The first Tahitian Festival of American Football takes place this weekend marking the first time Tahiti will play an international football tournament. Held at Stade Patar stadium in Pirae, Tahiti July 23-July 30 the tournament will see three games played.
Tahiti opens the tournament taking on American Samoa who defeated Team New Zealand last week 30-10. Tahiti features quarterback Francois Colonna de Leca, who played for the Aix en Provence Argonautes in France. A Tahitian native de Leca helped launch the game in Tahiti.
Team Australia then takes on American Samoa in the second game on July 27. Australia has basically been assembled as a development team looking towards competing in the 2019 IFAF World Championships.
The tournament winds up July 30 with the host Tahitians facing Australia.
Johann Hironui Bouit, a University of Hawaii alum, is head coach of the Tahitian squad:
“This tournament is a dream come true for so many who have helped launch the game here in Tahiti. The first clubs were started in 1999 and we formed our federation in 2013, so this is a huge step for us.”
American Samoa are the favorites to win the tournament with several players playing for major US universities. Australia, AKA Team Outback, finished sixth in the 2015 IFAF World Championships.