French Polynesian Islands in Focus
Sorry. Because this is fictional French Polynesia I have to cover the background, which is a bit dense in places. The database has changed a lot from the 14 clubs and one nation my brother set up years ago. We have a lot of Islands to cover and from these Islands a lot of teams. I’m not going to cover every team in-depth here though, just the new nations here and the leagues next. I’ll cover the clubs here and there, probably in update posts where I have trounced a particular team or been thoroughly embarrassed by them. Like all good hack work I have stolen from Wikipedia.
The Island Nations
The league is hosted by Tahiti (Tahiti Societies) however Tahiti is but one nation in our French Polynesia. Much like England is just one part of the UK. There are five other nations, based on some of the island chains that make up French Polynesia.
Tahiti
The nation of Tahiti, or Tahiti Societies within this game, is a collection of Islands (windward and leeward). There is the island of Tahiti (which we refer to as the mainland), which holds the capital of Papeete. Other notable islands include Bora Bora, Huahine, Mehetia, Moorea… there are quite a few and I’ll mention more of them when we look at the teams in focus.
A lot of the islands in real life have no one on or hardly anyone, never mind enough people to fill a 500 seater. But they’ve all got a 500 seater anyway! One of many areas where we depart from realism. In keeping with the real world though Tahiti still has links to France and many of the regens from here have French as their second nationality. It’s unlikely many will be called up by France but with the majority of the club teams based on Tahitian Islands the national team should be much stronger than the others. They have a much bigger pool to draw from.
They also have a slight advantage in one particular team – AS Chance. Based out of Papeete they are a team that can only play under 23’s, but have the best youth facilities in the Tahitian nation. They should produce one or two gems (by Tahiti standards which are pretty low).
Austral Islands
A small set of Islands located far south of the Tahitian mainland. Includes the Islands of Rurutu, Rimitara and Iles Maria which host the three Austral teams in our database. Humpback whales often appear round these parts, inspiring the name for one team.
A smaller island chain when it comes to available teams, but with whale watching spot and a former penal colony it’s got a fairly interesting back story.
Bass Islands
Technically a subdivision of the Australs but in our game they have broken away and achieved their independence. A small chain again with the Islands of Rapa-Iti, Tubuai and Raivavae contributing teams.
They are roughly on a footing with the Austral Islands in terms of population and number of teams so should have the same potential for success.
Marquesa Islands
This largely volcanic island range is located to the sort of northeast of Tahiti. Whilst not quite a big as the Tahitian chain it contributes a lot of clubs to the leagues. 2nd only to Tahiti. Notably, islands include Eiao, Nuku Hiva, Ua Pou, Ua Huku, Hiva Oa, Fatu Hiva, Terihi and a few others. These islands have a history of some Spanish colonisation so on occasion produce players with Spanish 2nd nationalities.
If population numbers are anything to go by we should expect some success from these Islands on an international scale before some of our smaller nations.
Tuamotis
The Tuamotu Islands are sort of to the east of Tahiti. A fairly large chain of about 80 islands but in game terms very few clubs. One of the island chains within Tuamotis is known as the disappointment islands, so expectations are high! The Islands of Makemo, Puka Puka (so good they named it twice) and Takaroa contributing teams. Again, 3 clubs contributing players to the national side.
Rangiroa has sharks, Puka Puka has some wild feral dogs (as well as Typhoons) and Takaroa is rich in legends and myths.
Gambier Islands
A group of Islands on the fringe of the Tuamotu chain. They supply only three teams, one from the Island of Mangareva, another from the aerodrome island of Totengengie, and the newest team in the league from the atoll of Vahanga.
Fun fact: Some island in this chain were used by France for Nuclear bomb tests. And if you want to get to the Pitcairn Islands you would like need to stop off near Mangareva for the last leg.
International Competition
All the teams have the chance, as far as I can see, to eventually qualify for the World Cup. Butin FM19 it was a difficult task, they first had to qualify for the Oceania Nations Cup, then Qualify via that for World Cup Qualifiers, then win the final (probably against New Zealand), and then win a playoff against a team from Asia or South America. New Zealand are a tough enough ask without the other playoff team. There is also the opportunity to win the Pacific Games, every four years or so. A bit more achievable than World Cup glory.
For FM20 and beyond this was changed a little bit with the rules in the World Cup shifting. Simply (hah) winning the Oceania World Cup Qualifier Final is now enough to get straight into the group stages of the World Cup.
I’ve also added to this a special annual competition for the Island teams above. Mainly because with so little to actually win national managers stick around for a long time. The teams above all compete in the Atoll Championship, a simple round-robin league, where the top team are crowned Champions for the year. There are bragging rights, and competition reputation is close to that of the Nations Cup so it’s a BIG DEAL for the islanders.
Islands on YouTube
If you want to see me zoom around Google Maps like an amateur, finding some of the Islands above and talking about where some of the clubs are from then you are in luck. I put together a playlist from FM19 about most of the Islands. Give it a watch and pick your favourite Island.