As Oceania Football Center reported, football activities in Samoa are suspended since 19 November because of the measles outbreak that is ravaging the country. It was also reported that the 2019-20 OFC Champions League could be affected because 2019 Samoa Premier Men’s champion is supposed to play the preliminary round of the continental club championship that is scheduled to be played in December.
Football Federation Samoa (FFS) had a meeting with representants of all clubs to decide what should be done with the current football season in the country. According to people who attended this meeting, the season is over and the current league leaders were crowned as champions.
Faleasiu was crowned as Men’s First Division champions while Kiwi won the Women’s League. You can check the list of winners of Premier Men’s League by clicking here.
After two matches played on Saturday (Kossa 8-0 Guadalcanal and Laugu United 0-0 Marist), the matchweek was finally finished on this Tuesday with two important matches that changed completely the league’s course.
These two matches played on Tuesday were initially schedule to be played on Sunday but they were postponed because Charles, The Prince of Wales was visiting Solomon Islands.
SOLOMON WARRIORS 1-3 ISABEL UNITED
Solomon Warriors lost their first match in 2019 Telekom S-League against Isabel United. An early goal scored by Daiman Gela opened the path for Isabel to win the match and reach the third position in the standings. After a 2-0 loss in the first half, Warriors had an opportunity to score a penalty early in the second half but they missed it and Thomas Amasia scored the third for Isabel a few minutes later. Warriors goal was scored by Gibson Daudau at 65th minutes but it was too late because the match was already 3-0 for Isabel.
Players fighting for the ball. Source: S-League Media
HENDERSON EELS 9-2 MALAITA KINGS
Henderson Eels faced a strong Malaita Kings side in the first half but things changed a lot in the second half. After a 2-2 draw in the first half, Eels thrashed Kings to grab three more points and take the Telekom S-League’s lead.
Raphael Lea’i was the Man of the Match scoring four goals. The 17 years old forward scored ten goals in four matches so far, averaging 2,5 goals per match. Tutizama Tanito and Joses Nawo netted twice both.
You can check the current standings and the topscorers by clicking here.
Nadi FA player William Valentine appeared in the Nadi Magistrates Court this afternoon for stabbing his girlfriend with a scissor. According to sources, Valentine was drunk when he assaulted his girlfriend.
Valentine is 28 years old and played four matches in 2019 Vodafone Premier League. He also made his debut for Fijian National Football Team this year in a 0-0 friendly against Vanuatu.
William Valentine playing for Nadi FA. Source: Fiji Football Association
According to Fiji Village, he has been released on bail and the case has been adjourned to the 3rd of February next year.
Few months away from Qatar 2022 World Cup Qualifiers, Fiji still does not have a National Football Team coach. Cristophe Gamel left the National Team in August due to personal reasons. He joined the Fiji FA in 2017 and lifted the National Team in FIFA world ranking from 189 to 163.
Christophe Gamel (left) and Roy Krishna (right).
“So we will be looking around those lines to recruit a coach who also has the same football philosophy. So that we don’t have to restart everything we can just continue from here.” said Mohammed Yusuf, the CEO of Fiji Football Association.
“We need a coach from Europe to carry on the type of play, philosophy, set up and the pattern Gamel has been implementing” said Rajesh Patel, Fiji FA president.
Fiji FA has shortlisted the candidates for the position of the head coach but there are some names being taken into consideration. Patel said that Fiji FA will reveal the new National Football Team coach soon.
It has been three months since Cristophe Gamel left Fiji National Team. The long time without a definitive head coach is not a good thing and it may damage Fijian preparation for FIFA World Cup Qualfiers.
One of the most important and traditional football competitions in Solomon Islands, the Western Cup is back! The 2019 edition began yesterday (November 25) and is scheduled to end on December 9. Eighteen teams are fighting for the trophy and the 50.000 Solomon Islands dollar award.
2019 Western Cup Awards
The eighteen teams were splited in four groups: two groups with five teams and two groups with four teams as you can check here. Current champions Central Roviana is in Group A. All the matches are being played in Gizo, the capital of Western Province.
Two matches were played in the opening day South Rannoga 3-0 Central Roviana East Marovo 2-2 South East Vela
Oceania Football Center wishes good luck to all teams!
After a first episode talking about the current situation of Maxwell Keana and his absence in U17 World Cup, Oceania Football Center launches the second episode of a series of articles with everything that is related to the case. All information contained in the articles is verified and veridical.
As it was stated in the previous episode, there are some people interested on picking a fight with SIFF. One of these people might be “Puia” Konofilia.
Joel Moffat Konofilia, more known as Puia Konofilia, is a former Solomon Islands National Football Team player. He is banned from football in his country until July/2020 for punching a referee after a match back in 2017. It was not the first time he was penalized for his bad behaviour with referees: He was fined and suspended for one match for threats to referees in a match between Western United and West Honiara FC in the 2016 S-League.
Joel Konofilia
Konofilia is a very known person in Solomon Islands and he is the president of Royals Academy, a football academy that takes Solomon Islanders to play at English Academies. And here starts some big problems between Joel and Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF).
According to local sources, Konofilia tried to borrow some money from SIFF in 2017 to take three players of Royals Academy to England but the request was denied because Konofilia did not disclose details about the trip, saying it was a “secret deal”. According to FIFA regulations, SIFF does not need to participate in Royals agreements as they are not affiliated SIFF. Konofilia also admitted to The Island Sun that the reason for not receiving the money was that he spent a period in jail in February 2017.
Some sources appointed Konofilia as the person behind Maxwell Keana’s letter to OFC but it was denied by Keana’s uncle – He stated that SIFF should stop blaming Konofilia and he also pointed that Keana was forced to lie his age when his passport was issued. SIFF claims that Providing personal information for issuing a passport is the responsibility of the applicant and his family, not the federation because it is a personal document.
Some former footballers advised Maxwell Keana to think twice about all this situation but it seems that he is not going to change his mind.
Oceania Football Confederation is currently running an investigation because Puia Konofilia and his assistant Alick Collins reportedly wrote a letter alleging that all Solomon Islands U17 National Team players were overaged. In this same letter they complain about the absence of Keana in the squad. Konofilia denies this information.
But it is quite interesting to see how much Konofilia and Royals Academy are interested on it. As you can check below, he refers to Maxwell as a son.
Konofilia also stated that Maxwell Keana is going to England in 2020, probably as a Royals Academy player. Maybe it is the reason for so many interest in the whole situation.
It is impossible to claim who is behind Maxwell Keana’s attitudes but it seems that there are some important people interested on it as you could check in this article.
The first ever Vanuatu’s Youth National Championship is coming to its end. The finals will be played on 30 November at Soccer City Stadium, Luganville.
The tournament brought together U17 and U15 boys and girls to compete. The eight associations from Vanuatu were split in two groups.
Northern: Luganville, Penama, Sanma and Torba Southern: Malampa, Port Vila, Shefa and Tafea
Map of the Football Associations in Vanuatu. Source: Vanuatu Football Federation
The Southern tournament was held at the National Academy in Teouma area in the last week. Teams from Malampa, Port Vila, Shefa and Tafea took part in the U15 and U17 tournaments for boys and girls. The winner of each tournament qualified for the final match that is going to be played at Luganville this Saturday.
See the list of winners and topscorers below: U15 Girls • Champions: IC Primary School (Tafea) • Top Scorer: Sonia Nopissa (IC Primary School) – 4 Goals U17 Girls • Champions: Epi High School (Shefa) • Top Scorer: Liyo John (Epi High School) – 3 Goals U15 Boys • Champions: Walarano Junior Secondary School (Malampa) • Top Scorer: Florian Terong (Monmarte Men’s – Port Vila) – 4 Goals U17 Boys • Champions: LL Echo U17 (Tafea) • Top Scorers: Jimmy Iaru, Roger Naukau, Yonamu Renjo (All from LL Echo U17) – 4 Goals
U15 and U17 players from Tafea region. Photo: Anasilini Natoga
The Northern Tournaments have not started yet but the winners of Northern Tournament will face Southern winners in a National Final.
It was announced by Lotopa SC that Penitito Tafili passed away. He was twenty years old and he played for Lotopa in Samoan First Division, the second tier of Samoan football.
Tafili was 20 years old. Source: Lotopa SC Media
According to local sources he died on Sunday night at the Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital at Moto’otua after being beaten at his village on Saturday. So his death has no relation with the measles outbreak that ravages Samoa. It is the second death in Samoan football in less then a month. Twenty years old Siloata Lomani also passed away in November. He last played for Kiwi FC. Recently the measles outbreak also forced Samoa to stop their football activities – a sad moment for the sport in the country with the loss of two players and the current outbreak.
Oceania Football Center send condolences to family and friends.
An ambitious project is now launched in the most populated city of New Zealand: the Auckland United FC is now launched – merging two traditional football clubs in the region: Three Kings United and Onehunga Sports. “Over the past 6 months the executive committees of Three Kings United and Onehunga Sports FC have worked closely together to assess the individual strengths and weaknesses of both clubs, and the rapidly changing landscape of football in New Zealand – working on a structure we believe will be best positioned to excel in the future“, says Three Kings United chairman Murray Holdaway.
The logo of the club to start its actions in 2020
“Bringing together two clubs and one academy under a single umbrella and to create a club for the ages was too big an opportunity to pass up”, mentions Holdaway. Both sides will unite their forces with the ambition to take part in the revamped national league New Zealand is aiming to build for the upcoming season. It is also already known Auckland United will have a premier and reserve men squad for the 2020 season of NRFL Lotto Premier League. The social men and women teams of Onehunga and Three Kings United will keep playing under their own logos and kits for the next seasons.
According to Auckland United website “Football is officially the most played game in New Zealand. There are a lot of positives in our game, with rising participation numbers, men’s and women’s national teams competing at FIFA world cup events, and a professional player pathway. However, there are some fundamental issues with the model at the club level. New Zealand Football and the regional federations are working hard to ensure club structures are aligned with their objectives and delivering a quality experience for players, coaches, club members, and supporters of the game“.
The major issues facing most clubs in Auckland right now are:
Too many clubs supporting low player numbers;
Financially unsustainable;
Insufficient number of volunteers;
Revised competition model and youth framework;
Increased demands for NZF Club licensing;
Incomplete player pathways;
Overused and overcrowded fields;
Poor facility development;
Demand for qualified coaches.
According to their site, Auckland United has the goals to have the strongest football community and fans of the entire country and to build the number one academy to produce players to play to all levels. The team also hopes to have the best facilities of Auckland – competing with well known clubs as Auckland City and Eastern Suburbs – and to have the most influent media service of New Zealand football.
Auckland United announced first uniform
Auckland United aims to offer football activities since the 5-year old football academies until the highest football level in the country. In their website, the directors of the new club are yet to announce more details about their ambitious plan for the future of the club that will start their activities in 2020.
The New Zealand football top tier had some interesting matches in this fourth matchweek and for sure the most surprising result of the round was the first win of Tasman United in the season – and it came against the powerhouse Team Wellington that now is three matches without a win.
The first goal of the New Caledonian important Jean-Philippe Saïko through a penalty kick put the team from Nelson upfront the scoreline already in the second half, this margin would be enough to make Tasman to secure their first three points in the competition as the 1-0 was the final result of the clash. Saïko goal was his first and also Tasman first goal in the campaign. The first victory of the team coached by Jess Ibrom saw the club leaving the bottom of the table – now Wellington Phoenix Reserves is the last placed team and Tasman United is now the 8th in the run.
Saïko and his teammates celebrates the first goal of Tasman United in the ISPS Handa Premiership – NZF Media
Auckland City opened a narrow lead in the leadership of the league as they won once again, this time their victim was Wellington Phoenix Reserves that could not hold the firepower of the Navy Blues at WestPac Stadium. Logan Rogerson lost a penalty kick in the 21th minutes of play, but another penalty was awarded to Auckland City and this time Myer Bevan made no mistake – the team from Auckland took the lead still in the first half. Just after entering pitch in place of David Browne, the Futsal Whites member Dylan Manickum put Auckland one more goal ahead. After losing a penalty, Logan Rogerson assisted for the third and final goal of current ISPS Handa Premiership premiers that came through a beautiful shot of Jordan Vale.
Dylan Manickum celebrates his goal for Auckland City – NZF Media
Southern United could prevail against Hamilton Wanderers with an emphatic win by 4-0. Former Auckland City player Abdulla Al-Khalisy scored two beautiful goals to help the team from Dunedin to recover from their defeat in the last round against current title holders Eastern Suburbs.
The Southern United captain Connor O’Keeffe scored his first goal for his team after more than 50 caps for the team. He tapped home a scrumble in defense that was firstly awarded as an offside, but the referee changed his call and Southern could add one more to the scoreboard. Joel Stevens scored his third in the campaign as he added Southern fourth in the injury time. Stevens is having a very inspiring comeback to his former club after winning OFC Champions League with Team Wellington and a short stint in Swedish football.
Jordan Spain and Joel Stevens celebrate Southern goal – Southern Media
Hamilton Wanderers nightmare continues as the team drops for the 9th place in the table. Their star player Tommy Semmy lost a penalty kick when the game was still 2-0 – it could have changed the story of the game. Hamilton has the worst defensive record of the season so far with 14 goals conceded in only four matches played.
Canterbury United managed to score first in their clash against Hawke’s Bay United at English Park in Christchurch through the effort of Cory Mitchell, but the final whistle would see a different outcome of the clash. The North-American striker Ahinga Selemani would score his second goal since joining Hawke’s Bay to equalize the encounter in the early minutes of the second half and the Japanese midfielder Sho Goto would find the nets to make the team co-coached by Chris Greatholder and Bill Robertson complete the comeback.
The Dragons could still earn a point from their home game when Juan Chang scored a late equalizer to give final numbers in the scoreboard. The draw kept HBU inside the top four zone. A lively encounter entertained the fans at English Park and a draw really seemed a fair result for both sides.
Fans saw a very interesting match in Christchurch – Mak Shots Photography
In the final match of the round, Eastern Suburbs faced the city rivals at Madills Farm, Waitakere United. The final result was a 1-1 draw from a very lively clash. Waitakere United would take the lead with an easy finish inside the penalty box from Dane Schnell, scoring his second goal in the campaign for Waitakere. Just moments after Dylan de Jong equalized for Eastern Suburbs with a very beautiful shot in the edge of the penalty box.
The things turned hard for the current ISPS Handa Premiership champions when their striker Martin Bueno was sent off. The Uruguayan striker received a controversial red card – according to the referee he used his elbow against the opposition player. With 10-men in the pitch, the second half was hard for Eastern Suburbs that needed to defend most of the game. They suceeded in their duty, but Waitak seemed close in various moments, with shots from Dane Schnell and another chance that ended up hitting the post from Solomon Islands international Andrew Abba.
De Jong and his teammates celebrate the equalizer of the Lilywhites – ESAFC Media
Auckland City opened two points lead against the second placed side Waitakere United, that has Hawke’s Bay United and Eastern Suburbs completing the top four. Team Wellington remains with only five points in the run, while Wellington Phoenix Reservers dropped for the 10th and last place in the laddar with just one point. You can check the full standings of the league before the end of this fourth matchweek by clicking here.
Myer Bevan scored one more goal in the round and now has seven in the competition – the Auckland City new signing scored in all four matches of the league so far. Hamish Watson of Team Wellington comes behind in the golden boot race with four goals scored. Several players in the league already scored three times in the run, as Southern United key players Garbhan Coughlan and Joel Stevens and the Hawke’s Bay United number 10 Dylan Sacramento.
Oceania Football Center 