SOLOMON ISLANDS

Home 2008 (Futsal?)

Presumably matchworn / matchprepared for Micah Lea'alafa

Manufacturer: Adidas

Source: Collector

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THE TEAM

The Solomon Islands national football team is nicknamed “Bonitos”, which for some reason doesn’t mean “The pretty ones”, but refers to a predatory fish native in the Pacific. Since their foundation in 1978 the Solomon team has netted some notable achievements, including drawing 2-2 with Australia during the 2004 Oceania World Cup qualification and being runners-up at the OFC Nations Cup in the same year. The team’s current FIFA ranking is 133 as of September, 2023.

The Solomon Islands also has a national futsal team, nicknamed “Kurukuru”. Despite not having a single indoor futsal court across its sprawling archipelago, the team has made four appearances in the FIFA Futsal World Cup since 2008 and managed to secure one World Cup win against Guatemala in 2012.

THE SHIRT

This jersey gives me a bit of a headache. Although it is an original jersey of the Solomon Islands and Micah Lea'alafa is one of the best players of the archipelago, I have not been able to find any pictures of the national football team wearing this jersey – although it is not always easy to find any match photos of the Solomon Islands at all. In any case, the model from Australian manufacturer "Veto" was worn during the 2008 Futsal World Cup, yet with patches and white numbers. For this reason, I am not sure if it is a football or futsal jersey. Nonetheless, Solomon Islands jerseys are extremely rare and a match issued or worn national team jersey, whether football or futsal, is a great addition to my collection.

Micah Lea'alafa at the 2008 Futsal World Cup.