The new Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of the Football Federation Samoa (“FFS”) Seve Dr Folototo Seve was officially welcomed by FFS President Papali’i Samuel L Petaia and staff on Monday 6th January 2020 at the FFS Headquarters in Tuanaimato.
Dr Seve’s record as the former Director of the Finance Department for the National University of Samoa (“NUS”) coupled with his success as the Dean for Faculty of Business and Entrepreneurship establishes the perfect platform for his new position as the new FFS CEO.
Dr Seve stated that having achieved the objectives he worked towards in the last four years as the Dean of the Faculty of Business and Entrepreneurship for NUS, and having been with NUS for 15 years he considered it was timely to start on something new.
“I love working, and I’m always aspiring to create positive changes and impact to whatever environment I work in. So when I saw the opportunity to make a positive impact on FFS’s operation and development of football, I knew this was a challenge I wanted to take on, thus there would be a change yet again in my career path.”
According to Dr Seve, he has a plan for the next three years with FFS, however his priority is to establish Proper Systems within FFS to specifically ensure financials and administrations are in order.
“Ensuring that there are policies in place, all FFS assets are properly accounted for as well as addressing audit issues are some of my priorities at this point in time. We also need to look at ways to improve the development of the game of soccer in Samoa and we can focus on this once the proper Administration and Controls are in place and establishing the right systems in order to help the game grow.”
Football is perhaps the most strongly supported game financially by its governing body, therefore a crucial aspect of its Administration is to guarantee FFS has an effective system in place to manage finances and roll out its development programs.
Dr Seve’s outstanding achievements and experience as a professional administrator and solid finance background will bring glaring energy to drive the development of football in Samoa.
“In the long run, I would like to see better results from our national teams, as well as results in the growth and development of young Samoan football players which can be measured by the success of our national teams and in securing contracts to play in Australia, New Zeland and even Europe,” Dr Seve added. “If we are able to get at least one or two people contracted to clubs overseas, that is an indication of the development and growth of the game in Samoa. There would be no point in having all resources and development programmes in place if there are no results to show for them.”
Dr Seve takes over from outgoing CEO Faumuina Michael Kapisi and is contracted for a term of three years. He holds the qualifications of PHD in Financial Accounting and Masters of Commerce from Australia National University as well as a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts from the National University of Samoa. Dr Seve hails from Fagafau and Samata Savaii and is married to Liliu Seve and they have three children.
