(Photo Credit OFC Media via Phototek)
Representing the Solomon Islands fills Patty Kenimoi with pride. The 15-year-old attacking midfielder was one of their standout performers during an ultimately disappointing campaign at the OFC U-16 Men’s Championship in Tahiti.
The young man from the Malaita Province is very much the future of Solomon Islands football. Growing up in a football mad country, there was only one thing he ever wanted to do.
He went through the IUMI play programme in his village in the Malaita province. It’s a development program for players aged 6 to 12 that SIFF established in 2020 in 50 centres around the country. Solomon Islands U-16 Men’s coach Eddie Rukumana first spotted Kenimoi at the National U-14 tournament in Honiara and could tell he was a prodigious talent.
“All 10 provinces took part, and his team won the trophy, the national title, and he was selected to represent the Solomon Islands at last year’s U-15 Youth development tournament held in Auckland.” Rukumana said.
“It made me feel happy and I told a lot of my friends that I was selected for the under-15s, for the national team.” Kenimoi added.
He describes travelling in an aeroplane for the first time.
“I felt like a professional footballer already. And the first time I went on a plane, I was really frightened. Going up in the sky I felt like a professional because everything was provided for free, but I was also afraid of the height,” he reflected.
After that trip Kenimoi started training with the U-16 team.
Travelling internationally presents opportunities but also challenges for young players who are being taken outside their comfort zone. One such challenge is diet.
“Some of the players are facing difficulties with diet. Now we have the National Academy where it’s established and we try to control the diet of the players, to eat the right food that the players can take to help them grow as professional players.
“But back in their homes, they just take something that is not helpful for them, like they eat noodles, they eat rice and taro.” Rukumana said.
“Some of the food in Tahiti we know a little bit. It tastes nice, but it’s not good for us. Some of the food is good, and sometimes the food was cold because we’re used to the warm, hot food. When we come here, we have cold stuff inside sometimes. So that’s the big difference.” Kenimoi said.
While the results at the OFC U-16 Championship haven’t been as good as the Solomon Islands players hoped (2-1 defeat by Tahiti, 3-1 win over Samoa and a 6-2 defeat by New Caledonia before winning the playoff for 7th 1-0 against Vanuatu,) Kenimoi says he has grown and learned a lot from the experience.
“I’ll go with my teammates and they’re helping me to learn and learn new things. Experiencing some of the things that I’m not good at. And they’re helping me to build a future for next time and anytime I’m doing good things in the future.
“I learned how to develop and play differently and play at a higher level. I started to learn new skills and learn new things.” Kenimoi said.
The Solomon Islands had dominated the Qualifying tournament in Tonga in April where they scored 29 goals in three games without conceding. But Kenimoi says the Tahiti experience has proven to be a big step up.
“Qualifying is different. There were teams that prepared well for this competition. Everything we did in Tonga looked good but the quality here is much higher. So, we must go home and work harder to make sure we qualify for the next World Cup.” Kenimoi said.
Kenimoi is still 15 and will be eligible for that next campaign, in which he is sure to be one of the leaders in the Solomon Islands team.
The Koloale College student understands the passion of the fans back home and he admitted he stayed away from reading any social media following the team’s final Group B game defeat by New Caledonia, which ended their hopes of qualifying for the FIFA U-17 World Cup ™ in Qatar next year.
“I think for me I don’t need to look at anything. I stay focused and work hard. I don’t want to spoil the team or anything. Even though there was criticism against the team I would just ignore all the criticism but just work hard for the future tournaments.” Kenimoi said.
Kenimoi is inspired by Solomon Islands international Raphael Lea’i who played professionally in Bosnia before homesickness saw him cut short his contract. He is now playing for Adelaide City.
But Kenimoi knows he will have to venture offshore and out of his comfort zone if he is to one day fulfil his dream of making it as a pro.
“The only way for you to go out and succeed is you have to face more challenges. Whether it’s playing in a cold climate, I will keep going because I want to play in Europe,” Kenimoi said.
Kenimoi says he draws strength from God and from his spirituality and admits his weakness is his “over eagerness to go past two or three players when I should pass.”
And the talented teenager had a positive message for kids, encouraging them to follow their dreams.
“If you want to be a star, you have to sacrifice, work hard, dream big, and also follow those ones who developed you, especially the coaches and parents. Those ones are really backing you up. That’s a message to the younger ones that still want to have a future in football.”