Football has the power to unite crowds, people from different parts of the planet, of different beliefs, thoughts and ethnics. Football is the most popular sport in the world and we can count on many very good examples coming from it; the ultimate goal of Football should be always to inspire and unite people.
A very good example comes from Samoa; the 6-time capped international Vaalii Faalogo has certainly much to teach about life. Vaalii reached significant success in the sport in his home country, playing in OFC Nations Cup in his national team and representing Lupe o le Soaga, his club back in Samoa, in OFC Champions League campaigns. Faalogo captained the club in their last appearance in the competition in 2018.
Faalogo with Lupe o le Soaga in 2018 – OFC Media
In 2018 was the last time Vaalii played at the regional stage in the OFC Champions League – as the team he captained lost the national league to Kiwi FC which represented Samoa in the 2019 edition of the regional tournament.
Not qualifying for that editions of the OFC Champions League was not the saddest news for Vaalii and his teammates: the defender was diagnosed with cancer. The news shocked the staff and all people involved with Lupe o le Soaga as well all the football community in Samoa.
Vaalii then turned his focus for his treatments. As before, when he was focused to stop the opposition forwards, now he battled to prevent another enemy with the usual power he had when inside the pitch. The Samoan left for New Zealand in order to pursue his goal to avoid the new opponent to win.
After so many tackles inside the football field, Vaalii was there as usual tackling the disease and we can say he achieved the same success he from his experience in the sport. The now 36-year old is recovered and is slowly getting back to action. He took his time, never gave up and shown the spirit of a true warrior.
Vaalii is step-by-step getting back to football; his next goal is to help Lupe o le Soaga to qualify once again for the OFC Champions League group stage from outside the pitch – the former international will be assisting the head coach Paul Ualesi. Lupe will certainly have a big fight to come, but they will have a very good fighter in their side.
The challenge Vaalii and his team will have in Auckland is a very important milestone for the club and Samoan football. But, even without the kick-off of the tournament we can say we already have a champion; a champion of life, a champion that comes from Samoa that has a lot to teach.
Recently, Oceania Football Center released the results of its 1st edition of Oceania Football Center; an annual event that selects the U20 Player of Year, the Goalkeeper of the Year and the Player of the Year awards inside the Oceania football context.
In 2019 the chosen player for the most important award was the Fijian Roy Krishna. Krishna had a fantastic 2018/19 season for Wellington Phoenix in Hyundai A-League in Australia and recently signed for the Indian Super League side ATK, where he already stared the season with very good performances.
Roy Krishna with ATK – Bhaskar Live
You can check the full awards of the OFCe event by clicking here.
The Samoan champions Lupe o le Soaga suffered a huge blow for their campaign in the upcoming Preliminary Stage of OFC Champions League. Recently, It was reported the midfielder Ken Kerewi was back to Lupe after a stint in New Zealand; indeed the player is back to the team, but due visa problems the Nigerian will not take part in the OFC tournament in its first stage.
Oscar Anto (left) and Ken Kerewi (right)
The problems are even bigger for Lupe o le Soaga: the young forward Oscar Anto from Ghana will not be available for the OFC Champions League Prelimary Stage alongisde Kerewi. The player also had problems with his visa for New Zealand – where the competition will take place – and both players will miss the first stage of the regional tournament.
Despite the bad news, the players might be ready for the Group Stage part of the competition, but Lupe will have the task to proceed to the next phase without the services of the African duo.
2019 was a successful year for local champion Mens football side Lupe o le Soaga. The squad that hails from the proud village of Magiagi were once again crowned Samoa Football Federation champions when the league was halted early due to the recent measles epidemic. Lupe o le Soaga were awarded the championship in late November with a 14 win, 2 loss record. Coach Paul Ualesi said “It was a close fought league this year. Teams like Kiwi FC and Vaipuna put up a good challenge, but our boys experience, dedicated training ethic and team spirit were factors that enabled us to succeed”.
Lupe o le Soaga have now been selected to represent Samoa in the Oceania Football Confederation preliminary stage being held in Auckland, New Zealand from January 25th-31st where they will take on the champions from Tonga and the Cook Islands for two spots in the main stage of the OFC tournament held in early March in New Caledonia or Tahiti. Ualesi said “Our goal was to qualify for the initial stages and after that was achieved the boys have been on a strict fitness plan. We have upped the intensity at training so we have the best preparation possible to compete in the Auckland tournament”.
Lupe o le Soaga squad before departure to New Zealand – Lupe o le Soaga Media
Lupe o le Soaga are no strangers to representing their nation in the OFC main group stages after also qualifying in 2015, 2017 and 2018. Coach Ualesi and his team though aren’t looking too far ahead as they have two obstacles in their way first in Auckland. “We know that Tupapa Maraerenga (Cook Islands) and Veitongo FC (Tonga) are formidable opponents. We respect them 100% and know we must work hard and play as a team on the day to get the results we deserve”. Lupe o le Soaga have a good mix of experience and youth in its squad with captain Andrew Setefano, Vito Laloata, Alapati Bell, Va’a Taualai and Lapalapa Tony leading the way for the younger squad members to look up to.
Lupe o le Soaga Football club is a success story. It prides itself on its accountability, respect and fair-play. Ualsesi says “As a result of our successes we have helped many of our village members, both male and female discover their talents on the football field and given them a path with opportunities to play at both national and international level. We also teach our youth respect and discipline and have worked hard to address violence within the community”.
Looking forward to the tournament though Ualesi said “The hardest part in attending these Oceania tournaments is the financial strain. Although we appreciate the assistance from the Samoa Football Federation and Oceania Football Confederation, we still require funding to give us the best opportunity to progress to the main stage. It is very expensive and our management team have been working hard to organise the funds for our trip”.
Recently, Hekari United announced the additions of four foreigners: two Solomon Islanders and two players from Brazil. The club is looking to reinforce their squad in order to compete at 2020 OFC Champions League.
Vito Laloata (right) with team manager Vonnie Kapi-Natto (left) – Hekari Media
The 23-year old player attracted the interest of the Papua New Guinea club after his very good performances for his national team at the last edition of Pacific Games held in Samoa. Laloata scored all goals of Samoa in the tournament (3).
Current Vodafone Premier League winner Ba and 2019 Battle of the Giants winner Labasa will face each other in the Champion vs Champion (CVC). The first match is schedule to be played today at 7pm at Churchill Park, Lautoka.
Ba is the biggest champion of CVC winning 20 titles while Labasa won for three times. The first CVC happened in 1992 and Labasa won Ba by 1-0 in the aggregate score. It is going to be the fourth time that both teams will clash to decide the CVC title (1992, 1994 and 2007).
According to Fiji Football Association the winner will receive $5000 Fijian dollars. The second leg will be played on Sunday at Ratu Cakobau Park, Nausori.
According to a reliable source, New Zealand will send a U23 team to OFC Nations Cup as preparation for 2020 Olympics that will be held in Tokyo between July and August.
All Whites head coach Danny Hay will not coach the team in the Nations Cup as well. Des Buckingham will lead the team in the tournament as he is he U23 head coach. It is going to be a great opportunity to select the 18 players that will play the Olympics.
Des Buckingham
OFC Nations Cup is set to take place in New Zealand in June.
Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Lambert Maltock said in an exclusive interview with Oceania Football Center that football in OFC region must initiate a professional football platform in 2021.
According to Fiji Football Association (FFA) CEO Mohammed Yusuf, the country’s first professional men’s football league must start next year – “We are getting help from experts running the A-League (Australia’s highest level of professional football league) and also FIFA is backing us on this,” he said.
The professional tournament would not kill Vodafone Premier League. Yusuf said that there will be a franchise competition that must start in November 2021. The first edition of the new league must be contested by six teams: three from the West, two from the South and one from the North.
Yusuf pointed that there will be a tender for business companies around the country who are interested to own one of the teams are going to take total ownership of their clubs. The company can put their logos on the jersey and other sporting kits as they are the owners.
The matches must be contested on Wednesdays and Saturadays. All matches are supposed to be telecasted on TV. The top two teams must qualify for Oceania Champions League.
Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) is looking for a new head coach for Solomon Islands National Football Team. The position is vacant since Dutch manager Wim Rijsbergen left the charge after the 2019 Pacific Games.
A new head coach must be appointed soon to lead the team in the Tri-Nation series in March and the OFC Nations Cup in June. However there is a possibility of SIFF name a caretaker.
Today we made an interview with the french goalkeeper, Benoit Beaujeon, of one player who’s moving all around the world to realize his dream to play football.
Interviewer: Hi Benoit I’m really glad to make this interview with you for Oceania Football Center.
Benoit Beaujeon: I’m glad too be here.
I: So let’start. You were born in France in 1992. In which team do you started to play?
BB: I moved quite a lot when I was young. I started playing football at AJA Saumur, near Auxerre. Then i moved to play for other youth clubs. Finally i have joined a Sport-Study programm when i was 15, in association with Le Muc 72 (Ex Ligue 1 – Professional Club). Then I have played for Intrépide d’Angers for 2 years at the highest regional level, just below U19 National Championship.
I: Then you started to go abroad. How was that? France was too little for you? Or maybe you dreamt to work all around the world?
BB: I moved to England just before turning 19. It was my dream to go play in England. It is very hard to make i through in France. If you don’t go through a professional academy, it is very hard to make it to the top. There are not that many opportunities for player like me so I thought it would be easier abroad. I got to travel because of football. I’m always trying to find the best opportunities for me, to progess my career.
Benoit Beaujeon with AS Central Sport
I: I do really like this way to see life. If you can’t find the job that you want in your coutry you need to move. The world is so bigger and there are a lot of opportunity out there. Is difficult to live always abroad?
BB: Well, you have to adapt. I found it more difficult in countries where i don’t speak the language but eventually you cope with it. Buh honestly, you get to see some amazing placese, and meet awesome people. You always learn from discovering new countries, new civilitasions, etc… I love it. In fact why would you stop to your country? I want to do what i like. If i can’t do it in my country, then i’ll go to another one.
I: Well, as i said i’m completely agree with your vision of life. Do you have some funny or weird momento to tell us of you adventures in far away countries?
BB: Of course. Once i was asked to go trial for a 3rd division club in Slovakia. Problem, i hadn’t played football in more than 2 years. I decided to give it a go. I took a bus, a 24 hours trip to get to Bratislava. I had to stay in a youth hoste. It was snowing, training conditions were terrible because of the weather conditions etc… We didn’t agree on terms so I didn’t sign for them but when you take a look back, you realise that’s really about opportunities. Be there at the right place, the right tiem, and always be ready. I could have signed my first pro contract there. I have also done something similar in Austria.
Benoit Beaujeon en action
I: So now you are definitely a professional player?
BB: No, I’m not. I’m still chasing this pro contract. I was very close to do so last summer. I was meant to sign a pro contract in 3rd divions in Romania, but didn’t for some stupi reason. That’s why i ended up playing for AS Central Sport in Tahiti.
I: So you’re doing another job there while you’re playing with AS Central?
BB: I was offered a job with connexion of AS Central Sport. I declined the offer as I really wanted to focus on football. However the club helped me by giving me a coaching role in the academy with theri U11.
I: That was great from them. In Central also arrived this canadian goalpkeeper, Vandall.
BB: Yes. He is actually there to replace me. I left Central because i had better opportunities abroad. I’m in touche with a team that shuold qualify for the OFC Champions Leagye, as well as some teams in Europe.
I: Why so?
BB: I was injured on my last game with Central so I’m worgkin on getting back on shape to sign for a new club.
I: I didn’t know that. I hope you will recover soon.
BB: Thank you . I hope that too. I came back to Paris for treatments
I: After your recovery you will still play in OFC?
BB: Well I’m trying to get in touche with clubs qualified for the OFC Champions League. That was the reason why I joined Central in the First place. They had been playing the O’League the last 2 seasons and I thought we could qualify for it this season too but many things seem to have changed at the club since last year. Therefore I’m looking at playing this competition now. If I can find a team that play O’League i would love to go back. I’d be even ready to pay my flight, as long as they provide accomodotation, food, etc. It would be a very good experience and very good for my CV and my career.
I: How is life in Tahiti?
Tahiti from the airplane
BB: Tahiti is amazing. I loved it. But it’s the kind of place where I would definitely go in holidays, but not to live there. It’s not my thing.
I: Which are the problems to live there?
BB: First of all, life is really expensive. And it’s not my lifetime, not on a daily basis at least. If you go there in holidays it’s cool, people there are relaxed etc… But if I was to stay there longer, for life i meant it wouldn’t work for me. Or maybe yes in the future when i will be an older man.
I: How is football level in tahiti going?
BB: There are some good players. Some could play in N2-N3 in France, but otherwise, the level is ok.
I: So now you will wait for an opportunity? When you will be ready?
BB: Well I have to see if the club qualify for the O’League. They are playing the qualifying stage this weekend. If they do, I’ll contact the chairman to see if they are still interested to sign me. But I really would like to play this compétition this yea Otherwise I’ll try to find something in Europe. I should be able to play again in 10 days.
I: That was a very good interview. Thank you Benoit.
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