Erroll Bennett (born 7 May 1950) is a former
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...
an
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
, who spent most of his career with
AS Central Sport. Bennett placed fifteenth in a 1999 poll by
International Federation of Football History & Statistics
The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...
to find the Player of the Century for Oceania.
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
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
He joined
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...
(LDS Church) in 1977 after which he refused to play football on Sundays. Following Bennett's
baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
,
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 is the father of
Naea Bennett, who also played for Tahiti national team.
[Article from Richard Vansam, in ''France Football'', n°1.855, 27 october 1981, page 23.]
References
*
Michael Otterson. "Erroll Bennett: Tahitian Soccer Star", ''
Ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
'', Oct. 1982.
''Meridian Magazine'' article with section on Bennett
1950 births
Converts to Mormonism
French Polynesian Latter Day Saints
Living people
French Polynesian men's footballers
Tahiti men's international footballers
French Polynesian police officers
1973 Oceania Cup players
1980 Oceania Cup players
Men's association football forwards
French police officers
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