The Tonga Football Association’s (TFA) Technical Department staff are optimistic that the national U-20 women’s team will upset the hot favorites New Zealand at the upcoming OFC U-20 Women’s Championship New Zealand 2009.
The championship, which acts as Oceania Football Conferation’s (OFC) qualifier for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, will take place at Auckland’s North Harbour Stadium between 5 – 9 October. Tonga will come up against American Samoa, Cook Islands and New Zealand in the round-robin competition.
The Tongan squad, which recently recruited two new additions, Mele Moala Soakai (Takuilau College) and Anne Marie Taukapo (‘Api Fo’ou College), has been undergoing an intensive technical camp at the Football Academy in ‘Atele.
The players have been training hard together for the past fortnight working on their technical ability and fitness levels.
TFA’s technical team conducted a squad fitness test this week and were hugely impressed with the girls’ performances with head coach Kilifi Uele describing their collective fitness as the best he’s seen “from any TFA representative team.”
After breaking camp this Monday the squad will now continue daily training sessions individually before gathering together again in two weeks time for the final leg of their preparation.
Meanwhile, TFA is calling on nationwide support to encourage their ‘underdog’ squad as their preparations continue to build over the next five weeks.
Host nation New Zealand will compete against Tonga, American Samoa and the Cook Islands to determine the Oceania qualifier for the 2010 Women’s World Cup in Germany.
Courtesy of TFA Media