Oceania Football Center

Komolong express his interest on Serritslev return to Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea national team defender and Lae City FC player Alwin Komolong – one of the most respected figures of Papua New Guinean football currently – has expressed his interest in having former Danish coach Flemming Serritslev back as the head coach of the national team. Serritslev recently left his role as the coach of the Fiji national team and had previously coached Papua New Guinea, helping them achieve one of their best results at the OFC Nations Cup in 2016, where they finished runners-up. Komolong and his brother Felix partnered as central defenders for that team. Alwin Komolong expressed his desire to work with Serritslev again, stating on social media, “Flemming is on the market again. Would love to work with him again. Can we make it happen?”

In the 2016 OFC Nations Cup held in Port Moresby, coach Flemming Serritslev had important players like Raymond Gunemba and David Muta on his team. Although the team did not win the competition, Serritslev is considered one of the best coaches to ever coach the Papua New Guinea national team, and he is highly respected by the players and local fans.

The Kapuls currently do not have a head coach as the PNG Football Association might be in action to fill this blank in order to prepare the team for the upcoming Pacific Games to be held this year in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

John Alick to the rescue: Vanuatu’s midfielder has instant impact as Warriors celebrate S-League title

Vanuatu national team midfielder, John Alic k, played a crucial role in Solomon Warriors’ victory in the Telekom S-League this past weekend. In the championship-deciding match against Wanegu United, Alick impressed with a fantastic free-kick goal, helping his team to a hard-fought 3-3 draw and clinching the league title.

Alick’s return to the team for this match was significant, as he had been away from the country and had not played a match this year prior to this game. Nevertheless, he was able to make an immediate impact, scoring a goal and helping his team to overturn a two-goal deficit. In the 90th minute, veteran Emmanuel Poila scored from a penalty kick to seal the title for the Solomon Warriors – as they needed only a draw to confirm their title. You can watch the highlights of the match by clicking here.

Perhaps the most intriguing detail of the match is that Alick, a former Malampa Revivors player, arrived in Honiara just two hours before kick-off, yet he was able to get ready and play a significant part in his team’s rescue. His powerful midfield play was crucial to the team’s success, confirming their favouritism and securing their seventh Telekom S-League title.

Alick’s performance in this match is a testament to his skill and determination as a player. His free-kick goal and overall contribution to the team’s victory will be remembered by fans and teammates alike, and he will be hoping to continue his success in future matches with the Solomon Warriors as they now hope to confirm a spot in the 2023 edition of the OFC Champions League.

Solomon Islands Kiriau joins Mauwia for PVFA Premier League season

Moffat Kiriau, the Solomon Islands’ attacker, has signed for Mauwia in the Port Vila Premier League in Vanuatu. Kiriau was previously playing for North Efate United in Port Vila’s top-tier league and has also played for local powerhouse Galaxy FC. Additionally, Kiriau has experience playing futsal in Vanuatu, having represented the D’York Stret team in an OFC Futsal Champions League edition.

Mauwia’s president announces Kiriau’s signing – *PVFA Media*

Kiriau is known for his skills and pace on the field, and is a key signing for Mauwia as they look to have a successful season in 2023. His addition to the team is expected to give them an attacking edge, and he will be hoping to make a significant impact in his new role.

Kiriau’s move to Mauwia is a positive development for both the player and the team. Mauwia will be looking to Kiriau to help them achieve their goals in the upcoming season, and the talented Solomon Islands’ player will be hoping to make a name for himself in the competitive Vanuatu football scene.

Fiji: Vanuatu international to boost Suva’s squad

Alex Saniel, the Vanuatu national team striker, is set to rejoin Suva in Fiji on February 23rd. Saniel has previously played for Suva and has also played for a number of other clubs in Australia, Vanuatu, New Zealand, and Fiji, including Yatel and Tupuji Imere in his home country. He has a proven track record as a skilled striker with an eye for goal.

Saniel’s signing is expected to improve Suva’s chances in the upcoming OFC Champions League play-offs against Rewa. He has previous experience playing in the competition, having represented Lautoka in 2020. His experience and ability on the field are expected to give Suva FC a significant boost as they aim to progress through the play-offs and into the group stages of the competition.

Suva’s Chairman, Ritesh Pratap, has confirmed Saniel’s return to the club and has also revealed that Saniel will be taking the spot of his countryman, Ronaldo Wilkins, in the team. According to Pratap, Wilkins has returned to Vanuatu.

Overall, Saniel’s return to the Capital City Boys is a significant development for the club and its fans. With Saniel in the team, Suva will be hoping to progress through the play-offs and into the group stages of the OFC Champions League, and potentially compete for the title.

Fiji U-20 side ready for invitational tournament in Asia

Recently it was confirmed by Fiji Football Association that the Junior Bula Boys are leaving for the Southeast Asia country of Indonesia to play an invitational tournament in order to prepare for the U-20 World Cup that Fiji granted a spot in the last 2022 OFC U-19 Champioonship. The World Cup will also be played in Indonesia; the team coached by the Argentinian Rodolfo Zapata will have a chance to play the hosts and against strong opponents.

“The team has been in camp for the last three weeks under new coach Rodolfo Zapata and been preparing well for the tournament” said team manager Kartik Reddy to Fiji FA Media – “Some players will be excluded from this tour as they are awaiting their Fijian passports“, added Reddy.

Fiji team last year in Tahiti OFC U-19 Championship – Christophe Fotozz

The Fijians will meet the hosts Indonesia, the CONCACAF side of Guatemala and will also play against OFC U-19 Championship winners New Zealand; the first match will be on 17th Feb against Indonesia U-20 side, later Fiji will meet Guatemala and will finish the tournament against New Zealand.

Fiji’s team manager Reddy told Oceania Football Center that the team will be also travelling to Mexico – the Fijians will stay in the North American country from 3rd March to 17th March – then they will return to Fiji to play three friendly matches, against senior teams of Fiji, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.

Fijian fans want Christophe Gamel back in charge of the Bula Boys

Since the Fijian Football Association announced the Danish coach Flemming Serritslev departed from the position of head coach of the Fijian national team, many football fans used the social media to express their oppinions on the Serritslev’s era and what should be the next steps of Fijian football ahead.

The overall evaluation of Serritslev campaign in Fiji was not good for the fans as Fiji could not perform well in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers being knocked-out in the group stage after got beaten by Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.

Arguably, the first name that came to mind of the Fijian fans is the French Christophe Gamel; the 50-year-old is now a free agent coach and could apply for the spot if he is interested. Gamel coached Fiji from 2016 to 2019 and according to many football fans in Fiji, he was one of the best ever coaches for the national team.

Gamel and Krishna in a press rekease – *Fiji FA Media*

Fiji FA expects to announce a new head coach before March, when the national team will have a series of matches against Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Fiji U-20 side that is preparing for the U-20 FIFA World Cup to be held in Indonesia this year.

Gamel, after leaving Fiji national team, worked in Belgium, Algeria and Malaysia. He last coached Sri Pahang, a football club from the Malaysia Super League, club he left at the middle of the last year.

Under Gamel, Fiji played a total of 27 matches: 10 wins, 9 draws and 8 loses. Gamel managed to expose Fiji football as he played several friendly matches against nations from other football confederations; including a 1-0 win against Mauritius in 2019 and a draw away against Indonesia. Gamel also led Fiji to win bronze medal at 2019 Pacific Games after a 14-year-drought of medals in football competition in the games.

Fiji: Labasa celebrates first ever women’s Champion vs Champion title

Before Suva’s victory over Rewa to give the Whites their first ever ‘CVC’ title in Fiji, the Babasiga Lioness celebrated a historic moment for their district and as well for Fijian football as whole: Labasa won the first ever Champion vs Champion series of women’s football in the country as they surpassed Ba by 4-3 scoreline at HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.

Sofi Diyolowai scored the first goal for their in the 34th mark while striker Anasimeci Volitikoro scored two quick goals still in the first half in the 43rd and 45th minutes to extend Labasa’s lead before the break. Narieta Leba recuded the margin for Ba scoring a goal in the 52th minute, but it was cut short two minutes later when midfielder Shayal Sindhik restored the three-goal lead in favour of the Vanua Levu-based team.

Fijian international Cema Nasau scored a brace for Ba in the 62nd and 88th minutes to narrow the margin to 4-3, but it was too late for the Women in Black to find an equaliser: te final result brought joy to Labasa with their first title of the season.

Labasa players and staff celebrate their title – *FBC News*

Labasa walked away with $2500 in prizemoney for their achievement; Oceania Football Center congratulates Labasa and the runners-up Ba for the good entertaining match they presented and also praises Fiji Football Association for promoting women’s football in the South Pacific bringing the very important topic of gender equality in the sport.

Solomon Islands captain Micah Lea’alafa set to sign for Australian outfit

Solomon Islands’ national team captain Micah Lea’alafa is set to join National Premier League – South Australia side FK Beograd in Adelaide. Beograd is coached by former Vanuatu Football Federation technical director Joshua James – the team also counts on Vanuatu’s national team midfielder Jared Clark.

It was confirmed that Lea’alafa is set to sign for the 2023 NPL season for the club in Australia and the striker is going to travel to Adelaide very soon and announced officialy by the club.

Micah Lea’alafa captaining Solomon Islands

The celebrated 31-year-old player had the best moment of football career as Auckland City player, where he won OFC Champions League and also represented the club at FIFA Club World Cup. The player – that is a dual international for his country – also represented the Kurukuru, Solomon Islands national futsal team, at four FIFA Futsal World Cups – including the last one in 2021 held in Lithuania.

Lea’alafa had a professional stint in South Africa’s outfit Maritzburg that did not end up well, after that period Lea’alafa had a break from competitive football and later returned to play for his boyhood club Solomon Warriors in Telekom S-League. He also played for Waneagu United in the last edition of the Solomon Islands’ national league; later he represented his country at FIFA World Cup OFC Qualifying tournament held in Doha, Qatar where he captained Solomon Islands to the final match against New Zealand as they ended up beaten by the All Whites to lost a potential place at the FIFA World Cup Intercontinental Play-offs.

After representing his country, the striker joined Australia’s outfit Wynnum Wolves where he achieved impressive numbers – watch his performance at Wolves by clicking here. Certainly, the quality shown by the player was crucial to grant him another stint in Australia football – this time at the highest level of National Premier League.

Solomon Warriors celebrates 7th Telekom S-League title after thrilling match

There’s a lot of joy for Solomon Warriors and its fan base in Honiara! The team finally returned to its gold moments and celebrate their seventh title of Solomon Islands national league, the Telekom S-League. The team coached by Franco Ne’e just needed a draw against Waneagu United this Sunday (Feb 12th) and they did so, a famous recovery match for the Warriors as they were trailing by two goals and managed to equalise in a last minute penalty scored by the veteran Emmanuel Poila.

Waneagu was decided to make things hard for Warriors; the striker Bobby Lesley scored for his team in the early stages of the match – at the 3rd minute. Dennis Ifunaoa scored the equaliser for his side at the 30th minute, but the talented Francis Paul added another to his team tally just three minutes later to put Waneagu in front once again.

Things became even worse in the early stage of the second half for Warriors: the former Marist striker Bobby Lesly scored his second of the match, the third for Waneagu, at the 47th minute play. Warriors were in desparate need to its experience players to step up to make a comeback.

Solomon Warriors line up before the match – *TSL Media*

The comeback started at the 76th minute thanks to a goal scored by the Ni-Vanuatu international John Alick – that just returned to Honiara from his country to play its decisive match. Warriors were still in need of one more goal to clinch the title and it only happened when Emmanuel Poila had the chance to score a penalty kick at the 90th minute of play. The match ended in a 3-3 draw – the point earned for Solomon Warriors was enough to make them earn their seventh national title.

After the match, the players were emotional and celebrated their achivement. Franco Ne’e, Warriors coach, gave an inspiring interview to TSL Media just after the final whistle. Dennis Ifanuaoa, one of the most important team members of the Warriors, told Oceania Football he was feeling very good and glad for finally turn themselves into champions again.

Now, after the Warriors’ title confirmation, Kossa, Henderson Eels and Central Coast FC are battling for the second place in the table – the team that eventually finishes as runners-up will take part of the national round of the OFC Champions League against Warriors to decide which of the two sides will represent Solomon Islands in the regional tournament.

Fiji: Suva lifts ‘CVC’ trophy after beating Rewa

The first trophy of the 2023 football season in Fiji goes for the Capital City Boys; playing at home in Suva, the team coached by Babs Khan managed to cool down Rewa’s strong offensive system in the late stages of the game and defend their narrow lead.

After a match that was interrupted in the last weekend, the decisive match took place in Suva. Despite the addition of two Solomon Islands’ national team players, Atkin Kaua and Alvin Hou, the Delta Tigers could not get the Champion vs Champion series title: two quick goals in the first half scored by Fijian internationals Dave Radrigai and Remueru Tekiate gave Suva an important lead.

Suva players celebrate one of their goals – *FBC News*

Still in the first half of the game, Abbu Zahid scored a crucial goal for Rewa to keep them alive in the match. In the second half the team coached by Marika Rodu tried to equalise the match at all costs, but Suva defensive system led by Remueru Tekiate managed to keep the danger away from the goal defended by the experienced goalkeeper Akuila Mateisuva and confirmed their 2-1 victory to clinch the 2023 ‘CVC’. You can watch the highlights of the match by clicking here.

This was the first title ever won by Suva; a lot of celebration for the management, players and staff took place in the pitch for this achievement in the starting of the season. The two teams are set to face each other in one more two-leg series this month in order to determine which of the two sides will represent Fiji at the OFC Champions League.