New Caledonia’s Horizon Patho Prepares for Coupe de France Clash in Mainland France

Horizon Patho Coupe de France 7th round, Digi Mart USA News: Football fans will have a date on Sunday, November 15 at 4 a.m. Eastern time, when NC la 1ère broadcasts live the 7th round of the Coupe de France.

Horizon Patho, representing New Caledonia, will face the Voltigeurs de Châteaubriant. Martin Charmasson, a sports journalist with NC la 1ère, will be on site to commentate the match.

This is a historic moment for football in Maré. After winning the Coupe de Calédonie, Horizon Patho is set to play in the 7th round of the Coupe de France against the Voltigeurs de Châteaubriant, a club from Loire-Atlantique competing in National 2, the fourth tier of French football.

The match will be broadcast live on NC la 1ère on Sunday, November 15 starting at 4 a.m. Charmasson will be present in mainland France to provide commentary and bring the event to viewers in New Caledonia.

To take part in the competition, Horizon Patho had to raise 4.7 million CFP francs to cover travel, accommodation and transportation on site. The club received support from the Loyalty Islands Province and the communes of Maré and Lifou.

The situation is unusual for a New Caledonian team at this stage of the competition. Since 2024, the agreement linking the French and New Caledonian football federations has not been renewed.

The cost of the trip therefore rests on the club, which has had to mobilize its partners and local authorities so its players can represent New Caledonia in mainland France.

On the pitch, the players will also need to adapt to mainland French weather conditions and to an opponent playing at a higher level.

“It’s always difficult to travel under these conditions. There, it’s cold, and we’re not used to it, which is why we try to prepare as much as we can on our side.

It’s up to us to give everything, since everything is decided in one match,” said Émile Béaruné, who previously played in the 7th round of the Coupe de France with Hienghène Sport in 2015.

For the players from Maré, this match represents much more than a simple sporting trip. It is an opportunity to test themselves against an experienced mainland French side and to showcase football from the Loyalty Islands.

They hope to create a surprise and continue their Coupe de France adventure.