Both teams have been preparing for the event for the past two months under the watchful eye of Football Federation American Samoa (FFAS) staff and the selection process is well underway.
The event takes place in Noumea, New Caledonia during August and September and is the first stage of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014.
FFAS President Iuli Alex Godinet is pleased that teams from the country will soon be taking the field again for a major tournament.
“We are looking forward to this competition because the last time we had one for our senior teams was at this event four years ago in Samoa,” he says.
“The executive committee and I have been kept up to date on this front by our CEO Tavita Taumua and we are leaving it in his and his staff’s capable hands.
The teams are currently training three days a week at Kananafou Theological Seminary and Taumua says this will rise to six by June.
He is confident there is enough talent in the ranks for the teams to make an impact in Noumea.
“We will have a few experienced players returning, ones that took part in the competition in Samoa four years ago,” says Taumua, who was a team official with the American Samoa contigent during that tournament. “We will also have a lot of experienced young players, especially on the men’s side, after our recent participation in the OFC U-20 and U-17 tournaments this year.”
FFAS women’s development officer Naomi Oney is in charge of the women’s team while Lemusa Alatasi and Iofi Avele Lalogafu’afu’a, both FFAS referees and former outstanding players, are coaching the men.
Men’s development officer Ruben Luvu is now free to lend a hand after taking the national U-20 side to New Zealand for the OFC U-20 Championship this month.
Oney says what her side lacks in experience they more than make up for in enthusiasm.
“We have a lot of young ladies with not much experience,” she says. “But they are very eager to represent American Samoa and take on this challenge.”
The facilities at FFAS headquarters in Pago Pago cannot be used at the moment due to redevelopment work and Taumua is grateful to have a ready-made replacement.
“Again, FFAS owes a huge debt to Kananafou for their willingness to provide the field to us for all of our programmes this year, starting with the boys and girls high school leagues and now our training,” he says.
“Our field will not be ready for another two months so we are very fortunate to be able to have somewhere to train our squads on at the moment.”
New Caledonia are the defending gold medalists for the Pacific Games men’s competition while Papua New Guinea won the women’s event last time.
The other participating nations in this year’s tournament are Tahiti, Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Samoa, Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.
For more on American Samoa football go to www.ffas.as