Tonga Football Association (TFA) is re-introducing its knock-out tournament after being dormant for five years.
‘TFA 2009 Knock-Out Competition’ will kick off on 8 August at the National Soccer Centre in ‘Atele for five consecutive weeks.
This follows the success of Tonga Football Association’s (TFA) 2009 major league season which ended last weekend.
The five year break is due to commitment to other football activities. The last TFA knock-out competition was held back in 2003 and was won by Ngeleia Football Club.
Football in the kingdom is growing from strength to strength despite the prominence of other sports. TFA technical director, Kilifi Uele said this is only possible after adopting new strategies put in place earlier this year.
“We are enforcing our road map and focusing on our technical activities, reviving the knock-out competition is just one of many initiative to come for Tongan football fans."
Uele goes on to say that football becomes a lifestyle for what he calls "football fanatics."
"Football is not just a sport, its about healthy habits, life-long physical activity and most importantly its about fun as we progress towards achieving OFC and FIFA initiative implementation."
"We are striving towards a higher standard of football and we can only achieve that by introducing more competitions at all levels in order for our players to gain more experience and be exposed to greater competition. It’s encouraging to see the increase in the number of clubs and especially youth participation,” he added.
“TFA 2009 Knock Out Competition” registrations will be from the 20th -31st July. TFA is encouraging all clubs to complete registration for both male and female teams in time to be eligible.
Meanwhile, TFA is looking to kick off its secondary school competition soon, that will see students battling it out for a range of prizes.
Courtesy of TFA Media.