The German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock today visited the Fiji Football Association (FFA) in Vatuwaqa, Suva.
During the visit, Ms. Baerbock met with the Future Kulas U15 Girls team and congratulated them for their victory in the U-15 Development tournament held in Lautoka yesterday, and wished them well in upcoming competition. The U-15 girls are looking forward to their upcoming matches against Samoa, Tonga and PNG and Tahiti.
The German minister commended the U-15 girls for their impressive achievements and motivated them to continue their passion for sports.
In her remarks, Ms. Baerbock said that Fiji and Germany share common values in promoting inclusivity and diversity in nation building and that her visit this week is an opportunity to further strengthen collaboration between our two nations in climate change, economic growth, and sports diplomacy.
Ms. Baerbock reaffirmed Germany’s committment to enhance cooperation with Fiji in sports development.
FFA Chief Executive Officer, Mohammed Yusuf acknowledged the new cooperation with the German Embassy in Fiji and the community in Lautoka to develop a football sporting facility.
Mr. Yusuf said there will be 2 teams from Oceania going to the World Cup in Morocco in 2026. As a result the girls from Fiji would have a chance to see the world through football, much like the U-20 team who are going to Colombia in September for the U-20 FIFA world cup.
24 year old Aliza Hussein, one of young coaches supporting the U-15 girls Team said after completing her tertiary education in Ba, followed her dreams and took up sports as her passion.
Since then, she has never looked back and has continued to excel in her achievements, aiming to represent Fiji at the international tournament. She said it was great to see Fiji and Germany are collaborating through sports diplomacy and promoting the girls sports team.
Her message to all the young people who are keen to pursue sports as a profession is, “Don’t limit your challenges but challenge your limits, you don’t have to be scared. I also request all the parents to support their daughters as they aspire to achieve their dreams be it in sports or any field for that matter.”
