Diane Justus, women’s development officer for the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF), is also heading to the event as part of the FIFA technical study group.
She will team up with other members of the group in Singapore to observe the football competitions for both men and women.
The Papua New Guinea U-15 women’s team will meet up with their counterparts from Turkey and Iran in Group A while the Vanuatu U-15 men’s side will face Bolivia and Haiti in Group C.
SIFF received an invitation for Justus to take part in March and general secretary Eddie Ngava says the appointment is well-earned recognition for her contribution to football in the country, in particular what has been achieved in bringing the world game to Solomon Islands women.
“Women’s football was introduced to Solomon Islands in 1999 and just over 10 years later we have our women’s development officer chosen to officiate as a member of the FIFA technical study group,” he says.
“This is an important milestone for women’s football.”
Justus is delighted to have been given the nod and admits she was not expecting it at all.
“This appointment involves a great level of responsibility but what is important is the learning opportunity it will present,” she says.
“I am sure that what I will learn from this experience will help SIFF to improve our technical department and also assist with the development of local women’s football competitions, coaches and players.”
Justus is among the most highly-qualified women’s coaches in the Oceania region. She holds an FA Level 2 coaching certificate and an OFC senior coaching license certificate.
She is only 26-years-old but already has experience of coaching national women’s teams. Her first appointment was as an assistant coach for the Solomon Islands women’s U-20 team and she was also the assistant for the U-17 squad that came second in the OFC Women’s U-17 Championship in April this year.
Currently, she is assisting head coach Timothy Inifiri as the duo try to prepare the senior national women’s team for the OFC Women’s Nations Cup, which will be held in Auckland, New Zealand from September 29 to October 8.
The football section of the Youth Olympics kicks off today, two days ahead of the official opening ceremony, with Turkey meeting Iran. The last match will take place on August 25.
Both the Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea sides taking part have already been beaten by Solomon Islands teams this year. The SIFF LEARN&play U-16 line-up swept aside the Vanuatu Olympic squad 2-0 at the TVL Wantok Cup in January while Papua New Guinea were defeated 1-0 by the Solomon Islands at the OFC Women’s U-17 Championship.
Story and photo courtesy of SIFF Media.
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