This year’s South Pacific Games will feature a women’s football tournament for just the second occasion in the history of the games featuring nine teams instead of the seven that comprised Fiji
2003.

Papua New Guinea will be heavily favoured to win gold for the second consecutive tournament and progress to the Olympic Games playoff against the might of FIFA Women’s World Cup bound New
Zealand.

Tonga – another good performer at the OFC Women’s Championship – Papua New Guinea 2007 – will be looking to build on their relatively pleasing performances in Lae by pushing the favourites all the
way with Penateti and Vasi Feke eyeing a South Pacific Games medal and playoff date with New Zealand.

American Samoa faces a tough task appearing on this stage for the first time and they are joined by Cook Islands who face an equally daunting task.

Solomon Islands make a second appearance at a major women’s football event this year after their long awaited bow at the World Cup qualifying tournament in Lae, Papua New Guinea, and if they can
utilise their experience to good effect they may emerge as medal dark horses.

Fiji and Tahiti provide similar credentials and only just missed out on a medal when they hosted the games in 2003.

New Caledonia and Samoa make their debut in South Pacific Games women’s football with very little known about the team from the French Overseas Territory. Samoa’s women’s team – like the men’s – has
prepared as carefully as possible for this tournament and could prove to be a surprise packet for any side who take the host nation too lightly.

Women’s football was played for the first time at the XII South Pacific Games – Fiji 2003 with Papua New Guinea winning gold, underlining their reputation as OFC’s “second force” in women’s
football.

Perennial runners-up and third place getters in OFC Women’s Championships throughout the history of the game, Papua New Guinea fought off keen competition from silver medallists – and surprise
packets and AFC members – Guam.

Guam secured a silver medal despite scoring a miserly 8 goals in their six games.

Tonga sealed a bronze medal in the round robin tournament by the narrowest of margins – a single point – thus providing a base for their impressive displays at the OFC U-20 Women’s Championship –
Samoa 2006 and OFC Women’s Championship – Papua New Guinea 2007.

Host nation Fiji and rivals Tahiti – who lost out on a bronze medal with both nations sporting useful goal differences – turned in respectable performances with Vanuatu finishing one place off the
bottom of the table.

Kiribati lost all six matches, scoring two goals and conceding 38 in just six round robin fixtures.