International striker Van Hattum joins South Island United

South Island United have added a significant addition to their squad after signing All Whites forward and former Wellington Phoenix player Oskar van Hattum for the inaugural OFC Pro League.

The 23-year-old has just completed a stint with Canadian Premier League club Valour FC,  but after the Winnipeg club folded last month, he took the opportunity to be part of the newest professional competition on the planet.

“I think it's a pretty exciting league to be involved in, and I’m excited to see how it goes,” says the two-time New Zealand international.

“Hopefully we’ll do well, and I can’t wait to get started,” says Van Hattum, who also played at Sligo Rovers in Ireland, looking for a new adventure after seven years in the Phoenix set-up.

The Taranaki lad started his junior football for Central School, New Plymouth Rangers and Francis Douglas Memorial College, and after winning the Golden Boot at the National under-14 tournament in 2016, was invited to the Wellington Phoenix Academy.

During the academy period Van Hattum was part of the New Zealand under-17 squad at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil where he played in all three group matches.

After five years in the academy and Phoenix reserves, the youngster finally made his first team debut on December 7, 2021 in an FFA Cup fixture against Western United and made his A-League debut against Sydney FC two weeks later.

Van Hattum made 41 A-League appearances across four seasons and South Island United Chief Executive Ryan Edwards says the former Phoenix players will be bring a wealth of experience to the new professional club.

“Oskar is still relatively young, but has been in a professional set-up for many years, in New Zealand and overseas, so he will bring a lot of knowledge to a group in which many embark on their first season as a professional,” says Edwards.

Van Hattum earned two caps for the All Whites team that won the OFC Nations Cup in Vanuatu last year. One month later, he was also part of the New Zealand team to play at the Paris Olympics, playing a three group matches.

Van Hattum’s arrival at the United Sport Centre will reconnect the family name with Christchurch, where uncle Frank van Hattum was part of the Christchurch United team in the early 1980s after featuring at the FIFA World Cup in Spain with the All Whites.

“Obviously it's cool to have an uncle who's also an All White, probably the more well known van Hattum, but it's cool to have that connection of him also playing down in Christchurch.”