The course was run by Colin Tuaa, head of the elite football working group for OFC, and is designed to give those taking part support, advice and guidance in preparing their respective teams for future tournaments.
The four OFC countries involved were American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga, who each sent the head coach of their male and female national sides.
Tuaa says the workshop has been timed to coincide with preparations for the first stage of Oceania qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014, the first stage of which takes place in Samoa in November.
“The course is aimed at assisting these coaches by working with them to help build knowledge as they prepare for stage one of the World Cup qualifiers,” says the former All White, who is also a former CEO of the Football Federation Samoa.
“It is also about finding out how the participants work and coach on the field. It will help them find ways to improve on what they are doing so their teams can peform well at future tournaments.”
Tonga national men’s team coach Chris Williams, who also led the country’s campaign at the OFC U-17 Championship in Auckland during January, is pleased to be able to attend the workshop and believes it will be of great benefit.
“For us, it’s a great opportunity to come to Samoa and meet some of the other national team coaches,” he says.
“In football, you are always learning so to come here and learn from some very experienced coaches is going to be priceless.”
Williams and the other national men’s team coaches attending the workshop are charged with the responsibility of gearing their sides up for the impending World Cup qualifiers.
The first stage will see the four lowest-ranked OFC member associations (based on the FIFA/Coca-Cola ranking and other sporting reasons) take part in a tournament based on a league system in Samoa from November 21 to 26. The countries involved will be American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga, and the top finisher will advance to the second stage, joining the remaining seven OFC teams that received a bye in the first stage.
Stage two will see the revival of the OFC Nations Cup where eight countries – namely Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu and the winner of stage one – will take part in a tournament based on a league system with semi-finals and a final. The tournament is scheduled to be held next year from June 1 to 12 and the winner of the final will go on to represent OFC in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.
The four highest-placed teams from the second stage will then contest stage three – a round-robin, home-and-away play-off series. The matches are foreseen to take place between 7 September 2012 and 26 March 2013 in FIFA windows.
The winner of the third stage will advance to the inter-continental play-off for a place at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. Whether the OFC representative will face an Asian, Central American or South American opponent will become known after the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Preliminary Draw on July 30.
The full list of participants for the OFC national team preparation workshop in Samoa is as follows:
Men’s teams: Avele Lalogafu’afu’a (American Samoa), Tony Jamieson (Cook Islands), Tunoa Lui (Samoa) and Chris Williams (Tonga)
Women’s teams: Uinifareti Aliva (American Samoa), Michelle Paiti (Cook Islands), Tala Saveaalii (Samoa) and Penieli Moa (Tonga)
The Cook Islands men’s team is coached by Maurice Tillotson and the women by Jimmy Katoa but, as they could not attend, the Cook Islands teams were instead represented by Jamieson and Paiti.
For more on Samoan football go to www.footballsamoa.ws