The roundrobin championship, featuring New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tonga will be held at North Harbour Stadium from 12-16 April with the winner qualifying for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Trinidad and Tobago in September this year.
Tonga Football Association’s (TFA) preparations began six months ago with 35 players in training, twice a week, and only recently the squad has been narrowed down to 18.
Head coach Marc D’Amici, who is an Australian youth ambassador for development, is comfortable with the teams’ preparation.
“We’ve been working every night together as a squad for about 4 months and the girls have improved considerably in that time,” D’Amici said.
D’Amici believes the only obstacle he has faced during training has been the cross cultural differences and understanding how groups fit together in a Tongan context compared to in Australia. However he added that he’s been assured by his assistant managers who have supportive throughout the campaign.
In facing New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, D’Amici says there will be no easy match in the tournament.
“I’ve told girls that they should go out and playing every game as the final, and hopefully, we should get decent results.”
He is expecting some exceptional display of skills and endurance by the squad, a sentiment reflected by the team captain Buccilea Ongolea.
“We are prepared and the girls will play for 90 minutes in each match,” Ongolea said.
With a commitment to youth football, the developmeny pathway in Tonga looks promising. 2010 has already been an exciting year for TFA with the U-20 national women’s team representing Tonga at the OFC U-20 Women’s Championship in January.
Now hopes will rest on the U-17 women’s team as they compete against Oceania’s best next week.
Story courtesy TFA Media
For the full schedule and results table click here