The New Caledonia international was an unused substitute as his new club Troyes began the campaign with a 1-0 loss at home to Valenciennes in front of nearly 11,000 spectators.
Having just been promoted from the second tier of French football, Troyes are likely to find the going tough and the main aim of manager Jean-Marc Furlan will be to maintain his charges’ place in the division.
The newcomers were denied a positive start in that quest by a Carlos Eduardo Rincon goal in the 34th minute and will now focus on Saturday’s trip to Olympique Lyonnais as they look to get off the mark.
While he failed to take the field against Valenciennes, Gope-Fenepej will be pleased to have been selected in the match day squad as Furlan has a group of over 30 players at his disposal and many do not make the cut for each game.
“It’s an honour to get the chance to play professionally overseas,” the 23-year-old says.
“It will be a tough challenge and there will be plenty of obstacles but I will do my best to overcome them.”
Gope-Fenepej signed a one-year contract with the club, who won promotion back to the top league last season after a five-year hiatus, following the OFC Nations Cup in June.
By entering the professional game, he has followed in the footsteps of brother John Gope-Fenepej, who was on the books of FC Nantes before briefly joining England’s Bolton Wanderers on loan.

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