Photo Credit: OFC Media via Phototek
The first-ever OFC Futsal Women’s Nations Cup gets underway this weekend in the Solomon Islands, in a major step forward in the development of women’s futsal in the Pacific region.
Five nations will compete at Friendship Hall in Honiara, with not only the trophy up for grabs, but also a place at the inaugural FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup™, to be held in the Philippines next year.
It’s perhaps apt that Solomon Islands will be hosting the tournament. The nation has a rich history in men’s futsal, having won the OFC Futsal Men’s Nations Cup a record six times, as well as playing at four FIFA Futsal World Cups™.
Coach Arthur Barko is well aware of how much the sport means to the local population and believes it can provide a great opportunity to help the development of the women’s game in years to come.
“It’s been a great time for us. We’re looking forward to it, it’s the first time and for us in the Solomon Islands this is big.
“For women’s futsal, we’re really starting to push the development of it. We’re looking forward to try and bring that level to match that of the men’s game and we’re so excited about that,” he said.
Despite being hosts, Solomon Islands won’t be opening the tournament, with that honour falling to New Zealand and Tonga.
New Zealand Coach Nic Downes is excited to get going, with a sense of the unknown for what to expect over the coming week.
“This one was tricky to prepare for. Of course, it is a bit of the unknown. We sat down and thought to ourselves, what can we expect? What are the trends in the men’s game, maybe what are the trends in the women’s game outside of Oceania and in a way take a best guess at what we might come up against,” Downes explained.
Across from Downes on Saturday will be Tonga Coach Manu Tualau, who was in good form at Friday’s pre-tournament media conference. Tonga arrived in the country only on Thursday, but despite limited preparation time, Tualau is confident his side will give a good account of themselves.
“It’s been hard at first. For a lot of these young girls, they haven’t had much experience with a futsal tournament.
“Our goal is to do our best in every game. Every team wants to win but we want to score in every game and I think the team will do well,” Tualau said.
The evening kick-off on Saturday sees Tahiti take on Fiji, with the Fijians coached by former Solomon Islands futsal international Jerry Sam.
Now heading up Fiji’s futsal and beach soccer programmes, Sam is acutely aware of just how important this tournament could be, not just for his Fiji side, but for the growth of the women’s game for years to come.
“It’s very important that OFC has developed this pathway for women’s futsal. It’s important for us that OFC has created this first-ever Futsal Women’s Nations Cup and it’s something that should continue, so we can help women and inspire them to be part of this futsal family,” Sam said.
Echoing those sentiments on futsal development is Tahiti coach Yoann Zanoletti, who is excited about the potential for his young side. They will be looking to go one better than the men’s team, who finished runners-up to New Zealand at last year’s OFC Futsal Nations Cup 2023 in Auckland.
“For us it’s very special as it’s the first time that we have a women’s futsal team for Tahiti and we know Tahiti is awaiting our results, to see if we can do our best in this tournament,” Zanoletti said.
Regardless of who takes the trophy home and goes on to represent Oceania in the Philippines next year, the first-ever OFC Futsal Women’s Nations Cup will be sure to provide a huge boost for the game in the Pacific, as the sport continues to break new ground.
Watch every match at the OFC Futsal Women’s Nations Cup 2024 LIVE and FREE on FIFA+