The four-day course was held at the home of the Samoa Football Federation in Apia at the end of September and was made possible by the relationship between the English FA and OFC.
Two instructors from the FA – England U-15 girls national team coach Kay Cossington and England ladies goalkeeping coach Mark Phillips – ventured down under to pass their knowledge on to the participants, who learned about many aspects of the women’s game during various theoretical and practical sessions.
OFC women’s development officer Nicola Demaine was also on hand and was pleased with the outcome of the sessions.
“The participants displayed a good level of coaching by the end of the course,” she says.
“Every coach was comfortable conducting a session and some high level work was demonstrated. The coaches thoroughly enjoyed the course and learned a great deal from the highly-experienced instructors.”
Demaine says having the services of a specialist goalkeeping coach was of particular benefit as that position is an area the OFC Technical Department has identified as one in which standards must be raised, in both the male and female game.
“The inclusion of a goalkeeping coach emphasised the importance of encouraging players to take up this position,” says Demaine, who has spent plenty of time between the sticks herself.
“The coaches were given lots of ideas as to how to incorporate the teaching of goalkeepers into their sessions.”
The course was intended as a follow-up to a similar FIFA programme run in Samoa last year and the aim of such courses is to increase the participation levels and standard of play in women’s football throughout the country.
The nation, the sporting landscape of which is still dominated by the oval ball, has shown promise in the women’s game and competed in two international tournaments this year, the Oceania qualifiers for the London Olympic Games and the OFC U-20 Women’s Championship.

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