Football Federation Samoa

Football Federation Samoa (FFS) was founded in 1968.

In 2010 the organisation underwent a series of reforms under the stewardship of Colin Tuaa following a brief spell of inactivity.

The FFS Eelective Congress in March 2011 marked the end of their normalisation period and Toetu Petana was elected as President to help usher in a new era of Samoan football.

FFS experienced another changing of the guard after the passing of Petana in April 2014. Reverend Laupama Solomona stepped up to Acting President and Michael Kapisi was appointed as CEO in July 2014 after the departure of Sarai Bareman.

Bareman, a former Samoan representative player, went on to work for OFC before she was appointed as FIFA’s first Chief Women’s Football Officer in 2016.

The national league and programmes such as OFC’s Just Play initiative are running successfully and Samoan national sides are once more fully involved in international fixtures and OFC tournaments.

Samoa made an impact on their return to the international fold and earned a place at the 2012 and 2016 OFC Nations Cup after winning Stage 1 of the Oceania qualifiers for the FIFA World Cups of 2014 and 2018.

In February 2019, FFS held its Ordinary Congress and Papali’i Samuel Leslie Petaia was voted in as the new President, replacing Laupama Solomona while Fuata La’i Tautiaga was elected as the new Vice President.

In 2019, with the assistance of the FIFA Forward Development Programme, FFS made upgrades to their national stadium.

The project was completed ahead of the Pacific Games, which Samoa hosted, and the improvements included an enhanced capacity for 750 people including full accessibility for disabled fans and staff, spacious and functional changing rooms and operational areas, and VIP and hospitality lounges.

The world game remains especially popular with children and teenagers as FFS work hard to implement grassroots programmes.

In March 2020, Lupe Ole Soaga SC created a slice of history for the nation when they became the first Samoan club to win a game in the group stages of the OFC Champions League when they toppled Fijian team Ba FC 4-3 in Tahiti.

2024 was an historic year for football in Samoa. The U-16 women’s team enjoyed a memorable run to the final of the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship in Fiji. Despite losing in the final to New Zealand, their runners-up finish meant they qualified for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ 2025 – becoming the first Samoa national team at any level to qualify for a FIFA World Cup™.