The Samoa Football Soccer Federation Normalisation Committee (SFSF-NC) has successfully gathered feedback and support from Samoa’s football community during a three-day workshop in Maluafou.
The consultation workshop took place at the SamoaTel Conference room and was held in collaboration between the SFSF-NC, FIFA, and the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC).
The workshop was officially opened by the Prime Minister, the Honourable Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and it was attended by representatives from the affiliated football clubs throughout Samoa and by partners of the sport around the region.
Co-ordinators included FIFA Development Officer Glenn Turner, OFC Deputy General Secretary Greg Larsen, Win in Oceania Deputy Project Manager Billy Vaitoare, International Relations Pacific Youth and Sports Project Manager Frank Castillo, OFC Technical Director Jim Selby and the Interim Chairman and CEO of SFSF-NC Colin Tuaa.
The workshop co-ordinators together with Samoa football’s stakeholders agreed on the following shared vision for the sport’s development in the region:
“For the SFSF-NC to be a well governed, structured and credible Member Association that effectively and efficiently delivers football for all, through youth development, health and well being, communities, family support, ongoing education and partnerships.”
Another key objective emphasised at the workshop is to once again establish trust amongst the local clubs in the new management and its plans for the sport’s development in Samoa. The need for transparency and accountability between Samoa Football’s stakeholders and its new management was strongly reaffirmed at the workshop.
Club representatives who attended were content with the plans laid out for the future and were particularly happy with the fact that they will have their say in some key areas of planning for the future of football in Samoa.
Interim Chairman and CEO of SFSF-NC Colin Tuaa says these are exciting times for the sport.
“There is a solid foundation to work from, funding is in place again, and there is already a process to start recruiting people to fast-track activity and set up a sustainable business for football in Samoa,” says Tuaa.
Some of the new exciting activities for Samoa will include programmes targeting grassroots football, with the introduction of the ‘Just Play’ programme (funded by OFC) which will aim to cover the 21 districts throughout Upolu and Savaii at a Primary School level.
There will be men’s, women’s and youth competitions, a range of technical development opportunities for coaches and referees and funding to initiate specific programmes aimed at developing football as a sport for women. The identification, selection and preparation of the national men’s and women’s representative teams will also get underway way as soon as these local competitions begin.
Recruitment has already taken place in the media/marketing area of the sport so that more awareness of football, and what the normalisation committee is doing to upgrade the sport, is made known to the people.
Colin Tuaa says that this a sport for the people, and therefore the people must know all there is to know about what soccer has to offer; which would include exciting new events, more funding and more opportunities for a new age in soccer for Samoa.
Story courtesy of SFSF Media