The inaugural edition of the competition takes place in Tonga from May 1 to 8 at Loto-Tonga Centre – the home of the Tonga Football Association – in ‘Atele and is set to bring together the champion clubs of American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga to fight for a place in the 2013 O-League.
The winner of the four-team tournament will play off against New Caledonian side Mont-Dore, who finished the 2012 O-League with fewer points that any other side, to qualify for the next edition of Oceania’s premier club competition.
Pago Youth earned their chance to take part by clinching back-to-back titles in the American Samoa national league and president Silasila Samuelu says the players can’t wait to test their skills in an international tournament.
“This is a proud moment for our team because our title here means so much – we now get to travel to represent American Samoa as the best club on the island,” Samuelu says. “Our players are looking forward to playing against these clubs from our fellow Pacific islands.”
The American Samoa representatives begin their campaign against Samoan outfit Kiwi on Tuesday before meeting Tonga’s Loto Ha’apai on Thursday and Tupapa Maraerenga from Cook Islands on Saturday.
The spine of the Pago Youth side is likely to be made up of the national team players, who include defensive duo JR Amisone and Daru Taumua, both part of the American Samoan squad that made history in stage one of the Oceania qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup last November.
They will be boosted at the back by the physicality of Sam Tualaulelei while the midfield will feature Casper Kuresa, another member of the World Cup qualifiers squad. He will be joined in controlling the middle of the park by Ben Satele and Ryan Samuelu.
There is plenty of pace up front in speedsters Rambo Tapui, Eugene Neemia and Ailao Tualaulelei Jr, who must find the net if Pago Youth are to have any chance of qualifying for the play-off with Mont-Dore.
Coach Ailao Tualaulelei Sr believes he has a strong squad at his disposal and hopes to make the tiny island nation proud with some good results.
“We are very thankful for this opportunity and are looking forward to competing against these other three teams,” Tualaulelei says. “We have a lot of experienced players on our team, players that have competed in the American Samoa national teams. These are the players that we will lean on to guide our team during the competition.”

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