The FIFA Club World Cup is currently taking place in Morocco and each continent is represented at the competition.
Oceania is represented by a team from New Zealand, Auckland City FC, who won the Oceania Football Confederation Champions League last season.
Auckland City are doing well so far in the Club World Cup, with victories over Moroccan hosts Moghreb Athletic de Tetouan in a penalty shootout and a decent 1-0 win over African Champions ES Setif, from Algeria. Last night they lost 2-1 against the South American champions, San Lorenzo.
Auckland City is good news for Oceanic football, though the team they beat in the OFC final, Amicale FC, is fascinating news.
Amicale FC come from the Republic of Vanuatu, an oceanic island nation, located in the Pacific Ocean. Its estimated population is 266,937 people, who spread over 12,190 Km². The official languages are Bislama, French and English and the capital is Port Vila. The major local competition is the TVL League, better known as the Premia Divisen. The lower leagues are the first and the second divisions.
The Premia Divisen is an eight-team league, that is being at one stadium in Port Vila, the Port Vila Municipal Stadium, with a capacity of 8,500 people.
Amicale FC, the local champions for four years in a row, represented Vanuatu at the OFC Champions League in the 2013/14 season. They won all their early stage matches of the tournament. They beat Dragon, from Tahiti, Nadi and Ba of Fiji and Auckland City from New Zealand on their way the final. Unfortunately, their journey ended there, as they lost 3-2 on aggregate to the same Auckland City, after a 1-1 draw in Vanuatu, and a cruel late defeat in Auckland, 2-1.
Just imagine Amicale FC playing against Real Madrid, San Lorenzo or Cruz Azul! It would have been the perfect David against Goliath story. The 1st leg of the Oceania Champions Cup final at Port Vila was a beautiful football scenario. The passion for the game and the importance of the match shine out of the photos. The match highlights video is also a must in order to understand the situation.
These photos are part of the emerging project of two photographers, Gad Salner and Vadim Tarasov, called Kaduregel Shefel. Their initiative focuses on lower league football and cultures in the Middle East and around the globe. They have created an exhibition, that was held in London recently, which emphasizes Israel’s Jewish and Arab diversity through lower-league football.
Gad and Vadim’s exhibition focuses on the human, urban and cultural landscapes of their divided and diverse society, with less emphasis on the pitch itself. If you wish to contact Gad and to find out more about this great project: kaduregel.shefel@gmail.com, kaduregelshefel.tumblr.com, https://www.facebook.com/KaduregelShefel