GOAL Programme - Cook Islands Football Association - 2008

On the Cook Islands, football takes third place after rugby union and rugby league. But if the countless women players were taken into account, the number would far exceed those for the other two sports put together. Among the women islanders, football is the second most widely played team sport after netball. The number of young players (both girls and boys) has also soared in the past few years. In 1998 and 2002, the Cook Islands national team qualified for the final round of the OFC Nations Cup. But so far, local players have not managed to break into foreign leagues. Joseph Chambers, however, a member of the national team for ten years (seven of which as captain) deserves a special mention.

From the very outset, the master plan for the overall project was split into three stages: following the association headquarters and a technical centre, the actual football playing facilities will now be installed. The Goal Bureau approved the corresponding application by the Cook Islands Football Association on 22 October 2008. In the mini stadium housed in the technical centre in Rarotonga, which is already in use, the spectator area will be extended by 500 seats and media facilities will be installed, thus meeting the requirements for regional and local competitions.