Coach Eddy Etaeta has put together a squad made up of experienced and young players, with the new generation including a number of up-and-coming stars who competed at the last FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2009.
The tournament was held in Egypt and the Tahiti players gained valuable experience of top-class international football by facing Spain, Venezuela and Nigeria.
Most of the players in Etaeta’s squad hail from strong Tahitian clubs such as AS Pirae, AS Manu Ura (who took part in the O-League in 2009 and 2010) and Tefana, who will be French Polynesia’s representative during the 2011 O-League, set to start in October.
This will be the first time a Tahiti team has lined up in the Overseas Cup and Etaeta says all the members of the squad are looking forward to the challenge.
“Being involved in this competition is a great opportunity for us,” he says.
Etaeta says his team is keen to get back on the field after not seeing any action since the 2007 South Pacific Games.
He thinks the tournament in France is a chance for them to gain some valuable international experience ahead of the next Games in New Caledonia in 2011.
“After a disappointing South Pacific Games in 2007, we want to be prepared for the next edition,” he says.
The Overseas Cup is a biennial competition that was created in 2008. It was put in place for the national teams of French overseas territories and former territories to get the chance to play against each other.
It replaces the Coupe des Clubs Champions de l’Outre-Mer, which involved clubs from the territories.
Tahiti have been drawn in group one and will meet Guadeloupe, Martinique and New Caledonia, while group two is made up of French Guiana, Mayotte, Reunion and Saint Pierre et Miquelon.
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