The power and potential of football to reach the people of the South Pacific and help solve key social and health issues was the topic of discussion at a meeting between Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) General Secretary Tai Nicholas and Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs Su’a Kevin Thomsen yesterday.
Nicholas was in Wellington championing football as the number one sport in the South Pacific as part of a fact find mission to determine the location of a new HQ for OFC. Su’a Kevin Thomsen – Director of Policy and Communications at the Ministry – agreed football was making headway amongst youngsters in the islands.
“Discussions were hugely beneficial and I think there is a growing awareness of the popularity of football amongst our people in the islands. With so many of our teams transiting through New Zealand for tournaments it is important to garner close relationships with various arms of Government such as Pacific Island Affairs,” Nicholas said.
Football has poured millions of dollars into the development of state of the art training and playing facilities in the South Pacific and the numbers of those playing football instead of traditionally popular rugby reflected the success of the programme.
“It’s not just about football. The OFC President Reynald Temarii has a vision to use football as a capacity building tool for the community that makes up our football family. OFC has already committed an artificial mini-pitch at Kila Kila Secondary School in Papua New Guinea and similar initiatives are also planned throughout our region,” Nicholas added.
Su’a Kevin Thomsen said Pacific Islanders traditionally played all forms of ball sports with considerable success but said football helped focus and promote a positive sense of well-being and self-esteem amongst the people that played it.
“Soccer is a sport that helps promote a mature sense of national pride. Rugby is very very popular but most islanders born in New Zealand will aspire to play for the All Blacks. Soccer – because of the way it includes everybody in an equal and democratic way – encourages people to play for the nation they are born in or have a link with. I think this is very positive,” Thomsen said.
It is hoped that through developing a relationship with the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs that OFC will be able to address the cost of transit visas and providing opportunities for Pacific Island employees to upskill themselves and gain experience by working in football administration in New Zealand before returning to their countries to share their experiences and expertise.