Coach Tuka Tisam and his side have a bye in their group’s opening round so will not be in action until Tuesday when they take on New Caledonia, who came third at the last OFC U-17 Championship in 2009.
The other teams in their pool are Solomon Islands, Tahiti and Tonga, and Tisam knows his players will have to perform close to their full potential in each match.
“We know that the island teams that have been placed in our pool are strong and are looking to win games,” he says.
The Cook Islands do not need to look far for inspiration though.
The country’s national women’s team performed heroically to finish third at the last OFC tournament to be held, the Women’s Nations Cup during September and October last year.
That competition took place at the same North Harbour Stadium ground as the U-17 tournament is set to be held on and coach Tisam will be hoping the venue is just as kind to his young men.
That third-place finish was the Cook Islands’ first ever medal in senior football and it would be an eyebrow-raising result if the U-17 squad could achieve a similar placing.
But the youth academy in Rarotonga is starting to bear fruit and Tisam does have some promising talent at his disposal. The team is made up almost entirely of homegrown players, with only one being brought in from New Zealand.
Tisam is eyeing up the clash with Tonga as the Cooks’ best chance of collecting three points.
“The real test for us will be Tonga as we are on a par with them,” he says. “The other teams in our pool are all ranked higher but we will try our best against them.”
For more on Cook Islands football go to www.cookislandsfootball.com