Papillon, a former technical advisor for the French Football Federation, is assisting national team coach Jacob Moli as the Bonitos prepare for the Nations Cup, an eight-team event that acts as the second stage of Oceania qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.
The 45-year-old has been in Honiara for only a matter of days but has already seen enough to realise the potential of the country’s players and become excited about their Nations Cup prospects.
“On the first day I arrived, I spoke to the players about their potential after watching them train,” Papillon says. “I believe this team can achieve a lot if everyone invests the right attitude, effort and determination.
“When I chose to come to the Solomon Islands, a lot of people gave me good luck as advice. At first, I did not understand what that meant but now I can say I’m lucky to be here because I’m in a country where there is a lot of potential.”
Papillon’s involvement with the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) has been made possible by the OFC Technical Department through its mentoring programme, a new intiative that aims to place expert coaches in certain member associations to assist in the development of football in those countries.
Papillon will remain in the Solomons for a year and will act as a technical advisor to other national teams following the conclusion of the Nations Cup.
He has been warmly welcomed by the federation and members of the national squad with SIFF president Martin Alufurai showing his gratitude for the mentor’s commitment to the cause.
“Thank you for coming to our country, I am confident you are the right person to help us achieve our goals for the Nations Cup and beyond,” he told Papillon during the new arrival’s opening conference with local media.
This is Papillon’s first excursion to the Pacific and he has immediately picked up on the enthusiasm for the world game in Solomon Islands.
“I can see this is a football country and there are a lot of expectations for the national team. The players here are under a lot of pressure and we have to consider that in our preparations,” he says.
A packed schedule for those preparations has been laid out and will see the Bonitos put in plenty of miles on their path to the Nations Cup. The squad is currently in a training camp on the island of Malaita and will return to Honiara at the end of the week before travelling to Australia for two friendly matches in Brisbane.
They will then head back to Malaita for a friendly against Vanuatu before returning to Honiara to open their Nations Cup campaign against Papua New Guinea at Lawson Tama Stadium on 2 June.
The Bonitos will also play Fiji and defending champions New Zealand in Group B while Group A features New Caledonia, Samoa, Tahiti and Vanuatu.
The Nations Cup winner will qualify directly for the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 while the four highest-placed teams will go on to contest stage three of World Cup qualifying – a round-robin, home-and-away play-off series concluding in March 2013.
For more on Solomon Islands football go to www.siff.com.sb

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