Naea Bennett

Naea Tommy Irving Bennett is a footballer (soccer) in Tahiti. He played as a striker for AS Pirae from 2002 to 2014. Previously he played for AS Venus. He played for the Tahiti national team from 1996 to 2010.

In 2010 he switched to beach soccer and is a Tahitian beach soccer hero and former captain of the Tiki Toa. He was part of the country’s four trips to the Beach Soccer World Cup. However, because the final game of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup on July 19, 2015, fell on a Sunday, he did not play.

Naea was born on July 8, 1977, in Tahiti to football legend Erroll Bennett. Like his father, Naea does not play on Sundays due to his religious beliefs.

In 2018 Naea was appointed as head coach of the eleven-a-side Tahitian National Side, becoming one more top athlete that jumped from beach soccer to professional football.