The Tiki Toa’s two pre-tournament friendlies provided the opportunity to test the stadium and logistics the LOC has put in place and, straightforward as ever, Davio has announced that everything is ready.
“On the organisation as a whole and the arrangement of the stadium, I can say that the LOC is well prepared,” Davio says.
“The teams from the Institut de la jeunesse et des sports de Polynesie francaise and from Te Fare Tahiti Nui have given their best without counting the hours, without sparing any effort so that the stadium could be ready in respect to the standards of FIFA.
“The arrival these last few days of the FIFA members has truly allowed us to add the finishing touches to the details.”
Davio says in the final days leading up to the opening day’s matches the LOC has been under pressure to get the final details on point.
“These are the small details that require everyone’s attention. That is the entry of the children into the stadium with the flags, or even the advertising panels with the names of the partners.
“The last friendly match allowed us to identify the small concerns relating to television matters for example, since the arrival of the FIFA production we realised that the platform requires a bit more stability. The images are important – we can’t forget that we will be watched by 199 countries.”
The support of the local community has been, without a doubt, more than sufficient, Davio says.
“It is important to underline the support of the collective institutions, whether that is the city of Papeete which showed, especially last Friday night, that it is capable of welcoming an international event,” she says.
“We can’t forget either, the country, and the investments which have been made in the stadium, or the State which through its subsidies allowed the LOC to function properly. Finally, we mustn’t forget our national partners which are the IJSPF, EDT, Vini and the GIE Tahiti Tourisme.”
All of the work that has been completed to date, and which will be carried out over the next two weeks would not have been possible without the large team that encompasses the LOC and all its volunteers.
“We have a tally of no less than 376 volunteers proved that they are striving to do their best in the tasks which they were assigned,” she says. “Without these people, we wouldn’t be able to do anything.”
The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup is being held in Papeete, Tahiti from 18-28 September 2013. It is the first time a senior FIFA event has been hosted by a Pacific island and OFC are represented by hosts Tahiti and OFC Beach Soccer Championship victors Solomon Islands.

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