Come & Play football wraps up

Cook Islands Football Association will wrap up a successful Come & Play programme, for this year, tomorrow (Saturday).

This programme ran for seven weeks attracting around 150 children between the ages of 5 and 13 on Saturdays. The response has been overwhelming from the young children and parents who have been turning up at the Cook Islands Football Association’s complex.

Fun small sided games have been a buzz for the little ones showing their peers what they think soccer is all about for them, scoring goals and winning. While technical aspects and team work have been the overall purpose for the older children, enjoyment of the sport was the winner of the day.

“This is the third year that this programme has been implemented. This year has seen the number of the children’s attendance increase significantly due to the parents support,” said CIFA’s technical manager Jimmy Katoa.

“Living a healthy lifestyle” which football promotes is starting to hit the parents and getting the kids out of the house on Saturday mornings for a bit of fun football in a relaxed atmosphere. It is a great way to start the day with parents helping out with coaching and refereeing is what this programme provides.”