Football at the 1979 South Pacific Games
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Fiji |
| Dates | 29 August – 7 September |
| Teams | 12 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | (in Suva host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Tahiti (3rd title) |
| Runners-up | Fiji |
| Third place | Solomon Islands |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 20 |
| Goals scored | 148 (7.4 per match) |
← 1975 1983 → | |
Football was contested as part of the programme for the 1979 South Pacific Games which was hosted in Suva, Fiji from 28 August to 8 September 1979. It was the sixth edition of the men's football tournament at the multi-sport event organised by the Pacific Games Council.
The football tournament began with the first matches of the group stage on 29 August 1979 and ended with the gold medal match on 7 September 1979. Hosts Fiji and defending champions Tahiti contested the final. Tahiti defeated Fiji 3–0 to win the gold medal. In the bronze medal match, the Solomon Islands defeated New Caledonia 3–1.
Background
Football had been part of the South Pacific Games programme following the debut of the men's competition at the inaugural 1963 South Pacific Games in Fiji.[1]
New Caledonia held the record for gold medals having won the football tournament three times. Tahiti were the defending champions after defeating New Caledonia 2–1 after extra time in the gold medal match at the 1975 South Pacific Games in Guam.[1]
Neither Kiribati nor Tuvalu had fielded a football team before.[2][3]
Format
A total of 12 teams took part in the competition. They were drawn into four single round robin groups of three teams. The group winners and runners-up would contest the quarter-finals The winners of the quarter-finals would contest the semi-finals which would decide the teams contesting the gold and bronze medal matches. A consolation tournament was held for the teams finishing third in the group stage and the losing quarter-finalists.[4]
Group stage
Group 1
Fiji won the group to progress to the quarter-finals alongside Papua New Guinea.[4]
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiji | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 | +27 |
| Papua New Guinea | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | +15 |
| Kiribati | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 37 | –37 |
| Papua New Guinea | 0–0 | Fiji |
|---|---|---|
| [4] |
| Papua New Guinea | 13–0 | Kiribati |
|---|---|---|
| [4] |
Group 2
Tahiti won the group to progress to the quarter-finals alongside Tuvalu.[4]
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tahiti | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 | +26 |
| Tuvalu | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 21 | –16 |
| Tonga | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 13 | –10 |
| Tahiti | 8–0 | Tonga |
|---|---|---|
| Errol Bennett (3) William Aumeran (2) Gérard Kautai Gilles Malinowski (2) |
[4] |
Group 3
The Solomon Islands won the group to progress to the quarter-finals alongside Wallis and Futuna.[4]
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solomon Islands | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | +18 |
| Wallis and Futuna | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | –4 |
| Western Samoa | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 15 | –14 |
| Solomon Islands | 6–0 | Wallis and Futuna |
|---|---|---|
| Wilson Maelaua (3) Luito'o Fa'arodo Henry Suri James Sulimae |
[4] |
Group 4
New Caledonia won the group to progress to the quarter-finals alongside the New Hebrides.[4]
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Caledonia | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | +13 |
| New Hebrides | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 |
| Guam | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 15 | –14 |
| New Caledonia | 11–1 | Guam |
|---|---|---|
| [4] |
| New Caledonia | 3–0 | New Hebrides |
|---|---|---|
| Segin Wayewol (2) Pierre Wacapo |
[4] |
| New Hebrides | 4–0 | Guam |
|---|---|---|
| Toto Nafu (2) unknown (o.g.) Michael Naugar |
[4] |
Quarter-finals
Fiji defeated Wallis and Futuna, Tahiti defeated the New Hebrides, the Solomon Islands defeated Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia defeated Tuvalu in the quarter-finals.[4]
| Fiji | 5–0 | Wallis and Futuna |
|---|---|---|
| Farouk Janeman (2) Josaia Tubuna Mohammed Salim Feroz Khan |
[4] |
| Solomon Islands | 3–2 | Papua New Guinea |
|---|---|---|
| Henry Suri 50', 73' Alick Bebeu 55' |
[4] | Hatsire Manhi 25' Daino Sami 44' |
| New Caledonia | 11–0 | Tuvalu |
|---|---|---|
| Jean Xowie (5) Dera Suihuliwa (4) Hilaire Kenon Fouidja |
[4] |
Semi-finals
Fiji defeated the Solomon Islands and Tahiti defeated New Caledonia in the semi-finals.[4]
| Fiji | 2–0 | Solomon Islands |
|---|---|---|
| Dewan Chand 95', 115' | [4] |
| Tahiti | 3–2 | New Caledonia |
|---|---|---|
| Errol Bennett (2) Gilles Malinowski |
[4] |
Bronze medal match
The Solomon Islands defeated New Caledonia to win the bronze medal.[4]
| New Caledonia | 1–3 | Solomon Islands |
|---|---|---|
| Bernard Ukeiwe | [4] | Wilson Maelaua (2) Davidson Ngawaeramo |
Gold medal match
Tahiti defeated Fiji to win the gold medal.[4]
| Fiji | 0–3 | Tahiti |
|---|---|---|
| [4] | Gérard Kautai 53' Errol Bennett 66', 72' |
Consolation tournament
Quarter-finals
Guam defeated Western Samoa, the New Hebrides defeated Papua New Guinea, Tonga defeated Wallis and Futuna and Tuvalu defeated Kiribati in the quarter-finals.[4]
| Guam | 4–2 | Western Samoa |
|---|---|---|
| [4] |
Semi-finals
Guam defeated Tuvalu and the New Hebrides defeated Tonga in the semi-finals.[4]
| New Hebrides | 7–1 | Tonga |
|---|---|---|
| [4] |
Fifth-place match
Despite being scheduled, it is believed that the fifth-place match never took place.[4]
Goalscorers
There were 148 goals scored in 20 matches, for an average of 7.4 goals per match.
10 goals
9 goals
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
References
- ^ a b Di Maggio, Roberto; Garin, Erik; Morrison, Neil; Schöggl, Hans (7 December 2023). "(South) Pacific Games and Mini Games". RSSSF. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ Courtney, Barrie (12 November 2020). "Kiribati - List of International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ Courtney, Barrie (12 November 2020). "Tuvalu - List of International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak Abbink, Dinant; Cruickshank, Mark; Morrison, Neil (1 April 2015). "South Pacific Games 1979 (Fiji)". RSSSF. Retrieved 29 June 2025.