{"id":686816,"date":"2026-05-22T07:04:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T07:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/686816\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T07:04:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T07:04:12","slug":"tahitis-record-breaker-reflects-on-a-lifetime-in-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/686816\/","title":{"rendered":"Tahiti\u2019s record-breaker reflects on a lifetime in football"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was Samuel Garcia who\u00a0first\u00a0spotted\u00a0Teaonui\u00a0Tehau\u2019s\u00a0talent\u00a0when\u00a0he\u00a0was just six years\u00a0old.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

A player himself at the time, Garcia brought a ball to Teaonui\u2019s neighbourhood, and after watching the youngster play, encouraged him to sign up for football at AS V\u00e9nus \u2013 one of Tahiti\u2019s powerhouse clubs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now 26 years later, Teaonui Tehau has finished his first season as a professional player, with Samuel Garcia as his coach. He has captained Tahiti United during their inaugural campaign in the OFC Pro League and is his nation\u2019s all-time top goalscorer and appearance holder. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been lucky to have some great coaches throughout my career from a young age, as well as the support of my parents,\u201d Teaonui says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are a big football family \u2014 everyone in our family plays football. We live it.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Teaonui Tehau with Tahiti United coach Samuel Garcia. Photo Credit: OFC Media via Phototek<\/p>\n

Arguably Tahiti\u2019s greatest football family, the Tehau\u2019s have shaped the game in the tiny French Polynesian island over the last decade. <\/p>\n

Teaonui has been joined by his brother Roonui for Tahiti United\u2019s Pro League campaign this season, and his cousins; Alvin, Lorenzo and Jonathan, have all also worn the national team jersey both on the field and on the sand for the country\u2019s famous beach soccer team. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a huge source of pride for me to play for Tahiti United, and especially to represent my country Tahiti,\u201d says Teaonui. \u00a0<\/p>\n

He made his international debut for the national team 15 years ago at the 2011 Pacific Games in New Caledonia and has since collected 49 caps and scored 31 goals \u2013 the most of any Tahitian international footballer. \u00a0<\/p>\n

In that time,\u00a0Teaonui\u00a0has lifted the OFC Men\u2019s Nations\u00a0Cup in\u00a02012 and\u00a0appeared at the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2013 in Brazil \u2013 his cousin Jonathan scoring for Tahiti against Nigeria\u00a0in their opening game.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Having also spent over 15 years with his club team AS V\u00e9nus, Teaonui was filled with emotion when he first heard about the OFC Pro League, and the formation of Tahiti\u2019s first professional football club. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we first heard about this project, we were all proud \u2013 me especially,\u201d he says. \u201cI was extremely proud to be able to fulfill my childhood dream and become a professional player.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Teaonui Tehau finished as Tahiti United\u2019s top goalscorer in the club\u2019s inaugural season. Photo Credit: OFC Media via Phototek.<\/p>\n

Teaonui\u00a0has worn the captain\u2019s armband for Tahiti United\u2019s first season and finished as their top goalscorer with seven goals. Whilst their campaign\u00a0came to an end\u00a0in the Challengers Group, Tahiti United\u00a0have\u00a0built a platform for the future of professional football in the nation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0a kid and you play football, your dream is to become a professional. The fact that this professional competition has been created in Oceania means we cannot let this opportunity pass.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Understandably, in a life where\u00a0the sport\u00a0has existed all around him\u00a0since he was young, football has given much to\u00a0Teaonui.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think when you are a child and you love\u00a0football,\u00a0it allows you to meet other people and build connections with people you\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0know before. I gained lots of friends and brothers.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Football means everything to Teaonui. Photo credit: OFC Media via Phototek.<\/p>\n

He also acknowledges the path that football steered him away from, helping him to gain\u00a0his confidence\u00a0and stay out of trouble.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u00a0all know how easy it can be to drift into delinquency. Football helped me stay away from that and avoid going down that path.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whilst it has taken 26 years of his life to get to this stage of his career of playing professional football, Teaonui will forever be grateful to the sport. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFootball has given me everything, and I am proud to play this sport.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

World Football Giving Day<\/p>\n

This story has been published as part of OFC\u2019s World Football Giving Day campaign \u2013 showcasing the stories of OFC Pro League players who\u2019s lives have been positively impacted by football.<\/p>\n

The Oceania Football Confederation is joining World Football Giving Day on May 26, a global movement bringing together the football community around solidarity, generosity, and giving back.<\/p>\n

Created by Common Goal, World Football Giving Day is a shared global moment where players, clubs, organisations, fans, brands and communities come together under the message that \u201cFootball Shows Its Heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

To support,\u00a0\u00a0head to\u00a0www.worldfootballgivingday.org<\/a>\u00a0and donate to any of the organisations\u00a0in any of the 90+ countries. You can also post using the WFGD hashtag #WeAreIn or use the heart gesture as a symbol of solidarity and connection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was Samuel Garcia who\u00a0first\u00a0spotted\u00a0Teaonui\u00a0Tehau\u2019s\u00a0talent\u00a0when\u00a0he\u00a0was just six years\u00a0old.\u00a0\u00a0 A player himself at the time, Garcia brought a ball…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":686817,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-686816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=686816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/686817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=686816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=686816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=686816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}