The CIFC technical department, led by technical director Tuka Tisam has selected the top U-16 boys from around Rarotonga and the outer islands, who took part in the recent football season on their respective islands to form the centre’s third intake.
The centre has been designed by CIFA as a way of developing and maintaining players who have shown potential in football and who could go on to become national representatives.
The first session of the 2014 programme got underway in early February and players have been attending trainings three times a week.
The specialised training is exposing them to a greater amount of football and giving the young talents their first taste of representative or elite level training sessions.
“In order to produce outstanding players we need to nuture and coach them at the highest level,” Tisam says.
In previous years the Centre of Excellence has been the breeding ground of future national team players, with the most recent crop representing Cook Islands at the OFC U-17 Championship in Vanuatu in 2013.
Tisam says the plan is to continue training throughout 2014 in preparation for the 2015 edition of Oceania’s U-17 World Cup qualifying tournament.
A similar programme has been set up by the Aitutaki Island Football Association (AIFA) at their new education centre in Vaipae where ten U-17 boys and seven U-17 girls have expressed interest in participating this year.
For more on Cook Islands football go to www.cookislandsfootball.com

Share