Having football facilities is one thing but ensuring that they are well-kept and maintained for competitions is very important.
This was the statement made by Oceania Football Confederation and PNG Football Association President, David Chung, during the opening of the two-day maintenance seminar this week in Port Moresby.
The seminar that was run by FIFA had trainers fly in from the FIFA headquarters in Switzerland.
They were Daniel Krebs, football facilities and income generation program manager, Mark Jennings-Temple, FIFA football turf and natural grass consultant and Steven Guley, FIFA facilities consultant.
The seminar was attended by facilities and turf managers from within the Oceania Confederation.
This included participants from American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, Vanuatu and host country Papua New Guinea.
Chung said the workshop will enhance the participants’ skills in maintaining the field quality in order to have quality football fields for their players to enjoy.
“I am sure that all of you will benefit from sharing ideas and also from learning from the FIFA experts who are here to ensure you learn as much from them and bring back your knowledge to implement in your respective countries,” said Chung.
He said FIFA’s Forward Football Development program has committed USD25 million so far in the Oceania region since 2008 in building football facilities, and such workshops are beneficial to ensure the investment is sustainable.
In welcoming the participants, Kreb said the objective of the seminar is to get them to learn about how to maintain their pitches and facilities.
“Turf and facility maintenance is integral, therefore knowing how to maintain those two things will enable you to be strategic in your budgeting,” said Kreb.