New Caledonia's departure from the FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025™, their first-ever tournament appearance, was capped off with a standing ovation.

“Despite being forced to defend for long periods by our opponents, I think people saw how we wanted to attack and our desire to push forward. In a way, people connected with that. The standing ovation meant a lot to my players,” said their coach, Pierre Wajoka.

Despite losing their three matches against the United States, South Africa and France, the Chilean crowd in Rancagua and Talca responded positively to the team's efforts to put their country's name on the map, as did fans back home.

“Everyone was just happy to see the team competing in the World Cup. It was already a win for all of us. Football is popular, but getting more children involved in playing does a lot of good. I think we’ve taken another step forward in helping our game to grow,” added the 46-year-old coach.

This U-20 World Cup debut comes at a promising time. New Caledonia have qualified for two of the last four FIFA U-17 World Cups (2017 and 2023), and their senior team are set to compete in the FIFA World Cup 26 Play-off Tournament, which will determine the final two places for the showpiece event.

Wajoka unpacks these key moments. “The Football Association (FCF) does a fantastic job scouting for players, and the Academy has played a significant role. New Caledonia is spread across many islands, and it's neither easy nor cheap to travel to each one, but the system is working,” he said.

The New Caledonian Football Association Academy, or FCF Academy, was launched in 2022 with financial and technical support from FIFA and the OFC, who worked closely on the project. At the same time, the FCF joined FIFA's Talent Development Scheme, which aims to bring together the country's most promising players aged 13 and above.

As a result, roughly 80% of the players who took part in the 2023 U-17 World Cup were from the Academy. On top of that, six players from the squad that travelled to Indonesia have now taken part in the U-20 World Cup in Chile.

“These competitions are key to our growth, which is why I'm so pleased that the U-17 World Cup is now held every year and with more countries participating (having expanded from 24 to 48 sides competing). It means players can be monitored more closely, which always helps the U-20 and, by extension, the senior team too. We'll produce better-prepared footballers to compete at the highest level,” said Wajoka.

The coach believes the experience will also help elsewhere. “It will also push us coaches to improve our training methods so that we can keep up with the competition. Ultimately, it's all about driving forward football development.”

FIFA has also helped with infrastructure, and in August 2023, the FCF opened its new headquarters, thanks to support from FIFA's Forward Programme.

The FCF has also used Forward Programme funds to improve national men's, women's and youth football and futsal competitions, as well as to finance national team activities and international commitments abroad.

After qualifying for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025 and the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Poland 2026, New Caledonia's next big challenge, of course, is to secure its long-awaited first-ever qualification for the FIFA World Cup™ . Wajoka will have his part to play there too, as he is one of senior team manager Johan Sidaner's assistants.

“If this U-20 World Cup has taught us anything, it is how strong our opponents can be,” said Wajoka, who scored New Caledonia’s maiden goal in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Tahiti in the run-up to South Africa 2010. “That’s why I’m convinced the lessons we’ll take from our experience in Chile will help us raise the bar even higher.”