Four Technical Directors from the Oceania region were selected to participate in the FIFA Standard Course for OFC and CAF in Cairo, Egypt between May 31- June 2.
Tahiri Elikana (Cook Islands), Timo Jankowski (Fiji), Paul Isorua (Papua New Guinea) and Moses Toata (Solomon Islands) spent three days in theory-based sessions learning more about the role and responsibilities of a Technical Director.
The course was split into eight chapters including an introduction to growing professionally, the position of a Technical Director within an MA, technical department setup and football environments analysis with a focus on group collaborative activities and personal reflection.
OFC Head of Education & High Performance Owain Prosser presented and attended the event alongside FIFA’s Technical Consultant for Oceania Tony Readings.
Readings said these types of events are invaluable for football development in the Oceania region.
“The Technical Directors will return to their Member Associations with a greater level of understanding their roles with innovative ideas and solutions to the challenges they face,” Readings said.
“The course provided a great opportunity for the Technical Directors from OFC to network and learn from their counterparts from the CAF region, and identify different ways of thinking.
“A very positive environment was created throughout the course that enabled a high level of sharing and collaboration among the participants.”
Elikana, who was appointed as Technical Director for the Cook Islands Football Association in 2021, said the course was beneficial.
“Meeting new people is what I enjoyed most,” Elikana said.
“Three days is a short time to get through and process all the information that was taught, but the teams from FIFA, CAF and my fellow Oceania colleagues made the trip a memorable one.
“Looking ahead I have learned ways to try implement and build the foundation of our vision, teams and programmes.
“I also believe that while we’re a small nation, the problems bigger Member Associations such as our colleagues from CAF made me realise that although we are from different countries, we have similar goals.
“Building these networks and working together will help find positive solutions to help develop football in our region.”
