District teams from Savaii and Upolu were invited to participate in the two-day event, which was organised by Football Federation Samoa (FFS) and was run in conjunction with Just Play, a FIFA-approved initiative which promotes physical activity for primary-aged children while encouraging community involvement and healthy living.
Nearly one thousand youngsters took part in the fun and were divided into U-12 and U-15 age-groups for boys and girls. Teams from Savaii dominated the action, winning three of the four categories on offer.
FFS acting chief executive officer Sarai Bareman was delighted with how the event unfolded and believes the Just Play programme has a bright future in Samoa.
“It has been great to have so many children participate and I want to thank all the teams and supporters who helped make this tournament such a success,” she says.
“We hope the young boys and girls of the country will learn more about the game through the Just Play programme and this will hopefully help them in the long run with their education.”
Savaii was represented at the tournament by the districts of Itu O Tane and Faasaleleaga while the Upolu flag was flown by the Faletai district, represented by the Mulifanua and Lepea communities. The FFS Fun Football team, made up of children who train every Saturday as part of their programme at the FFS grounds, also took part.
Itu O Tane president Tausala T Manase was pleased to see the youngsters getting so much fun out of the event.
“This has been a really great tournament,” she says.
“We have come all the way from Savaii and have really enjoyed it. I am very proud of the way the kids performed during the games, they have done really well. All of us wanted to make sure we would bring some trophies back to Savaii.”
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 also currently working in New Zealand with Special Olympics (NZ) on a Just Play programme for people with mental disabilities.
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 Samoan football go to www.footballsamoa.ws