About Solomon Islands Football Federation

Years of ethnic tension has now eased with outside intervention restoring relative peace to the Solomon Islands. This is good news for local fans starved of international football for several years now.

But that will change now with the Solomon Islands Football Federation set to host Group 1 of the combined OFC Nations Cup/World Qualifiers in May 2004. Lawson Tama Stadium in Honiara, which was upgraded with goal project assistance in 2001, will be the match venue and has a capacity of between 15-20,000 official. Come May, expect every vantage point of the Stadium to be utilised - such is the anticipation.

The Solomon Islands have gone through a lull on the international scene over the past two years with a series of below par performances at the 2002 OFC Nations Cup and the 2003 South Pacific Games. Apart from a good win over Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby last year and successful series with the touring Palm Beach team from Australia, there has not been much to celebrate since 2002 other than a draw with New Zealand at U-17 level.

But playing at home in front of an expected full house at Lawson Tama Stadium and with everything to play for, it will not be surprising if the national team springs back to life when it counts. The fans will look to the likes of NSL star Henry Fa'arodo, Commins Menapi and veteran Batram Suri for inspiration with young riser Alick Maemae set to follow in the trio's footsteps.

The Solomon Islands is still hurting from its disastrous Olympic campaign where its national team were beaten by Samoa and finished fourth. SIFF wasted no time in announcing its selection trials for May. With New Caledonia and Tahiti to contend with in their pool they will need to find the form that once rated them the Brazilians of the Pacific in the 1990's.

SIFF is currently in a transitional phase and is seeking a replacement for Scotsman George Cowie, the former technical director and national coach, who was a major contributor to the development of the game until his resignation in 2003.
SIFF is set to launch a new look national league in 2004 which will compliment the national club championships which were successfully revived late last year. It is also hoped the Honiara Football Association premier league will also resume as normal after interruptions in recent years.

SIFF has also identified women's football and futsal as priorities in its development programme and to that effect selected a women's squad for the 2003 South Pacific Games and a U-19 team for the OFC qualifiers in Papua New Guinea in April.

A Solomon Islands youth futsal team also did well at the Australian National Futsal Championships last year. They were invited again to take part in 2004.

National Club Champions
2000: Laugu FC
2001: Koloale FC
2002: Koloale FC (season incomplete)
2003: Koloale FC
2004: