Erroll Bennett
Tahitian footballer (1950–2025)
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Erroll Bennett (7 May 1950 – 2 June 2025) was a Tahitian footballer, who spent his career with A.S. Central Sport and Paris Saint-Germain.[1] He placed fifteenth in a 1999 poll by International Federation of Football History & Statistics to find the Player of the Century for Oceania.[4]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 7 May 1950 | ||
| Place of birth | Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia | ||
| Date of death | 2 June 2025 (aged 75) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1963–1966[1] | A.S. Central Sport | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1966–1972 | A.S. Central Sport | ||
| 1972 | Paris Saint-Germain[2] | 0 | (0) |
| 1972 | Paris Saint-Germain Reserves[2] | ||
| 1972–1983 | A.S. Central Sport | ||
| International career | |||
| 1973–1983 | Tahiti | 46[3] | (15+[nb 1]) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
1963–1983: A.S. Central Sport
Joining the youth team in 1963 and playing for the senior team between 1966 and 1983, Bennett spent most of his career with A.S. Central Sport aside from a short stint with Paris Saint-Germain's reserve team.[2]
Over 17 years, he won fourteen Tahiti Ligue 1 titles and eight Tahiti Cups with the club.[5]
1972: Short stint with Paris Saint-Germain
During his time with Paris Saint-Germain, he played for the club during their first season ever in Ligue 1 (1971–72).[6]
He mainly played for the reserve team between January and June 1972,[2] and he planned to stay with the club but financial troubles forced him to leave PSG as the club was relegated to Division 3, although Henri Patrelle (the then president of PSG) failed to convince Bennett to stay at PSG.[7]
After leaving PSG, Bennett was subsequently in contact with AS Saint-Etienne but he instead rejoined A.S. Central Sport in July 1972.[1]
International career
Bennett was part of the Tahitian national squad for the 1973 Oceania Cup, the first ever Oceania-wide international soccer tournament. Bennett scored three goals in the tournament, and played in the final, which Tahiti lost 2–0 to New Zealand.[8]
He also won the South Pacific Games tournament three times with Tahiti.[9]
Personal life and death
Bennett joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in 1977 after which he refused to play football on Sundays. Following Bennett's baptism, Napoléon Spitz, the head of Bennett's team, held a meeting in which he said his team would stop Sunday play and all football teams in that division agreed to move games to weeknights.
Bennett was also a police officer in Tahiti. He was the father of Naea Bennett, who also played for the Tahiti national team.[9]
Bennett died on 2 June 2025, at the age of 75.[10]
Career statistics
- Tahiti score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bennett goal[nb 1]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 February 1973 | Newmarket Park, Auckland, New Zealand |  New Caledonia | 1–? | 2–1 | 1973 Oceania Cup |
| 2 | 18 February 1973 | Newmarket Park, Auckland, New Zealand |  New Zealand | 1–? | 1–1 | 1973 Oceania Cup |
| 3 | 21 February 1973 | Newmarket Park, Auckland, New Zealand |  New Hebrides | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1973 Oceania Cup |
| 4 | 29 August 1979 | Buckhurst Park, Suva, Fiji |  Tonga |
?–0 | 8–0 | 1979 South Pacific Games |
| 5 | ||||||
| 6 | ||||||
| 7 | 3 September 1979 | Buckhurst Park, Suva, Fiji | New Hebrides |
1–0 | 1–0 | 1979 South Pacific Games |
| 8 | 4 September 1979 | Buckhurst Park, Suva, Fiji | New Caledonia |
?–2 | 3–2 | 1979 South Pacific Games |
| 9 | ||||||
| 10 | 7 September 1979 | Buckhurst Park, Suva, Fiji |  Fiji |
2–0 | 3–0 | 1979 South Pacific Games |
| 11 | 3–0 | |||||
| 12 | 25 February 1980 | Stade Numa-Daly Magenta, Nouméa, New Caledonia | New Zealand |
3–1 | 3–1 | 1980 Oceania Cup |
| 13 | 1 March 1980 | Stade Numa-Daly Magenta, Nouméa, New Caledonia |  Australia |
2–? | 2–4 | 1980 Oceania Cup |
| 14 | 14 July 1981 | Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara, Solomon Islands | Fiji |
1–0 | 1–0 | 1981 South Pacific Mini Games |
| 15 | 15 July 1981 | Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara, Solomon Islands | New Caledonia |
?–0 | 6–0 | 1981 South Pacific Mini Games |
Honours
A.S. Central Sport
- Tahiti Ligue 1 (14): 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982
- Tahiti Cup (9): 1966, 1967, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983
Tahiti
- Oceania Cup runner-up: 1973, 1980
- South Pacific Games: 1975, 1979, 1983
Notes
- It is possible that Bennett scored more than 15 goals for Tahiti because many of Tahiti's scorers from the 20th century are unknown.
