TAHITI - FIFA World Cup winner Christian Karembeu has committed himself to promoting football in Oceania since retiring as a player in 2005. Karembeu was joined by France'98 team-mate Lionel Charbonnier at the Radisson Hotel in Tahiti to talk about the prospect of the 1998 world champions reconvening in Oceania in six months time for two charity matches in Tahiti and New Caledonia scheduled for May 2008.

Charbonnier - whose career was ended by a persistent knee injury - is now the technical director with Federation Tahitienne de Football and is equally excited by plans for the France team to play a match at Stade Pater next year.

OFC Media spoke to Charbonnier and Karembeu with TNTV journalist Olivier Huc giving his summary of events at the Radisson Hotel...click on the hyperlink for more...

OFC INTERVIEW: FIFA AMBASSADOR CHRISTIAN KAREMBEU

OFC INTERVIEW: LIONEL CHARBONNIER 

OFC INTERVIEW: OLIVIER HUC 

TAHITI – Former France international players Lionel Charbonnier and Christian Karembeu will star alongside their 1998 FIFA World Cup winning team-mates at least two more times when the team plays two friendly matches in Tahiti and New Caledonia in May 2008.

Charbonnier and Karembeu joined OFC President/FIFA Vice-President Reynald Temarii at a press conference at the Radisson Hotel flanked by TNTV representative Yves Haupert and Charles Tetaria to discuss the prospect of Zidane, Petit, Wiltord, Barthez and Blanc lacing up their boots to honour Tahitian-born France international Pascal Vaihirua and New Caledonia’s Lifou-born France international Christian Karembeu.

The former Real Madrid midfielder Karembeu has played an active role in humanitarian causes for both Oceania Football Confederation and FIFA and is honoured most of his team-mates from the golden era of French football will make an appearance in not only his benefit match, but in a match for Pascal Vaihirua.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to give something back to the people of Oceania and for the team from ’98 to again enjoy each other’s friendship. These two matches will give something back to the people and it is good that Te Rama Ora, Tokani Nui and La Ligue will benefit from this event in French-Polynesia”

“I extend my thanks to the OFC President Reynald Temarii, Federation Caledonienne de Football and Federation Tahitienne de Football for making these matches in Tahiti and Noumea possible,” Karembeu said.

OFC President/FIFA Vice-President Reynald Temarii was pleased that FIFA Football for Hope would help harness the power of the world’s most popular sport to give something back to the people of Oceania and he thanked TNTV for its enduring support in bringing football to screens across French-Polynesia.

FTF Technical Director Lionel Charbonnier said he was delighted to be involved in a project that actively assists in contributing to worthy causes in Oceania. The former France, Auxerre and Glasgow Rangers goalkeeper said he was looking forward to seeing many of his former team-mates in such an idyllic setting and for worthy social causes.

“This will be great for the team from ’98 to be together again and I think it is the first time a world champion team has come to Oceania. We won the FIFA World Cup because we were family rather than friends and it will be good to play again,” Charbonnier said.





France ’98 will play a Pascal Vaihirua XI at Stade Pater, Tahiti, Monday 26th May, 2008, with a sell-out crowd expected. Another match is scheduled for New Caledonia against a Christian Karembeu XI in Noumea also likely to be sold out.

The opportunity to see some of the world’s greatest footballers performing a star turn in French-speaking Oceania has won the approval of several non-Government organisations based in French-Polynesia such as Te Rama Ora, L’association Tokani Nui, and Le Comite de Polynesie Francaise de la Ligue Nationale contre le cancer.

Te Rama Ora performs work in French Polynesia assisting the victims of crimes rehabilitate and empower those suffering domestic violence to speak out about their situation rather than endure physical abuse in silence.

Tokani Nui assists those suffering from mental illnesses and disabilities in leading a life of quality and fulfilment. Tokani Nui has a range of support programmes and networks designed to assist families in coping with family members affected by mental challenges. The La Ligue programme is active in the fight against the high incident rate of cancer in French-Polynesia.

The invitation list makes for mouth-watering reading and includes Zinedine Zidane, Fabien Barthez, Bixente Lizarazu, Didier Deschamps, Emmanuel Petit, Christian Karembeu, Alain Boghossian, Marcel Desailly, Lionel Charbonnier, Robert Pires, Youri Djorkaeff, Christophe Dugarry, Franck Lebeouf, Sylvain Wiltord, Vincent Candela, Bernard Lama, Bernard Diomede, David Trezeguet, Patrick Vieira, and Stephane Guivarch.

Pascal Vaihirua will be joined by New Caledonian-born Antoine Kombouare who starred in Ligue 1 with Nantes and Scottish Premier League with Aberdeen and nephew Marama Vahirua who has forged a successful career in Ligue 1 with Nantes and Nice making regular appearances in the UEFA Champions League.

Details of the second match will be announced in due course.

Pascal Vahirua XI vs. France ’98
Monday 26th May, 2008
At Stade Pater
Tahiti
French-Polynesia
Kick-off: 2000hrs local time

Tickets available from Federation Tahitienne de Football (FTF) from 15th December, 2007 for those affiliated with FTF clubs with tickets available to the public from 15 January, 2008.

Ticket prices have been set at 3000XPF* uncovered, 5000XPF* for the tribune.
*Pacific Francs

For more news and information about the France ’98 testimonials please visit www.oceaniafootball.com and www.ftf.pf

For more information please contact:

Olivier Huc phone +689 79 22 79
TNTV +689 47 36 16
email hucolivier@gmail.com
ohuc@tntv.pf

Gordon Glen Watson phone +64 (0) 21 994 520
OFC Media Officer +64 (0) 21 567 754
email gordon@oceaniafootball.com

TAHITI - The winners of the Coupe de Nouvelle Caledonienne and Coupe de Polynesie Francaise have been eliminated from the Coupe de France at the first hurdle. AS Lossi - winners of the 53rd New Caledonia Cup - and AS Tefana - current holders of the Coupe de Polynesie Francaise - turned in brave performances against French clubs but in the end succumbed.

AS Tefana’s exit at the hands of US Lesquin was heartbreaking for the French-Polynesian club after holding the visitors to 1-1 after normal time before unraveling 3-1 in extra-time as legs became tired in the warm conditions.

AS Tefana’s departure from the competition at the 7^th cut stage was a significant blow with the next round of competition including clubs from Ligue 1 such as Lyon, Marseille and Nantes.

AS Tefana dominated possession for long periods of time but failed to create many clear cut chances to score until the second-half as US Lesquin toiled to keep the home side out. AS Tefana eventually created a clear-cut opening through a combination of sublime skill and outrageous luck when Joan Petillon beat three defenders before crossing into the six yard box only for a US Lesquin defender to inadvertently deflect the ball against his own post with the Lesquin goalkeeper beaten all ends up.

With the tension high, AS Tefana scored from the resulting corner in the 65^th minute through Alvin Tehau to send the home crowd into delirium after Sebastien Gairin had put in a hefty challenge on the US Lesquin goalkeeper.

US Lesquin drew level in the 80^th minute through Aurelien Demarque with a far post header. With AS Tefana legs tiring it was Antoni Degeitere who put US Lesquin back on track after AS Tefana goalkeeper Xavier Samin was eventually caught out at the far post by a penetrating ball from Rudy Guiblesi. US Lesquin’s Sebastian Didier ended the match as a contest when he out jumped Olivier Lee to make it 3-1.

Top performers on an exciting evening for Tahitian football were goalkeeper Xavier Samin, Sebastian Labayen and Vita Pitoeff. The match was also notable for the use of communication devices between the three match officials Jacques Averii, Raimana Tauotaha and Phillipe Revel.

New Caledonia Cup holders AS Lossi experienced a similar exit against another CFA club, FC Dieppe. After an encouraging first half AS Lossi were eventually put to the sword 3-0. New Caledonia international Luther Wahnyamalla was in scintillating form for AS Lossi but his heroics were to no avail as the team were eliminated with the Super Ligue and this season’s edition of the Coupe de Nouvelle Caledonienne left to concentrate on.

The Coupe de France is open to all clubs within the French football structure with the most notable recent achievement of an amateur side that of Calais Racing Union Football Club when it reached the Coupe de France against Nantes defeating Strasbourg and Bordeaux en route to the final.

Calais Racing Union FC lost the final narrowly to Nantes by 2-1 but only after pushing the Ligue 1 team to a nervy finish with a side that featured dock workers, teachers and office clerks. With the Coupe de France open to such a wide and varying quality of teams it is not uncommon for lower league clubs to go on long cup runs with amateur and Ligue 2 clubs often enjoying success.

Ligue 1, Ligue 2, and the “National” League (Ligue 3), comprise the top tier of professional/semi-professional football in France with clubs from French-Polynesia and New Caledonia entering the Coupe de France alongside peers from the Championnat Francaise Amateur League (CFA and CFA 2), a competition which is divided into four separate sections and is the equivalent of the “fourth division” in the French football structure.

TAHITI – AS Aorai caused the upset of the day in Tahiti’s latest round of Division Federale matches after a 5-2 thumping of AS Pirae.

AS Pirae made an awful start to the match and quickly found themselves trailing AS Aorai 2-0 at the break with very little going right for “les oranges”.

Talismanic midfielder Naea Bennett was introduced by AS Pirae to offset the run of play but the damage had already been done as AS Aorai extended its lead to 5-0 before AS Pirae pulled back two late goals to salvage some respect from what turned out to be a humiliating evening.

AS Dragon recorded its first win of the season defeating struggling AS TAC 3-0. The victory lifts AS Dragon into 3rd place in Division Federale a position that better matches Dragon’s lofty off-season aspirations. AS TAC slip into bottom place following AS Aorai’s shock 5-2 win over AS Pirae.
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AS Tefana climbed to the top of Division Federale after a 3-0 win over AS JT thanks to a scintillating hat-trick from Reni Moretta. Moretta opened the scoring for AS Tefana after a long range 20m strike on 31 minutes.

JT made an immediate comeback but in their desperation allowed Moretta to score a second goal from similar distance on 43 minutes. Moretta completed his three goal haul when team-mate Teiamana Marmouyet’s long range effort was spilled by Mikael Roche allowing Moretta to pick up the pieces and seal the day for Tefana.

Tamarii Faa’a defeated Central Sports 3-0 to move into the top half of the table. 

Championnat Division Federale 

Standings – 03.11.07 

Tahiti Division Federale: win = 3pts, draw = 2pts, loss = 1pt 

Results: AS Pirae 2, AS Aorai 5; TAC 0, AS Dragon 3; As Tefana 3, AS JT 0; AS Tamarii Faa’a 2, Central 0; AS Temanava P, AS Manu Ura P – (due to AS Manu Ura’s involvement in the 2008 O-League)

TAHITI - The draw for the last sixteen of the 2008 Coupe de Polynesie-Francaise has thrown down a raft of intriguing clashes with a host of Tahiti Division Federale clubs locked together for kick-off in early November.

Most notable of all will be the clash between O-League representatives AS Manu Ura and Division Federale rivals AS Dragon to be played on November at Stade Pater in Tahiti as part of a Cup double-header that will also feature the match between AS Arue and unbeaten AS Tefana.

Division Federale clubs AS JT and AS Central Sports have drawn opposition from lower divisions with AS Central Sports pitted against AS Vaiarinui and AS JT paired with AS Roniu.

Central Sports have recently had an inconsistent start to the season with a 1-0 win over AS Temanava sandwiched between two five-goal hidings at the hands of AS Tefana and Division Federale leaders AS Pirae.

AS Tearaa have drawn non-Division Federale opposition in the form of AS Samine whilst the big match of the round must surely be the clash between AS Tamarii Faaa and AS Temanava.

AS Temanava have a formidable local pedigree having won Division Federale and participated in the 2007 O-League with the bulk of the squad hailing from New Caledonia.

AS Tiare Hinano meet AS Vaiete while Division Federale strugglers AS TAC will face a tricky assignment against AS Tiare Tahiti.

2008 COUPE DE POLYNESIE-FRANCAISE

Thursday 8th November - Stade Pater

AS Arue vs. AS Tefana kick-off 1900hrs*              

AS Dragon vs. AS Manu Ura kick-off 2115hrs

Friday 9th November - Stade Punaruu

AS Vaiari Nui vs. AS Central Sports kick-off 1900hrs

AS JT vs. AS Roniu kick-off 2115hrs

Sunday 11th November - Stade Pater

AS Tearaa vs. AS Samine kick-off 1300hrs

AS Tamarii Faa'a vs. AS Temanava kick-off 1500hrs

Sunday 11th November - Stade Afareaitu

AS Tiare Hinano vs. AS Vaiete kick-off 1300hrs

AS Tiare Tahiti vs. AS TAC kick-off 1500hrs

*All kick-off times local to French-Polynesia

Waitakere United breathed a sigh of relief after they had to come from behind to win their first points in the 2008 O-League against a rejuvenated AS Manu Ura today.

After a winter of heightened transfer activity much was expected of United in their opening match of their O-League defence but on the evidence of this performance coach Chris Milicich will feel there is huge room for improvement.

The opening 45 minutes were agonising for the home side as a plucky AS Manu Ura got bodies behind the ball and won most of the possession in a midfield zone United were expected to dominate.

Simply put, Waitakere United didn't, and it was fortunate that AS Manu Ura had trouble utilising possession of the ball with any conviction. It is fair to say that there are teams lurking in the O-League draw that may have punished such charity and Waitakere United will need to be wary of producing such laborious performances.

United had two gilt-edged chances to open the scoring with Danny Hay and Jake Butler both going close in seperate incidents with Manu Ura's Tahitian international Auguste Washetine squandering a more difficult opportunity for the visitors.

AS Manu Ura took the lead just two minutes into the second-half when Auguste Washetine's shot was blocked on the line only for Hiashi Kake to finish from close range with the Waitakere United defence left staring in stunned silence.

The goal was a hammer blow for the home side's ambitions and coach Chris Milicich quickly made two substitutions introducing Neil Emblen and Jason Hayne for Daniel Koprivcic and Jake Butler respectively.

Both players made an immediate difference to the home side's fortunes with Emblen directly involved in Benjamin Totori's equaliser, the diminutive Solomon Islander's acrobatic finish leaving Manu Ura's Torohia without a hope after 74 minutes.

Emblen nudged Waitakere United in front 4 minutes later when the former NZ Knights player latched onto a Jonathan Perry long ball before rifling home a low finish past Torohia for what proved to be the winning goal.

AS Manu Ura skipper Daniel Tapeta said the Tahitian champions were happy with the improved performance of his team and added that they could feel proud of their defensive counter-attacking display in light of Saturday's disappointing result against Auckland City FC.

Waitakere coach Chris Milicich was understandably less enthused with a dire performance but satisfied with a victory, however it was achieved.

AUDIO INTERVIEWS - AS TOLD TO JEROME GAVELLE/OFC MEDIA

Match Reaction: Daniel Tapeta (AS Manu Ura)- English - Windows Media Player

Match Reaction: Pito Teivitau (AS Manu Ura) - Francaise - Quicktime Player

Match Reaction: Chris Milicich (Waitakere United) - English - Windows Media Player

LIVE UPDATES:

0' - a picturesque, clear blue sky greets both teams as they warm-up on the pitch

0' - the teams enter the field to the FIFA anthem, with both teams shaking hands before the match

2' - Waitakere United are straight on attack, with an early free kick from wide on the right

2' - Allan Pearce's left-footed delivery is well claimed by Manu Ura goalkeeper Jonathan Torohia

5' - Torohia acts quickly to extinguish any danger from a loose ball in the Manu Ura area

6' - Temarama Tauihara bears down on a Hiashi Kake through ball, run Matt Cunneen and Danny Hay recover well for Simon Eaddy to shield the ball for a goal kick

7' - Hiroana Poroiae makes it to the bye-line to cross from the left, but Hay does well to clear as Manu Ura enjoy a sustained spell on attack

8' - Daniel Koprivcic expertly beings a long clearance down on his chest, turns to beat two players on the dribble and releases a skidding low drive forcing a falling save to Torohia's left

10' - #5. Danny HAY receives a yellow card for stifling a Manu Ura counter-attack at half way

13' - the pace of the game has increased markedly, with Manu Ura's defensive resistance providing a source of encouragement

15' - Waitakere United are looking to make a substitution, with Commins Menapi struggling with a thigh injury

19' - #9. Benjamin TOTORI makes his Waitakere United debut, coming on to relieve #8. Commins MENAPI

22' - Billy Mataitai turns inside Hay and has an audacious crac from 40 yards, in an attempt to break the midfield stalemate

25' - Torohia again commands his area superbly to hold a Neil Sykes cross from deep

27' - Waitakere United are enjoying a little more possession, building well from midfield to keep Manu Ura alert

28' - Totori cuts a square ball from inside the six yard box, but Tauihara is on hand to clear through the pack

32' - Auguste Washetine has a go from distance, forcing a tidy stooping save from Eaddy

35' - Eaddy leaves his line well to beat Kake to an alert Tamatoa Tauihara through-ball from half-way

39' - Waitakere United have the first corner of the match, with Sykes' delivery again claimed well and held by Torohia

42' - Sykes and Koprivcic interchange well for Butler to cross low from the right hand side, but Torohia is dominant again in deflecting the cross

42' - the loose ball only goes as far as Pearce, 20 yards out on the angle, but his side-foot finish sails over the crossbar

44' - #8. Vetea TEPA receives a yellow card for bringing Pearce down on the break

-- 1 minute added time --

45'+1 - Washetine attempts to catch Eaddy out of position on the counter-attack, with his dipping volley narrowly passing by the left-hand post

45'+1 - Waitakere United force another corner, but do not have enough time for it to take place

HALF TIME: WAITAKERE UNITED 0 AS MANU URA 0

46' - both teams return from the sheds with no changes, looking to take hold of the fixture

49' - GOAL!

#11. Hiashi KAKE backheels to Mataitai, who is forced wide well by Jonathan Perry, but manages to cross for the captain Tamatoa Tauihara to square beyond Eaddy's despairing dive and Kake to side-foot into an open net

50' - #6. Tamatoa TAUIHARA is down injured behind play, and is stretchered off to be replaced by #17. Adrien TAERO

50' - #7. Jason HAYNE makes his Waitakere United debut, replacing #17. Jake BUTLER

55' - another Waitakere United debutant, assistant coach #16. Neil EMBLEN takes the field in place of #13. Daniel KOPRIVCIC

56' - Emblen takes immediate effect, using his size up front to create attacking opportunities for Waitakere United

59' - Pearce crudely fouls Kake, who unsurprisingly stays down as Manu Ura look to preserve their widely-unexpected lead

60' - Emblen wins a free kick directy in front of goal and 30 yards out, but blasts his attempt directly into the hotly-contested wall as the loose ball is cleared for a corner

63' - Torohia's mis-hit goal kick is pounced upon by Pearce, putting Waitakere immediately on attack

64' - the resulting long-throw is cleared easily by the Manu Ura defence as play settles

67' - the Manu Ura defence scrambles well to prevent shots from Totori, Emblen, and Pearce successively

69' - Torohia is again outstanding through traffic to claim the latest Waitakere United corner

75' - #7. Henri TAPEA makes way for #14. Stephane TUAIRAU

75' - GOAL!

#9. Benjamin TOTORI bundles his finish through traffic to bring Waitakere United level into the closing stages

79' - GOAL!

#16. Neil EMBLEN bursts through to find himself one-on-one with Torohia, and blasts his finish into the left corner of the net from 15 yards on the angle

82' - Rex Faura is down injured after a sickening collision with his own player on the edge of the area

85' - #3. Rex FAURA is walking, but clearly struggling and replaced by #5. Phillippe MORETTA

-- 3 minutes added time --

90'+2 - Pearce tracks well to stifle a final Manu Ura attack following a Sykes corner that was punched clear by Torohia

FULL TIME: WAITAKERE UNITED 2 (Totori 75', Emblen 79') AS MANU URA 1 (Kake 49')

2008 O-League

Match Day 2 – 1600 – 31 October 2007

Fred Taylor Park – Whenuapai, Auckland – New Zealand

WAITAKERE UNITED: 2. Jonathan PERRY; 3. Shane PASCOE; 4. Matt CUNNEEN; 5. Danny HAY; 8. Commins MENAPI (9. Benjamin TOTORI 19'); 10. Allan PEARCE; 11. Neil SYKES; 13. Daniel KOPRIVCIC (16. Neil EMBLEN 55'); 14. Christopher BALE; 17. Jake BUTLER (7. Jason HAYNE 50'); 22. Simon EADDY [gk].

Coach: Chris MILICICH

Substitutes not used: 1. Richard GILLESPIE [gk]; 6. Darren BAZELEY; 14. Hoani EDWARDS; 20. Jason ROWLEY.

Injured:

Not eligible: Ronil KUMAR; Mikael MUNDAY; Graham PEARCE; Blair KONICK; Tim MYERS; Leo SHIN; Byron PAULUS; Tom WEBB; Arran ROWLEY [gk]; Denver MACDONALD; Peter NORRIS; Sean DOWLING [gk].

Cautions: 5. Danny HAY (10').

Red cards:

Goal scorers: 9. Benjamin TOTORI (75'); 16. Neil EMBLEN (79').

AS MANU URA: 1. Jonathan TOROHIA [gk]; 2. Hiroana POROIAE; 3. Rex FAURA (5. Philippe MORETTA 85'); 4. Jean Yves LY WAUT; 6. Tamatoa TAUIHARA (17. Adrien TAERO 50'); 7. Henri TAPEA (14. Stephane TUAIRAU 75'); 8. Vetea TEPA; 10. Auguste WASHETINE; 11. Hiashi KAKE; 20. Billy MATAITAI; 22. Temarama TAUIHARA.

Coach: Teivatau PITO

Substitutes not used: 15. Vetea TETUANUI; 18. Dave PENI [gk]; 23. Jean Paul FAURA.

Injured:

Not eligible: Daniel TAPETA [gk]; Andrew TAURU; Celestin TAUPUA; Taia HONG; Eddy PITO; Axel TEMATAUA; Nohoarii ROBSON; Gregory LANTEIRES; Rooarii ROO.

Cautions: 8. Vetea TEPA (44').

Red cards:

Goal scorers: 11. Hiashi KAKE (49').

Referee: Lencie FRED (VAN)

Assistant Referee: Mahit CHILIA (VAN)

Assistant Referee: Michael JOSEPH (VAN)

Fourth Official: Peter O’LEARY (NZL)

2008 O-LEAGUE - GROUP A