“I really enjoyed our soccer team and the Special Olympic Games in LA,” team member Hanipale Tovale said following his return home.
“We had a lot of fun and I want to go again!”
The unified football team competed in a four-team competition at the Special Olympics World Games: Los Angeles 2015, with their opponents including eventual gold medallists Indonesia, bronze medal winners Philippines and Malaysia.
It was a tough pool for the Pacific Island side, with three losses in each of their pool games. They opened their campaign with a 7-0 loss to Malaysia before socring their first goal in the 8-1 loss to Indonesia. Their final pool match saw them notch another defeat, this time 6-3 to the Philippines.
In the medal rounds, American Samoa was pitted against the Philippines once again in a game that went down to the wire before Philippines edged ahead to win 4-3.
“It was a great game with all our players giving everything they had on the field,” explained Ryan Samuelu, one of three unified partners in the squad and also the team captain.
“The other teams were more experienced than most of our players, but we showed a lot of heart.”
The Special Olympics Unified sports category couples players with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team.
For American Samoa the unified players were Samuelu, Tevita Taliaoli and Willie Malele.
“I have seen a big change in all of you, especially the unified partners,” Speciail Olympics American Samoa chairman Tafaimamao Tu Tupuola told the team.
“When we first held our Camp Shriver back home, I saw the unified partners sitting apart from our non-unified players. But in LA I could see you all interacting with one another and treating each other as friends and brothers.
“Thanks to this unified soccer experience the unified players do not look at our other players differently.”
Football Federation American Samoa president Fai’ivae Iuli Alex Godinet was impressed by the performances of each member of the team and the strong bonds the players have formed.
“We are proud of the Special Olympics Unified Football team and hope that all of the players continue to play football so they can go to other regional and World Games.”
For more on American Samoa football visit www.ffas.as

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