Teaonui Tehaus dream to play in Europe might become reality. The record-breaking striker of Tahitian football club AS Venus has been officially invited for a trial at a semi-professional football club in The Netherlands competing in the 3rd national league. However he has to hurry to get his funds ready in order to not miss this chance of a lifetime. Pre-season in the Dutch top leagues started on the 7th of July but the club is yet waiting the trial confirmation by Tehau.

His talent was noticed by Dutchman Paul Driessen during the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa. Driessen, a registered intermediary at the Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) has been active in Oceania since 2010 with the Netherlands Oceania Support Foundation. He visited the tournament in a double role as intermediary.

Our goal has always been to build a solid bridge between Oceania and Europe for football. The foundation recruits coaches for national football federations in Oceania and organises training camps in The Netherlands for national football teams. On the other hand, I am also active as scout for talent who dream of playing in Europe, Driessen said in a press release.

Last February I visited AS Venus in Tahiti. I wanted to see three national team players competing in real time twice. I was impressed about the overall quality of talent within the club and had a fruitful conversation with the club board and several players. So I expressed my ambition to help them in fulfilling their dream: Having a football career in Europe.

Driessen has been promoting the Tahiti national team players in The Netherlands in the past months. Especially Teaonui Tehau, who attracted a lot of attention in The Netherlands due to his impressive scoring ability.

Teaonui and I had regular contact on the development via Facebook Messenger over the past month. He told me that it is his dream to play in Europe, even if its just for one season, Driessen said.

Teaonui received an official invitation letter from 3rd national league club Kozakken Boys. This club is semi-professional according to Dutch standards and holds a very rich club culture and history.

The first team is a mixture of cultures which makes it easy for someone from Tahiti to get integrated. The club is located in a town called Werkendam and is driven by many professionals and fans from a devoted community. The stadium has reached an audience of 5,000 visitors during national league cup matches so there is a great fanbase there as well. Kozakken Boys delivers several football players to the professional leagues every year. This is a great hub for Teoanui to become a full-professional football player.

Teaonui will be part of a team consisting many former professional football players. One of those players is former Real Madrid player Royston Drenthe.

Teaonui can learn a lot from these players. It is essential that he comes to The Netherlands while he is still 27 years old.

Most professional football clubs in The Netherlands turned down my offer as they regarded him as too old. The transfer value of a 27-year old player is simply lower than of a 21-year old player. But I believe in him and so does Kozakken Boys. We have to grab this opportunity with both hands. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Now or never. There is no second chance for Teaonui because he will be 29 at the start of next years season. Another major reason to take this opportunity is that Teaonui will pave the way for other talent from Tahiti in the future. I expect that more invitations will follow in the future if he succeeds.

He can be an eye opener for professional clubs in The Netherlands as a proof that Tahiti contains a great source of talent. Having national team players play at a professional senior level would make the Tahiti national team much stronger. Great examples in this development strategies are New Zealand and New Caledonia with quite a number of internationals playing abroad, Driessen said.

Teaonui is invited for a two-week trial and is expected to arrive in The Netherlands on the 20th of July. There are four matches scheduled during his trial.

The invitation is there. The only thing he has to do is to get his funds ready to book his flight and accommodation. This should happen within 5 days from now to avoid the inviting club moving on to another invitation, Driessen said.

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Teaonui Tehau invited for trial in the Netherlands - Football in Oceania