In Tonga there are numerous barriers that have hindered the growth of women’s football in particular, since it was first introduced in 1986 by the late King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV.
Support from the Tonga Football Association to develop the game at a recreational level wasn’t lacking, however sustainability was variable with teams often forming and folding in the same season as they struggled to maintain numbers for trainings and matches.
Fifteen years ago things started to move in the country as the association pounced on an opportunity to reignite a passion for football which had been missing for some time, through the Polynesian Cup.
Tonga FA head of women’s football Adelaide Tu’ivailala says following some positive results in the Pacific Games and in various OFC tournaments interest started to grow prompting the Oceania Football Confederation to consider Tonga for a pilot project being launched – women’s only centres of excellence.
The key objectives of the project were simple, to develop talented individuals and improving their training habits while also encouraging the development of female coaches to support and sustain the growth and sustainability of women’s football.
A development plan was prepared which clearly set out the objectives and included a one-year action plan for implementation by the Tonga technical director Kilifi Uele and head of women’s football Tu’ivailala, with the assistance of OFC.
Steps included appointing female coaches who had been trained and accredited through the coaching pathway, scouting girls and holding trials and making selections – and most importantly having a passion for the game.
Several months into the pilot and already there is a clear pathway for girls who have not only increased their technical and tactical knowledge, but also their general understanding of the game.
“To me we were lucky to be selected to pilot this project and I would say it was based on the success of the Tonga women’s team in the past,” Tu’ivailala says.
The number of young girls is increasing through the Just Play programme so this pilot programme was introduced at the right time to capitalise on that. Being the head of women’s football in Tonga, I was so pleased and excited to have the project debut in Tonga and believe in the long term it will help women’s football development.
“Since we started last year we have seen some good results. There has been a huge improvement in the girl’s technical ability and they also appear very happy in their training.”

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