Oceania Football Center

Labasa’s Ilisoni Logaivou is called up for Fiji National Team

After some speculation, the final list of Fiji National Team is complete: the last player to join Flemming Serritslev team is coming from Labasa FC and he is Ilisoni Logaivau. The Labasa man has enjoyed great seasons with the Babasiga Lions and now his performances received attention from the national team head coach.

The Danish head coach of Fiji announced recently his list of players for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers to be held in Qatar this march, but one spot was missing in his call up. The decision was to be done in the incoming weekened within the next round of matches of the Digicel Premier League – Logaivou was the chosen one to fill in the gap.

You can check the entire call up for the Bula Boys by clicking here.

Fijian goalkeeper heads to Australian A-League

There is some hope for the future for the Fijian football fans, especially when it comes to the goalkeeping position: recently it was announced by Football Queensland that the Fijian goalkeeper Ryan Mudaliar moved from NPL’s side Brisbane Striker to the A-League club Western United. The young goalkeeper caught interest from a club of the top-tier league in Australia and has now a big chance in rising career.

Oceania Football Center already featured Ryan Mudaliar, presenting the young goalkeeper to the Fijian football fans. Despite his quality, the player is still to be contacted by the Fijian FA in order to represent the country internationally.

Ryan Mudaliar – *Brisbane Strikers Media*

The very young shot-stopper proved his capabilities with the Brisbane’s side and he is heading for a bigger challenge in his career. It is still unclear if Mudaliar will be incorporated in the first team squad of Western United or will join the youth squad of the A-League side, but, certainly, it is a very important move for the talented player.

PNG Kapuls: David Browne is confirmed in national team squad

After a lot of rumours around the participation or not of Papua New Guinea’s sole full professional player in the next FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, Oceania Football Center is delighted to announce that HJK’s David Browne will take part in the competition donning the colours of his home country. The news were confirmed by PNG Kapuls head coach Marcos Gusmão when asked if the player was cleared or not to represent Papua New Guinea.

The former Auckland City man was not in the previous list released by PNGFA; the football entity revealed the player was not eligible to represent the country since his passport was expired – the player that has a British father and was born in Papua New Guinean soil was playing in Europe under his British passport. The forward that is currently playing in top-tier league of Finland was denied at first a chance to represent once again his national team.

Recently, it was reported by local media that PNGFA was close to clear Browne to play again for the national team, since they were able to provide most of the paperwork needed to him. It was also mentioned that the player was waiting the approval of an important document and then so would be cleared to join the squad.

The last time Browne played for the national was in 2017 – the player has only three international caps and is set now to continue his international duty with Papua New Guinea. The 26-year-old will be a very important addition to Gusmão’s squad, with a promissing partnership upfront alongside Tommy Semmy being very anticipated by the local fans.

Gusmão also stated the player will join the squad in Qatar, where the tournament will be hosted this March, meaning so the player will not train with the rest of the squad in Papua New Guinea.

PNG Kapuls will have a very difficult start in their campaign in the qualifiers since their first match will be against New Zealand. They will also need to surpass Fiji and New Caledonia if they want to proceed to the semi-final stage of the competition.

You can see the full squad of Papua New Guinea for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers by clicking here.

Vanuatu’s goalkeeper Seiloni Iaruel retires from football

Seiloni Iaruel is not playing football anymore. The 26-year-old goalkeeper from Vanuatu decided to stop playing last year and he now holds a managerial position at Galaxy FC, the team he had been playing for since 2018.

According to Iaruel, ankle and knee injuries were the triggers for decision: “I thank football and fans for the good times. I stopped playing football but I am still helping the sport,” he stated. With his retirement, youngster Joshua Willie became Galaxy’s main goalkeeper.

Seiloni Iaruel retires from football – *OFC Media*

Iaruel made history on football by being the first player from his country to train with a European team. He spent two months on trial with the U18 squad of English side Stoke City back in 2012.

He represented Vanuatu National Team for six times from 2012 to 2016.

Jekob Jeno starts a Ligue 2 match for the first time ever

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New Caledonia’s Jekob Jeno made his first ever appearance as starter in a French Ligue 2 match. The 21-year-old midfielder played 86 minutes in Grenoble’s 1-0 win over Chamois Niortais last Tuesday and his performance was praised by fans and coach Vicente Hognon.

“Jekob Jeno? I’ve been eager to make him a starter since I arrived, but we have to go slowly and gradually. In any case, the staff likes him, I like him, he’s a good kid,” revealed Hognon after the match. You can check his game stats by clicking here.

Jekob Jeno playing for Grenoble – *Grenoble*

Jeno joined Grenoble Foot 38 at the beginning of the season to be part of “Grenoble B”, but this year he got a bigger role in the team, as he became part of the main squad. Unfortunately, he was not called-up to represent New Caledonia at FIFA World Cup qualifiers to be held in Qatar next month.

Wellington Olympic’s Ben Mata set to play for Cook Islands

The first round of OFC qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup was initially set to be contested by four nations. However, American Samoa and Samoa withdrew due to COVID-19 pandemics, while Tonga dropped out of the tournament following a volcanic disaster that caused severe flooding across the country. With this, Cook Islands automatically qualified for the group stage.

Despite getting a direct place in the group stage, the lack of information about the Cook Islands National Team has brought a bit of darkness about whether or not they would play in the tournament. The doubts finally came to an end as 23-year-old defender Ben Mata confirmed he is going to Qatar to represent the Cook Islands for the first time ever. He also stated that the National Team will rely on a bunch of New Zealand-based players for the tournament.

Currently playing for Wellington Olympic, Benjamin helped his side to clinch the Central League’s title last year, after being part of Team Wellington’s squad that won New Zealand Premiership in 2020-21.

Ben Mata playing for Wellington Olympic – *Instagram*

Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Mata represented his country of birth at youth level, being part of the squad that played 2015 U-17 FIFA World Cup. He is the brother of fellow player Max Mata, who also represented New Zealand internationally.

The Cook Islands are going to debut at 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers on 17th March against the Solomon Islands. They will also play Tahiti and Vanuatu in the Group A of tournament.

Vanuatu National Team defeats Galaxy FC in friendly match

Vanuatu National Team’s starting eleven against Galaxy FC – *PVFA Media*

The Vanuatu National Team faced Galaxy FC in a friendly match at Korman Stadium in Port Vila as part of their preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, to be held in Qatar next month.

Coached by local legend Etienne Mermer, Vanuatu came from behind in the second half to defeat Galaxy FC by 3-2. Barry Mansale, Alphonse Lency and Ronaldo Wilkins scored for the National Team while James Chilia and Jayson Timatua scored for Galaxy FC.

Three more players are expected to add more quality to the National Team for FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Brian Kaltak, Jared Clark and Mitch Cooper. Vanuatu’s debut in the tournament will be on March 17 against Tahiti.

Galaxy and Yatel shake local transfer window in Vanuatu

Moffat Kiriau, Joe Moses and Dondy Kileteir are some of Galaxy’s newcomers – *PVFA Media*

The mid-season transfer window is still open in Vanuatu, but it has already brought many changes, especially for two teams: Galaxy and Yatel. Both sides added a great amount of players to shake local football.

Galaxy has already secured seven new players, including Yatel’s midfielder Dondy Kileteir and Mauwia’s forward Moffat Kiriau. Yatel added four new players, all coming from Erakor Golden Star: Jesse Kalopong, Kaltfer Kaltack, Massing Kalotang and star striker Tony Kaltack.

Despite losing four key players, Erakor Golden Star added only two new names to their squad, showing that they still rely on their strong youth system to keep pushing in the Premier League. Ifira Black Bird and North Efate United are two other teams that have added quality to their squads. You can check all confirmed transfers by clicking here.

Alex Chin: Tongan blood in Hong Kong

Alex Chin is a professional footballer who plays for South China, in the second tier of Hong Kong football league system. Despite being born in the Asian nation, the 22-year-old goalkeeper has the possibility to represent Tonga internationally, since his mother was born there.

Chin began his career at Tai Po and played there until 2020 when he moved to his current club, South China, a giant club in Hong Kong, having won a record 41 First Division titles.

Chin has never represented Hong Kong internationally so he could be a great addition to Tonga, just like AJ Inia who also plays professionally in Asia.

Tahiti Women’s National Team on tour in Europe

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For the first time in history, a Women’s National Football Team from the Pacific Islands will play in Europe. The Vahine Ura – how Tahiti Women’s National Team is known – will play three friendly matches in France. Two against Luxembourg and one against Andorra. These friendly matches are part of Tahiti’s preparation for Nations Cup, which will take place in July of this year, and will give a place to an intercontinental playoff for 2023 World Cup.

Coach Stephanie Spielmann said it will be an excellent opportunity to get all the players together and test themselves against opponents other than the Pacific. Seventeen players embarked with the Polynesian delegation to Strasbourg, France, where they will meet nine more players – eight playing in France and one playing in the USA.

There are only five players remaining from the 2019 Pacific Games campaign: Gwendoline Fournier, Kiani Wong, Mariko Izal, Merehau Iotua, Tahia Tamarii. At that time, they finished third in group B with four points.