Michelle Paiti was recently appointed as the Just Play project manager for the Cook Islands Football Association (CIFA) and talks have been held with the government’s ministries of education and health, who have given their full support to the programme.
A presentation will also soon be made by Paiti and CIFA technical director Jimmy Katoa at a primary school principals meeting, during which they will explain in detail the concept of the Just Play programme and how it can be implemented.
CIFA’s Just Play team will then work towards to the pilot phase, which they hope to begin with a facilitators course on March 7 and 8 before the official launch on March 9. It is planned that the programme will kick off in schools and communities by March 14.
CIFA has previously implemented a similar programme, Come & Play, which has been running successfully for the last three years during the months of July and August on Saturday mornings at the CIFA complex in Rarotonga.
But Katoa says the big advantage of Just Play is that schools and community groups will now have equipment and a coaching guide to help run the programme themselves.
“I’m pleased that the programme will include local community groups,” he says. “It helps promote active lifestyles among our young citizens, many of whom come from disadvantaged areas or have limited access to clubs.”
Paiti is the first female Just Play project manager to be appointed across the Pacific region and has been given a head start by travelling to OFC headquarters in Auckland to attend an instructors course in December and a project managers meeting in January.
“This is just one of football’s social responsibility initiatives throughout the Pacific,” CIFA President Lee Harmon says. “We are grateful to have Michelle Paiti appointed as the project manager to implement this programme.”
‘Just Play’ is a unique grassroots programme which promotes physical activity for primary-aged children while encouraging community involvement and healthy living.
Developed by the OFC social responsibility and technical departments, Just Play was launched in Vanuatu last April and has since been introduced in Tonga, Samoa, Tahiti, Solomon Islands and South Auckland in New Zealand.
Next on the agenda are Fiji and Papua New Guinea while 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 Cook Islands football go to www.cookislandsfootball.com