.jpg) Tuiloma with thePortland Timbers in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bill Poni Tuiloma[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1995-03-27)27 March 1995 (age 30) | ||
| Place of birth | Beach Haven, New Zealand | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back,defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2011 | Birkenhead United | ||
| 2011 | Asia–Pacific FA | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2012 | Waitakere United | 1 | (0) |
| 2013–2017 | Marseille B | 35 | (3) |
| 2015–2017 | Marseille | 2 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | →Strasbourg (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | →Strasbourg B (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| 2017–2022 | Portland Timbers | 108 | (10) |
| 2017–2020 | Portland Timbers 2 | 21 | (4) |
| 2023–2025 | Charlotte FC | 29 | (1) |
| 2023 | Crown Legacy | 7 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2011 | New Zealand U17 | 6 | (1) |
| 2013–2015 | New Zealand U20 | 9 | (1) |
| 2015 | New Zealand U23 | 3 | (1) |
| 2013– | New Zealand | 45 | (4) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22 October 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 16 November 2025 | |||
Bill Poni Tuiloma (born 27 March 1995) is a New Zealand professionalfootballer who last played as acentre-back ordefensive midfielder forCharlotte in theMajor League Soccer.[3]
Tuiloma has representedNew Zealand internationally since 2013, and was the first New Zealander to play inLigue 1, the highest division of French football.
Born inBeach Haven, New Zealand, Tuiloma is ofSamoan descent.[4] He attended Birkenhead College andLincoln High School. He was part of the first intake of players to be invited to the Asia Pacific Football Academy which worked with Chelsea FC.
Following trials withLA Galaxy andQueens Park Rangers, Tuiloma signed a deal with French sideOlympique de Marseille in July 2013.[5][6]
"I went to QPR and trialed there for a week and somehow, I think they have a connection with Marseille, becauseJoey Barton was with Marseille for a little while, so I think that’s where they have the connection… So I went there for a week, trialed, played a game as well, came back and got some good feedback from them, and then a few months later they wanted to sign me. I was over the moon, I was speechless, it was really good news for me."
Tuiloma admitted that Queens Park Rangers andWellington Phoenix were also interested in signing him but preferred to sign for OM.
Tuiloma made his first-team debut for the club on 7 February 2015, when he came on as a latesubstitute forFlorian Thauvin in a 2–2 draw withRennes.[8] Upon making his debut he became the first New Zealander ever to play in Ligue 1.[9] It was one of only two senior appearances he made, however, before signing onloan forStrasbourg for the2015–16 season, and then permanently forPortland Timbers in 2017.[10][11]
On 25 July 2017, Tuiloma officially signed withMLS sidePortland Timbers.[11] He made three appearances withPortland Timbers 2 in 2017, and made his first-team debut on 24 March 2018, in a 1–1 draw withFC Dallas.[12] The Timbers resigned Tuiloma on 24 January 2018.[12]
On 16 February 2023, Tuiloma was acquired byCharlotte FC from thePortland Timbers in exchange for US$800,000 in General Allocation Money.[13] During the 2023 season, he made 19MLS appearances (15 starts) and also featured in theLeagues Cup.[14]
On 21 November 2025, it was announced that Tuiloma's optional contract extension had been declined by the club.[15]
Tuiloma representedNew Zealand under-17 at the2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup andNew Zealand under-20, for whom he was also the captain, at the2013 and2015 FIFA U-20 World Cups.[4]
He made his senior international debut forNew Zealand on 15 October 2013, at the age of 18, when he came on as a substitute in a 0–0 draw withTrinidad and Tobago inPort of Spain.[16][17]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Waitakere United | 2011–12 | Premiership | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Marseille | 2013–14 | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014–15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Strasbourg(loan) | 2015–16 | Championnat National | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Portland Timbers | 2017 | Major League Soccer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2018 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 1 | ||||
| 2019 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 27 | 1 | |||
| 2020 | 14 | 1 | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||||
| 2021 | 26 | 1 | — | 2[c] | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 29 | 1 | |||
| 2022 | 30 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 6 | ||||
| Total | 108 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 118 | 10 | ||
| Charlotte FC | 2023 | Major League Soccer | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 1[d] | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 141 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 154 | 10 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 2013 | 2 | 0 |
| 2014 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 4 | 3 | |
| Total | 31 | 4 | |
International goals
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 9 October 2021 | Bahrain National Stadium,Riffa,Bahrain |  Curaçao | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 2. | 24 March 2022 | Suheim bin Hamad Stadium,Doha,Qatar |  New Caledonia | 5–1 | 7–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3. | 30 March 2022 | Grand Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar |  Solomon Islands | 1–0 | 5–0 | |
| 4. | 4–0 |
Waitakere United
Strasbourg[3]
Portland Timbers
New Zealand[3]
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