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 ...

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 {{Tahiti-footy-bio-stub