New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands learned their path to victory following the official draw on Friday, which outlines the programme for the round-robin tournament, with the winner earning passage to the FIFA Beach SoccerWorld Cup Tahiti 2013, where they will join Netherlands, El Salvador and Argentina in Group B.
Solomon Islands are coming into the event as relative favourites after a long history of dominance in the game locally with their streak of four consecutive titles broken only by the Tahiti national team, the Tiki Toa, in 2011. With no qualifiers held in 2008 the Bilikiki were automatically selected for the World Cup as reigning champions in the region.
Gideon Omokirio, one of the Bilikiki’s standout performers at the OFC Beach Soccer Championship at Tahiti’s Jardin de Paofai in 2011, has taken over the role of coach replacing Henry Koto.
Returning to lead the squad with his wealth of experience is 2011 Golden Ball winner James Naka, who was also joint Golden Boot winner the same year with a personal tally of four goals alongside teammate Robert Laua and Fji’s Ratu Dugucagi. The returning duo will also be joined by Abraham Bird, Nicholas Muri and Fred Hale who were all members of the 2011 team.
A new addition to the team will be Anthony Talo who made a name for himself thanks to his heroics at the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Thailand where he scored the winning goal for the Kurukuru in their final group match against Guatemala. While on the futsal court he guards the goal as keeper, in the beach soccer discipline Talo will take to the field as a defender.
Neither New Caledonia nor Vanuatu participated in the 2011 edition of the OFC Beach Soccer Championship but that shouldn’t be a factor which counts against either side.
Vanuatu are three-time runners-up in this competition after finishing behind Solomon Islands in 2006, 2007 and 2009. The team are looking to reverse that trend this year, a project they began implementing last year during the Asia Pacific Beach Soccer Gold Cup. Vanuatu claimed victory in the tournament, held in Gold Coast, Australia in April, after beating the Bilikiki in a penalty shoot-out in the final.
The national side will feature several familiar names from the 11-a-side game, most notable is goalkeeper Chikau Mansale who plays for 2013 OFC Champions League semi-finalists Amicale FC. Shepherds United midfielder Pascal Chabod has also been named in the squad and is sure to contribute a good amount of experience to the line-up.
While both Vanuatu and Solomon Islands have a wealth of international experience to call on, New Caledonia on the other hand are the unknown entity. The side will be making their debut in this competition when they take to the field against Vanuatu on Sunday, 1 September.
The side is fortunate to be able to call on the experience of Les Cagous stalwart Olivier Dokunengo who led the men’s national team to the final of the OFC Nations Cup in 2012. Dokunengo’s brother Jeremie, who plays with Magenta in the country’s Super Ligue, will also be lending his football expertise.
Coach Felix Tagawa will have his work cut out for him but with the tournament being held on home sand this developing side cannot be discounted as a contender for the title.
OFC Futsal and Beach Soccer Development Officer Paul Toohey says with so much remaining unknown about these competing sides any pre-tournament guesses on who will come out on top remain exactly that.
“The tournament is a really exciting prospect for beach soccer fans in Oceania and indeed those from around the world,” Toohey says.
“Everyone is looking forward to finding out the identity of the final qualifier for FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Tahiti 2013, and I must say it’s very hard to pick a team who can be regarded as favourites.
“While Solomon Islands have a rich history in the game at the highest level, Vanuatu proved last year in Australia that they are also contenders. Meanwhile, New Caledonia, as hosts, have picked an interesting team. They will be tough to beat on their home pitch.”
The OFC Beach Soccer Championship runs from 31 August to 2 September with the full match schedule available here.
The team lists can be found here.

Share