Teivarii Kaiha, 21, has signed up to open a futsal school in the state housing project of ATIMA in the town of Mahina.
Having completed his studies in accounting, Kaiha recently joined the finance department of FIFA Tahiti 2013, the local organising committee behind the preparations for the 2013 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, set to be held in Papeete next September.
But it is his participation in two World Cup qualifying tournaments with the Tahiti futsal squad that will be aiding him as he looks to encourage greater participation in futsal in the area.
“The youth in my neighbourhood want to play futsal and I am an example to them because of my participation with the Tahiti national side,” Kaiha says.
One of six siblings, Kaiha says a lot of his success can be attributed to the support he has received from his parents and, in particular, his mother.
“Since I was very young my mother has encouraged me to participate in sporting activities to stop me from hanging out in the streets.”
Kaiha hopes the new futsal school will have the same effect on the kids in Mahina who will be motivated to achieve the same success he has had in the game.
And while building a strong base of futsal players for the future is one of his goals, on a more personal level Kaiha has also set his sights on joining Tahiti in the qualifiers for the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup.
National futsal coach Heitapu Hunter believes there is a strong chance that Kaiha will be amongst the players hoping to take Tahiti to their first futsal World Cup.
“Teivarii is a young player with very interesting techniques and physical skills,” Hunter says.
“After two experiences with the national side he must continue to show he is growing and maturing.”
Developed by the OFC social responsibility and technical departments, Just Play is designed for children aged six to 12 and promotes physical activity while encouraging community involvement, healthy living, gender equality and disability development.
OFC has worked closely with UEFA, the Australian Government – through its agencies the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) – and Football Federation Australia to implement the programme across the Pacific over a three-year period between 2009 and 2012. It was launched in Tonga and is now also running in American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti and Vanuatu.
The confederation has also been working in New Zealand with Special Olympics on a Just Play programme for people with mental disabilities and has launched the same initiative in Samoa and Fiji.
Just Play has reached over 106,000 children – 43 per cent of whom are female – across the Pacific and trained over 2,200 teachers and volunteers.
For more on Tahiti football go to www.ftf.pf

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