Tupapa Maraerenga F.C.
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| Full name | Tupapa Maraerenga Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | The Black and Whites | ||
| Short name | TMFC | ||
| Founded | 1968 | ||
| Ground | Victoria Park, Avarua | ||
| Capacity | 100 | ||
| President | Grover Harmon | ||
| Head coach | Paavo Mustonen | ||
| League | Cook Islands Round Cup | ||
| 2025 | Champions | ||
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Tupapa Maraerenga is a football club located in Avarua, Cook Islands, representing the 'oire of Tupapa Maraerenga, a village in the larger vaka of Te Au o Tonga. They currently compete as one of the 6 members of the Rarotonga Club Competition (the Round Cup and the Knockout Cup). They are the most successful club in the Cook Islands, winning 20 round and 11 knockout cups.
History
Origins
Tupapa Maraerenga is one of Rarotonga's traditional 'oire sports teams, competing in local competitions since football was first played in the 1950s. Tupapa Maraerenga would be officially founded as a football club in 1968.[1]
Early years competing
Tupapa competed in the early football competition in Rarotonga whilst the Cook Islands Football Association was not a member of FIFA. The club won the 1978 knockout title,[2] and secured their first league title in 1992,[3] the first season officially sanctioned by the Cook Islands Football Association.[4] Tupapa won their first title under FIFA sanctioned league in 1997, quickly followed by 1998 and 1999 titles, thus winning three titles in a row before the new millennium.[3][4]
The new millennium
The 2000s saw Tupapa and Nikao Sokattack compete for the title, with 4 championships for the former, and 6 for the latter. Tupapa won 3 in a row (2001, 2002 and 2003), before Nikao repeating the feat, only to be interrupted by the black and whites in 2007.[3][4]
First continental adventure
Tupapa became the first Cook Islands club to play on the continental scene, by participating in the 2001 OFC Club Championship. Drawn in group B, they finished 4th out of 5 teams, with 3 losses and 1 win. Their maiden win, which came against PanSa, was initially a 4–0 result, before being turned into a 2–0 win due to the team from American Samoa fielding ineligible players.[5] The club was scheduled to participate in the 2008–09 OFC Champions League preliminary round. However, they withdrew before the competition began.
After winning the 2011 Cook Islands Round Cup,[6] the team appeared in the 2012–13 OFC Champions League, starting in the preliminary Round. After topping their group, they were eliminated in the play-off round by Mont-Dore.
League dominance and return to the continental scene
The 2010s saw Tupapa cement itself as the new dominant force in the Round Cup, with the club winning 8 out of 10 championships. In 2017, the club took back the Round Cup from the hands of Puaikura, finishing 9 points ahead of runner-up Nikao Sokattak, thus returning to the Champions League.[7] Tupapa managed to overcome the preliminary rounds for the first time in 2018, winning all 3 games and topping their group. They were drawn in the group A, where they lost all games and were eliminated.
In the 2019 OFC Champions League, they repeated the same feat by topping the qualifying group, ahead of Samoan opponents. They were drawn in the group D with Auckland City and Magenta, what was arguably the most difficult group of the competition. They lost all games, with a -33 goal difference. After a 3rd consecutive league title, Tupapa returned to the Champions League, qualifying once again for the group stage, with their games scheduled to take place in New Caledonia. However, the club was forced to withdraw due to three of their players failing to confirm immunization to measles.[8] After winning the 2022 Tower Insurance Premiership, they earned a spot in the 2023 OFC Champions League qualifying stage,[9] but failed to progress after losing to Lupe o le Soaga SC.[10]
With another league title in 2024, Tupapa had won 16 out of the last 25 league titles. The league had not seen such a dominant club since Titikaveka's consecutive titles in the 1970s and 1980s. For the 2025 season, the club hired female coach Mii Piri-Savage. With the 2025 OFC Men's Champions League qualifying stage held at home for the first time, Tupapa progressed to the group stage thanks to a 3–3 draw against Royal Puma and a 2–1 win against Vaipuna. On this occasion, Piri-Savage became the second female coach at the OFC Men's Champions League qualifying stage, and the first ever at the group stage.[11] For their group stage return after 6 years, Tupapa was drawn in group B alongside Hekari United, Ifira Black Bird and Central Coast F.C., once again failing to collect a single point, being eliminated with a –19 goal difference. They won the 2025 Cook Islands Cup emphatically, beating Nikao Sokattak by 5–0.
For the OFC Men's Champions League qualifying stage, they faced Pago Youth, Nukuhetulu and hosts Vaivase-Tai. They started their campaign with a 3–0 victory over Nukuhetulu, with loanee Daniel Bunch scoring a brace, and domestically based Ngametua Tuakana scoring 1. Against Vaivase-Tai they would settle for a draw, with both finishing on 10-men. On the final day, Tupapa has beaten Pago Youth by a convincing 3–0 score, with Bunch scoring twice and president-captain Grover Harmon once.[12][13][14] Prior to the 2026 OFC Men's Champions League finals, 4 of their loanees pulled out, including Jordan Boon and Daniel Bunch, and multiple players were unavailable, leading to them bringing in Honoura Maraetefau and Tauhiki Bohl, Key Villiamu, Maui Denny, Kima Webb, Tahiri Elikana, Tremaine Rimene-Albrett, Aadil Kamaldeen, and Dwayne Tiputoa.
Grounds
Tupapa Maraerenga play their home games at Victoria Park in Avarua.[1] The ground has multiple seated accommodation, as well as areas for standing.[15] The Tupapa Maraerenga Sports Association have set out plans to expand it into a stadium, known as the TMSA Sports Facility.
Other usage
The ground is also used for other sports, specifically rugby union and rugby league, there is also a netball dome.[16]
Current squad
As of 21 August 2026
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Current technical staff
As of August 2026
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| President |  Grover Harmon |
| Vice-president | Mii-Piri Joseph |
| Team managers | Danny Vakapora, Roger Manuel |
| Head coach | .svg.png){kind=small} David Milanovic |
| Coach | Grover Harmon |
Notable former players
Dylan Connolly - Former player for the Republic of Ireland amateurs and Auckland City
Jordan Boon - Former professional footballer with Bolton Wanderers- Emmett Connolly - Former professional footballer with Lion City Sailors
- Benjamin Mata - Former New Zealand youth international
- Daniel Bunch - Former semi-professional footballer in England
- Taylor Saghabi - All time top scorer of the Cook Islands national football team
- Tony Jamieson - Most capped player of the Cook Islands national football team
Joshua Galletly - Former New Zealand youth international
Benoît Beaujeon - Former semi-professional footballer in France- Luc Fernandez - Former semi-professional footballer in France
- Sean Latimer - Former semi-professional footballer in England
- Maro Bonsu-Maro - Former semi-professional footballer for FC Coffrane and Auckland City
- Hone Fowler - Former semi-professional footballer in England
- Ben Hunt - Former New Zealand youth international
- Sacha Nathu - Former New Zealand youth international
- Liam Little - Former New Zealand youth international
- Sam Margetts - Former semi-professional footballer in Spain
Sergio Sendra - Former semi-professional footballer in Spain
Honours
Women's team
Tupapa Maraerenga has a team in the Women's Cook Islands Round Cup.[17] It has been crowned champions 15 times, in addition to winning 15 FA Cups.[4][3] After winning the 2024 Round Cup, they participated in the 2025 OFC Women's Champions League for the first time.
References
- 1 2 "Cook Islands Club Database - Men". Oceania Football Confederation. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
- ↑ "Cook Islands - List of Cup Winners". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Cook Islands – List of Champions at RSSSF.com
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Annual Champions & FA Winners". cookislandsfootball.com. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
- ↑ "Oceania Champions Cup 2000". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
- ↑ Cook Islands 2011 at RSSSF
- ↑ Stokkermans, Karel (14 September 2017). "Cook Islands 2017". RSSSF. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
- ↑ "Tupapa withdraws from Champions League". Oceania Football Confederation. 1 March 2020.
- ↑ "Tupapa off to OFC Champions League qualifiers". Cook Islands News. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ↑ "Tupapa Maraerenga bundles out of OFC Champions League". Cook Islands News. 25 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ↑ "History made as OFC Men's Champions League 2025 kicks-off in Honiara". Oceania Football Confederation. 28 March 2025. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
- ↑ "Two draws keep all four teams in contention in Samoa". Oceania Football Confederation. 3 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
- ↑ "Tupapa Maraerenga FC qualify for OFC Men's Champions League". Oceania Football Confederation. 6 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
- ↑ "Pacific Football Delivers at OFC Men's Champions League – Qualifying in Samoa". Oceania Football Confederation. 31 January 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
- ↑ Staff, CI News (5 March 2025). "Victoria Park water station for the community". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
- ↑ Fotheringham, Caleb (17 October 2022). "Tupapa netball dome to be completed in a fortnight". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
- ↑ "Tupapa-Maraerenga premier men wins Raro Cup". Cook Islands News (cookislandsnews.com). 9 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.