Football at the 1971 South Pacific Games
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Tahiti |
| Dates | 1 to 5 September |
| Teams | 6 (from 1 confederation) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | New Caledonia (3rd title) |
| Runners-up | New Hebrides |
| Third place | Tahiti |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 11 |
| Goals scored | 103 (9.36 per match) |
← 1969 1975 → | |
Football was contested as part of the programme for the 1971 South Pacific Games which was hosted in Tahiti. It was the fourth edition of the men's football tournament at the multi-sport event organised by the Pacific Games Council.
Background
The first men's football tournament was held at the inaugural games in 1963 held in Suva, Fiji and was regularly held up until the games before this edition, which were the 1969 South Pacific Games in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. New Caledonia has won every edition of the tournament up until these games except when French Polynesia had won the tournament at the 1966 South Pacific Games in Nouméa.[1]
Format
Six teams took part in the competition. They were drawn into two round robin groups, two groups of three teams. The two best placed teams from each group would qualify for the semifinals. The remaining teams would play in a fifth place play-off match. The winning team from each semifinal would contest the gold medal match and the losing team from each would contest the bronze medal match.[2] The competition would be held from 1 to 5 September 1971.[3]
Participants
Games
Group A
Tahiti and Papua New Guinea would both receive one win and one loss, with the Cook Islands losing twice, the former two would advance to the semifinals.[2] Tahiti's win over the Cook Islands with a score of 30–0 would set a record for the highest win margin in an edition of the men's football tournament.[4]
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tahiti | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 2 | +30 |
| Papua New Guinea | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 3 | +15 |
| Cook Islands | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 46 | –45 |
| Tahiti | 30–0 | Cook Islands |
|---|---|---|
| [2] |
Group B
New Caledonia and New Hebrides would both receive one win and one loss, with Fiji losing twice, the former two would advance to the semifinals.[2]
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Caledonia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 |
| New Hebrides | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 |
| Fiji | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 11 | –6 |
| New Caledonia | 5–1 | Fiji |
|---|---|---|
| [2] |
| Fiji | 4–6 | New Hebrides |
|---|---|---|
| [2] |
5th place match
Fiji defeated the Cook Islands in the fifth-place match.[2]
| Fiji | 15–1 | Cook Islands |
|---|---|---|
| [2] |
Final stage
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 4 September | ||||||
| New Caledonia | 4 | |||||
| 5 September | ||||||
| Papua New Guinea | 0 | |||||
| New Caledonia | 7 | |||||
| 4 September | ||||||
| New Hebrides | 1 | |||||
| Tahiti | 1 | |||||
| New Hebrides | 2 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 5 September | ||||||
| Tahiti | 8 | |||||
| Papua New Guinea | 1 | |||||
Semi-finals
New Caledonia defeated Papua New Guinea in the first semi-final match, while New Hebrides defeated Tahiti in the second semi-final match.[2]
| Tahiti | 1–2 | New Hebrides |
|---|---|---|
| [2] |
Third place match
Tahiti defeated the Papua New Guinea in the bronze medal match.[2]
Final
New Caledonia defeated New Hebrides in the gold medal match.[2]
| New Caledonia | 7–1 | New Hebrides |
|---|---|---|
| [2] |
Final rankings
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
| New Caledonia | |
| New Hebrides | |
| Tahiti | |
| 4 | Papua New Guinea |
| 5 | Fiji |
| 6 | Cook Islands |
References
- ^ Garin, Erik; Morrison, Neil; Di Maggio, Roberto; Schöggl, Hans (7 December 2023). "(South) Pacific Games and Mini Games". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 18 January 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Garin, Mark; Cruikshank, Neil; Pieter, Veroeveren; Zlotkowski, Andre (6 January 2016). "South Pacific Games 1971 (Tahiti)". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 14 February 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ "South Pacific Games 1971". Football Database. Archived from the original on 28 June 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ "Football: Tahiti win 30-0 at Pacific Games". The New Zealand Herald. 4 July 2015. Archived from the original on 30 November 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2025.