. However after six weeks he also became the National Team’s head coach – “I had to ask the OFC and FIFA for special permission because the technical directors could not be coaches,” he explained.
Vega-Arango became Solomon Islands National Team’s head coach
He led the Bonitos in eleven matches, including the two clashes against New Zealand in the OFC 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. LaLiga paid his salaries and flight tickets during his 15-month stint in Oceania while SIFF met his housing allowance.
Now that this partnership is about to complete its fourth birthday it is possible to check their effectiveness on Solomon Islands’ development. In 2018 the Young Bonitos booked a spot in the 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup – the Solomon Islands’ first ever appearance in a 11-a-side FIFA World Cup – after reaching the 2018 OFC U16 Championship final against New Zealand.
It is very important for Oceanian nations to establish contact with bigger countries in order to go through the next level in the sport.
Unlike some countries like Fiji and Papua New Guinea, football leagues in Vanuatu still do not have a scheduled date to resume. Despite being cleared to resume since last month, football activities have not resumed yet.
The current situation of the sport in the country begins to annoy the clubs. Ifira Black Bird recently asked for Port Vila Football Association (PVFA) an Vanuatu Football Federation (VFF) to state their position about resuming the leagues.
Ifira’s complaining is endorsed by financial reasons. Despite not being a professional club, the players are paid so it is being hard to help them as football does not resume. Ifira Black Bird is the current leader of 2019-20 Port Vila Premier League season. You can check the current standings by clicking here.
Vanuatu has always produced very talented players throughout its footballing history; players such as Richard Iwai, Moise Poida and Etienne Mermer have helped Vanuatu achieve various successes in the past – as their win against New Zealand at 2004 OFC Nations Cup. The three former players mentioned above are still active in football today, but in the coaching field. Iwai recently coached Yatel FC, Poida coached various teams in Vanuatu and is currently associated with ABM Galaxy FC, and Etienne Mermer coached Vanuatu’s U23 side in past OFC U23 Olympic qualifiers and is one of the favourites to take on the senior national team still vacant head coach role.
The past generation has now left room for new players to continue carrying the Vanuatu flag in football competitions. The current captain of the national team, Brian Kaltak, is showing the potential of Vanuatu football in Oceania’s most successful club: Auckland City. The central defender has already represented clubs such as Lautoka of Fiji and Hekari United of Papua New Guinea, but his best time is currently spent defending the colours of Auckland City FC in New Zealand.
After so much success, Kaltak seems ready to follow in the footsteps of another successful islanders in international football, such as Roy Krishna and Micah Lea’alafa, who have played professional football in other confederations; the strong central defender of Vanuatu deserves a chance to demonstrate his skills on a fully professional level.
According to reliable sources, the Ni-Vanuatu international received a number of offers from clubs outside Oceania before the start of the 2019/20 season, but for unknown reasons Kaltak decided to stay in New Zealand – something that proves the player has what it takes to advance to the next level of football.
Only time will tell how the still young central defender’s career will unfold, but it is safe to say that the player is among the best in his current position at OFC level and the scouts around the region are already assessing the skills of Vanuatu’s captain.
Oceania Football Center 