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Erroll Bennett

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Erroll Bennett
Personal information
Date of birth (1950-05-07)7 May 1950
Place of birth Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Date of death 2 June 2025(2025-06-02) (aged 75)
Position(s) 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

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] Bennett placed fifteenth in a 1999 poll by International Federation of Football History & Statistics to find the Player of the Century for Oceania.[4]

Club career

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1963–1983: A.S. Central Sport

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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.[5][2]

Over 17 years, he won fourteen Tahiti Ligue 1 titles and eight Tahiti Cups with the club.[6]

1972: Short stint with Paris Saint-Germain

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During his time with Paris Saint-Germain, he played for the club during their first season ever in Ligue 1 (1971–72).[7]

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.[8]

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

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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.[9]

He also won the South Pacific Games tournament three times with Tahiti.[10]

Personal life

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He 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.[10]

Bennett died on 2 June 2025, at the age of 75.[11]

Career statistics

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As of match played 15 September 1983.
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Tahiti 1973 5 3
1974 3 0
1975 5 0
1978 3 0
1979 5 7
1980 9 2
1981 9 3
1983 5 0
Total 46 15[nb 1]
As of match played 15 September 1983.
Tahiti score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bennett goal[nb 1]
List of international goals scored by Erroll Bennett
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 17 February 1973 Newmarket Park, Auckland, New Zealand 1  New Caledonia 1–? 2–1 1973 Oceania Cup
2 18 February 1973 2  New Zealand 1–? 1–1
3 21 February 1973 3  New Hebrides 1–0
4 29 August 1979 Buckhurst Park, Suva, Fiji 17  Tonga ?–0 8–0 1979 South Pacific Games
5
6
7 3 September 1979 19  New Hebrides 1–0
8 4 September 1979 20  New Caledonia ?–2 3–2
9
10 7 September 1979 21  Fiji 2–0 3–0
11 3–0
12 25 February 1980 Stade Numa-Daly Magenta, Nouméa, New Caledonia 22  New Zealand 3–1 1980 Oceania Cup
13 1 March 1980 24  Australia 2–? 2–4
15 14 July 1981 Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara, Solomon Islands 37  Fiji 1–0 1981 South Pacific Mini Games
14 15 July 1981 38  New Caledonia ?–0 6–0

Honours

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A.S. Central Sport

  • Tahiti Ligue 1
    • Champions (14): 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982
  • Tahiti Cup:
    • Winners (9): 1966, 1967, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983

Tahiti

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c It is possible that Bennett scored more than 15 goals for Tahiti because many of Tahiti's scorers from the 20th century are unknown.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Flohr, Delano (29 October 2017). "Football – Focus: The legend Errol Bennett (in French)". Tahiti Infos. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d "Naea Bennett invited to the Parc des Princes". Paris Saint-Germain Football Club. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  3. ^ Courtney, Barrie (12 February 2015). "Tahiti International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  4. ^ "IFFHS Century Elections". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  5. ^ "Erroll Bennett". Playmaker Stats. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  6. ^ Michael Otterson. "Erroll Bennett: Tahitian Soccer Star", Ensign, Oct. 1982.
  7. ^ "Histoire du Paris Saint Germain". PSG70. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  8. ^ "La création du PSG de 1970 à 1973". Paris United. 12 November 2018. Archived from the original on 7 March 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  9. ^ "Oceanian Cup 1973". RSSSF. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  10. ^ a b Article from Richard Vansam, in France Football, n°1.855, 27 October 1981, page 23.
  11. ^ Football : Errol Bennett nous a quittés, la Polynésie pleure son champion (in French)
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