The FIFA Youth Coaching Course was declared open by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Fred Fakarii and witnessed by FIFA Development Officer for the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Glenn Turner.
Originally scheduled for April the course had to be postponed due to the flooding disaster that hit Honiara resulting in 23 lives lost. The equipment sent for the course was also affected by the flooding and had to be discarded.
The official opening was accompanied by a sigh of relief from Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) management who were pleased to see the first FIFA course in 18 months get underway.
An excited Neil Poloso, Chief Executive Officer of SIFF, thanked FIFA for their support and the participants for their passion to develop players.
“SIFF thanks FIFA for continuing to work closely with our federation with their education programmes despite our difficult circumstances. It has taken a lot of effort and time but today we can start moving forward,” Poloso says.
“I would also like to thank the participants for coming forward for this course. You will be the ones supporting the federation in working with our youth players.”
FIFA Instructor and OFC Head of Education, Didier Chambaron, is conducting the course. He is supported by senior local coaches, Patrick Miniti, Diane Justus and Christoper Asipara.
The FIFA Youth Coaching course will deliver to participants the skills and knowledge to develop players in the youth category. Concepts covered include age specific training, basic skills for players and the player development pathway.
Most of the participants are attending a football course for the first time and the level of expectation among them is high.
“I really look forward to learning from this course – I have worked with youth in the past but this time I will have the right knowledge and understanding to really make an impact on players,” says participant Fred Limai.
For Chambaron, the course is a milestone for football development in Solomon Islands and will set the pace for a new future for local coaches and players.
“This is part of a new cycle for football development and it is about shaping the future of players in Solomon Islands. We want to improve and better the delivery of training to our youth players and this is a new starting point for us,” Chambaron says.
The FIFA MA Youth Course runs throughout the week with a combination of theory and practical sessions. It will conclude on Saturday with a review of the course and discussions on youth football in Solomon Islands.
Solomon Islands will host several more FIFA coaching courses before the end of 2014 including a senior level course, women’s coaching course and courses for beach soccer and futsal.
For more on Solomon Islands football go to www.siff.com.sb

Share