OFC Men's Champions League 2025. Photo: Shane Wenzlick / Phototek.nz
Former FIFA World Cup winner Christian Karembeu believes the new Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Professional League will be the critical next step to close the gap between the Pacific with the rest of the world.
Karembeu told OFC Media that after witnessing Auckland City's extraordinary performance against Argentina's Boca Juniors at the recent 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, that the introduction of professional football around Oceania will be a game-changer.
"The new Pro League will be a revolution for our region," the New Caledonia-born midfielder, who lifted the FIFA World Cup with France and the Champions League trophy with Real Madrid, said.
He said the Pacific is blessed with incredibly natural athletes and feels that the new OFC Pro League, with professional coaches and managers, could quickly develop Oceania's amateur players into world-beaters.
"Just look at the All Blacks, who have given athletes from Tonga, Samoa and Fiji the chance to develop in their amazing environment and have reaped the benefits of turning that raw talent into rugby superstars," he said..
Photo: Oceania Football Confederation
Karembeu points at his own success, as well as former Socceroos legend Tim Cahill, and more recently All Whites midfielder Marko Stamenic, as players with Pacific Island heritage to perform well at the highest stage.
The former Real Madrid star said the Pacific players have always had the talent, but never the appropriate guidance to teach them what is expected from a professional player.
"They will be educated how to train, how to recover, how to eat, about intensity and quality, and when you can go out or need to stay at home," he said.
"Players need to learn how to create a routine and clubs need experts to show them the way to be a professional."
He added the new teams will need quality managers, coaches and experts in human resources, accommodation and transport and anything else required to run a professional sports organisation.
"When you are an amateur player, you can do whatever you want," he said.
"But when you are in a professional league and professional club, you have to behave like that. If you do not want to make those sacrifices, you do not belong, so it all comes down to discipline."
Karembeu said Pacific players have grown up to be respectful and humble, which will help them make the transition into the professional game.
"But they will also not be intimidated, because in the islands we are all warriors.
"They will just have to realise in the professional environment many players will be better than them, so they have to humble, observe and learn to become better players."
Karembeu said coaches or clubs with a European background need to understand the cultural background of the players to get the best out of them, before they discard a player out of ignorance or misunderstanding.
-OFC
