BY ROMULUS HUTA
ONE of the country’s young soccer coaches, Moses Toata is currently attending a five days FIFA/OFC Instructors Course at the Oceania Football Confederation Academy in Auckland, New Zealand.
The course brings together 19 coaches representing 10 OFC member associations across the Pacific including Toata who are being given a unique opportunity to enhance their knowledge with sessions to be delivered by some of the most esteemed FIFA coaching instructors.
A team of FIFA officials who are conducting the workshop includes Branimir Ujevic, FIFA’s Head of Coaching and Player Development; FIFA/CONCACAF Coaching Instructor Etienne Siliee and FIFA/AFC Coaching Instructor Mohamed Basir.
OFC Head of Education Giovani Fernandes told OFC Media the main purpose of the course is to empower the coaching educators to deliver their own programmes within their own context by adapting it to their own realities inside their MA’s.
“Our approach is to have active participation of the candidates in the course and a lot of reality based experience so they will actually have to do the things that they do in their member associations and in that way along with the FIFA experts we can share and support each other to improve,” he said.
Toata, a former natural left footed national midfielder, is the current head coach of club champions Solomon Warriors FC.
Being one of Solomon Islands’ most decorated coaches, Toata had won several domestic and international titles with Solomon Warriors in the Telekom S-League and the Melanesian Super Cup in Vanuatu, respectively.
His attendance at the course this week holds a lot of importance toward football coaching development in Solomon Islands.
Upon the conclusion of the workshop, Toata will come out as an accredited coaching instructor who will then assist the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) technical department to deliver coaching programmes to other coaches in the country.
Toata describes attending the course as vital for the road ahead.
“This is a very important part of my coaching career and for the country’s football coaching development pathway.
“At the moment we don’t have enough coaches coaching at the C and the B License.
“By attending this course, I may be able to deliver coaching courses in the C Level and if I get my A License hopefully by the end of this year, may be able to help the technical department deliver the B License to our local coaches,” said Toata.
