Erroll Bennett

Erroll Bennett
Personal information
Date of birth	7 May 1950
Place of birth	Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Date of death	2 June 2025 (aged 75)
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
1963–1966	A.S. Central Sport
Senior career*
Years	Team
1966–1972	A.S. Central Sport
1972	Paris Saint-Germain
1972	Paris Saint-Germain Reserves
1972–1983	A.S. Central Sport
International career
1973–1983	Tahiti
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Erroll Bennett (7 May 1950 – 2 June 2025) was a Tahitian footballer. He mainly played as a forward for A.S. Central Sport and Paris Saint-Germain.^[1] He was capped 46 times for Tahiti,^[2] and played for them at the 1973^[3] and 1980 Oceania Cups.^[4] He also helped Tahiti win the South Pacific Games tournament three times.^[5] In 1999, he was placed 15th in a poll by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics to decide Oceania's Player of the Century.^[6]

After retiring from football, Bennett worked as a police officer in Tahiti. His son, Naea Bennett, was also a footballer who played for Tahiti.^[5]

Bennett died on 2 June 2025, at the age of 75.^[7]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Tahiti	1973	5	3
	1974	3	0
	1975	5	0
	1978	3	0
	1979	5	7
	1980	9	2
	1981	9	3
	1983	5	0
Total		46	15^{[nb 1]}

Tahiti score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bennett goal^{[nb 1]}

List of international goals scored by Erroll Bennett
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	17 February 1973	Newmarket Park, Auckland, New Zealand	New Caledonia	1–?	2–1	1973 Oceania Cup
2	18 February 1973	Newmarket Park, Auckland, New Zealand	New Zealand	1–?	1–1	1973 Oceania Cup
3	21 February 1973	Newmarket Park, Auckland, New Zealand	New Hebrides	1–0	1–0	1973 Oceania Cup
4	29 August 1979	Buckhurst Park, Suva, Fiji	Tonga	?–0	8–0	1979 South Pacific Games
5
6
7	3 September 1979	Buckhurst Park, Suva, Fiji	New Hebrides	1–0	1–0	1979 South Pacific Games
8	4 September 1979	Buckhurst Park, Suva, Fiji	New Caledonia	?–2	3–2	1979 South Pacific Games
9	4 September 1979	Buckhurst Park, Suva, Fiji	New Caledonia	?–2	3–2	1979 South Pacific Games
10	7 September 1979	Buckhurst Park, Suva, Fiji	Fiji	2–0	3–0	1979 South Pacific Games
11	7 September 1979	Buckhurst Park, Suva, Fiji	Fiji	3–0	3–0	1979 South Pacific Games
12	25 February 1980	Stade Numa-Daly Magenta, Nouméa, New Caledonia	New Zealand	3–1	3–1	1980 Oceania Cup
13	1 March 1980	Stade Numa-Daly Magenta, Nouméa, New Caledonia	Australia	2–?	2–4	1980 Oceania Cup
14	14 July 1981	Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara, Solomon Islands	Fiji	1–0	1–0	1981 South Pacific Mini Games
15	15 July 1981	Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara, Solomon Islands	New Caledonia	?–0	6–0	1981 South Pacific Mini Games

Tahiti Ligue 1 (14): 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982
Tahiti Cup (9): 1966, 1967, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983

1 2 3 It is possible that Bennett scored more than 15 goals for Tahiti because many of Tahiti's scorers from the 20th century are unknown.

1 2 3 "Naea Bennett invited to the Parc des Princes". Paris Saint-Germain Football Club. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
1 2 Courtney, Barrie (12 February 2015). "Tahiti International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
↑ "Oceanian Cup 1973". RSSSF. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
↑ "Oceanian Cup 1980". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
1 2 Article from Richard Vansam, in France Football, n°1.855, 27 October 1981, page 23.
↑ "IFFHS Century Elections". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
↑ Football : Errol Bennett nous a quittés, la Polynésie pleure son champion (in French)
↑ Michael Otterson. "Erroll Bennett: Tahitian Soccer Star", Ensign, Oct. 1982.