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The side began training in November 2013 in preparation for the OFC U-20 Women’s Championship where they will meet New Zealand, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea as each side hopes to qualify for Canada 2014.
It’s a feat that isn’t completely out of the question, with Tonga having earned top three finishes in previous tournaments at this level, but Feke isn’t getting ahead of herself.
“The team started training in November and as of today we have been camping for two weeks now and will remain in camp for the remainder of the week,” Feke says.
“We picked the squad from both the high school and league competitions before trialling them for the 20 players we have to travel with.”
Feke says while her players lack the experience of some of their New Zealand counterparts, they have been working incredibly hard to make a good impression during the competition.
“My expectations from the girls in this U-20 tournament is to have respect for others, be honest, and play open attack and also to win games. We are looking forward to all three of our encounters in Auckland.”
While her squad have been working hard on the pitch, Feke herself has been undergoing some coaching of her own.
The young coach recently travelled to New Zealand to attend the FIFA and English FA Women’s Youth Coaching Workshop before returning to Tonga with FA instructors Brent Hills and John Allpress where they held another workshop to aid local coaches.
“The FA course I attended in Auckland helped out a lot with the preparation of the team as the instructors gave me plenty of new ideas not only about preparing the team, but also in working with the young girls.
“They helped me further when we hosted the FA course in Tonga as they provided feedback on the challenges of preparing the team for competition, even though it was in a short time.”
The Tonga U-20 team arrives in Auckland on 8 February ahead of the OFC U-20 Women’s Championship which is being held at Mangere Centre Park from 18-22 February 2014.
ENDS