SIFF, Honiara: The Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) is making sure it fully prepares its national team ahead of the OFC Nations Cup/World Cup qualifying Stage 1 tournament which the Solomons are co-hosting with Samoa.

SIFF has lined up a number of friendly matches to ensure its national team is in peak form when it fronts to its fans at Lawson Tama Stadium which has been devoid of quality international football for the past few years. The warm up matches alone will be an enormous financial undertaking so a rallying call to the public and business community has been sent out.

The football mad island nation of Solomon Islands will be buzzing with excitement when Tahiti, New Caledonia, Cook Islands and Tonga arrive in May and everywhere in the country it seems the level of anticipation has been overwhelming.

According to a SIFF statement, with experienced English FA coach Alan Gillett now at the helm, the Solomon Islands senior team will begin its preparation with two friendly matches against Vanuatu in the first week of April. Following their return, they will take on PNG National team and Australian National Soccer League club – the Adelaide Force in Honiara before they head off to Fiji for their final warm-up matches. In Fiji, the national side will play three friendly matches against the national team before they return home for the qualifiers, which is set to kick off on 10 May, 2004.

The Solomon Islands senior team will begin its preparation with two friendly matches against Vanuatu in the first week of April.

Following their return, they will take on PNG National team and Australian National Soccer League club – the Adelaide Force in Honiara before they head off to Fiji for their final warm-up matches. In Fiji, the national side will play three friendly matches before they return home for the qualifiers, which is set to kick off on May 10 2004.

The winner and runner up from Group 1 hosted by the Solomon Islands will progress to Stage 2 of the Nations Cup-World Cup in Australia along with the two qualifiers from Group 2 which is being hosted in Samoa.