country tahiti national football team
___MASK10___ ((), officially the Republic of ___MASK10___ , is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of ___MASK3___ ' s North Island . Its closest neighbours are Vanuatu to the west , New Caledonia to the southwest , ___MASK3___ ' s Kermadec Islands to the southeast , Tonga to the east , the Samoas and ___MASK1___ ' s Wallis and Futuna to the northeast , and Tuvalu to the north . The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth ' s oceanic divisions . It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean ( or , depending on definition , to ___MASK46___ ) in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east . The Tahiti national football team is the national team of French ___MASK72___ and is controlled by the Fédération Tahitienne de Football . The team consists of a selection of players from French ___MASK72___ , not just Tahiti , and has competed in the Oceania Football Confederation since 1990 . They are the current Oceanian football champions , having won the 2012 edition of the OFC Nations Cup , their first victory in the competition . Tahiti is traditionally one of the stronger footballing nations of the Pacific Islands , with the second best record at the football section of the South Pacific Games , with five victories . They were runners - up in the first three instalments of the Nations Cup ( 1973 , 1980 , and 1996 ) . The nation went through a period of less success , but showed promise when it qualified for the 2009 FIFA U - 20 World Cup in Egypt . This success was followed up with the title of 2012 OFC Nations Cup , becoming the first team other than ___MASK28___ and ___MASK3___ to win the competition . The ( FIFA ; " International Federation of Association Football ") is the international governing body of association football , futsal , and beach soccer . FIFA is responsible for the organisation of football ' s major international tournaments , notably the ___MASK54___ Cup which commenced in 1930 and the Women ' s ___MASK54___ Cup which commenced in 1991 . Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French ___MASK72___ ; this overseas collectivity of the ___MASK52___ is sometimes referred to as an overseas country . The island is located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the central Southern Pacific Ocean , and is divided into two parts : The bigger , northwestern part " Tahiti Nui " and the smaller , southeastern part " Tahiti Iti ". The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous with surrounding coral reefs . The population is 183 , 645 inhabitants ( 2012 census ), making it the most populous island of French ___MASK72___ and accounting for 68 . 5 percent of its total population . The Society Islands includes a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean . It is , politically and legally , part of French ___MASK72___ . The archipelago is believed to have been named by Captain James Cook during his first voyage in 1769 , supposedly in honour of the Royal Society , the sponsor of the first British scientific survey of the islands ; however , Cook , himself , stated in his journal that he called the islands " Society " " as they lay contiguous to one another ." ___MASK60___ ( or ; Tongan : " Puleanga Fakatui o ___MASK60___ "), officially the Kingdom of ___MASK60___ , is a Polynesian sovereign state and archipelago comprising 169 islands of which 36 are inhabited . The total surface area is about scattered over of the southern Pacific Ocean . It has a population of 103 , 000 people of whom 70 % reside on the main island of Tongatapu . Association football , more commonly known as football or soccer , is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball . It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies , making it the ___MASK54___ ' s most popular sport . The game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end . The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal . The French overseas collectivities ( or " COM "), like the French regions , are first - order administrative divisions of ___MASK1___ . The COMs include some former French overseas territories and other French overseas entities with a particular status , all of which became COMs by constitutional reform on 28 March 2003 . The COMs should not be confused with the overseas regions and overseas departments which have no particular status . As integral parts of ___MASK1___ , overseas collectivities are represented in the National Assembly , Senate and Economic and Social Council . Only one COM , Saint Martin , is part of the European Union and can vote to elect members of the European Parliament ( MEP ). The Pacific COMs use the CFP franc , a currency pegged to the euro , whereas the Atlantic COMs use the euro directly . As of 31 March 2011 , there were five COMs : French ___MASK72___ is an overseas collectivity of the ___MASK52___ ; " ( COM )", sometimes unofficially referred to as an overseas country ; " ( POM )". It is composed of 118 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over an expanse of more than in the South Pacific Ocean . Its total land area is . ___MASK3___ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean . The country geographically comprises two main landmasses  that of the North Island , or Te Ika - a - Mui , and the South Island , or Te Waipounamu  and numerous smaller islands . ___MASK3___ is situated some east of ___MASK28___ across the Tasman Sea and roughly south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia , Fiji , and Tonga . Because of its remoteness , it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans . During its long period of isolation , ___MASK3___ developed a distinct biodiversity of animal , fungal and plant life . The country ' s varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks , such as the Southern Alps , owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions . ___MASK3___ ' s capital city is Wellington , while its most populous city is Auckland . The Oceania Football Confederation ( OFC ) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football , consisting of ___MASK3___ , ___MASK10___ , Tonga , and other Pacific Island countries . It promotes the game in Oceania and allows the member nations to qualify for the FIFA ___MASK54___ Cup . ___MASK72___ ( from " poly " " many " + " nsos " " island ") is a subregion of Oceania , made up of over 1 , 000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean . The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of ___MASK72___ are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language family , culture , and beliefs . Historically , they were experienced sailors and used stars to navigate during the night . The FIFA ___MASK54___ Cup , often simply called the ___MASK54___ Cup , is an international association football competition contested by the senior men ' s national teams of the members of "" ( FIFA ), the sport ' s global governing body . The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930 , except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second ___MASK54___ War . The current champion is ___MASK30___ , which won its fourth title at the 2014 tournament in Brazil . Oceania ( or ), also known as Oceanica , is a region centred on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean . Opinions of what constitutes Oceania range from its three subregions of Melanesia , Micronesia , and ___MASK72___ to , more broadly , the entire insular region between Southeast Asia and the Americas , including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago .