Solomon Islands U20 coach, Patrick Miniti, will brief his squad at the SIFF academy this Friday in preparation for for the OFC U20 Championship in New Zealand in January.
The squad’s last action was in a friendly international against Papua New Guinea U20 and Miniti says further matches will be needed to bring his side up to par. Elsewhere in the Solomon Islands, the U12 Honiara Primary school competition is drawing to a close…
Team coach Patrick Miniti says there is real need for the team to get together and focus their preparation on the competition ahead.
Miniti – who coached Marist FC during the OFC Club Championship in Auckland earlier this year – believes with proper preparation the Solomon Islands could make a significant impact at next year’s tournament.
In other Solomon Islands news the Honiara Primary Schools’ U12 football competition continues in the national capital with pool matches expected to completed by next week.
The boys category has three pools but only one has completed its matches to date. The girls have also pool play has finished and are waiting for the boys to complete theirs before moving into the play off stage.
According to spokesperson, Dianne Justus, organisers planned for the match schedule to be completed this week but with a tight schedule the competition will have to be extended into next week.
The purpose of the competition is to capitalise on the high interest in football currently sweeping the country. The competition has attracted about 20 schools and SIFF has pledged to make it an annual event.
The opportunity to progress to the OFC U12 Festival of Football and perhaps to the Danone Nations Cup in France should ensure high interest.