And, the 22-year-old Swedish-born football player hopes one day he will earn a football shirt bearing a silver fern to go with the large motif he has tattooed on hisbody.
“That’s kind of one of the reasons I wanted to come here . . . to show New Zealand Football who I am,” he said.
“I feel like I’ve been playing at a level where a lot of people have who have [made the Under-23 team]. I wanted to come out and show who I am.
“I’ve never actually played in New Zealand. I thought why not come here, raise my profile, and hopefully fight for a place in the Under-23s . . . it will be hard because it is a short time [before the Olympics] but I wanted to come and try.”
Oscar Faulds on the training pitch under the watchful eye of head coach Bill Robertson. Photo / Neil Reid
Faulds has played at various levels in Sweden, including for Second Division club Hudiksvalls FF. As a teenager, he played in the Junior Allsvenskan; the top-tier of Under-19 club football in Sweden.
Given his young age, he has no memory of that trip.
But memories of his arrival in the peak heat of a Hawke’s Bay summer for pre-season training are likely to stick with him for a long time.
Napier City Rovers players Max Chretien, left, and Oscar Faulds after completing the brutal Bronco running challenge during the club's Central League pre-season campaign. Photo / Neil Reid
When Faulds flew out of Sweden, he left temperatures of around –10C.
Temperatures exceeding 30C welcomed him to his new home and pre-season training sessions with Napier City Rovers.
In just the second week of pre-season training, Faulds and his fellow teammates were put through the gruelling Bronco fitness and conditioning test; an unforgiving running test where those taking part have to complete shuttle runs over 60m, 40m and 20m for five sets.
“It was a 40-degree difference which was quite an interesting experience,” he said.
The other signings include Danish goalkeeper, William Tonning, a player Faulds knows very well.
Vi gratulerar spelare och ledare i IFK Luleås herrlag till cupvinsten! Målen görs av Nils Nilsson och Oscar Faulds. William Tönning håller nollan. För IFK Luleå blir Nils Nilsson Matchens lirare.
The pair have been friends for several years and have a track record of winning silverware together; something Napier City Rovers fans hope they can replicate here.
In 2022 they combined at IFK Lulea to win Sweden’s Stora Coop Norrbotten Cup. Faulds scored one of his side’s goals in the final, while Tonning pulled over several telling saves.
“It’s good to have a friend here after moving across the globe,” he said. “I have no [close] family here.”
Danish goalkeeper William Tonning is one of the new signings Napier City Rovers have made for the upcoming 2024 Central League season. New Zealand Herald photograph by Neil Reid
Faulds has some distant relations in Auckland and Wellington.
Given his size, determination in training and skill on the ball, Faulds shapes up to be one of the players to watch in New Zealand Football’s domestic leagues in 2024.
And there’s no mistaking what he wants to do in Napier City Rovers kit this year.
New Napier City Rovers signing Oscar Faulds working out at the Hawke's Bay Magpies' gym which his football team has been using in the pre-season. New Zealand Herald photograph by Neil Reid
“There’s nothing better than scoring a goal,” he said. “It just gives you such euphoria.”
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience.
