FOOTBALL FEDERATION SAMOA

In January 2021, we were tasked with creating a scouting and recruitment department for Football Federation Samoa (FFS), with the objective of providing a continuous conveyor belt of internationally based players, both male and female, to support the existing homegrown talent. 

First of all, we developed an ambitious and exciting 4 year scouting and recruitment strategy. Our strategy was built around sustainability, ensuring the activities we put in place helped to identify players continuously. As we began our implementation, we recruited a team of remote scouts and implemented talent ID and verification processes to ensure we met FIFA's eligibility requirements. A significant effort was also undertaken to globally promote our scouting efforts, to increase the association of football with a nation which has traditionally been synonymous with other codes, and to also attract the best eligible talent.

As we started unearthing players, we began seeing unprecedented results... Culminating in the Samoan U16 Women's team qualifying for the U17 Women's World Cup in 2025.  10 of the squad players were directly scouted by us.

We have found over 350 eligible players globally, many of which are playing in some of the World's most recognised leagues. Since our strategy went live, Samoa have achieved record-breaking results, across all ages, in every tournament entered. In 2022, the Samoa women's team were amongst the highest climbers in the FIFA World Rankings, jumping up 10 places to 99. This prompted interest from global media outlets and we continue to unearth eligible players to help build on our initial success.