Cook Islands Football Association (CIFA) celebrated the inauguration of its ‘House of Football’ at Matavera in 2009 to mark the completion of all three phases of the FIFA Goal Programme. Seven years in the making, the CIFA headquarters now includes an all-purpose complex for players, officials, media and spectators as well as international-standard playing facilities and administration offices. President Lee Harmon has managed the project and is committed to helping young Cook Islanders achieve their full potential at national and international levels at this ‘Field of Dreams.’

Cook Islands may be one of FIFA’s smallest member associations with a mere 15,000 inhabitants, but it has an impressive track record of development programmes in a variety of areas including junior, youth, women’s, coaching and refereeing. Running these programmes is often a challenge for CIFA due to the sheer distance between the islands which cover an area the size of Western Europe. Despite the geographical obstacles, CIFA regularly holds competitions on a national scale including club leagues, knock-out cups and five-a-side tournaments for men and women.

The annual youth championship is also one of the more important dates on the calendar. In future, the best of these youth players will be trained at the well equipped national football academy in Matevera where Cook Islands national teams will assemble before embarking for OFC and FIFA qualifying tournaments.