Named after the former French international footballer, Ginola showed his class by finishing top of the 32-player field and will now join other regional finalists at the OFC Final on Saturday 21 April in Auckland.
Competing in the final at Sylvia Park will be the champions of Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Solomon Islands and Tahiti, with the eventual winner going on to represent Oceania at the FIWC Grand Final. An announcement on the host city and the exact date of the Grand Final is expected to be made soon on FIFA.com
The Solomon Islands qualifier proved to be a huge hit with local gamers.
The grand final saw two of the best players in the competition, Francis Kairi and Ginola, go head to head as Chelsea and Manchester City respectively.
With the scores locked at 2-2 at full-time, Ginola stepped it up a gear in extra-time to win 4-2.
Described as an avid player of the FIFA series, Ginola was poised from the beginning showing up two hours ahead of other participants. As the second youngest player he faced opponents much older but stilll kept his cool throughout the tournament.
“I thought I was going to lose but then I scored the equaliser and from then on I had the belief I could go all the way. That believe took me to victory and I am so happy,” said a belated Ginola, who was presented the winner’s certificate by event manager Olivier Huc.
“I am looking forward to competing against the best players in the pacific and I will try my best to lift up the name of Solomon Islands.”
The winner of the regional FIWC event will go on to represent Oceania at the world finals with 23 other players. The overall champion will receive USD$20,000 and an invitation to attend the prestigious FIFA Ballon d’Or.
Joseph Boso, Head of Media for Solomon Islands Football Federation, thanked FIFA and OFC for bringing the live qualifying event to Solomon Islands.
“Today we witnessed that many Solomon Islanders express their passion for football through the avenue of video games and we are pleased to be part of the support that brought this event to the country,” said Boso.
“With continued support from OFC and FIFA this event can come again and more young people can take part in it.”
Boso also experessed his appreciation to the management of Heritage Park Hotel for their support in hosting the event.
OFC Qualifiers
Tahiti: 10-11 December 2011
Papua New Guinea: 28 February 2012
New Caledonia: 4 February 2012
Solomon Islands: 7 April 2012
New Zealand: 21 April 2012
OFC Final
Eight players will qualify for the OFC Final to be held at Auckland’s Sylvia Park on Saturday 21 April with the winner going on to represent Oceania at the Grand Final.
Registration
The registration process for the New Zealand live qualifying event is open to the public from Tuesday 10 April via the following link:
http://OFC.form2go.com/FIWC-NZ-FINAL.html
Applicants will be notified by Sunday 15 April whether their registration has been successful.
For those who cannot make the live qualifying events but still want to participate, register here
To find out more go to www.fifa.com/interactiveworldcup/
To be a volunteer or referee at the live qualifier events, email [email protected]