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In great news for Solomon Islands football, the Australian Government and Football Federation Australia are forming a new partnership to support the development of elite football across the Pacific.
Via Australia Pacific Australia Sports The four-year program will see investments facilitate regular international matches between Australia and Pacific national teams such as the Solomon Islands, in addition to capacity-building initiatives to support the development of players, match officials and administrators across the region.
The partnership will cover women’s and men’s football across age groups as well as international futsal, providing Pacific national teams with the opportunity to regularly train and compete against Australia’s best players.
The partnership was announced by Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, the Honourable Pat Conroy MP, via video message at the second match of the international friendly between the Subway Joeys football team and the Solomon Islands Under-19 men’s national football team in Honiara on Sunday evening (18 August 2024).
The Metro Joeys bounced back from Thursday’s defeat to win 4-1 against the Solomon Islands Under-19 side.
The announcement was also attended by the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, His Excellency Jeremiah Manele, and the Australian High Commissioner, His Excellency Rod Hilton.
“Through this partnership, the Australian Government hopes to develop more Pacific football superstars, get more Solomon Islanders players to play in the A-League and Premier League, and strengthen the close ties between Australia and the Solomon Islands,” High Commissioner Hilton said.
Minister Conroy said Australia and the Pacific were brought together by a shared love of sport and it was great to see football continue to grow and gain popularity across the region.
“The Australian Government is proud to have a successful partnership with Football Australia through Pacific Australia Sportsproviding more opportunities for Australian and Pacific football teams to compete at the highest level and strengthening the ties between our two countries,” Minister Conroy said.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister, His Excellency Jeremiah Manele, receives a signed jersey from Football Association Australia Chief of Staff, Alex Davani.
The renewed partnership continues a string of successful collaborations between Pacific nations, beginning with the Australian Junior Matildas’ Pacific tour to the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Tonga in 2019, and subsequently expanding to include Australia’s men’s and women’s national football teams at all age groups.
This partnership, along with the Solomon Islands Football Federation, has brought the Australian Futsal Team and Subway Joeys to the Solomon Islands in 2024. During the Subway Joeys tour, Football Australia officials hosted a refereeing knowledge sharing workshop with the Solomon Islands Football Federation on Friday, August 15, 2024.
The partnership will continue to deepen people-to-people and sporting ties, strengthen connections with local communities and bring the region together through a shared love of football.
Solomon Islands local superstar Raphael Lea’i, who currently plays for Adelaide City Football Club in Australia, said of the Solomon Islands-Australia Sports Partnership: “(The PacificAus Sports Partnership) means a lot to the Solomon Islands. We need to play against Australia. This gives us a great opportunity to see and play against the Australian team first-hand.”
“Football and futsal are the main sports in the Solomon Islands. Everybody loves football and futsal. For us to go to Australia, or represent Australia in the Solomon Islands in men’s football, women’s football and futsal, it really helps us as players and also helps us as partners.”
– AHC press release
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