The OFC U19 Men's Championship is a huge success for the Football Federation Samoa. The focus will shift to the FIFA World Cup 2026 - Oceania Qualifier in early September.

"We are getting very good feedback about how we hosted the tournament," said Acting Chief Executive Officer Ravinesh Kumar. 

"This is the second tournament we hosted this year. The first one was successful and we got what we wanted. We got compliments from OFC and FIFA.

"Coming into this tournament was a little bit easier as we've done one of the tournaments earlier this year."

Mr Kumar believes the success of the tournament was due to the help from all the parties involved including the general public.

"There was no hiccups in the tournament. There were no major obstructions in the progression of all the games and I think it had a smooth flow," he said. 

"I have also received a comment from OFC and FIFA that they want to bring more tournaments to Samoa. At times it was challenging but with the help of the staff and volunteers from the people involved for example the Red Cross, SFESA, Police and the general public."

Hosting a tournament is not easy. The logistical work has to be in place to ensure that no one is interrupted, especially if they were travelling from abroad.

"When the teams arrived, our role was to provide them with transportation, proper training facilities and proper training grounds that they feel comfortable in, so they could aclimatise to the weather and participate in the competition," said Mr. Kumar.

He said competition between the teams was intense and was shown in the scorelines. He said the Federation was proud of the way the Samoa U19 had played. 

He said this showed that the team would grow into a team that could trouble the top rated teams in the region.

Meanwhile, the two spots for the FIFA U19 World Cup have been snatched by New Zealand and New Caledonia as they won their semi-final matches against Fiji and Solomon Islands respectively. 

Fiji will take on the Solomon Islands at 12 pm for the third place playoff while New Zealand and New Caledonia face off again at 3 pm.