The new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Football Federation Samoa (FFS) Seve Dr Folototo Seve was officially welcomed by FFS President Papali’i Samuel Petaia and staff on Monday 6 January 2020 at the FFS Headquarters in Tuanaimato.
Dr Seve’s record as the former director of the Finance Department for the National University of Samoa (NUS) coupled with his success as the Dean for the Faculty of Business and Entrepreneurship has given him strong foundations for his new position at the helm of Samoa football.
Having achieved his objectives over the last four years as the Dean of the Faculty of Business and Entrepreneurship for NUS, and following a 15 year long career with the university he considered it time to take up a new challenge.
“I love working and I’m always aspiring to create positive changes and impact whatever environment I work in. So when I saw the opportunity to make a positive impact on the operational aspects of FFS and the development of football, I knew this was a challenge I wanted to take on, thus there would be a change yet again in my career path.”
According to Dr Seve, he already has a plan for the next three years with FFS with his priority to establish systems within FFS to specifically ensure the financial and administrative aspects are in order.
“Ensuring that there are policies in place, all FFS assets are properly accounted for as well as addressing audit issues are some of my priorities at this point in time. We also need to look at ways to improve the development of the game of soccer in Samoa, and we can focus on this once the proper administration and controls are in place and the right systems have been established in order to help the game grow.”
Dr Seve’s outstanding achievements and experience as a professional administrator, along with his solid background in finance will bring much needed experience to help drive the development of football in Samoa into the future.
“In the long run, I would like to see better results from our national teams, as well as results in the growth and development of young Samoan football players which can be measured by the success of our national teams and in securing contracts to play in Australia, New Zealand and even Europe,” Dr Seve added.
“If we are able to get at least one or two people contracted to clubs overseas, that is an indication of the development and growth of the game in Samoa. There would be no point in having all resources and development programmes in place if there are no results to show for them.”
Dr Seve is contracted for a term of three years. He holds a PHD in Financial Accounting and a Masters of Commerce from Australia National University as well as a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts from the National University of Samoa. Dr Seve hails from Fagafau and Samata, Savaii and is married to Liliu Seve with whom he has three children.