Solomon Islands is one of the countries in the Pacific dedicated to football as their national sport. For many generations, the football scene has been dominated by the provinces that have always produced fine footballers but these provinces exclude the likes of Renbel province. A small province in Solomon Islands home to the only Polynesian people in the country. For many years, the people of Renbel province have represented Solomon Islands in the game of rugby and they eventually got the stereotype of being the rugby people of Solomon Islands. However, for the twenty three year old Avaiki Chiefs’ midfielder, Edward Puia, his determination to succeed in the game of football is different to many of the athletes that come from the same province.
The soft-spoken Renbel lad has come a long way in his football and although he might not be able to stand out from the rest in football, he is always positive and continue to follow his passion of playing football. Fast forward into the future from back then and we found Edward Puia controlling the middle pack for the Avaiki Chiefs’ football team. In an exclusive interview with young Edward, he shed some of his own perspective about football and his future goals in the game.
How did you start getting involved in football?
When I was a little boy, I remembered enrolling for a futsal club. I can’t really remember now but yeah Futsal was the first step. I then later moved on to the eleven a side football. I just played for the school teams and nothing too serious.
What is your goal in the game of football that pushes you to play?
Well, there are many goals that kept me going but one is that I want to rich a higher level of football in Solomon Islands. This kept me believing and keep going.
What do you think of the potential in Renbel players to play football?
I personally believe we have a lot of potential In our players to play football. However, the biggest problem is that almost everyone loves rugby. I believe if my fellow province men could get involved in football a lot more, we can definitely be a good team.
What is your personal goal in this Solomon Cup tournament?
My goal is to showcase who I am as a young footballer coming from the least expected province to produce people to play football. I want to do my best and hopefully, I could impress some coaches to pick me too.
What is your call for the good supporters of Avaiki Chiefs team?
My call to our good supporters of our team Avaiki Chiefs Football team is to hold hands together and come out and support us. It will boost our morale as players. We need your support.
The young midfielder was quite outstanding for a very lean player to maneuver around in the center of the field. Not only he caught the eyes of the many people but he also caught Solomon Islands national team head coach Felipe’s attention. The young talented Edward will be featuring in the upcoming matches for the Avaiki Chiefs. To many younger children from Renbel watching Edward play, they will have someone to look up to when it comes to football.
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