BILIKIKI

The Solomon Islands National Beach Soccer Team, Bilikiki, is the group credited with truly taking Solomon Islands to the world scene in football when they qualified for the country’s first ever world cup berth in the FIFA 2006 Beach Soccer World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Named after a sea bird known for its perculiar walking action the team is known to celebrate their victories with the Bilikiki dance.

Bilikiki has participated in every FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup competition since it debuted in 2006. This is a total of 4 World Cup appearances. It continues to the be the powerhouse in Oceania fending off managing to disappoint challenges from it neighbors over the last 4 years.

In its first ever world cup match Bilikiki stunned Africa by beating their champions Cameron by 5 – 2. However, their most memorable victory was their 7 – 6 win over former finalists Uruguay in the 2009 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Dubai. The victory also saw the coming of age of 18 year old Robert Laua who netted a hat trick for Solomon Islands in his World Cup debut.

The star of the current national team is James Naka. He was ranked as the 5th best player in the 2006 Beach Soccer World Cup where he impressed with his acrobatic ability and powerful left foot. Naka is also the leading goal scorer in the team and most feared player in Oceania. In the last World Cup Naka was not able to perform up to expectations due to an injury in their opening match.

The current crop of players is already ageing and SIFF is currently working on developing new players. The first national beach soccer championship was organized in April, 2010, thus bringing to the fore a plethora of talented players from the provinces.

After losing the right to represent Oceania to Tahiti at the 2011 OFC beach soccer championship in February, Bilikiki is shifting its focus into rebuilding a team that will win in the next qualifiers.

International Competitions
2006 OFC FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Qualifier - Winners
2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup (Brazil)
2007 OFC FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Qualifiers - Winners
2007 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup (Brazil)
2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup (France)
2009 OFC FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Qualifiers - Winners
2009 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup (Dubai)
2011 OFC FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Qualifier - Runnersup

Current Players
HALE Fred - Goalkeeper
BIRD Abraham - Goalkeeper
OMOKIRIO Gideon - Defender
NGAITINI Eddie - Defender
WALE Timothy - Defender
NE’E Franco - Centre
AISA McPhillip - Centre
OITA Joh- Forward
HOSEA Gibson - Forward
NAKA James - Forward
LAUA Robert - Forward
MURI Nicholas - Forward

Management
OIMAE Rueben - Team Manager
KOTO Henry - Head Coach