Three members of the talented Tisam clan have all been included in the squad and are likely to see plenty of game time during the campaign in New Caledonia.
Brothers Anoanga, Tuka and Nathan Tisam were named by coach Maurice Tillotson in his squad of 18 last month and are working hard to secure a place in the side in the build-up to the Games.
“I am excited about being selected to represent the Cook Islands again and the same goes for my brothers,” Tuka, 26, says.
“The preparations have been challenging, both physically and mentally, but the hard work will pay off when we are playing for our country and winning games.”
The trio are all currently at or approaching their peaks age-wise – Anoanga is the oldest at 29 while 23-year-old Nathan is the youngest – so this year’s edition of the Games is therefore arriving at a perfect time to showcase their talents.
Parents Jonah and Violet brought their young children to Rarotonga nearly 20 years ago from Papua New Guinea and the future internationals were introduced to football almost as soon as they arrived.
That early start and their enthusiastic embracing of competitive football enabled Anoanga, Tuka and Nathan to gain plenty of experience by their teens and all three went on to star for the national U-17 side before joining the senior ranks.
Under the Cook Islands Football Association (CIFA) youth development programme, Tuka completed a football scholarship in Auckland at Mount Albert Grammar and progressed further when he was signed by an Australian State League club, Brisbane-based Pine Rivers FC, for a year-long stint.
His talents later took him to the United States, where he lined up for semi-professional team San Francisco Seals for eight months.
In more recent years, he has also embarked on a coaching career and now works as a development officer for CIFA. He took charge of the Cook Islands team at the OFC U-20 Championship in Auckland during January, leading his young charges to a 6-2 win over Tonga in their only win.
But he hasn’t hung up his boots just yet and remains a versatile attacking player who can operate up front or in midfield. There could be a Tisam brother in each area of the field at the Games as Anoanga is a holding midfielder while Nathan plays at the back.
The brothers have a handful of international caps to their names and that experience will come in handy for Tillotson’s team during the event, set to take place in New Caledonia during August and September, and a warm-up match against New Zealand national league champions Waitakere United in Rarotonga on August 20.
The talented trio’s feat of being included in the national side at the same time is a rare achievement in world football but has occured before.
At the FIFA World Cup in South Africa last year, the Palacios brothers from Honduras became the first three siblings to be included in a World Cup squad in the history of the competition while there have been several high-profile pairs of brothers to star for their national teams.
The most notable of these are Bobby and Jack Charlton (England), Frank and Ronald de Boer (Netherlands), and Michael and Brian Laudrup (Denmark).
For more on Cook Islands football go to www.cookislandsfootball.com