The football-mad youngsters at Vila North, Mele Maat and Fresh Water primary schools will get to make use of the gear and Vanuatu Football Federation (VFF) technical director Charles Vatu is delighted to help more children take part in the world’s most popular sport.
“We want every child from each primary school in Vanuatu to have the chance to play football and enjoy the beautiful game,” Vatu says.
“While most football clubs in Vanuatu may profess to having the same general goal of helping their players reach the highest level, the reality is that few clubs have a plan in place and the vision necessary to ensure the children in their clubs meet those goals.
“To achieve this we must have dedicated teachers who love football and can take time to teach the children basic skills and knowledge.”
Kaison Maki, the recently-appointed VFF Just Play development officer in Port Vila says the donations are part of the Just Play programme’s aim to develop the game at a grassroots level and promote physical activity among primary-aged children in the Pacific.
“While children learn to play the game as part of the Just Play programme, they also learn social skills like team work and fair play, and about health topics such as HIV/AIDS and malaria prevention, good nutrition, hygiene and clean water,” Maki says.
Vila North teacher Joel Pakoa is pleased to have received the equipment and says the students at his school will get plenty of use out of it.
“Having this equipment available will result in more children being able to play football on our school grounds,” he says.
Developed by the OFC social responsibility and technical departments, Just Play was launched in Vanuatu last April and has since been introduced in Tonga, Tahiti, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and South Auckland in New Zealand.
OFC is working closely with UEFA, the Government of Australia – through its agencies the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) – and Football Federation Australia (FFA) to roll out the programme across the Pacific. The Australian Government has shown its support to the project by contributing AU$4million.
In South Auckland, Just Play is supported by OFC’s partnership with the Sir John Walker Find Your Field of Dreams Foundation, Counties Manukau Sport and Auckland Football Federation.
For more on Vanuatu football go to www.vanuafoot.vu