Benjamin Mata

Last updated

Benjamin Mata
Personal information
Full name Benjamin Leonardo Mata
Date of birth (1998-08-10) 10 August 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Auckland, New Zealand
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Wellington Olympic
Number 15
Youth career
–2015 Wanderers SC
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2017–2018 Missouri State Bears 0 (0)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2015–2016 Onehunga Sports
2016–2017 Wellington Phoenix Reserves 12 (0)
2018 Papakura City
2019 Tupapa Maraerenga 0 (0)
2019–2021 Team Wellington 12 (0)
2021– Wellington Olympic 71 (31)
International career‡
2015–2017 New Zealand U17 6 (2)
2022– Cook Islands 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 November 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 7 January 2023

Benjamin Mata (born 10 August 1998) is a footballer who plays as a central defender for New Zealand Central League club Wellington Olympic, which he captains. Born in New Zealand, he plays for the Cook Islands national team.

Contents

Club career

Mata began his youth career with Wanderers SC. [1] After his departure from the club he joined Onehunga Sports. [2] The following season he was signed to the reserve side of Wellington Phoenix of the A-League. [3] [4] He was one of two players to receive the Winston Reid Scholarship to join the club. [5]

In 2017 he committed to play college soccer in the United States for the Bears of Missouri State University. [6] However, he did not go on to appear for the team. [7]

In 2018 Mata joined Papakura City for one season. [8] [1] In 2019 he joined Tupapa Maraerenga of the Cook Islands Round Cup. He made two appearances for the club in 2019 OFC Champions League qualification, scoring three goals. [9] [10]

Later in 2019 he moved to Team Wellington. He remained with the club until 2021 when he signed across town with Wellington Olympic. [11] During his first season with Olympic, Mata helped the team win the Central League title that season. [12] [13] After the move to Olympic he was named captain of the squad. [14] [15]

International career

Born in New Zealand, Mata represented the country at the youth level. He made his debut for them at the 2015 OFC U-17 Championship. [1] [16] After qualifying as champions of the 2017 OFC U-17 Championship, he was then part of the squad that advanced to the round of 16 in the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He captained the side in the team's round of 16 loss to Brazil. [7]

In March 2022 it was confirmed that Mata had committed to representing the Cook Islands internationally and had been included in the nation’s squad for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification. [17] [18] He went on to make his senior international debut on 17 March 2022 in the opening match against the Solomon Islands. He served as captain of the squad in his first-ever appearance. [19]

International career statistics

As of match played 17 March 2022 [20]
Cook Islands
YearAppsGoals
202210
Total10

Personal life

Mata was born in Auckland, New Zealand. His younger brother, Max, is also a footballer. [7] [12]

Career statistics

Honours

Team Wellington

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Krishna</span> Fijian footballer (born 1987)

Roy Christopher Krishna is a Fijian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Indian Super League club Odisha and captains the Fiji national team. He is the most-capped and highest-scoring Fijian footballer of all time. In 2022, he became the first player to reach 50 caps for the Fiji national team.

The Samoa national under-17 football team is the national U-17 team of Samoa and is controlled by Football Federation Samoa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamish Watson (footballer)</span> New Zealand footballer

Hamish John Sanders Watson is a New Zealand footballer who plays as a centre forward for Wellington Olympic.

The 2019 OFC Champions League was the 18th edition of the Oceanian Club Championship, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 13th season under the current OFC Champions League name.

Liberato Gianpaolo Cacace is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Serie A club Empoli and the New Zealand national team.

Benjamin Peter Waine is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL League One side Mansfield Town, on loan from EFL Championship club Plymouth Argyle and the New Zealand national team.

Max Andrew Mata is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a forward for A-League club Auckland FC, on loan from EFL League One club Shrewsbury Town, and the New Zealand national team.

Claudia Mary Bunge is a New Zealand footballer who currently plays for Melbourne Victory. She has represented New Zealand at both age group and senior international level.

Raphael Ohanua Lea'i Jr. is a Solomon Islands professional footballer who plays as a striker for National Premier Leagues NSW club Wollongong Wolves and the Solomon Islands national team. He is the first Solomon Islands player to have played professional football in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marko Stamenić</span> New Zealand footballer (born 2002)

Marko Seufatu Nikola Stamenić is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Olympiacos, on loan from Premier League club Nottingham Forest, and the New Zealand national team.

The 2022 OFC U-19 Championship was the 23rd edition of the OFC U-19/U-20 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) for the men's under-19/under-20 national teams of Oceania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand National League</span> Football league

The New Zealand Men's National League (NZNL) is professional men's football league at the top of the New Zealand football league system. Founded in 2021, the New Zealand National League is the successor to the New Zealand Football Championship. The league is contested by ten teams, with teams qualifying from their regional leagues. Four teams qualify from the Northern League, three qualify from the Central League, two qualify from the newly formed Southern League and the Wellington Phoenix Reserves are automatically given a spot each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Old</span> New Zealand footballer (born 2002)

Benjamin Craig Old is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a attacking midfielder for Ligue 1 club Saint-Étienne and the New Zealand national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Paulsen</span> New Zealand footballer born 2002

Alexander Noah Paulsen is a New Zealand footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for A-League club Auckland FC, on loan from Premier League club AFC Bournemouth, and the New Zealand national team.

Oskar Takoda van Hattum is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a forward for League of Ireland Premier Division club Sligo Rovers.

Maro Bonsu-Maro is a Cook Islands footballer who currently plays for Manukau United and the Cook Islands national team.

Ali Mekawir is a Solomon Islands footballer who currently plays for Navua F.C. in Fiji and the Solomon Islands national team.

The 2023 OFC Champions League was the 22nd edition of the Oceanian Club Championship, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 17th season under the current OFC Champions League name.

Leon Kofana is a Solomon Islands footballer who currently plays for Telekom S-League club Henderson Eels and the Solomon Islands national team.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "TEAM WELLINGTON SIGN BEN MATA AFTER SUCCESSFUL TRIAL". Team Wellington FC. Archived from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  2. ↑ "Programme Round 1". Northern Regional Football League. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  3. ↑ "PHOENIX U-20 BOSS HEDGE EXCITED FOR SEASON-OPENING CLASH WITH EASTERN SUBURBS". Wellington Phoenix. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  4. ↑ Rolo, Phillip. "Tasman United coach Richard Anderson knows it's time for team to deliver". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  5. ↑ "Mata version 2.0 on the scene". Oceania Football Confederation. 11 February 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  6. ↑ "Bears Land Two International Soccer Players". Missouri State Athletics. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 "Missouri State profile". Missouri State Athletics. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  8. ↑ Easby, Josh (28 June 2018). "Coach keen for first win". Cambridge News. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  9. ↑ "Soccerway profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  10. ↑ "All to play for on final Match Day". Oceania Football Confederation. February 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  11. ↑ "2021 Northern and Central League Player Lists". New Zealand Footblll. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  12. 1 2 "The World Cup squad stacked with Lotto NRFL names — and a comedian". Friends of Football New Zealand. 6 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  13. ↑ Rolo, Phillip. "Wellington Olympic claim Central League title with win over Miramar Rangers". Stuff.co.national. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  14. ↑ "NATIONAL LEAGUE SOUTH CENTRAL SERIES – MEN'S TEAM OF THE SEASON". theniche-cache.com. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  15. ↑ "Which club is going to be South Central Series Champion?". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  16. ↑ "Football: Shootout sends U-17s to Chile". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  17. ↑ "Cook Islands confirm squad for Oceania Qualifiers". Oceania Football Confederation. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  18. ↑ "Wellington Olympic's Ben Mata set to play for Cook Islands". Oceania Football Center. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  19. ↑ "Cook Islands vs. Solomon Islands". FIFA. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  20. ↑ "National Football Teams profile". National Football Teams. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.