Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) President Donald Marahare has met FIFA President Gianni Infantino in Paris to discuss the progress of the game in the Pacific Island nation.

The historic Oceania qualifying tournament for the FIFA World Cup 26™ was at the heart of the discussion at the meeting in the French capital. Solomon Islands will face Fiji, New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea in October and November 2024, with the top two teams from this group progressing to round three.

For the first time, the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) has a direct slot for the FIFA World Cup. With the expanded tournament bringing with it a guaranteed place for an OFC member nation, along with a possible second slot via the FIFA Intercontinental Play-off Tournament, there is palpable excitement across the region.

“Football has made so much progress in the Solomon Islands and it was a real pleasure to be able to congratulate Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) President, Donald Marahare, for the work he and his team have done when I welcomed him to FIFA’s Paris office today,” said President Infantino.

“I also wished the Solomon Islands good luck for the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers. With more slots available to each confederation than ever before, it gives more teams a great chance to make their debuts in what will be the most inclusive edition ever.”

During the discussion, the leaders reviewed topics relating to football development. Last August, the FIFA President visited the Solomon Islands to see for himself the work that is being done to develop football in the football-mad country.

“I visited the Solomon Islands last year and saw for myself the incredible passion the people there have for football. Now, with the progress that has been made on and off the pitch, that love for the beautiful game will only grow. The SIFF is doing impressive work investing in women's football and I was pleased to get an update on what is being done there, as well as speak about the FIFA Forward programme being utilised to aid development project,” added the FIFA President.

FIFA’s development work has allowed women’s football in the country to grow rapidly in popularity. The women’s national team secured a breakthrough runners-up finish at the Oceania qualifiers for the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024 and are now 88th in the latest the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking, while the country also successfully hosted the OFC Women’s Champions League in March 2024.

Three main FIFA programmes have aided this growth: the Women’s Football Development Programme, the Covid-19 Relief Plan and the FIFA Forward Development Programme which will ensure the women’s game continues to thrive in the Solomon Islands.

“Particularly in terms of women’s football I think it’s very important to us, because women’s football, in particular, just started recently. But then we’ve realised how within a very short period of time, the game has, indeed, improved. And the potential to become one of the best in the region is there. And so, the challenge to the Federation now, and to the country, is to ensure that we don’t stop there: we continue and bring women’s football, in particular, to new heights,” said Mr Marahare.

FIFA Forward has funded gym equipment, the IT system and other equipment in the new SIFF headquarters. The federation has also committed to using FIFA Forward Funds for the construction of provincial technical development centres by the end of 2026. Furthermore, the SIFF has applied to join the FIFA Talent Development Scheme (TDS) in which FIFA offers guidance to member associations on how to find, develop and coach talent.

“Apart from women’s football we always have other football developments, in terms of the youth in particular. It is important. It gives the commitment to the Federation as well as to the government, the need to ensure that football is benefited or played by everybody and everywhere within the country, and that is the thing we are doing now to ensure that we take football back to the people and to the rural areas. It’s a big challenge, but at the end of the day, we think it is our commitment and duty to ensure that football is actually brought down to that level, and to the people,” added the SIFF President.

“I also updated the [FIFA] President on the status of the TDS programme, and the academic facilities that we have back in Honiara, Solomon Islands. And I informed him, basically, about where we are, the fact that the main people who will be managing and administering the TDS programme, as well as the academy are already on the ground – they’re already there. I also briefed him on the status of the Football for Schools Programme that has been arranged together with FIFA.”