Football in Tuvalu

Association football is the most popular sport in Tuvalu. Football in Tuvalu is governed by the Tuvalu National Football Association (TNFA). The TNFA became an associate member association of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) on 15 November 2006. The TNFA has been wanting to become a member of FIFA since 1987.[1]

Football in Tuvalu
CountryTuvalu
Governing bodyTuvalu National Football Association
National team(s)Tuvalu
Clubs8

History was made in 2007 when Tuvalu became the first non FIFA member to participate in an official World cup qualifying match.[2] The situation arose when the regional governing body used the 2007 South Pacific Games, as the first stage of the qualification tournament for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and qualification tournament for the 2008 OFC Nations Cup. Tuvalu performed with great credit, earning a remarkable 1–1 draw with Tahiti in which Viliamu Sekifu became as the first World cup scorer for his country. The other three fixtures in the tournament ended in defeat and Tuvalu failed to progress from their five team group.

In September 2008, Tuvaluan Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia and the President of the Tuvalu Football Association, Tapugao Falefou, visited the headquarters of FIFA in Zurich, hoping to gain full membership in the organisation.[1] However the lack of football facilities in Tuvalu is a major obstacle for membership of FIFA. Tuvalu only has one stadium, and it does not have training grounds or hotels for visiting teams and supporters.[3][4][5]

In recent years the TNFA have received support from the Netherlands.[6] In 2011 Foppe de Haan was the football coach of Tuvalu.[7] On 1 May 2012 Stevan de Geijter was appointed as the head of Youth Development at the TNFA.[8]

The Tuvalu national football team and the activities of the Dutch Support Tuvalu Foundation are the focus of Mission Tuvalu (Missie Tuvalu) (2013) a feature documentary directed by Jeroen van den Kroonenberg, in which the route for Tuvalu's FIFA membership is shown.

In 2014 for the first time in history a Tuvaluan Football player of the year was chosen. The honor was for Sepetaio Willie.

National competitions

National teams

Men's team

The Tuvalu national football team was managed by Foppe de Haan at the Pacific Games 2011.[7] De Haan, who previously coached SC Heerenveen, Ajax Cape Town and the Dutch national U-21 team, started his tenure with a 3–0 victory over Samoa,[9] the second largest victory of Tuvalu.[10] In the match in the lead-up to the 2011 Pacific Games, Alopua Petoa scored all three goals.[11]

De Haan's second match in charge saw a record 4–0 victory recorded over American Samoa in the first match of their 2011 Pacific Games campaign,[12][13] with a hat-trick from 19-year-old Alopua Petoa. The third match was not as successful, with the side going down 5–1 to Vanuatu.[14] After losing 8–0 to New Caledonia,[15] and 6–1 to Solomon Islands,[16] the Tuvaluan team drew the game with Guam 1–1.[17] The Tuvaluan team finished equal with Guam in Pool A with four points. This is the best performance by Tuvalu in an international tournament.

U-20 team

The Tuvalu Under 20 football team is controlled by the TNFA and represents Tuvalu in international Under 20 or youth football competitions.

U-17 team

In August 2012 they participated for the first time on a tournament. They participated at the NBT Cup for B-teams.[18] The first game they won against Ha’apai United B with 3–0. But they lost the second game with 6–0 against TMTI and the third game they lost with 5–0 against Lofeagai Boys. Malesi of Lofeagai scored 5 goals.

Other national teams

A women's national team, and a futsal national team also compete.

A-Division clubs

The following teams played in the 2013 season:[19]

Nui and FC Niutao participated in the 2012 season.[18]

Football at the Tuvalu Games
Football in Tuvalu
Founded2008
Number of teams8
Current championsFC Tofaga
(3 titles)
Most successful club(s)FC Manu Laeva and FC Tofaga
(3 titles)
Men's tournament
Women's tournament

Football has been a regular event at the Tuvalu Games,[20] and is a competition organized by the Tuvalu National Football Association (TNFA). It is called also Tuvalu Cup.

History

The tournament began in the 2008 season. The first champions were FC Manu Laeva.[20]

The 2013 champions were FC Tofaga; winning the final against Nauti 1–0, with Etimoni Timuani scoring the only goal.[21]

Men's Tournament
Tofaga A winners Tuvalu Games 2012

Results
Year Winner Runner-up Score
2008 FC Manu Laeva Lakena United 1–0
2009 FC Manu Laeva FC Tofaga 3–1
2010 FC Tofaga Nauti FC 2–1
2011 FC Manu Laeva FC Tofaga 3–1
2012 FC Tofaga Tamanuku 2–1[18][22]
2013 FC Tofaga Nauti FC 1–0[21]
2014 FC Manu Laeva Ha'apai United 2–0

Number of titles
Pos. Club # Wins Winning Years
1 FC Manu Laeva 4 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014
2 FC Tofaga 3 2010, 2012, 2013

Results
Year Winner Runner-up Score
2010 Tamanuku Tofaga 1–0
2011 Tamanuku Tofaga 1–0
2012 Tamanuku Nauti 1–1 (3–1)
2013 Nauti Nui 0–0 (3–2)
2014 Nui Niutao 1–0

Number of titles
Pos. Club # Wins Winning Years
1 Tamanuku 3 2010, 2011, 2012
2 Nauti 1 2013
2 Nui 1 2014

Results
Year Winner Runner-up Score
2012 Lakena United B Manu Laeva B 2–0
2013 Tofaga B Lakena United B 1–0
2014 Nauti B Tofaga B 1–0

Number of titles: B teams
Club # Wins Winning Years
1 Lakena United B 1 2012
1 Tofaga B 1 2013
1 Nauti B 1 2014

References
  1. "Tuvalu eye place in football family". FIFA. 22 September 2008.
  2. "El futbol de Tuvalu no se hunde". Periodismo de fútbol internacional (in Spanish). Awesome Theme Inc. 30 August 2011.
  3. Frew, Craig (9 December 2013). "Tuvalu still dreams of joining Fifa's world football family". BBC Scotland. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  4. "No sports ground, no hotels so no to FIFA for Tuvalu – OFC". Radio Australia. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  5. "OFC hits back at Tuvalu over FIFA bid". Australia Network News. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  6. "Tuvalu football project – Dutch Support Tuvalu Foundation (in Dutch, English, French and Spanish)". Archived from the original on 21 August 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  7. "Foppe de Haan gaat nationaal team van Tuvalu trainen". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). 25 May 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  8. "Stevan de Geijter hoofd opleidingen van Tuvalu". de Stentor (in Dutch). 26 April 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  9. "De Haan: We will be a surprise package". Oceania Football Confederation. 26 August 2011. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  10. "De Haan start sterk als bondscoach van Tuvalu". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 22 August 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  11. "Interview with Alopua Petoa". Oceania No FIFA. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  12. "Pacific Games NC2011 – Football". Sporting Pulse. 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  13. "Tuvalu have defeated American Samoa 4–0 in their men's Group A match at Rivière Salée in Noumea on day one of the XIV Pacific Games". Oceania Football Confederation. 27 August 2011. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  14. "Vanuatu have beaten Tuvalu 5–1 in their men's Group A match at Riviere Salée in Nouméa at the XIV Pacific Games". Oceania Football Confederation. 30 August 2011. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  15. "New Caledonia have defeated Tuvalu 8–0 in their men's Group A match at Riviere Salée in Nouméa at the XIV Pacific Games". Oceania Football Confederation. 1 September 2011. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  16. "Solomon Islands have beaten Tuvalu in their men's Group A match at Rivière Salée in Nouméa at the XIV Pacific Games". Oceania Football Confederation. 3 September 2011. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  17. "Guam and Tuvalu have drawn 1–1 in their men's Group A match at Rivière Salée in Nouméa at the XIV Pacific Games". Oceania Football Confederation. 4 September 2011. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  18. "Tuvalu 2012 – A Division (Men)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  19. "Tuvalu 2013 – A Division (Men)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  20. "Tuvalu – List of Cup Winners (Men)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  21. "Tuvalu 2013 – Tuvalu Games". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  22. "Football results – Tuvalu Games 2012". Worldsoccer.com. 7 June 2012. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
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