Tell us about yourself?
My name is Malaetala Salanoa, I am from Fa’atoia and Sapapalii Savaii. I am currently working as the Referee Development Officer and Referee Technical Instructor for FFS. I am also in the FIFA list of Referee’s 2022.
How did you get involved with the FFS Referee development role?
(Did someone encourage you to apply? Was the position needing to be filled?)
I joined football as a coach volunteer led by Papalii Tala Salamasina, he encouraged me to join refereeing in Grassroots level since his wife was the only FIFA badge referee in Samoa and was already pursue a career in refereeing at the time.
What makes the Referee development unique in FFS?
The quality of football in Samoa depends on the quality of referees. It is unique because it provides employment opportunities for those who wishes to join. We don’t get much from the job but the majority of referee’s depend on their job to sustain and support their families financially. Moreover, FFS invest a lot of resources and opportunities to upskill referees. It is an open-door policy as we welcome anyone to join our refereeing programmes at any time.
If you’ve been in the role for more than a year, what’s been a challenge?
There are a lot of challenges though one major challenge I face as the RDO is trying to convince people to take refereeing as their career. In our football community people are always interested in playing and becoming coaches however most are not confident to join Refereeing since they’re nervous when it comes to decision making.
What are you hoping to bring to the success of referee development in Samoa?
To increase the numbers of our Elite officials in OFC and FIFA and to progress the development of Referees in Samoa.
Why did you take on this responsibility, why are the referees’ development important to you?
I am passionate in my job as the Referee Development Officer and I know refereeing bring so much experience not only for myself as a career but at the social responsibility side. My mission is to push our local referees to join and to complete the many courses offered by OFC and FIFA to boost their skills and knowledge as well working hard to attain opportunities to officiate in OFC tournaments and FIFA World Cup.
