Oceania Football Center

Hienghène Sport will not count on key players for OFC Champions League

The current title holders of OFC Champions League will not count on some important players of their squad to take on Hekari United, Eastern Suburbs and Galaxy FC in the Group A of the OFC Champions League 2020. The 18-men squad of Hienghène Sport from New Caledonia – the champions of Mobil Super Ligue, Coupe de Calédonie and OFC Champions League in 2019 – will not count with some key players that held their team in the dream season they had in 2019.

Hienghéne Sport in FIFA Clubs World Cup – *AFC Media*

Hienghène will not count on the usual starters and New Caledonian internationals Geordy Gony, Anthony Kaï and Miguel Kayara, players with important roles in their road to the continental glory in the last edition of the competition. The midfielder Geordy Gony was crucial for Hyehen as he scored two important goals in knock-out stage against Ba from Fiji and Team Wellington from New Zealand. Giani Kayara, Joris Gorendiawe and Yewene Yewene will be also missing the tournament. According to reliable sources, the players will not be travelling to Port Moresby due job commitments, as they were not being released to take part in the competition – also remembering Hienghène Sport works as an amateur/semi-professional team despite their recent sucess.

Despite missing some important members of the squad, Oceania Football Center talked to midfielder Joseph Athalé and he seemed very positive about the competition: “We expect to advance to the knock-out stage,” stated the player that got worldwide recognition for his performance against Al-Sadd in their 3-1 defeat in the last FIFA Clubs World Cup.

Hienghène’s squad is still full of important players even missing the likes of Gony and Miguel Kayara; the legendary Bertrand Kaï, the two-time OFC Champions League champion Roy Kayara, the goalkeeper Rocky Nyikeine and the asset forward Amy Antoine Roine – that scored in the grand final in 2019 and also in the FIFA Clubs World Cup – are all travelling with the team to Port Moresby to feature in the Group A of the OFC Champions League edition of 2020.

Roberson: Brazilian talent ready to shine in Oceania

Roberson Felipe dos Santos Ribeiro is a 28-year-old midfielder from Brazil that is playing for Galaxy FC from Vanuatu since 2019. He arrived in the country in August alongside with two other Brazilian players: Gabriel Santana (that has already left the team) and Diego Máximo that was just returning to Vanuatu after spending his vacations in Brazil.

Roberson (circled) being received at the airport right after arriving in Vanuatu. Source: Galaxy FC Media

He had his first opportunity to play for Galaxy in the 2019 Opening Cup and he scored three goals in the group stage. According to local sources, Roberson impressed the supporters with his abilities and quality. He kept the good level in the 2019-20 PVFA Premier League helping his team with six goals and creating many chances for his teammates.

Roberson (number 10) celebrating a goal with his teammates. Source: Galaxy FC Media

Now it is time to prove himself in the most important competition of Galaxy’s history: The 2020 OFC Champions League. Roberson is surely an important part of the team and he is ready to do great things in OFC Champions League.

Coulon brothers do not join Lautoka

Oceania Football Center recently reported that Vanuatu internationals Raoul and Michel Coulon were very close to sign with Lautoka from Fiji to play 2020 OFC Champions League.

Lautoka recently released their official squad for the tournament and the Coulon brothers are not in the list which means that they have not signed with the club. Alex Saniel, Jason Thomas, Liam Anderson and Jack Counter are the foreign players that will represent the Bluez in the Champions League.

Coulon brothers. Source: Vanuatu Sports News

Raoul and Michel would not be available to play 2020 Vodafone Premier League – the top-tier of Fijian football, because the transfer window is closed in Fiji. However they still have opportunity to join the club this year in the next transfer window in the mid of the year.

Raphael Le’ai: a hope for Henderson Eels

The 2020 OFC Champions League begins this weekend with four matches from two groups. Current Telekom S-League runners-up Henderson Eels will face Lae City from Papua New Guinea in the opening match of the group stage at Luganville Soccer City Stadium in Vanuatu.

Eels count on some experienced forwards like Joses Nawo and Tuti Zama Tanito. However the biggest hopes are being placed on Raphael Le’ai. The young forward is one of the rising stars in Oceania and he has already proved his quality at senior level by scoring 24 goals in 2019-20 Telekom S-League. He finished the Golden Boot race in the first position but he has not received the award yet because there is one match being investigated and it could change the Golden Boot winner.

There are lots of expectations on Le’ai and there will be many people looking at him during the Champions League once he is one of the most talented players in the OFC region. A good performance in this tournament can be decisive for him to make the next level in football.

All-White Moses Dyer is set for moving to Canadian Premier League

The All-White midfielder Moses Dyer is set to a move to the Canadian Premier League, the player who most recently played for Norwegian side Florö SK is close to a move to North America.

The 22-year-old player is set to sign for Valour FC in the league according to reliable sources. The player already featured 11 times for the New Zealand national team scoring one goal. He also took part in two U20 FIFA World Cups representing the Oceanian powerhouse.

Image result for Moses Dyer — Dyer with All Whites jersey – *Firdaposten*

The Canadian Premier League is a new league structured to be the top-tier of football in Canada and had its first season in 2019. The deal seems to be an important move for Dyer since the league has a growing interest in media and the player would be in evidence – much more than staying at Norwegian 3rd tier league. The player is expected to be announced soon in his new club in Canada.

OFC Champions League Group B teams already training in Luganville

The teams set to compete at Luganville venue in Vanuatu in the Group B of the OFC Champions League 2020 already arrived in the country and had their first training sessions heading for the start of the competition in the weekend. Lae City from Papua New Guinea, Henderson Eels from Solomon Islands and Lautoka from Fiji are already in Santo preparing for the most important club football tournament of Oceania.

Image may contain: 6 people, people standing — Lae City Players welcomed by Luganville Deputy Mayor – ‎Frankiy Guval Kapin

Image may contain: 1 person, playing a sport, outdoor and nature — Lautoka training – *Vanuatu Sport*

Image may contain: 1 person, beard, outdoor and nature — Jesse Kalopong of Malampa Revivors before training – *VFF Media*

Competition is set to start this 15th February, 2020 in Soccer City Stadium, Luganville.

Jacky Ruben’s case: a possible way out for Malampa Revivors

Recently, Oceania Football Center released that Malampa Revivors is having issues to register the Ni-Vanuatu international Jacky Ruben alongside Vanuatu Football Federation in order to allow the player to represent the Luganville-based club in the 2020 OFC Champions League.

After investigation with authorities of football in the region, Oceania Football Center presents more details about the case and a possible solution for Malampa Revivors to have the clearance to use Ruben.

Image may contain: 1 person, playing a sport and outdoor — Jacky Ruben when player of Erakor Golden Star – *OFC Media*

According to FIFA regulation, players registered at one association may only be registered at a new association once the latter has received an International Transfer Certificate (hereinafter: ITC) from the former association. Based on this information, Malampa Revivors needs the ITC from the last team Jacky Ruben played for, Suva FA from Fiji.

If the ITC of the player was already with the club from Luganville, there would not be any problems to register the midfielder as Malampa Revivors player in Vanuatu FA; but this is not surely the case. But, still inside this rule, here comes a possible way out for Malampa Revivors: under FIFA regulation the player is cleared to play for a new team if the request of its ITC is lodged in TMS (Transfer Matching System) after 15 days of the request.

Basically, if the ITC was not issued by his former team – in this case, Suva FA from Fiji – Malampa Revivors can register the player alongside VFF after 15 days of the request. The team needs to inform FIFA about the situation, then they will be cleared to make the proper registration.

But, did Malampa Revivors requested in TMS the ITC of Jacky Ruben? The answer is yes. According to reliable sources, the request was made in January, so it means that is much probrable that the appeal was made 15 days ago.

Another issue for Malampa Revivors is that the Vanuatu transfer window is set to finish this 12th February, so the club directors will have very little time to complete Jacky’s process in order to count on him for OFC Champions League.

Hekari United squad for OFC Champions League released

The Papua New Guinean powerhouse Hekari United is ready for their biggest challenge of the year. The club released their 23-players list for the upcoming OFC Champions League, where they will play the group stage at home, in Port Moresby.

Hekari United stars united – *Hekari Red Army*

The biggest stars of the team as Koriak Upaiga and David Muta are included in the list, as well the Brazilian duo Vinicius Reis and Erick Joe – signed specially to feature in the tournament.

You can check the full squad of Hekari United by clicking here.

Tonga football shows improvement through Veitongo’s performance

Tongan football was always away from the worldwide scenario of international football; always the fans knew little about the competitions in the country and its national development. In the past years, there are efforts coming from Polynesia to make the access to information easier – something that could link Tonga and the rest of ‘bottom four OFC ranked nations’ to the rest of the football world.

Since the modern format of the two most important competitions in Oceania was implanted – OFC Champions League and OFC Nations Cup – Tonga was not represented in its group stage. The biggest winners of their local league Lotoha’apai United and Veitongo took part in the recent editions of the OFC Champions League – Preliminary Stage, but were unable to qualify for the group stage. Tonga national team was also unable to take part in the group stage of any of the recent editions of the OFC Nations Cup, the result is similar at the youth stages being the only big achievement recently the spot earned in the group stage of the OFC U19 Championship back in 2018 after winning the preliminary round.

Although the bad records, Tongans have something to hold with: Veitongo, in the latest edition of the preliminary stage of the OFC Champions League, shown a better football than any of the recent Tongan representatives in the competition.

Image may contain: 11 people, outdoor and nature — Veitongo line-up before the clash against Tupapa Maraerenga – *OFC Media*

Veitongo was unable to hold Lupe o le Soaga from Samoa in their first game, losing by 2-0. Despite their bad first half, they improved a lot in the final 45 minutes of the clash. Their strike force could create some difficulties to the Samoan defense, even earning a penalty kick that was wasted by Vai Lutu, unfortunately for the Tongans.

They went for the final clash against Tupapa Maraerenga needing a win to celebrate a first ever spot for a Tongan side in the modern era of the OFC Champions League. Their main player Hemaloto Polovili scored early to put his side upfront, but it did not take long for the Cook Islands side to find an equalizer. The same Polovili put his team in front again with one world-class free kick finish, making the dream possible for the coached by Mark Uhatahi.

The story was the same in the second half: Veitongo proved to be more dangerous than Tupapa Maraerenga upfront, but still the defensive system of the Tongan side was their biggest problem. The Cook Islanders grabbed another goal early in the second – the result they needed to go ahead – what forced Veitongo to go to attack to have its needed goal.

The highlights of Veitongo against Tupapa Maraerenga

The same Hemaloto Polovili had a golden chance to find his hattrick in the match, but he was denied by the opposition keeper. The final result was not what Veitongo wanted, but surely they can be proud of their big effort. The lesson from this competition is surely to have a better organised defensive system – to avoid the mistakes they had against Lupe and Tupapa.

The results are certainly better: Lotoha’apai United in the 2019 edition of the tournament could grab a win against Pago Youth from American Samoa, but lost by 4-1 against Tupapa Maraerenga and suffered a harsh defeat against Kiwi from Samoa by 9-1. Veitongo, in his last appearance in the tournament in 2018, just draw against the American Samoans of Pago Youth and lost 9-2 for the same Tupapa Maraerenga and 6-0 for Lupe o le Soaga. The evolution seems clear.

The quality of the still young Hemaloto Polovili need to be developed to serve as example for the younger generations to have the desire to win. The stepping stone for Tongan football can be the good performance of Veitongo – but they still have a long way to go – to show they can improve on our loved football.

Jacky Ruben might not play for Malampa Revivors in OFC Champions League

Oceania Football Center recently reported that Suva’s midfielder Jacky Ruben would be going to play for Malampa Revivors in 2020 OFC Champions League. We interviewed him about his expectations for the tournament and he was very excited for playing an international competition at his country.

Jacky Ruben playing for Suva – *FFA Media*

However things have changed and it is being reported by local media that Suva (Fiji) failed to address Malampa Revivors’ transfer request on time so Oceania Football Confederation could not accept the transfer. The Luganville-based club is set to get in touch with Fiji FA in order to get the proper documents to have the OFC’s clearance for Ruben, but the team does not have much time to address the issue.

See more:
Updates about Jacky Ruben transfer case.

Revivors will debut in the continental tournament on Saturday against Lautoka from Fiji. Oceania Football Center keeps investigating the case in order to bring the most accurate information to our followers.