The futsal court has already played host to its first course, with OFC futsal and beach soccer development officer Paul Toohey presenting the first ever OFC Futsal Development Course to 30 participants early last week.
The Savai’i Regional Technical Centre was opened to much fanfare in the village of Iva on Savai’i island on Saturday as locals came to check out the fantastic new facilities that FFS has made available to the local community.
The FFS regional headquarters includes an office, conference room and most importantly accommodation, which allows staff to stay overnight when delivering courses or facilitating events and activities.
The new facilities were tested on Saturday as staff ran a short tournament for youth in the U-12, U-15 and U-10 divisions following the opening ceremony. While it all ran smoothly the real test will begin Monday as the technical department welcomes back OFC coach/mentor to FFS Simon Toselli who will help facilitate an OFC D Licence Coaching Course in Savai’i.
The course will conclude Wednesday, but the work doesn’t end there for staff who then get straight into launching the Savai’i League that evening.
The first round of a short seven week league will kick-off at 4pm with local clubs keen to get football activities up-and-running as soon as possible in Savai’i.
FFS CEO Sarai Bareman says while staff will organise, implement and run the new league the goal is to see local clubs eventually take ownership.
“Staff will guide local clubs so they can eventually extend and run the league themselves,” Bareman says.
In addition, all of the referees who officiate during the league are expected to be locals with training provided by FFS so that trend can continue into the future.
For more on Samoan football go to www.footballsamoa.ws