Five match officials have taken a significant step forward in their refereeing journey after being presented their OFC Referee badge, signifying a historic milestone for the Football Federation American Samoa (FFAS).
The presentation marked of the FIFA MA Referee course delivered by FIFA Referee Instructor Rakesh Varman and FIFA Fitness Instructor Siuta Tavake of Tonga, with James Taito, Tavita Kaio, Iliui Williams, Mckayla Tua and Irae Moatoga becoming the first officials from FFAS to earn their OFC badge.
“It was a surreal feeling for them and for myself, it’s been years of pushing them and advising them that as a referee they can make a career out of it,” FFAS Referee Development Manager Sione Mau said. “Without the support and commitment to developing match officials here in American Samoa, this wouldn’t be possible.”
With the recent success of their national women’s team during the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 Qualifiers, Mau praises the achievement for giving more exposure to the talent in American Samoa.
“Not only our players get to achieve international recognition, but now our match officials also get the same thing. Now they’re like a role model for all our other officials,” Mau said.
“If you’re not qualified as a national team player, this is another way for you.”
OFC Head of Refereeing Kevin Stoltenkamp was pleased with the persistence of the referees, praising their commitment to years of hard work.
“To finally have officials who meet the criteria, although we bring them every year to try and get them, it’s that consistency,” he said.”If you work hard, you will get the reward.”
“When you get the badge, you know you can progress. So that’s it, we want people to work towards getting their badge.”
Stoltenkamp explained that the badge is designed to give officials something tangible to strive for. Earning their OFC Referee badge, they now open themselves up to a progression of OFC tournaments can attend.
“For us it’s the under 15 development tournaments, then under 16 tournaments, then OFC tournaments, the qualifying tournaments, then the OFC Championship, and hopefully on to our biggest competitions at the moment, the OFC Pro League and Champions League.
“If you’re not a footballer you can also become a match official, and this just ties in with having the pro-league now, we started from a development and we’re creating a pathway and hopefully some of them will go on to reach that level.”
For the five newly badged officials, the achievement is just the beginning, with one of the five part of the officiating team at OFC U-15 Boys tournament in Auckland.
“This opportunity comes in once. So you have to grab that opportunity and take it, don’t take it for granted.” said Sione Mau.
Looking ahead, Mau has set an ambitious target in his long-term development plan.
“By 2030, we should have 15 plus OFC Match officials and at least two FIFA [Officials],”
“Without the support and commitment to developing match officials here in American Samoa, this achievement wouldn’t be possible. So I want to thank all of them.”