At the AS Pirae people have been looking forward to the upcoming days since New Year’s Eve. Since the turn of the year it has been clear that the club from Tahiti will have its continental federation at the FIFA-Club-WM is represented, which starts on Thursday (03.02.2022). on Facebook the association speaks of “the chance of a lifetime” for the 22 players who will fly to Abu Dhabi.
Complicated participant selection for Oceania
The Continental Association of Piraeus Homeland Tahiti is the Oceanic Football Confederation (OFC). Usually the winner represents the OFC Champions League the association at the clubWM.
But the situation is complicated. Since then the season of OFC Champions League was canceled in 2020 due to Corona, no further tournament took place. Instead of the winner, the nine-time record winner of the competition, the FC Auckland City from New Zealand, fly to Abu Dhabi.
Record winner from New Zealand has to cancel
But Auckland had to cancel his participation. New Zealand is currently sticking to its strict border policy because of the contagious omicron variant. The team from Auckland would have had to be in quarantine for ten days after returning from the Emirates.
Already had to last year Auckland cancel for the Club World Cup – also because of the strict rules on New Zealand’s borders. That disappointed the club president: “A lot of hard work and dedication has gone into preparing for the Emirates game. Not being able to take part in the tournament is a blow to us“said Ivan Vuksich at the clubhomepage.
FIFA chooses AS Pirae to the Oceanania participant
After Auckland’s cancellation, FIFA finally chose the AS Pirae as a participant for Oceania. The World Football Association is silent in its statement as to why the club from Tahiti was selected. Pirae is the first club from Tahiti in a clubWM.
The club became champions in the country’s first football league last season, but still operates as an amateur club. One of the greatest successes of the club is participation in the final of the OFC Champions League in 2006. There you lost against of all people Aucklandwhich is now available at the clubWM replaced.
Corona remains an issue at the Club World Cup
The problem: Corona also made out in front of the team Pirae not stop. Seven players tested positive ahead of the tournament in Abu Dhabi. However, some of them can follow their team because they have now tested negative.
In addition, it is not the first time that the Club World Cup has been affected by Corona. A whole debate about the privileges of professional football clubs sparked last year FC Bayern, who flew to Qatar for the tournament despite the high number of corona in Germany. Striker Thomas Müller tested positive on site and was brought back to Germany by private jet. There was criticism for that too.