Fiji Football Association (FFA) has launched Fiji’s first-ever football comic, Tabu Soro Futupolo, at Ba Academy last weekend.

“I actually got emotional looking at the pages!” laughs Louisa Simmons, Fiji Football Association’s Head of Women’s Development, who herself has played for the Kulas and Futsal Kulas (Fiji’s national women’s football and futsal teams), recalling the moment she first saw the pages ofTabu Soro Futupolo.

“‘Tabu soro’ means never give up in our indigenous language,” she explains.

“It is our football identity.”

Aimed at four to six-year-olds, Tabu Soro Futupolo follows the journeys of a young Roy Krishna and Adi, a little girl who dreams of becoming a Kula. The pair rescue a trapped shark and kula bird, and are rewarded with the power to shapeshift into the animals – with the shark, named Qio, and the kula representing the boys and girls of Fiji respectively.

Adi then meets former New Zealand international Hannah Wilkinson, who encourages Adi to dream big as she gets ready for Duavata Tournament, a major local competition. When Adi and the other players arrive at the tournament, their preparations are supported with many key social messages, says Simmons.

“They include dreaming big, healthy eating, dental health, sleep and recovery, friendship and diversity, where we want to promote the mixing around of different races, the different genders, gender equality, and environmental responsibility.

“We’re hoping to introduce the importance of these to the children from a young age,” Simmons says.

Tabu Soro Futupolo’s content was developed in consultation with major stakeholders, including the Fiji National Sports Commission and the Fijian Ministry for Health, who were keen to see the region’s rise of drug abuse and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) addressed in an age-appropriate way.

“While reading to the kids we didn’t really emphasize drug abuse, NCDs et cetera,” Simmons explains, “because [the children] are too young to understand, but they understood the messages. It’s in the book so the parents would get that as well.”

Simmons hopes that by targeting the youngest age group of Fiji’s player development pyramid, Tabu Soro Futupolo will help to inspire the next generation of Fiji footballers to emulate the young Kulas’ appearance at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2024, and as Fiji’s men’s national team gets set to play New Zealand in the Oceania World Cup Qualifiers later this month.

“We’re hoping these little ones will be the ones qualifying and playing at the World Cup for us,” she says.

With Fiji’s McDonald’s League covering players from under-nine and above, FFA wanted a programme that complemented OFC’s flagship Just Play programme and further supported the technical development of players before they reached that age group.

Tabu Soro Futupolo was inspired by FFA Technical Director Timo Jankowski’s 2024 visit to Japan Football Association, after he saw how they used their own comic books as part of their football curricula. FFA also had Japanese grassroots expert Hiroki Kojima visit and demonstrate how engaging comics can be integrated with football activities for four to six-year-olds. This formed the starting point for the Tabu Soro Futupolo comic.

To create the comic’s artwork, Jankowski and Simmons enlisted the help of former Football Fern Hannah Wilkinson, whose goal against Norway in the opening game of FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 secured Oceania’s first-ever senior FIFA World Cup win in 2023 and is building an impressive artistic resumé.

Fiji FA will target one early childhood education centre every week in the Western, Northern and Southern divisions to reach as many aspiring Kulas and Bula Boys as possible and inspire their next generation of footballers. They hope to host Wilkinson and Krishna at some point later in the year to launch Tabu Soro Futupolo in other communities in Fiji.

 Photo credit: FFA Media