The Papua New Guinea side lost to hosts Al Wahda 3-0 in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night to be eliminated from the tournament but put in a strong performance and, had they managed to take some of their chances, the scoreline might have been much tighter.
“The performance of Hekari represents a major breakthrough for Oceania football,” Chung said. “It shows the world that Oceania football is coming of age and things will never be the same again.”
“All of this is possible because of the new-found confidence and hard work of all our staff, players, volunteers, coaches, administrators and referees in our confederation.”
The Acting President is curently in Vanuatu and made the comments after watching O-League side Amicale dish out a 4-0 defeat to Spirit 08 in the TVL Premier League on Saturday.
“I just got back from the FIFA Club World Cup and am very proud of how Hekari performed. But I must say that football in Vanuatu is coming up too,” he said.
“OFC is working very hard to bring football to another level and I must say thank you to all football clubs in Oceania for their hard work.”
Chung was particularly impressed with the ability of Amicale, who have won each of their seven matches to lead the TVL table, and believes it won’t be long before they follow in Hekari’s footsteps and earn the right to compete on the world stage.
“Amicale is a very good team with quality players,” he said. “They performed well today and if they continue to play this kind of skilful football they can make it to the final of the O-League like Hekari.”