The entire Les Cagous squad was joined by several All Whites – namely Ivan Vicelich, Marco Rojas, Michael McGlinchey and Mark Paston – in dropping in on the children of Magenta, an underprivileged suburb in the New Caledonia capital.
The visit was organised in a joint effort by the Fédération Calédonienne de Football, New Zealand Consulate-General and Noumea Council and gave the children, many of whom come from low socio-economic environments, a chance to rub shoulders with their heroes and collect some autographs.
Tickets to tonight’s match – which sees Les Cagous host the All Whites at Stade Numa Daly from 6pm local time in a repeat of the teams’ OFC Nations Cup semi-final – were also handed out to the delighted youngsters.
Council representative Marc-Antoine Besaymoz says similar events are often run across Noumea.
“We organise activities for the youth from different suburbs during every summer holiday,” he said.
“The football federation gave us 120 tickets for the kids and we thought it would be a good idea to arrange a meeting between the players of each team and the children. It is a great opportunity for the kids to support their team and meet the players.”
The New Zealand Government was represented by Linda Te Puni – the Consul General to New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna – and she explained that the gathering was an ideal way to showcase the links between the two countries.
“We wanted to utilise the opportunity of having the All Whites here to promote the sporting links between New Zealand and New Caledonia,” she said. “But it was also a great chance for the kids to meet some of the players.”
Les Cagous captain Olivier Dokunengo, who will attempt to led his country to a second successive win over the All Whites tonight, felt meeting some of the team’s young fans was just as beneficial for the players as it was for the children.
“It’s important for us to be here today and to spend time with the kids,” he said. “It gives us a real source of motivation as we are playing at home and want to give them a good time by performing at our best.”
Veteran All Whites defender Ivan Vicelich also enjoyed the opportunity to get away from the team hotel and sample some local community life.
“It’s good to see so many kids out here, they all love their sport and sport is a great way to keep kids out of trouble,” he said.
“On the field, our two countries are going to be battling each other but off it we are all part of the Oceania region and we like to help each other out.”

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