OUR national Under-12, 14 and U-17 futsal sides left the country last Friday on a mission to the 2018 Australian National Futsal Championships in Canberra.
The championships will be held at Australian Institute of Sport, Australian National University, Tuggeranong Southern Cross Stadium, and University of Canberra for two weeks.
Two time champions, U-12 are on a mission to claim their third title in three consecutive years.
Winning the ultimate title will be the primary agenda for the Fox Caleb coached side.
Fox is confident the U-12 will defend their title next week with a good start.
He said the team is fully prepared for the competition and are eyeing to defend the title.
Despite being making his debut as a coach in the tournament, Fox is very much confident he will lead the team to victory thou a tough road is ahead.
“It will be tough because all the teams will try their best to take the title away from us.
“This is my first time to lead the team but I’m confident the team could defend the title.
“I observed during our trainings that the team is new, despite that with the support from some of our experienced players, I believe they can get the job done.
“We are going onto the court with everything we have to defend the title and maintain our status as defending champions
“We are a development team and besides defending the title, the utmost aim is to develop the mindset of our players,” he said.
The future Kurukuru stars won their first title in 2016, followed by another one last year.
Runners-up last year, the U-14 boys are looking to go one step better this time around.
The U-17 boys, known as the Junior Kurukurus are Oceania champions.
They are using the outing as part of their preparation for the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Head coach Stanley Puiarana who is leading the junior Kurukurus in Australia this Friday said they are aiming to use the tournament for exposure.
“Our aim for this competition is to gain more experience as well as to keep an eye on our weaknesses and strengths as part of our preparation to represent OFC in Argentina for the Youth Olympic Games,’’ he said.
He said his U17 boys will compete in the U19 category in the championship which will be an uphill battle for them.
“Even though our aim is to gain experience, I am 100% confident that my boys will do well in the competition,
“I trust them that they will do their best. ’ Puiarana confidently stressed.
Solomon Islands is the only Pacific Island country to participate in the tournament.
By SIMON ABANA
