Kiribati national football team
 | |||
| Association | Kiribati Islands Football Association | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Confederation | ConIFA & OFC | ||
| Most caps |
Nabaruru Batiri, Lawrence Nemeia (8) | ||
| Top scorer | Lawrence Nemeia (2) | ||
| Home stadium | Bairiki National Stadium | ||
| FIFA code | KIR | ||
| |||
| Elo ranking | |||
| Current |
235  | ||
| First international | |||
  (Suva, Fiji; 22 August 1979) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
| None | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 (Suva, Fiji; 24 August 1979) | |||
The Kiribati national football team is the national football team of Kiribati and is controlled by the Kiribati Islands Football Association. Kiribati is not a member of FIFA but is an associate member of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC),[1] and is therefore not eligible to enter the FIFA World Cup but may enter the OFC Nations Cup.[2] It became a provisional member of the N.F.-Board on 10 December 2005.
Kiribati is also a member of the ConIFA.
Background
Kiribati have only ever played 10 International matches up to April 2012 where they scored four goals and conceded 122. All of these matches were played away from home due to the lack of grass pitches in the archipelago.[3] The Bairiki National Stadium has a sand pitch rather than grass. Kiribati's first match took place in Fiji on 22 August 1979 when they played Papua New Guinea, losing 13–0 in a South Pacific Games match. The side have never won a match but came very close when they lost 3–2 to fellow minnows Tuvalu on 30 June 2003 in Pool A of the South Pacific Games in Fiji, as well as losing 4-2 in penalties to Tuvalu in the consolation round of the 1979 South Pacific Games. Kiribati's only two goals in the 2011 Pacific games were scored by Karotu Bakaane versus Papua New Guinea and Erene Bakineti versus Tahiti, but in the 2003 competition, both goals against Tuvalu came from Lawrence Nemeia on the 26th minute and the 46th minute.
In 2012, Scotsman Kevin McGreskin became the team's coach, with the aim of improving its results and obtaining recognition from FIFA.[3]
On 10 April 2015, Jake Kewley was officially appointed as the Manager and Ambassador for the Kiribati Islands National Football Team with the remit of liaising with the relevant footballing bodies to advance Kiribati's prior membership applications, with a FIFA application being drafted, finalised and submitted later that year.[4]
On 6 May 2016, Kiribati was formally accepted as the newest member of ConIFA (Confederation of Independent Football Associations), becoming the first ever Oceanic member to join the federation.[5] Kiribati hosted an official visit from ConIFA in November 2016 for the national football competition in Tarawa - Taiwan Sport Tournament - with ConIFA documenting the tournament whilst in the country.[6] Kiribati qualified for the 2018 World Football Cup, that was held in England.[7] However, Kiribati were forced to withdraw, with Tuvalu taking their place.[8][9][10]
Complete International Results
(Accurate as of 28 June 2012)
| Date | Opponents | Score | Competition | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 August 1979 | | 0–13[11] | South Pacific Games | |
| 24 August 1979 | | 0–24[11] | South Pacific Games | |
| 5 September 1979 |  | 3–3 (2-4 penalties) | South Pacific Games | |
| 30 June 2003 | | 2–3[11] | South Pacific Games – Pool A | |
| 3 July 2003 |  | 0–7[11] | South Pacific Games – Pool A | |
| 5 July 2003 | | 0–12[11] | South Pacific Games – Pool A | 4,000est. |
| 7 July 2003 |  | 0–18[11] | South Pacific Games – Pool A | 2,000est |
| 30 August 2011 | | 0–9[12] | Pacific Games – Pool B | |
| 1 September 2011 |  | 0–2[12] | Pacific Games – Pool B | |
| 3 September 2011 | | 1–17[12] | Pacific Games – Pool B | |
| 5 September 2011 |  | 1–17[12] | Pacific Games – Pool B | |
South Pacific / Pacific Games record
Brief Record
- 1963 to 1975 – Did not enter
- 1979 – Round 1(1)
- 1983 to 1995 – Did not enter
- 2003 – Round 1
- 2007 – Did not enter
- 2011 – Round 1
(1) Represented by a club team.
Performances
1979
| Group One – 1979 | Pl | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
2003
| Group A – 2003 | Pl | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 10 |
| 2 | | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 4 | 7 |
| 4 | | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 3 |
| 5 | | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 40 | 0 |
2011
| Group B – 2011 | Pl | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 12 |
| 2 | | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 5 | 7 |
| 3 | | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 4 | 7 |
| 4 | | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 3 |
| 5 | | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 46 | 0 |
Current squad
- Squad selected for the 2011 Pacific Games.[13]
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Tarariki Tarotu | 27 July 1974 | 6 | 0 | |||
| 21 | GK | Tiaon Miika | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 3 | DF | Kaake Kamta | 28 August 1980 | 3 | 0 | |||
| 4 | DF | Kaben Ioteba | 24 February 1992 | 4 | 0 | |||
| 5 | DF | Enri Tenukai | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 6 | DF | Nabaruru Batiri | 1 December 1984 | 8 | 0 | |||
| 12 | DF | Beniamina Kaintikuaba | 3 December 1993 | 2 | 0 | |||
| 16 | DF | Barurunteiti Kaiorake | 1 April 1980 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 7 | MF | Atanuea Eritara | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 9 | MF | Atino Baraniko | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 10 | MF | Jeff Jong | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 15 | MF | Martin Miriata | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 17 | MF | Biitamatang Keakea | 26 March 1989 | 4 | 0 | |||
| 18 | MF | Tongarua Akori | 30 June 1983 | 2 | 0 | |||
| 19 | MF | Lawrence Nemeia | 12 November 1977 | 8 | 2 | |||
| 14 | FW | Karotu Bakaane | 3 | 1 | ||||
| 13 | FW | Erene Bwakineti | 2 July 1982 | 3 | 1 | |||
| 8 | FW | Antin Nanotaake | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 11 | FW | Joseph Yan | 25 January 1993 | 3 | 0 | |||
References
- ↑ "Kiribati enjoying new adventure". OFC. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
- ↑ "OFC Statutes, Article 10, Section 2b" (PDF). OFC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
- 1 2 "The hardest job in football?". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
- ↑ . BBC. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
- ↑ "Kiribati − Background". conifa.org. CONIFA. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
- ↑ "A Beautiful Game for a Beautiful Nation". kiribatifootball.com. Kiribati Islands Football Association. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
- ↑ "Team Tibet set for 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup in London next summer". Sports Illustrated. Time Inc. 8 September 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ↑ "Kiribati pull out of World Cup". Football in Oceania. 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- ↑ "BREAKING NEWS! Tuvalu to replace Kiribati at the 2018 CONIFA World Cup". The Bootiful Game. 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- ↑ "Tuvalu to replace Kiribati at the 2018 Paddy Power World Football Cup". CONIFA. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kiribati - List of International Matches, rsssf.com, Retrieved 31 March 2017
- 1 2 3 4 Men's Results - Mens Soccer, websites.sportstg.com, Retrieved 31 March 2017
- ↑ "Kiribati Official Team List". oceaniafootball.com. Oceania Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
