Tupapa Maraerenga F.C.
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| Full name | Tupapa Maraerenga Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Tupapa | ||
| Ground | Victoria Park, Avarua | ||
| Capacity | 1,000 | ||
| Chairman | Grover Harmon | ||
| Manager | Anthony Samuela | ||
| League | Cook Islands Round Cup | ||
| 2024 | Champions | ||
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Tupapa Maraerenga Football Club is a Cook Islands football club located in Avarua, Cook Islands. It currently plays in the Cook Islands Round Cup and in the Cook Islands Cup.
History
[edit]Tupapa F.C. are the most successful club in the Cook Islands. They have won 18 Cook Islands Round Cup and 9 Cook Islands Cup.
First continental adventure
[edit]Tupapa became the first ever club to represent the Cook Islands on the continental scene, by participating in the 2001 OFC Club Championship. Drawn in group B, they finished 4th out of 5 teams with 3 losses and 1 win against PanSa, where the result was initially 4–0 for Tupapa, before being turned into a 2–0 win by default, due to team from American Samoa fielding ineligible players.[1]
The club was scheduled to participate in the 2008–09 OFC Champions League preliminary round. However, they withdrew before the competition began.
After winning the 2011 Cook Islands Round Cup,[2] the team appeared in the 2012–13 OFC Champions League, starting in the preliminary Round. After topping their group, they were eliminated in the play-off round by Mont-Dore.
New millenium
[edit]The turn of the millennium heralded a new era for the club. In fact, the 2000s saw Tupapa and Nikao Sokattack compete for the title, with 4 championships for the former, and 6 for the latter. Tupapa won 3 in a row in 2001, 2002 and 2003, before Nikao repeating the feat in the three following seasons, only to be interrupted by the black and whites.
League dominance
[edit]The following decade saw Tupapa cement itself as the new dominant force in the Round Cup, with the club winning 8 out of 10 championships (Puaikura winning the other 2).
In fact, Tupapa Maraerenga has won 8 of the last 10 league titles, and 16 out of the last 25 league titles. This is thus the first time since Titikaveka F.C.'s consecutive titles in the 1970s and 1980s that the league has had such a dominant club.
After winning the 2022 Tower Insurance Premiership, they qualified for the 2023 OFC Champions League qualifying stage,[3] but failed to qualify after losing to Lupe o le Soaga SC.[4]
Titles
[edit]- 1992, 1993, 1998–99, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024
- 1978, 2001, 2004, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2023
Current squad
[edit]Squad for the 2024 OFC Champions League qualifying stage
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Staff
[edit]| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Mii Joseph
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References
[edit]- ^ "Oceania Champions Cup 2000". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
- ^ Cook Islands 2011 at RSSSF
- ^ "Tupapa off to OFC Champions League qualifiers". Cook Islands News. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ "Tupapa Maraerenga bundles out of OFC Champions League". Cook Islands News. 25 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.