Sarpreet Singh played today his first official match since football resumed in Germany. He was part of Bayern II’s starting eleven in the 3-2 win against Preußen Münster in the 29th matchday of 3.Liga, the third tier of German football.
The 21-year-old midfielder from New Zealand returned to Bayern II after staying with the first team in the 5-0 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf last Saturday.
Singh
The Kiwi rising star played most of the game. He left the pitch in the 92nd minute when he was replaced by Paul Will. Singh scored seven goals in the 3.Liga so far.
Bayern II is currently in the fourth position with 47 points, just one point behind league leaders Duisburg.
Football is about passion; many children’s dream is to become a professional football player. The game is played in every corner of the planet, in many different languages, cultures and realities. The game moves millions of people, millions of wishes and dreams – tough decisions are part of the game, but also part of life.
Shane Sakael, a 27-year-old central defender who most recently played for Papua New Guinea’s top club Hekari United, knows exactly what a tough decision is. Sakael has what it takes to be one of his country’s best teams, but he is not in the game at the moment; the reason is a little hard to believe for football fans who are used to European or American scenarios, but unfortunately are very common in Oceania – Sakael himself explains: “Football is okay but not a lifetime job in PNG. In other countries, yes football is a lifetime job. That’s the reason why I choose to teach“.
Sakael in action for Hekari United
The good player and very technically skilled Shane Sakael decided not to continue with Hekari United to travel to Lorengau, where he is actually a sports teacher. “I did not want my employer, the teaching services commission, to terminate my service as a teacher. I told my club managers to find a school in Port Moresby so I can teach and play at the same time, but I do not know why things could not work that way. Therefore I decided to stop and teach,” explains Sakael.
The defender had a fantastic season in 2019; not only helped Hekari to reach the grand final of PNG National Soccer League, but as well represented Papua New Guinea in the Pacific Games held in Samoa: “It was awesome. At first I thought it would be tough because of the club level, the seniority and the experiences that most players had. However, I have learnt a lot from the club, the managers, coaches and the players. I am satisfied with my football carreer. It was a dream come true for me to play for Hekari and also to play for Kapuls, representing my country in Pacific Games last year,” explained Sakael about his fantastic season.
Sakael in Samoa during 2019 Pacific Games
“I miss football so much,” says Sakael, “I do not know how I can get back to the game. If a club can secure a teaching position for me, then it would be an opportunity to be back in the pitch – playing and working,” completes the player. The defender also reveals the current situation for players in Papua New Guinea: “In other countries it may work, I can only focus on football in other country, but not Papua New Guinea. It happens because the clubs can not afford to look after players during breaks or rather off seasons“.
Sakael’s talent brought him into the Papua New Guinea national team; it is certainly a waste to see such a player off the field in the current season of the PNG National Soccer League. The player would like to return, but the difficult financial situation offered by the country’s clubs is causing many players to choose a career other than football. Sakael is a sad example of probably the biggest problem of football in his country – a call for change is necessary for the sake of the beautiful game in the beautiful Papua New Guinea.
Samoa is another Oceanic country that has set the timetable for the resumption of football activities following the COVID 19 pandemic. The Samoa Football Federation has announced that the youth league is due to start this month – on 20 June. “The FFS Youth competition caters for boys and girls categories specifically for registered clubs in Upolu and is scheduled to run from the 20th June to 8th August 2020. Two new clubs have joined this year’s Youth tournament however FFS aims to increase the number of clubs and is looking at hosting tournaments in rural areas to enable this,” said the local federation media.
Match during 2019 Samoan Premier League
On 25 July, the country’s top leagues – the first women’s and men’s leagues and also the second league of men’s football – will start. 18 clubs will be represented in the leagues this year – as you can see here. The reigning national champions of Samoa are Lupe o le Soaga, who won the last national league after the competition had to be suspended and forced to an end due to the measles outbreak in the South Pacific – Lupe o le Soaga was at the top of the table.
To see the full schedule of FFS for its football season, click here.
Definitely it is not an easy time for most of us; COVID-19 has hit the world hard and more than six million people have been infected with the new virus. Governments have been forced to close borders, postpone important meetings and stop all economic activities to retain the spread of the coronavirus. Football has also been hit hard by this period – our beloved game had to be almost completely shut down worldwide – but slowly the game is starting again where the pandemic is already under control.
The player stated that Labasa players have not returned to normal training yet, although the Fijian Football Federation has already approved the new schedule for their return to the Vodafone Premier League. “At the moment, we are training ourselves. We only make videos of our training and send them to our officials,” Siotame Kubu said.
Kubu was the responsible for the much-celebrated Battle of Giants title of Labasa in 2019 season; the striker scored the winning goal in the grand final match with a fantastic touch lobbing the opponent’s goalkeeper. The player was also part of the Inter-District Championship won by Labasa in the previous and year and also helped the team to confirm their good moment after beating the current Vodafone Premier League champions Ba in the Champion vs Champion series this year.
Kubu said that it is quite lonely to train like this, but these hard moments are important for him: “I have learned a lot from what this virus has brought. It has changed my life both physically and spiritually,” the player said.
Kubu, his team and all football players and fans are hoping for a fresh start for football in Fiji and all of Oceania. Some countries, such as New Zealand and Vanuatu, have already set dates to restart their competitions; the vacuum of football that Coronarivus has brought into our lives is about to end.
Mau Penisula is a 41-year-old player that represented Tuvalu in football and futsal. He is the player with most international caps for Tuvalu (14) and he played the Pacific Games for three times: 2003, 2007 and 2011.
Penisula signed with Nasinu this year but he has not made his official debut yet. He was added to the squad after having a great performance in the 2020 NZFFI International Veterans held in New Zealand. He helped Nasinu to finish the Grade 40s tournament in the second position after losing the final match to Nadroga by 1-0.
Despite being part of the team squad for 2020 Vodafone Premier League, he pointed that his age can be an obstacle to him – “This age is complecated to feat in the Premier League. This age (41) is good to play with a veteran team as we just came back from New Zealand where we played the Veteran’s tournament that had good level to play,” he explained.
Penisula (number 4) with Nasinu’s squad in the Veterans Tournament. Source: NZFFI Media
Penisula is one of the four overseas players in Nasinu’s squad for 2020 Vodafone Premier League and the only Tuvaluan in the tournament. Atkin Kaua, Jared Rongosulia and Marlon Tahioa from Solomon Islands are the other foreigners in the team. His presence can be felt through his experience and vision that can surely bring good things for the team – “We have some weakness on defense but we are working on that. The team is good in overall,” he said.
.His first contact with football was in Tuvalu where he represented FC Tofaga in the local tournaments for eleven years before moving to Fiji in 2011 – “I started playing football there (in Tuvalu). After some years learning the game I was called to represent the National Team,” explained Penisula.
In the meantime Penisula was part of Tuvalu National Futsal Team. He played 2008 and 2010 OFC Futsal Nations Cup that were held in Fiji which means that he was part of the first ever National Futsal Team from his country. The year of 2011 was very special for Tuvalu in the sport as they played the Pacific Games for the third straight edition and one of the most important moments of Tuvaluan football happened in the opening round of the 2011 edition when they won American Samoa by 4-0, the biggest win of Tuvalu National Team’s history. Mau Penisula was the team captain in that unforgettable match.
The 2011 Pacific Games was his last tournament representing the country. He was not part of the national team squad in the last tournaments like 2018 CONIFA World Cup but he would be a great addition for the Tuvaluan side with his huge experience.
Legendary Solomon Islands international Henry Fa’arodo is officially confirmed in Hamilton Wanderers’ squad for this winter football season in New Zealand. The announcement made through team’s Social Media.
The 37-year-old midfielder arrived in New Zealand in February to join the Wanderers. He played one match in 2019-20 ISPS Handa Premiership and now he is ready for a bigger role in the team.
Benjamin Totori is one of the most prolific players from Pacific Islands alongside Fijian star Roy Krishna. Both players had the opportunity to play professionally for Wellington Phoenix in A-League, the most important football league in Australia. While Krishna had his first full professional contract with Phoenix, Totori crossed the Pacific Ocean in 2008 to live this dream in America.
Totori was a sensation in Oceania in 2008. He helped Waitakere United to win New Zealand Football Championship and OFC Champions League in the 2007-08 season. The young Solomon Islander scored ten goals in 18 matches in the league and also scored an important goal in 2007-08 OFC Champions League final. He also won 2008 OFC Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament‘s Golden Boot representing his homeland.
Totori was a very promising player by that time
In April 2008 it was announced that Totori would make it big by signing a professional contract with Portland Timbers from United States of America. He traveled to USA a few days after winning the Champions League. At that time the Timbers were not part of Major League Soccer (MLS) yet. The football team from Oregon was a member of United Soccer League (USL), a secondary tournament in the country.
Totori made his debut on May 26 against Miami FC by entering the game at the start of the second half adding life to a 10-man Timbers side. He also played a second match on May 30 against Montreal Impact but this match changed his luck: a sprained right medial collateral ligament – “The American League was a different style, a different atmosphere than matches here in Oceania. Everything went well in the Montreal match. I nearly scored in the last minute of the game. I even saw a Solomon Islands flag in the match against Montreal, it was great lift. Then I hurt my knee in injury time,” he said.
The Solomon Islander forward missed six official matches due to this injury. He returned to the team in July but once again he was forced to stop. He re-injured his right knee during a training session on July 16 and missed the rest of the season – “I recovered in three weeks but then I trained and played two exhibition games against a Mexican team, and in the second game the injury flared up again and it was no good. It took me the rest of the season to recuperate,” Totori recalls.
Totori did not give up on his dream of becoming a professional player
According to Portland Timbers official media, he returned to the Solomon Islands in late July to begin his rehab but he never returned to the team. The Timbers finished the 2008 USL season in the last position and Totori went back to Waitakere United. Four years later, in 2012, he had the opportunity to join Wellington Phoenix and play professionally again.
These injuries prevented him to make it big in the USA but it did not prevent him to become a true legend in Oceania specially in his country.
While football leagues are slowly resuming, there are still doubts about international football. The situation in Oceania is currently unclear as 2020 OFC Nations Cup was cancelled so 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers will probably be the next international challenge for Oceanian countries.
It has been four months since Flemming Serritslev was announced as Fiji National Football Team’s head coach but he did not have the opportunity to lead the Bula Boys in an official match due to COVID-19 pandemics. The good point is that he is having plenty of time to know the players and study the best options for the National Team.
Actually there is a special player that deserves to be watched closely: Shuiab Khan. The 24-year-old left back was the only Fijian in the 2019-20 ISPS Handa Premiership season, the main football league from New Zealand. He played six matches for Waitakere United and finished the season as a regular starter.
Shuiab is well known by Fijian football fans. He was part of the U20 squad that represented the country in the 2015 FIFA U20 World Cup held in New Zealand but he has never represented Fiji at senior level.
Khan (right) fighting for the ball against Julian Brandt in 2015 FIFA U20 World Cup.
Khan is playing winter football leagues in New Zealand since 2015 but he had his first opportunity at ISPS Handa Premiership last year. The left-back proved his capacity and showed that is ready for Bula Boys. Now it is time to keep the hard working and wait for a Serritslev’s call-up.
However the Futsal World Cup was postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemics and it changes everything when it comes to National Team’s preparation, specially for Lea’alafa who is currently a free agent.
Micah recently turned 29 and now the forward faces a new reality in his career as he is now forced to change his plans due to World Cup’s postponement. So what is next on his career?
Lea’alafa (left) has already played three FIFA Futsal World Cups
Football leagues are slowly resuming around the world including in Oceanian countries like Fiji, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea and now he needs to think carefully about his next step as a footballer. Oceania Football Center appoints some possibilities:
1- Play 2020 Telekom S-League Micah is already in Solomon Islands so it would be easier to keep himself active by playing the main football league from his homeland.
2- Return to New Zealand He is well known in New Zealand and it would not be difficult for him to return as he has already proven his quality there. However the 2019-20 ISPS Handa Premiership is over which means that he would need to join a winter league’s club while he could aim a return to Auckland City.
Returning to Auckland City is a good possibility
3- Try a professional football league once again Micah has recently left a professional league (in South Africa) and he is good enough to fit in some leagues in Africa and Asia. Obviously that moving into pro football is not so easy but he should not give in.
It is important to emphasize that many countries still have strict rules about immigration due to COVID-19. However time marches on and Lea’alafa is already 29. He must take a good decision soon in order to keep playing in a decent level.
New Zealand Football Fiji Incorporated (NZFFI) announced that 2020 Pacific Cup is cancelled due to COVID-19. It was scheduled to take place in Fiji later this year.
Despite not being linked to Oceania Football Confederation the Pacific Cup it is a very important tournament for Fijian football. Every single year some clubs from Fiji take part of this tournament to face some Fijian roots’ teams from New Zealand, Australia and United States.
According to NZFFI the next edition of the tournament will be held in Fiji and hosted by America Fiji Sports Commission next year. You can check the full list of the senior tournament’s champions by clicking here.
Oceania Football Center 