fter two years without
a game, Tahiti’s
performance at the
2019 Pacific Games
was encouraging,
collecting three wins
from five matches, but the French-
controlled territory has not played since.
Tahiti were gearing up for this
summer’s OFC Nations Cup in New
Zealand until the coronavirus pandemic
hit and the tournament was cancelled
and put back to 2023. The start of
the Oceania World Cup qualifiers has
also been delayed and the domestic
championship stopped in March
despite no recorded cases.
Frustrated national team coach
Samuel Garcia says: “SinceJune 2019,
this selection brings together in each
FIFA window to train. A programme has
been established so that the selection
is competitive.”
A decade ago, Tahitian football was
going through a golden period as a
generation of players that had grown up
together including Steevy Chong Hue,
the Tehau brothers Lorenzo and Alvin,
and their cousin Teaonui qualified for
the 2009 Under-20 World Cup. That
core of players helped Tahiti win the
2012 OFC Nations Cup, which brought
an appearance at the 2013
Confederations Cup in Brazil. Many
of that team had been developed by
national coach Eddy Etaeta, but he left
to live in France in 2015 and Tahitian
football lost momentum.A new generation is now coming
through, which qualified for the U20
World Cup again last year. All three
games in Poland were lost but Tahiti
were not embarrassed, and the
tournament was good experience
for players like midfielder Terai
Bremond and striker Eddy Kaspard,
who both play in France.
Kaspard is with National 2 side
Trelissac, while Bremond left Polynesia
to join the Toulouse academy in 2016
and signed a professional contract with
the Ligue1 side in February last year.
Coach Garcia is looking for more
players from the European diaspora to
bolster his selection. At Tahiti’s training
camp in March, Bremond was joined
on the trip for Europe by striker Kader
Lazreg and FCE Merignac Arlac
defender Francois Hapipi.The next
generation
Pacific island side in need of games
to develop new era of talent
WORLD SERVICEGarcia adds: “We have players who
are currently playing in France, we are
following them so that they can join
the national selection. Lazreg, Hapipi,
Bremond, Kaspard and others will be
followed and convened if they are
successful with their clubs in Europe.”
Lazreg, who spent last season at
Lannion FC, has an Algerian father and
a Tahitian mother. “It was my first visit
to Tahiti, and I met my family there
for the first time,” explained Lazreg.
“The game is less technique and
more physical, but they play with
an open mind.”
Lazreg, who is in talks with Algerian
second division side Mo Bejaia for
2020-21, hopes to return to Tahiti
in November if selected. By then,
Garcia hopes to have actually played
some matches.
“We are currently working to receive
two matches at Tahiti and are preparing
an outside tour during the next FIFA
windows,” explains Garcia. “The location
is not determined. We have budgeted
and are working on this.”
With the delayed cup qualifiers
expected to be rescheduled for March
orJune 2021, Tahiti will need match
practice as Garcia looks to develop
a new golden generation.A
Rising star...Toulouse
midfielder Terai
BremondA new generation is now coming
through, which qualified for the
U20 World Cup again last yearTahiti
STEVE MENARYConfederations Cup...
Tahiti qualified for the
competition in 2013