The Oceania Football Confederation Education Centre launched as a pilot project in Tonga and Cook Islands in September this year and following its success will make its official entrance in New Caledonia next week.
The initiative offers an in-country educational institute where participants can learn and share knowledge, skills and experience in football across a variety of topics from coaching and refereeing to sport medicine and administration.
OFC Technical Director Patrick Jacquemet has played a key role in implementing the vision of the Confederation President David Chung and the OFC Executive Committee, and said it is a positive move for development in the region.
“This initiative will be focused on education, but not just the training of coaches as has been the trend in the past,” Jacquemet explained.
“We want to reach everyone involved in football, coaches of course, but also referees, administrators – the whole football family.”
Jacquemet said the goal now is to get the OFC Education Centre up-and-running in each OFC Member Association across the Pacific.
“Training is very much a priority if we want to progress and be competitive at a global level.
“We’ve already started with pilot projects in the Cook Islands and in Tonga and today we are opening this institution in New Caledonia.
“There is a real need. Football is the number one sport here and we want greater consistency in the courses, better organisation and we want to give the public access to as many courses as possible,” Jacquemet said.
The former professional footballer said New Caledonia is set to become an example for the rest of the region in terms of the implementation of the OFC Education Centre.
“With the infrastructure and the competencies in this country, we could say that New Caledonia can be an example for the other MAs,” he said.
“We hope this initiative will serve the federation in New Caledonia, but also motivate other countries and set in motion the path for its successful launch across Oceania.”
The OFC Education Centre in New Caledonia will be inaugurated on Monday 11 December at 2.30pm at its base the Centre International Sport et Expertise (CISE).