iCount Yatel Football Club has been crowned champions of the third edition of the Vanuatu Made Shield after a thrilling 2–1 victory over defending champions Ifira Black Bird FC at the Port Vila Municipal Stadium.

The grand final over the weekend drew thousands of football supporters who packed the stadium to witness the highly anticipated showdown.

Ifira Black Bird FC started strong, dominating early chances and opening the scoring when Jean Pierre delivered a perfect free kick that was headed into the net by John Tass, sending the Ifira supporters into celebration.

But just before halftime, Waesele Richard made a smart play down the right wing, setting up Robea Haruel, who struck a clean shot into the net , igniting the iCount Yatel supporters and bringing the score to 1–1 at halftime.

In the second half, iCount Yatel pressed high, and the breakthrough came when Alick Worworbu fired a shot that was parried by the Ifira goalkeeper , only for Luka Tioni to follow up and score the winning goal.

At full time, the score stood: iCount Yatel FC 2 – Ifira Black Bird FC 1.

Team captain Michel Coulon expressed his joy after the hard-fought win.

“I’m happy to win this kind of match. It was tough, but I want to thank God, iCount, our supporters, and families,” he said.

Minister of Internal Affairs, Hon. Andrew Napuat, congratulated the team and commended head coach Richard Iwai for leading a young squad to the championship.

“I had confidence in the coach because he brought this young team to such a high level. They deserve this win for their outstanding performance,” he said.

iCount Yatel FC dominated the awards ceremony, taking home all major individual prizes:

Best Goalkeeper: Sakariah Walu

Top Scorer: Robea Haruel

Best Player: Luka Tioni

Earlier in the day, Galaxy FC came from behind to defeat Mauriki FC 3–2 in the third-place playoff.