The midfield lynchpin was a key member of the New Caledonia national team that took out the XIV Pacific Games as hosts in September and left to further his career in the football hotbed of France shortly afterwards.
He signed for amateur outfit Chambéry, who play in what is effectively the French fifth division and are currently ranked fifth on the table.
The new signing has already made his mark at the club, which is located at Rhône-Alpes in the east of France. He found the net as Chambéry defeated Saint-Priest 2-0 recently and says he has settled in well to his fresh surroundings.
“I have quickly found my place in the squad and have played at either left back or in midfield,” Wakanumune says.
“We are taking the games as they come, it is a hard competition with lots of good clubs in the running for promotion.”
The Pacific Games success made 2011 a landmark year for Wakanumune and his national team colleagues but he says 2012 could prove just as important to the development of his career.
He has set himself a list of goals, both for his club and internationally, and is working towards achieving them.
“Performing well for my club is essential if I want to be selected in the national team again,” he says.
“If the coach calls me up to represent my country, I will answer the call and give it 100 per cent because it is a great honour to wear the national jersey. It would be great to have the kind of success we enjoyed at the Pacific Games again.”
New Caledonia earned their set of gold medals by losing just one match at the Games and sweeping aside Solomon Islands 2-0 in the final, played out in front of a packed Stade Numa Daly in Noumea.
Les Cagous, as the national side is nicknamed by the locals, will look to enjoy similar success in the second stage of Oceania qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Stage two doubles as the OFC Nations Cup and is scheduled to take place in June.
For more on New Caledonia football go to www.fedcalfoot.com

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