Naea Bennett
French Polynesian politician (born 1977)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Naea Tommy Irving Bennett[1] (born 8 July 1977) is a French Polynesian former footballer, politician, and former Cabinet Minister. He last played as a striker for AS Pirae and also represented the Tahiti national beach soccer team. He is son of Erroll Bennett, a former Tahitian footballer who was runner-up at 1973 and 1980 OFC Nations Cup.[2]
Naea Bennett | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Youth, Crime Prevention and Sports | |
| In office 21 February 2022 – 15 May 2023 | |
| President | Édouard Fritch |
| Preceded by | Heremoana Maamaatuaiahutapu |
| Succeeded by | Nahema Temarii |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 July 1977 |
| Party | Tapura Huiraatira |
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Striker | |||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1995–2001 | AS Vénus | ? | (?) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2014 | AS Pirae | ? | (91) | |||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2010 | Tahiti | 17 | (12) | |||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Tahiti | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2022 | AS Pirae | |||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21 October 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 21 October 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Football career
In 2002, Naea Bennett took part in four qualifying matches for the World Cup with the Tahiti team. While playing for AS Pirae, Bennett joined the Tahiti beach soccer team, and competed in both the 2011 and 2015 World Cups. In all he took part in eight matches for as many wins as losses and five goals scored. In October 2013 he was appointed a knight of the Order of Tahiti Nui.[3][4]
Bennett is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and refuses to play football on Sundays.[5] In 2015, he refused to play in the 2015 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup final due to his religious beliefs.[6]
In 2018 he was appointed interim head coach of the Tahiti national football team.[7][8]
Political career
In February 2022 he was appointed to the cabinet of Édouard Fritch as Minister of Youth, Crime Prevention and Sports.[9][10]
Career statistics
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 June 2001 | North Harbour Stadium, Albany |  Vanuatu | 2-0 | 6–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup Qualification |
| 2 | 3-0 | |||||
| 3 | 5-1 | |||||
| 4 | 11 June 2001 |  Cook Islands | 4-0 | 6–0 | ||
| 5 | 30 June 2003 | National Stadium, Suva |  Micronesia | 8-0 | 17–0 | 2003 South Pacific Games |
| 6 | 11-0 | |||||
| 7 | 14-0 | |||||
| 8 | 17-0 | |||||
| 9 | 3 July 2003 |  Papua New Guinea | 1-0 | 3–0 | ||
| 10 | 3-0 | |||||
| 11 | 7 July 2003 | Churchill Park, Lautoka |  Tonga | 3-0 | 4–0 | |
| 12 | 4-0 | |||||
Honours
Tahiti
- OFC Nations Cup: runner-up 1996;[11] 3rd 2002[12]
