Vanuatu football

Johnathan Sesejack scored the opener in the 18th minute while Patrick Joseph found the equaliser for the Marika Rodu-coached side in the 22nd minute from the penalty spot.

In the 47th minute, Claude Aru scored the winner from a beautiful free-kick just from outside the penalty box.

Fiji also lost 1-4 to the Solomon Islands earlier on.

The Bula Boys will face the Junior Bula Boys while Vanuatu will take on the Solomon Islands on Thursday in the second match at Churchill Park in Lautoka.

This is part of the federation’s preparation for the upcoming OFC Under-15 Championship that will be taking place in New Zealand.

VFF said they closed their registrations for interested youth players to attend trials underway at Korman Stadium.

The federation’s Technical Director, Peter Takaro said the provincial football associations are also invited to send in two players each for the scouting programme, whilst PVFA clubs are being given open invitation to send in as many players as they can.

Kaltak's decade-long journey to the A-League began with the Vanuatu Football Federation's academy.

He then moved to New Zealand where he played for Auckland City FC.

The 29-year-old made his A-League debut this season.

Mariners coach Nick Montgomery says it was an easy decision to make as Kaltak already has hero status at the New South Wales club.

That early goal didn't set Vanuatu on course for a big win, however, and the Cooks equalised through Jeremiah Williams on the stroke of half-time.

Vanuatu scored a second from Jimmy Moso shortly after the restart and the scored remained 2-1 to Vanuatu, who now progress to the quarter-finals.

Both teams had lost to Tahiti in their opening games.

In the day's other pool match, a dominant second half saw New Caledonia beat American Samoa 7-0.

The final group match takes place on Wednesday.

The side was defeated by Tahiti 2-1 in their first game at the competition underway in Suva, Fiji.

Vanuatu will be meeting Cook Islands in their next game on Tuesday, 17 January.

This is the first OFC U-17 Championship to be played since 2018 and it will provide an excellent platform for talent from around the Pacific to shine.

The finalists from this tournament will feature at the U17 World Cup in Peru later this year.

Samoa will be taking on Fiji at 7pm (Fiji Time) tonight.

I-comply is an Australian horticulture company employing many Pacific seasonal workers.

According to the ABC, the popularity of football among Vanuatu and Solomon Island workers led the executive branch to set up a competition.

The match took place in front of 2000 spectators carrying Vanuatu and Solomons national flags and many dressed in traditional island dress.

The proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to a local church.

But the Mariners’ head coach looks to have unearthed another gem in the shape of towering 29-year-old Brian Kaltak, who is blossoming at ALM level after finally being given a chance to shine.

The Vanuatu international arrived at the Mariners as a triallist when the club was looking to fill the void left by the departure of Socceroos centre back Kye Rowles to Scottish side Hearts.

Kaltak looks to be a ready-made replacement and he was rock solid for the Mariners in their 3-0 win over Newcastle on Wednesday.

North Efate United midfielder Claude Aru left Vila yesterday while the other two players have been waiting for their passports.

Ba FC Assistant Coach Timoci Seru Junior said, “It will be a great boost since four our senior players left Ba in the window transfer and left a vacuum in the team.”

“That will be a really big boost in the league games and with Battle Of Gaints (BOG) tournament coming up next week we definitely need experienced players and these three Ni-Vanuatu players are a blessing to Ba FC”.

"Vanuatu's next match day is in the next two days, and VFF do not have sufficient time to replace the players and officials ... The current circumstances are beyond their control," the country's governing body said in a statement.

Under the Ministry of Public Health regulations for the State of Qatar Healthcare Protocol, the positive cases must isolate for a minimum period of seven days, reports RNZ Pacific.

The VFF first registration period took place on July 1, 2021 to August 28, 2021.

According to the Article 6.2 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, 2. states, “The first registration period shall begin after the completion of the season and shall normally end before the new season starts.

This period may not exceed eight weeks. The second registration period shall normally occur in the middle of the season and may not exceed four weeks.