In the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil, Tahiti, the team representing Oceania, is not actually a sovereign state, but an overseas territory of France. In addition to Tahiti, France has an overseas territory that is both a member of FIFA and a member of THE OCEANIA FEDERATION. This team is the New Caledonia team.
The New Caledonia team has appeared in international competitions such as the World Cup. However, one person has represented France in two European Championships in 1996 and 2000, the 1998 World Cup and the 2001 Confederations Cup in France, and won the World Cup, European Championship and Confederations Cup with France. He's Kalimb.
Today, we follow in The Footsteps of Kalundbe and walk into New Caledonia to learn about the customs and customs here.
New Caledonia – The name comes from Scotland
The New Caledonia region is located 1500 km east of Brisbane on the east coast of Queensland, Australia, near the Tropic of Cancer in the South Pacific. The whole consists of two inhabited islands, New Caledonia and Loyati, as well as a number of uninhabited islands, with a land area of about 19,600 square kilometers, which is about half of Hainan Island, the second largest island on the mainland, and the capital is Noumea.
Of the two inhabited islands, the largest is New Caledonia. According to geologists, the main island was originally connected to the Australian mainland, where Australia is located. It gradually separated from the Australian mainland 60 million years ago due to geological activity, and drifted to where it is today about 55 million years ago. Formed today's new Caledonia.
Like many other islands, New Caledonia is mountainous and its plains are distributed only along the coast. The main island is surrounded by coral reefs, forming the New Caledonian Lagoon. The total area of coral reefs and lagoons adds up to 24,000 square kilometers, about two-thirds of Hainan Island, making it the largest lagoon in the world. In 2008, the lagoon and the surrounding New Caledonia Barrier Reef were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their unique natural geography and marine life structure.
The French name of New Caledonia is Nouvelle-Calédonie and the English name is New Caledonia. Friends familiar with English know that the meaning of English New is new, many English place names with New, except for New York, Newcastle uses a full transliteration method, most of the time usually take a combination of paraphrasing + transliteration. For example, New Zealand, which translates to New Zealand. New Caledonia is no exception.
New Caledonia is no exception. Its English name New and French name Nouvelle translate to be new. What does the name Caledonia mean by the suffix Caledonia? Scotland.
Caledonia's earliest appellation dates back to the roman empire. During the Roman Empire, they once crossed the English Channel and occupied the southeastern part of the British Isles, but the Romans never conquered the northern part of the British Isles. Emperor Hadrian built the Great Wall here, hadrian's Wall as the dividing line between ancient Roman and barbarian areas.
The area is known as Pictavia by Tacitus, Lucan, and Pliny Old. Caledonia was the strongest of the local barbarian Celts, and over time Caledonia became synonymous with hadrian's Wall north of Hadrian's Wall, the Latin name of Scotland. In modern English, Caledonia is often used as a synonym for Scottish poetry. Many of Scotland's folk music and ballads are also named after Caledonia.
Why is this island in the Pacific Ocean also known as New Caledonia (New Scotland)? All this is related to the voyage of the British navigator James Cook. In 1774, Cook's fleet arrived here. The natural beauty reminds him of the beautiful scenery of the north-east of Scotland. That's why Cook named it after The Latin name of Scotland, New Caledonia.
New Caledonia: From England to France
Although the name Of New Caledonia can be called New Scotland. But the name, which is clearly tinged with British overtones, is now a French overseas territory.
The total population of the New Caledonia region is 270,000, of which the main ethnic group is the Melanesian, an Austronesian ethnic group, accounting for 45.8% of the total population. According to anthropologists, Melanesians were the first to migrate from the South Island region to the island more than 2,000 years ago, that is, during the Western Han Dynasty of the mainland.
Polynesians, who make up 12% of the local population, moved to the island during the Tang Dynasty on the mainland. For a long time, the Melanesians and Polynesians, despite their conflict, maintained a stable and isolated situation for a long time, until the Age of Discovery, where the isolation was broken.
Since Captain Cook discovered it, it was here and in the 19th century that Britain and France waged a new round of war for colonial hegemony in the Pacific. The British occupied it in 1843. However, Britain was defeated by France in this war of supremacy, and in 1853, Britain ceded New Scotland to France.
From 1853 to 1860, it was far from the French mainland and far from the land to become a place of Exile in France. In 1860, the discovery of nickel ore changed its status. A large number of French and European immigrants came here to pan for gold. With the arrival of a large number of white "good people", the political status of the area was raised and it became an independent administrative district.
Before World War II, European immigrants had a higher status than local indigenous people. After World War II, with the advent of the national liberation movement, New Caledonia set off a wind of national independence. With the advent of the national liberation movement, France had to consider giving the status of French citizens to the local indigenous population.
The kanak independence movement, the indigenous people of the region, culminated in the 1980s. In 1986, they were included in the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, thus establishing the right of the inhabitants of New Kaga to self-government.
In 1988, France reached an agreement with the independence and unification factions of New Kad, allowing the local population to decide their own fate through an independence referendum. In the recent independence referendum, the independenceists again failed, and Sinica remained under French control and became an overseas dependency of France.
Newcastle football: one step away from the Confederations Cup
The New Caledonian Football Association was founded as early as 1973. At that time, the New Caledonian Football Association was only a member of the Oceania Football Federation and not a member of FIFA. As a result, they could only compete in the Oceania Football Confederation-owned tournaments, the Oceania Nations Cup, but they could not participate in fifa-owned competitions.
Karenbe was born in New Caledonia in 1970. In 1996, New Caledonia was not a member of FIFA and was unable to compete in FIFA-owned competitions. According to FIFA regulations, regions not absorbed by FIFA can represent their "home country" to play. As a result, Karumbu chose to represent France at Euro 1996 in England.
Subsequently, Karenbu followed France to the 1998 Fifa World Cup in France, the 2000 Netherlands-Belgium European Championship and the 2001 Korea-Japan Federation Cup. Kalimbou won a World Cup, a European Championship and a Confederations Cup with France. Achieved a grand slam for the national team.
In 2004, New Caledonia was admitted to FIFA as a member of FIFA. They finally have a chance to compete in the World Cup. Kalumbu retired in 2005. Someone once joked that if Kalumbu had been born 15 years later, he might have had two choices – New Calinia or France.
In the 18 years since, New Caledonia has been one step away from the World Series. The 2012 Oceania Nations Cup was held in the Solomon Islands. On 8 June 2012, New Caledonia met New Zealand in the semi-finals. Since Australia's departure from Asia, New Zealand has become the undisputed hegemon of Oceania.
Before the semi-finals, no one could be bullish on New Caledonia. However, they broke out and cut New Zealand down 2-0. As a direct result, New Zealand missed the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil.
However, New Caledonia lost 1-0 to Tahiti in the final final, ceding tickets to their opponents in the Confederations Cup. It was their closest to the National Team World Series.
Perhaps, this is the trick of fate, reduced to the middle and lower reaches of Oceania. In the latest edition of the national team rankings, New Calonia ranked 160th, below China (78), Hong Kong (145) and Chinese Taipei (157), and higher than Macau (182). In Oceania, ranked third.