“It was a nice, one-day visit from the leader of our confederation along with Mr. Tai Nicholas,” explained FFAS President Faiivae Iuli Alex Godinet.
“They came to talk and discuss matters with our technical department.”
The two met with Faiivae, CEO Tavita Taumua and Technical Director Ruben Luvu about ways OFC can help the American Samoa association continue to improve its technical aspect of the game.
“I would also like to thank Acting Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga for taking time out from his busy schedule and coming out of his way to meet with David and Tai,” Faiivae pointed out.
Lemanu came to the FFAS headquarters in Pago Pago to greet the two visitors and gave them parting gifts, including their very own copies of the book, American Samoa: 100 years Under the United States Flag, by J. Rob Shaffer.
It is an illustrated history of the Samoan Islands, particularly with the U.S. published to commemorate the 100 years of American Samoa as a U.S. protectorate.
The pair’s visit also coincided with StarKist Samoa’s siva ma pese practice for the upcoming Flag Day celebrations and the tuna canning company brought gifts for Chung and Nicholas.
A big upside to the visit was discussions around the visits FFAS receives from OFC coach-mentor Simon Toselli, who is due to spend three weeks in Pago Pago helping prepare the U-19 side for the upcoming OFC U-19 Championship in Fiji.
“I thanked the OFC President because I’ve been with the soccer association for nine years now and he has turned the focus to the technical side of things, especially with the coach mentor program,” said Taumua.
The coach mentor program saw OFC hire Toselli to oversee the technical development of American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga for the past three years.
“I am thankful to David Chung and OFC for this assistance and I believe our technical department will make great use of it,” Faiivae said.