This week the teenager returned to New Zealand, where APFA is based, from the United Kingdom where he was offered the chance of a lifetime.
Mickaël was invited to Welsh club Swansea City, along with one other academy attendee, to experience life as a footballer at a Premier League outfit.
Because of New Caledonia’s ties to France, the progression of its top footballers, such as Christian Karembeu, Antoine Kombouare and more recently Georges Gope-Fenepej, has traditionally been through French clubs.
However, with Swansea City expressing interest in adding the 16-year-old Partodikromo to their youth academy, he becomes one of the first New Caledonians to garner interest from an English club.
The youngster’s father Bernard Partodikromo says Swansea City started expressing an interest in his son some time ago.
“We didn’t want to talk about it too much and unnecessarily increase the pressure on him. We also wanted to allow him to have a peaceful vacation,” Partodikromo senior says.
“If he was spotted and called up by a club like Swansea it’s because he possesses the qualities to become a professional footballer. It’s over to him to seize the opportunity.”
With Partodikromo’s attendance at APFA helping open the doors to a potential professional career, the Fédération Calédonienne de Football believes he is carving a path for other young footballers to follow.
“We hope to see, every year, one or two young Calédonians follow Mickaël’s example and integrate into the academy,” says FCF official Tony Baldovini.
“We would also like to build an exchange network for our instructors so in the future we can build up a structure like this here in New Calédonia.”
Swansea City was formed in 1912 and is currently in the midst of its second campaign in the English Premier League after earning promotion in the 2010-11 season.
Under manager Michael Laudrup, the club is currently occupying ninth position on the table with 30 points.
For more on New Caledonia football go to www.fedcalfoot.com

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