Barret calls for stronger development pathways to lift SI women’s football
[Published on Friday, March 6, 2026]
BY RICHARD MENANOPO
Solomon Islands women’s national football team head coach, Daniel Barrett says strengthening local development and creating pathways for players to gain overseas exposure will be key to lifting the country’s women’s football standards in the future.
Barrett made the remarks following Solomon Islands’ narrow 2–1 loss to Samoa women’s national football team in their final match of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 OFC Qualifiers Round 2 at the National Stadium Honiara on Thursday evening.
The defeat brought an end to the hosts’ campaign after three days of exciting football that saw six matches played in Honiara.
Speaking after the match, Barrett said the reality facing smaller Pacific nations is the growing presence of overseas-based players in rival teams, something Solomon Islands currently lacks.
“Let’s be realistic about this tournament. The American Samoan team is all Americans. They’re not American Samoan. They are girls that come and they play college football or professional football in America.
“Samoa also has players who play in Australia, New Zealand and America as well,” Barrett said.
Barrett said this makes domestic development even more crucial for Solomon Islands if the country hopes to keep pace with regional rivals.
“We as a nation can’t draw on girls playing outside to come play for us. So, what we do here with our girls is so important now to keep up with these nations.
“A good development system is going to be very, very important here,” he said.
Despite the heartbreaking defeat, Barrett praised his players for their effort in what was a tightly contested encounter against Samoa.
“We lost the game today, working really hard trying to win it. We attacked as much as we could. We wanted to play more on the front foot and take the game to Samoa.
“I think we did that, just unfortunately we couldn’t get one more goal than them tonight,” he said.
The decisive moment came through an unfortunate own goal, but Barrett was quick to defend the player involved, saying such moments are simply part of the game.
“In football you have good luck and bad luck. Unfortunately we had some bad luck in that situation. It’s not the player’s fault at all.
“I’ll go in there and tell the girls how proud I am of them tonight,” coach Barrett said.
Solomon Islands also created several promising opportunities late in the game, including a shot that rattled the crossbar, which Barrett believes show the team’s attacking potential.
“Maybe we missed the chances tonight because in the other two games we didn’t have lots of opportunities to attack.
“If we played another two more games, I think you would have seen even more improvement,” he said.
Looking ahead, Barrett believes helping the country’s best talents gain opportunities overseas could significantly strengthen the national team in future tournaments.
“One thing I would like to help do now is to try and get our best players here playing abroad as well.
“Then we can bring them back to play for the national team when the games are on,” he said.
The Round 2 qualifiers in Honiara brought together teams from across Oceania, delivering several entertaining matches and giving local supporters a chance to witness international women’s football at home.
For Solomon Islands, the campaign may have ended, but Barrett believes the experience gained will play an important role in shaping the future of women’s football in the country.
Photo credit: SIFF
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