The Games will take place in New Caledonia during August and September and Etaeta has selected a strong squad as he looks to launch a genuine title challenge.
The line-up is dominated by players from 2011 O-League representatives AS Tefana, who have contributed nine members to the cause, while AS Manu Ura is also well represented with five.
Hosts New Caledonia are the defending champions and join Tahiti in having the best Pacific Games record. Each nation has won the title five times each – Tahiti triumphing in 1966, 1975, 1979, 1983 and 1995 with their best recent effort being a fourth-place finish in 2003.
Etaeta’s charges will hope to better that performance by continuing the nation’s recent impressive run at international tournaments.
Tahiti qualified for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup by winning the OFC Beach Soccer Championship on home sand in February while the national futsal side very nearly emulated them, coming runners-up at May’s OFC Futsal Championship after pushing Solomon Islands hard in the final.
OFC originally planned to use the football tournaments at the Pacific Games in New Caledonia as part of the qualification process for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, as had been the case in Samoa four years earlier. But uncertainty around the participation of Guam, a member of the Asian Football Confederation, in the respective football tournaments has left the OFC Executive Committee with no other option but to scale back its involvement.
The men’s tournament at the XIV Pacific Games 2011 will therefore no longer act as the first stage of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup while the women’s event will likewise not be part of the 2012 Olympic Games qualification process.
OFC General Secretary Tai Nicholas admits it is disappointing to not be able to use the Pacific Games as a qualifying stage but says OFC had no other choice.
“FIFA have been very clear that they cannot approve a FIFA qualifying event where non-OFC members are participating,” Nicholas says.
“But the Pacific Games will remain a premier event for the Pacific Island nations. Eleven men’s teams and ten women’s teams are still going to the Games and will use the matches as preparation for the upcoming FIFA qualifying events.”
The Tahiti national side was last in action during April, when Etaeta’s men played a pair of friendlies against New Caledonia. The teams proved to be closely matched and shared the honours after winning one game each.
The first was won 3-1 by New Caledonia after Jean François Kabeu struck a hat-trick and Sébastien Labayen replied, while Tahiti reversed the outcome in the second match, earning a 1-0 win thanks to Gary Rochette’s lone strike.
Tahiti squad for Pacific Games
Goalkeepers
Xavier SAMIN (AS Tefana)
Mikael ROCHE (AS Dragon)
Daniel TAPETA (AS Manu Ura)
Gilbert MERIEL (AS Tefana)
Defenders
Vetea TEPA (AS Manu Ura)
Jean-Claude CHANG KOEI CHANG (AS Tefana)
Teheivarii LUDIVION (AS Vénus)
Tauraa MARMOUYET (AS Tefana)
Hiro POROIAE (AS Manu Ura)
Stéphane FAATIARAU (AS Tefana)
Jonathan TEHAU (AS Tamarii Faa’a)
Yannick VERO (AS Vaiete)
Midfielders
Donovan BOUREBARE (AS Tefana)
Gary ROCHETTE (AS Manu Ura)
Sébastien LABAYEN (AS Tefana)
Kaurani VOIRIN (AS Pirae)
Stanley ATANI (AS Jeunes Tahitiens)
Temarii TINORUA (AS Tamarii Faa’a)
Efrain ARANEDA (AS Dragon)
Billy MATAITAI (AS Manu Ura)
Lorenzo TEHAU (AS Tefana)
Forwards
Steevy CHONG HUE (AS Dragon)
Teaonui TEHAU (AS Vénus)
Taufa NEUFFER (AS Tefana)