2011 OFC Beach Soccer Championship

The 2011 OFC Beach Soccer Championship took place from 23 February to 26 February 2011,^[1] in Papeete, Tahiti, It acted as a qualifier for the 2011 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. This was the third time the island had hosted the competition, following the 2006 and 2009 tournaments in Moorea. Only the winners of the tournament, Tahiti, qualified to play in the 2011 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. The Solomon Islands were the favorites, having won the last 3 other qualifying championships in 2006, 2007 and 2009,^[2] but surprisingly lost in the final to Tahiti, despite beating them in the group stage. This means for the first time since 2005, the Solomon Islands will not be representing Oceania at the world cup.

2011 OFC Beach Soccer Championship

2011 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualification (OFC)
Tournament details
Host country	Tahiti
Dates	23–26 February 2011
Teams	3 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)	1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions	Tahiti (1st title)
Runners-up	Solomon Islands
Third place	Fiji
Tournament statistics
Matches played	4
Goals scored	36 (9 per match)
Attendance	5,125 (1,281 per match)
Top scorer(s)	James Naka Robert Laua Jo Dugucagi (4 goals each)
Best player(s)	James Naka
Best goalkeeper	Jonathan Torohia
Fair play award	Fiji
← 2009 2013 →

All matches were held at the new Jardin de Paofai complex in Papeete, which was opened on 15 February 2011.

Participating teams

Four teams decided to enter into the tournament to compete for the one spot in the 2011 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. These were the same nations who competed in the 2009 OFC Beach Soccer Championship.^[3]

Unfortunately, due to a cyclone recently passing through the region,^[4] the Vanuatu national team was stranded at their airport as they were about to leave for Tahiti to attend the tournament. As a result, they were forced to withdraw from the tournament.^[5]

Participating:  Fiji  Solomon Islands  Tahiti

Withdrawing:  Vanuatu

Group stage

The group stage was going to begin on 22 February but due to the cyclone which forced Vanuatu to withdraw, it commenced on 23 February with no rest day and consisted of each nation playing each other once in a single round-robin format.

All kickoff times are listed as Tahitian local time, (UTC-10).

Team	Pld	W	W+	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Solomon Islands	2	2	0	0	13	5	+8	6
Tahiti	2	1	0	1	7	9	−2	3
Fiji	2	0	0	2	9	15	−6	0

23 February 2011

12:30

Solomon Islands	9 – 4	Fiji
Naka 4', 26' Ne'e 6', 19', 32' Laua 15', 22', 34' Aisa 18'	Report	Dugucagi 10', 29' Ratan 30' Watkins 33'

Jardin de Paofai, Papeete

Attendance: 1 275

Referee: Alain Alick

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24 February 2011

12:30

Tahiti	6 – 5	Fiji
Lehartel 20' Bennett 27' Izal 28', 35' Zaveroni 29' Dunadamu (O.G) 33'	Report	Nair 14' Raju 20' Dugucagi 22', 34' Dunadamu 36'

Jardin de Paofai, Papeete

Attendance: 1 450

Referee: Hugo Hebala

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25 February 2011

12:30

Tahiti	1 – 4	Solomon Islands
Tepa 34'	Report	Aisa 12' Muri 12', 20' Laua 32'

Jardin de Paofai, Papeete

Attendance: 1 000

Referee: Rajnish Dave

Tournament final

26 February 2011

12:30

Solomon Islands	3 – 4	Tahiti
Muri 1' Naka 28', 32'	Report	Tepa 5' Izal 8' Bennett 9' Amau 24'

Jardin de Paofai, Papeete

Attendance: 1 400

Referee: Rajnish Dave

Winners

(2011) FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Qualification (OFC) Winners:
Tahiti First title

Awards

Best Player (MVP)
James Naka
Top Scorer(s)
James Naka	Robert Laua	Jo Dugucagi
4 goals
Best Goalkeeper
Jonathan Torohia
FIFA Fair Play Award
Fiji

^[6]

Team qualifying

	Team
1st Place	Tahiti

Top scorers

4 goals James Naka Jo Dugucagi Robert Laua 3 goals Franco Ne'e Teiva Izal Nicholas Muri 2 goals McPhillip Aisa Naea Bennett Patrick Tepa

2 goals (cont.) Rajnesh Ratu (Ratan) 1 goal Teva Zaveroni Archie Watkins Tainui Lehartel Maciu Dunadamu Sandeep Nair Marama Amau Own Goal Maciu Dunadamu (for Tahiti)

Final standings

Rank	Team
1	Tahiti
2	Solomon Islands
3	Fiji