SOLOMON Islands National Women’s U19 Team are set to take on the hosts Tonga in their opener of the OFC U19 Women’s championship qualifying stage at the Loto Tonga Soka centre in Tonga today.
Qualification for the OFC U-19 Women’s Championship 2025 in Tahiti will be decided in this Tonga-hosted championship involving Solomon Islands, American Samoa and the hosts.
Following the Solomon Islands National Women’s Team’s departure from the country last Saturday through Nadi, they settled well in Tonga ahead of their first match today.
Solomon Islands have a history of producing high quality women players and teams and have been a regular fixture in OFC U-16 and U-19 Women’s Championships and Coach Priscilla Tariga is excited for what her team can achieve.
“For our Solomon Islands side, we’ve prepared a lot back home and now we’re looking forward to getting started in this tournament. We look to win that first game. Then we can possibly look ahead to Tahiti later this year. It’s very important though that we can get a win in this first game.
“We work a lot back home, especially with the development of the women’s game. These tournaments really help in terms of developing the U-16 and U-19 teams back home in Solomon Islands,” Coach Tariga said.
Mark Uhatahi will lead the Tongan side, with the coach confident that good preparations and home advantage can give his side a boost in their hopes of qualifying.
“All the team officials and coaches are well prepared for tomorrow’s game. We’re so excited and can’t wait to get started tomorrow (today),” Coach Uhatahi said.
“Being able to play on home soil will be a major boost for the girls but also for women’s football here in Tonga, to increase the popularity of the game. It’s another step forward for the development of football here in the country.
“Being able to play on home soil will be a major boost for the girls, but also for women’s football here in Tonga, to increase the popularity of the game, Coach Uhatahi added.
For American Samoa, this is their first appearance at an OFC U-19 Women’s Championship since the Cook Islands in 2019.
American Samoa Coach Ruben Luvu is conscious that the nation has missed out on these tournaments in recent years but is looking forward to the positive development his players can gain from this week.
“Our preparations have been really good. We have a lot of young players coming through and our preparations are really focused on their development and the pathway that we’re trying to create for women’s football.
“It starts from our U-16 team. A lot of those players are now here for the U-19s. They’ve been in competitions, like in New Zealand (OFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2024 – Qualifying), so we’re trying to create that pathway. It’s been a long time since we’ve been in this tournament,” Coach Luvu said.
With the 3 nation’s competition in the qualifiers for a spot in the main competition, Solomon Islands and Tonga have been a regular fixture in the OFC U16 and U19 Women’s Championship.
Both nations also present in Fiji for the last OFC U19 women’s championship in 2023, with Tonga eliminated in the group stage, whilst Solomon Islands knocked out by eventually winners New Zealand in the quarter finals.
By FLOYD TERRY JNR
Solomon Star, Honiara
