Honiara is buzzing with excitement as national soccer teams from seven regional countries started arriving in the country for the much awaited Oceania Nations Cup.
Already we have the Vanuatu side which arrived last week, followed by Samoa on Sunday, New Caledonia on Monday then Fiji, Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Tahiti yesterday.
The final team to arrive today is New Zealand.
The competition kicks off this coming Friday.
Already the city is all geared up for the event with preparation in full swing.
Never had there been so much excitement in the city especially after the ethnic tension for the country to host or witness such a big and important sporting event.
The right to host this event is a dream come true for the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) and the nation itself.
As a soccer mad nation, we fortunate to have this competition hosted here.
Despite the short notice the country is ready to host this competition starting this Friday.
Its an opportunity to showcase to the region and the world that our country is capable of hosting such an important competition.
The success of the tournament now depends on the support from each one of us, the government and SIFF.
As a host nation, lets be good spectators to all the teams that are playing each day.
Such a competition provides Honiara residents the opportunity to see for themselves some of the top players in the region.
Come this Friday and the days to come lets not miss the live soccer action at Lawson Tama because its the best of the best team that are battling it out here.
So lets come out in numbers to support the competition to show that we love soccer.
On top of that lets support our very own Bonito boys during this competition.
They will be carrying our flags so lets cheer them out.
As most of the teams are here, we want to say ‘Welkam to the Solomons and hope you enjoy your stay’.
Lets show them our true Solomons hospitality.
Greet our visitors whenever you see them.
In the meantime as a Christian country lets not forget to put in our prayers – the competition itself and the weather.
Lets pray that the competition will run smoothly without much disruption from any unlawful activity as well as from the weather.
Best of luck to all the teams and may the best team wins.
