Following a third place finish for the Tahiti national team, it’s Pirae Futsal’s turn to test their luck in an international competition.
Next week Heifara Deane and his squad will depart for the first edition of the OFC Futsal Champions League, and there’s been a few changes since they won the 2018/2019 edition of the Futsal Top Nike championship.
However, despite having to replace 5 of his starting line-up for the new season which got underway last Sunday, Deane is confident his team can achieve some good results against the leading futsal clubs from across the Pacific.
“It’s true that we’ve had to remodel the team somewhat since last season but it’s not too bad. We still have a pretty good side and we’ve picked up two players from the Aito Arii, Matana Bea and the leading goalscorer from the OFC Futsal Nations Cup Olivier Hirihiri,” Deane explained.
David Auti made his national team debut alongside Hirihiri and is excited at the prospect of once more representing the country and his community in an international event.
“The OFC Futsal Nations Cup was my first time leaving Tahiti and I already have the opportunity to travel once more through futsal, it’s very much a dream,” Auti said.
“We did really well with the national team and now we need to continue with your club side. We’re not tourists. We are coming over to win.”
Pirae Futsal will open the competition against the Solomon Islands champions Kooline on Thursday 5 December. The following day they’re play two matches against the club champions from New Caledonia (TBD) and Suva FC of Fiji. Their next two matches will take place on Saturday 7 December against D’York Street of Vanuatu and the New Zealand champions, Auckland Football Federation.
The play-off matches will take place on Sunday 8 December.