HOPE IS IN THE YOUTH TEAMS

Solomon Islands have come far in football, having played almost every nation in the pacific and creating a reputation for being amongst the top footballing nation in the pacific. Recently, the sport that have taken flight all over Solomon Islands is the game of futsal. The futsal game is a smaller code of football and involves five players on the court and using a weighted ball, they play in almost similar game time as other shorter games such as basketball, handball and netball. The game has been welcomed well in the isles of Solomon Islands and although it has come few years back, Solomon Islands compared to other nation in the futsal game is still a child growing up.

One of the biggest achievement and even a surprise that Solomon Island has shown to the world is by playing in the FIFA Futsal World Cup not only once but three times and also feature one of the youngest side in any FIFA Futsal World Cup. The most emotional and inspirational story to the Solomon Islands national futsal team known as Kurukuru is that these players have been together since they started the game. Known as the pioneers of futsal, they have continued to show the pacific region their dominance and this winning spirit started right back to their first outing in Australian State Futsal Championship when they were in the U12 category. Elliot Ragomo, Jack Wetney and Francis Lafai are amongst the first players who were in that squad and they are still currently playing in the current Kurukuru side. The pacific is now home to many futsal countries as many countries have seen the beauty of the game and how it is a global international game. New Zealand, Tahiti and Solomon Islands are amongst the top teams in the pacific and they keep on improving although Solomon Islands have the upper hand in skill and talent for the game of futsal.

Many years down the road and Solomon Islands have again regained their pride in the U12 category again after successfully winning the 2017 Australian Futsal State Championship. This time a new generation of futsal players have emerged and the question to be asked is what are the responsible football body of Solomon Islands will do to sustain such promising talents? Solomon Islands have had a history of creating a lot of talent in the youth futsal especially the U12 categories but later on the players and teams slowly disappeared. There are many reasons behind the disappearance of such promising teams and one general reason that is quiet obvious is that Solomon Islanders themselves failed to motivate, guide and install good values for these youth teams to continue on. The future of futsal in the Solomon Islands is looking great but the possibility of the future slipping away is also high and that is something worth considering. The current national U12 Solomon Islands team have definitely proven to the pacific countries that Solomon Islands have some awesome reinforcement for the current Kurukuru team when it disappears in the future. It is ripe time for proper management, guidance and assistance for this current youth players both U12 and U14 as they are the very future in this game. A game that Solomon Islands is not only good at but is the current pacific champions.

Solomon Islands people should be proud of the achievement they have achieved when it comes to futsal as now the pacific recognizes Solomon Islands as the top futsal country and have also set their mark in the world stage. Indeed, youth teams are the way forward in regards for development and also the future of the game. Solomon Islands can still achieve more and go to great heights in this game. Congratulations to the current U12 national team for winning the U12 competition in Australia.

picture taken from Latest Soccer News in Solomon Islands page