Sixteen administrators across five Member Associations completed an OFC Introduction to Club Management Certificate course via Zoom last Thursday.
Samoa, Fiji, Solomon Islands, New Zealand and Tonga took part in the course.
Facilitated by OFC Clubs and Leagues Officer Steven Dillon, the learning material was split into three parts; understanding football environments, understanding club football in Oceania and developing club capability.
The goals were to understand the context of football in Oceania, identify what makes clubs unique, learn basic principles of Club Licensing and create a development plan.
Lautoka (Fiji) Football Club Administrator Muni Nair said the course was beneficial as he learned how to better assist clubs with their administration.
“The most interesting part was learning how amateur teams have evolved around the region through Club Licensing and how we can move towards semi-professionalism,” Nair said.
“It was enjoyable to interact with other club delegates who attended the course.”
Football Federation Samoa Competitions Manager Papalii Le Mamea also took part in the course and echoed those thoughts.
“I learned how to help our local clubs raise the standards of delivering football administration across the islands,” Le Mamea said.
“I also learned how important it is for clubs to promote themselves to the world through digital platforms for the growth of our game and potential sponsorships. It was good to listen to the other participants’ perspectives.”
Dillon said the outcome was positive and clubs are showing a real desire to improve their operations on and off the field and recognise the value in ongoing development.
“We’ve assisted club managers, secretaries and administrators to understand how small changes in clubs can make a big difference to the development of our game,” Dillon said.
“These operations can range from sporting, infrastructure, legal, financial, administration and social responsibility.
“We have been fortunate to bring people together who are able to share and learn from each other and we will continue to do so with more online workshops in the coming months.”
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