President Temarii and the OFC Executive Committee arrived for the end of the three-day workshop which involved FIFA and OFC representatives as well as the CEOs and technical directors from all 11 OFC member associations.
In closing the workshop, President Temarii sincerely thanked the participants for their involvement.
“This kind of meeting is an opportunity for the Oceania football family to share ideas and learn together how best to administer the game so that we leave a legacy for generations to come.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the participants and I pay special tribute to Serge Dumortier, FIFA development manager for Oceania, for overseeing the workshop. Without Serge as our representative in the FIFA administration, this meeting would not have been possible.”
The President went on to highlight the work OFC has done to create the opportunities for member associations to succeed on the world stage.
“What a year it has been for us. When Australia decided, with our support, to leave OFC and join the Asian Football Confederation back in 2006, most members of the FIFA Executive Committee said there would be no future for Oceania. This was perhaps my biggest challenge as President since being elected in 2004.
“Through hard work and commitment since that time, it is clear now that the situation is perfect for Oceania. We are enjoying greater representation at FIFA events than ever before and have seen a string of good results including qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ by New Zealand, progress to the second round of the FIFA U-17 World Cup by New Zealand and a victory by the Solomon Islands at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup over Uruguay – one of the fifth best teams in the world.”
In closing, President Temarii shared with participants his new vision for the future development of the confederation.
“FIFA has introduced the special programme Quality Management System, or QMS, and we have adopted the programme within OFC and the Solomon Islands as a pilot project. I want this to eventually be a focus for all of our member associations so that administrative procedures continue to improve.”
The President outlined he would be standing for re-election in 2011 and that, if he is re-elected and has the support of the OFC Executive Committee, the focus from that time will be to provide greater assistance to those member associations with the strongest performances on the field. He also stressed the importance of building future partnerships such as the AUD$4 million agreement between OFC and the Australian Government for grassroots development which was signed at the Pacific Leaders Forum in August this year.
Focus now turns to the OFC Executive Committee meeting to be held for the first time in American Samoa on Thursday 26 November (local time).