The Cook Islands will join nine teams from across Oceania in the OFC Under 19 Women’s Championship to be held next month in Fiji.

Teams from across Oceania will gather in Fiji to partake in the Under 19 Women’s Championship. The tournament organised by Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) will span across 18 days.

The draw for the OFC U19 Women’s Championship 2023 was conducted at VFF Freshwater Stadium in Port Vila on Tuesday, 16 May 2023by the OFC Competitions Department.

Teams have been placed into three groups, Cook Islands placed in Group three. Cook Islands has two games in the group matches. Group matches will be played from June 21 - June 28, followed by the play-off matches scattered across July 1 - July 8.

The national team’s first match is scheduled for June 25 against Tahiti. The second game is on June 28 where Cook Islands will take on Solomon Islands.
Coach Tuka Tisam has been working alongside assistant coach Mii Piri-Savage to prepare the girls for the tournament.
A consistent routine of multiple weekly training sessions along with workshops have been taking place over the past two months at the CIFA complex, enabling the girls to develop techniques ahead of the tournament.

Coach Tisam said: “The team’s training progress is great with their dedication, discipline, sacrifice and hard work. The players are receptive to feedback, showing improvement in all areas of their game with increasing their football knowledge, their confidence, self-belief and enjoyment of the game.”

This will be the first international tournament for some players, coach Tisam said.

“With the football knowledge they have gained over the two months with me has been impressive. I am confident the girls will utilise them effectively on the field, making informed decisions and executing their abilities to the best of their potential.”

The team selection will be announced within two-to-three weeks’ time, allowing sufficient time for fair evaluation of players performance and sacrifices.
CIFA is currently organising the team’s travel arrangement with a travel date to be confirmed later.

• CIFA Media