New Caledonia and Tahiti are on their way to Paris, France, to participate in the third edition of the French Overseas Territories Cup from September 22 to 29 and both sides are hoping the tournament will prove advantageous to their preparations for the next round of World Cup qualifying matches.
New Caledonia are facing a double confrontation in Stage 3 against Solomon Islands in Honiara (October 12) and Nouméa (October 16) while Tahiti will have a tough challenge of their own when they meet New Zealand in Papeete (October 12) and Christchurch (October 16).
The two teams are biting at New Zealand’s heels in the Oceania hierarchy following their surprising results at the OFC Nations Cup last June in Solomon Islands with New Caledonia overcoming New Zealand and Tahiti sweeping aside the hosts to make the final.
Tahiti’s Toa Aito went on to create history with a 1-0 win over New Caledonia making them the first Pacific Island country to win the Nations Cup and qualify for the FIFA Confederations Cup.
Les Cagous of New Caledonia have won the only clash between the sides since then – a memorable 4-0 away success in Stage 3 – but both be looking for a win when they once again come face-to-face on September 26 in Pool B of the Overseas Territories Cup.
The group also includes Mayotte and 2010 winners Martinique while Pool A features French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Reunion and Saint Pierre and Miquelon.
The event is a biennial competition which was created in 2008. It was put in place for the national teams of French overseas territories and former territories to get the chance to play against each other. It replaces the Coupe des Clubs Champions de l’Outre-Mer, which involved clubs from the territories.
The coaches of the Pacific sides taking part both view the event with great importance and are pleased to be getting some games under their belt before the upcoming rounds of Stage 3 action.
“We will be using this tournament to increase our confidence and prepare for the next World Cup qualifier games,” Tahiti coach Eddy Etaeta says. “It is a very good tournament and we are playing very good teams. It is important for us to do well here if we want to do better in the upcoming games in October.”
New Caledonia counterpart Alain Moizan is expecting his team to be competitive.
“We are going in with the best selection of locally-based players and our primary objective is to go and win this competition,” he says. “Success will be difficult to achieve because the level has been raised but we have the skills and hope to step up to the challenge.”
French Overseas Territories Cup
Saturday 22 September
Tahiti vs Mayotte, 3pm local time
Martinique vs New Caledonia, 5.30pm local time
Monday 24 September
New Caledonia vs Mayotte, 4.15pm local time
Martinique vs Tahiti, 9pm local time
Wednesday 26 September
Tahiti vs New Caledonia, 5pm local time
Martinique vs Mayotte, 5pm local time
Friday 28 September
7th/8th Play-off match, 2pm local time
5th/6th Play-off match, 4.30pm local time
Saturday 29 September
3rd/4th Play-off match (2nd Group A vs 2nd Group B), 3pm local time
Final (1st Group A vs 1st Group B), 5.30pm local time

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