Ian Paia (born 28 October 1990) is a

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who currently plays for Eastern Stars in the

Papua New Guinea Premier Soccer League The Papua New Guinea Premier Soccer League is the men's top division of professional soccer in Papua New Guinea. It is a nationwide league formed in 2006 by Papua New Guinea Football Association. It replaced the Papua New Guinea National Club ...

as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Club career

Paia has been a youth product of

Koloale FC Honiara Koloale FC, Honiara, is a Solomon Islands football club, playing in the Telekom S-League. They are based in Honiara. Their ground is Lawson Tama Stadium. Koloale FC has been one of Solomon Islands most successful clubs in recent years, winning th ...

. After a few years he signed for the Solomon Warriors in 2014. After playing in the

OFC Champions League The OFC Men's Champions League is the premier men's club football competition in Oceania. It is organised by the OFC, Oceania's football governing body. Beginning as the Oceania Club Championship (1987–2006), it has been organised since 2007 ...

he signed in 2017 for

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

an side Ifira Black Bird. After winning the Vanuatuan Championship he returned to the Solomon Warriors. He then joined

Havelock North Wanderers Havelock North Wanderers is a soccer club in Havelock North, New Zealand. The club was formed in 1948 as Hastings Wanderers, changing to their current name in 1968. They won promotion to the New Zealand Football Central League for 2022 after fi ...

in 2018 before joining Eastern Stars in 2019, where he plays today.

International career

Solomon Islands U23

Paia played his first international game with the senior national team on 9 July 2011 against

(0–0). He scored his only goal for Solomon Islands during a 7–0 win against

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

during the

2011 Pacific Games The 14th Pacific Games (), also known as NC 2011 or Nouméa 2011, took place in Nouméa, New Caledonia, from August 27 to September 10, 2011. Nouméa was the 14th host of the Pacific Games. Upon closure of the registration for entries, "some 4,300 ...

Solomon Islands

He would then represent the Solomon Islands U23 team during the

2012 OFC Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament The 2012 OFC Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament was the qualifying tournament to the football competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London for the member nations of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). The tournament was played in New ...

. He made his debut on 16 March 2012 during a 2–0 loss against Fiji U23. On his third and final cap, he scored all seven of his goals for Solomon Islands U23 during a 16–1 win against American Samoa U23 on 21 March 2012 to become their most capped and highest goalscoring player.

Career statistics

International

: ''As of match played 7 September 2012''. : ''Scores and results list Solomon Islands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Paia goal''.

Honours

Koloale *

Solomon Islands National Club Championship The Solomon Islands S-League, commonly known as just the S-League (and formerly known as the Telekom S-League until 2025 for sponsorship reasons), is a semi professional league and the top division of the Solomon Islands Football Federation. It r ...

Telekom S-League The Solomon Islands S-League, commonly known as just the S-League (and formerly known as the Telekom S-League until 2025 for sponsorship reasons), is a semi professional league and the top division of the Solomon Islands Football Federation. It r ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Ifira Black Bird *

Port Vila Premier League Port Vila Football League (also known as the Digicel League, or simply Digicel Premier League) is the top division football league in Port Vila, Vanuatu. It consists of three competitions: Port Vila Premier League, Port Vila First Division and ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Solomon Warriors *

Solomon Islands *

Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continent, continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 South Pacific Games, 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently i ...

: runner-up 2011 New Caledonia

References

External links

* * * 1990 births Living people Solomon Islands men's footballers Solomon Islands men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Solomon Warriors F.C. players {{Solomons-footy-bio-stub