Football Federation Samoa’s (FFS) Savaii Senior Women’s 7 aside tournament kicked off on Saturday 12 September 2020 at the FFS Fields in Iva. The Tournament is a mini version of football played on a smaller pitch with a team of six outfield players and a goalkeeper on each side.
Savaii Development Manager Papalii Tala stated that the benefit of this version of the sport of soccer helps to develop the player’s speed, improve their technical skills while also giving clubs with smaller player pools the chance to attract more players and develop their teams.
Accordingly, the 7-aside tournament was introduced as a stop gap tournament to spearhead the soccer season in Savaii, however due to its popularity and interest evidenced from the Youth 7 aside competition, the tournament format is used to start the 2020 Savaii Senior football season.
“We decided to start our Senior Women’s tournament with a smaller scale style of football, giving the participating teams the opportunity to play in a fast and fun environment. Given the small number of women playing football, I believe the 7 aside is an effective platform to attract interest of girls as the duration of the game is shorter and more intense. It’s a quick way to gain the interest of girls who have the skills but doubt in their ability as when they are on the field eventually their energy and passion develops thus would feel the urge to play soccer.”
This tournament further assists efforts in the drive to develop and garner more interest in the game in the big island. The tournament is scheduled to run for six weeks on Saturday’s at the FFS center in Iva. Twelve teams from 10 registered clubs are participating namely:
- Mckay
- Vaiafai
- Iva Lions
- Salelologa
- Siufaga Hippo
- Vailoa Palauli (team 1 & 2)
- Pu’apu’a (team 1 & 2)
- Satupa’itea – Pitonu’u
- Sapapali’i SC
- Saipipi SC
