Lupe, domestic champions in Samoa, won qualification to the final stage of the 2015 Champions League with an unbeaten run at last year’s preliminary tournament at home, driven by a five-goal haul by striker Silao Malo.
The side are underdogs in Group A; drawn alongside fellow debutants FC Gaitcha of New Caledonia and two of last year’s semi-finalists in hosts Ba FC and Tahitian side AS Pirae.
Player-coach Paul Ualesi says his youthful side are comfortable with their preparations and are hoping the 2015 edition of the Champions League provides a stepping-stone for the future.
“As you can see, our team is a really young team,” he said. “It has really good potential for the future. That’s our main target now. This is good exposure for them, we’ll be here to gain some more experience.”
Ualesi is well aware of the nature of the task ahead and that his side will have to match a Samoan competition record in order to advance to the semi-finals.
“I know it’s really tough, we expect tough opponents but we will be prepared for that. Of course we’ll make the most of it; we’re going to do our best to be at the top to qualify for the semi-finals.”
Club president Taimalelagi Fiti Aimaasu says that the underdog tag might work in the side’s favour. “Same as before…people didn’t know of us and I think that will be the case in Fiji. We are still the underdog,” he said.
“I think that’s a positive, looking from our perspective, and we will take on that role and try and play from there and see what we can do.”
Ualesi knows that the Champions League offers a rare opportunity for his players to mix it with some of the more experienced units from the region.
“This is a tough tournament, there are a lot of experienced players,” he says. “It’s good for players to learn from other guys from the Pacific.”
Lupe opens its account this weekend against Pirae, The match at Govind Park kicks off at 4:30pm.
For more on Samoa football visit www.footballsamoa.ws .

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