Goal Programme - Tonga Football Association - 2005

Although football comes only second after the all-pervasive sport of rugby union in Tonga, it is all the rage among the island's younger population. It is very likely that football will overtake rugby union in the next few years. Tonga's greatest football triumph to date was their triumph in the first ever Polynesian Cup held in 1993 with victory over Samoa and the Cook Islands. Although local players have not yet made their mark on big leagues abroad, the Chief Executive of the Tonga Football Association, 'Ahongalu Fusimalohi, was appointed to the FIFA Executive Committee in 2002. The Tonga association is the only sports organisation on the island that employs full-time administrative and football staff.

Tonga's second Goal project will develop and improve the national football academy and the association's headquarters in Atele, Tonganapu, which was built in the country's first Goal project. This development work will ensure that all of the Tonga Football Association's needs are fully satisfied. Local matches will be held at the football academy, while the administration's requirements, including the needs of players, officials and spectators, will also be covered. The football school will be transformed into a House of Football.