Central Primary principal Jennifer Bird received balls, nets, cones, markers, bibs, whistles and pumps this week as part of the OFC ‘Just Play’ grassroots programme, which aims to promote physical activity for children aged six to 12 while encouraging community involvement and healthy living.
Vanuatu Football Federation (VFF) programme manager Charles Vatu was delighted to present the gear to Central Primary and believes the FIFA-approved Just Play initiative will soon start to bear fruit.
“We are very pleased to see that Ms Jennifer Bird is happy to support the Just Play programme in her school and promote football to young children. It’s a great step in the development of football at the grassroots level in Port Vila.”
The teachers and students of Central Primary were grateful to receive the equipment and are looking forward to taking part in the programme.
“Previously, every time we held a sports day we would have to look for football equipment and it wasn’t always easy,” Ms Bird says.
“But with this equipment the children will now be able to enjoy football whenever they want. I am very happy with what the Just Play programme is doing to promote football as a sport of life to our children in Vanuatu.”
The students of Central Primary have an added advantage in that the school’s physical education teacher Ali Silas is a former national team player.
“He is great with the children and knows what to do in terms of promoting football in our school,” Ms Bird says.
“I am sure the Just Play programme will help our children forget any problems they may have by coming to school every day and being able to ‘just play’.”
Developed by the OFC social responsibility and technical departments, Just Play was launched in Vanuatu last April and has since been introduced in Tonga, Tahiti, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and South Auckland in New Zealand.
OFC is working closely with UEFA, the Government of Australia – through its agencies the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) – and Football Federation Australia (FFA) to roll out the programme across the Pacific. The Australian Government has shown its support to the project by contributing AU$4million.
In South Auckland, Just Play is supported by OFC’s partnership with the Sir John Walker Find Your Field of Dreams Foundation, Counties Manukau Sport and Auckland Football Federation.
For more on Vanuatu football go to www.vanuafoot.vu