With FIFA Women’s Football Development Manager Mayi Cruz Blanco facilitating, the women’s development officers and technical directors from each of the confederation’s 11 member associations shared just some of the projects and strategies that are helping them set the standard throughout the region.
Cruz Blanco said having dedicated women’s development officers in most of the countries has proven key to the rapid progress being made in the region, along with the input and guidance of OFC Women’s Development Officer Nicola Demaine, the FIFA Development Office and the OFC Technical Department.
“The fact that many associations have now applied to FIFA for support for the development of women’s leagues gives us a list of all those associations that are serious about the development of leagues and competitions at the youth level,” Cruz Blanco said.
“Because if you’re asking FIFA and you’re asking OFC for support for these projects that means that actually there’s commitment and you will deliver, so for me that’s a key message we are receiving.”
A huge array of information and resources were distributed throughout the three days, but what proved most effective in detailing how to move forward was the participants’ own case studies.
Seeing the success being achieved in countries such as Tonga, Vanuatu and New Zealand has given everyone present ideas to take back and mould to suit the needs of their respective countries.
FIFA Development Officer for Oceania Glenn Turner said for him personally the seminar has highlighted what is going on with women’s development in the region.
“It says to me OFC has really come of age in terms of its technical development, but it’s not just OFC. I think that the member associations have grown in stature and are achieving a lot more,” Turner said.
“You’re not just growing the game in Oceania, but setting up a profile of the women’s game for the other confederations. We are not, let’s be honest, an elite confederation in the same terms as the English Premier League, the Spanish league or the Asian Champions League, but what we’re achieving particularly with the numbers of the grassroots is not happening in many other regions.”
Tonga Football Association Women’s Development Officer Adelaide Tu’ivailala said attending a seminar like this is an encouraging experience that now has her thinking about what she can take back and begin implementing in her country.
“Sharing presentations and learning about the different philosophies they use in each association gives us all further ideas to put in place in our respective associations. For myself I know I need to be more proactive,” Tu’ivailala said.
For Football Federation American Samoa CEO Tavita Taumua the seminar was a chance to see the role management can play in developing women’s football.
“I think it is as Mayi said, the CEOs and finance officers must be involved, especially in the strategic planning. I’m happy as the CEO of our association to be here so I can see what is needed and what women’s development officers are trying to do throughout the region,” Taumua said.
“I think this is a seminar that should be attended by every CEO and association president because they need to know this information, they need to have a better idea of what is trying to be achieved by these people.”
Having recently returned to the folds of the Fiji Football Association, and now in the women’s development role, Charlene Lockington said every aspect of the seminar has been tremendously informative and has inspired her to work and build on development in her country.
“I’ve learnt a lot that I can take back, especially from when the Pacific countries were doing their case studies. I envied them a bit, I know I can do just as well as them – and I intend to do just that,” she said.
Demaine officially closed the seminar on Wednesday afternoon, but before doing so set all those present a challenge.
“For the women’s development officers we’ve got a lot of work to do. You’ve got OFC, you’ve got FIFA and all these programmes that you now know about so all those excuses can go out the window because you have so much available to you to get something started,” she said.
“It’s not going to be an easy job, you must care about the game to be here. And I challenge you to go back and do something great. You guys are how it’s going to happen in your country, however limited you feel, you are the springboard.
“To the technical directors, thank you for coming and giving up your time to support your women’s development officers. But if women’s football is not your passion then I would just ask you to empower the women who do have that passion and support them.
“I think barriers are not something that should stop us, but something that should challenge us, so you need to find a way over or around them, using all the networks that you’ve been given,” Demaine concluded.

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