The Solomon Island Futsal team have revealed their official kit for the upcoming World Cup in Brazil.

The team has taken delivery of two playing strips, two training uniforms and tracksuit, along with two types of polo shirts, bags, socks and drink bottles at the Dural Sports and Leisure Centre where they are camping ahead of their trip to Brazil.

Media spokesman traveling with the team Mr. James Ruhfus confirmed the team had received their official kit. He said the the team’s ‘home’ playing strip consists of a yellow shirt with blue shorts, while the ‘away’ strip features a green shirt.

‘It looks really good,’ said Kurukuru captain Elliot Ragomo, ‘I can’t wait to play our first game in it.’
The strip was manufactured by Veto Sports in Brisbane.

Pic1 : Solomon Kurukuru team modeling their new official off and on field apparel

Pic2 : Stanley Puairana, Elliot Ragomo, Junior Kogua and Coach Victor Wa’ai model the new playing strips.

Pic3 : Stanley Puairana, Elliot Ragomo, Junior Kogua and Coach Victor Wa’ai model the new playing strips.

Pic4 : Pastor Seru, Jack Whetney, Stanley Puairana, Samuel Osifelo, Dickson Kaudau, Elliot Ragomo, Lenson Bisili

Source : Oceania Football Confederation
Published : 11/9/2008
Photos: James Ruhfus

Solomon Kurukuru have begun an intensive ten-day training camp in Sydney in preparation for the Futsal World Cup in Brazil later this month.

After travelling from Honiara to Sydney on Tuesday, the boys are now living and training at the Dural Sports and Recreation Centre. The team is no stranger to the centre, having been there in January and April this year to prepare for the World Cup qualifiers in Fiji.

Coach Victor Wai’ia is happy to be able to use the facilities at Dural.

“Although the boys don’t like the cold weather, it’s better here because it is a proper court – exactly the same as the courts that we will play on in Brazil – so it’s good to be back,” he said.

The team has also benefitted from a gym and pool session at the Blacktown Sport and Leisure Centre. So that they can better compete with teams at the World Cup whose average age will be at least seven eight years older than the young Solomon Islanders, increasing strength and size has been a priority for Kurukuru.

Kurukuru had their first test on Saturday which they lost narrowly (3-4) to a strong New South Wales state team. The last time the two teams played was in the semi finals of the Australian National Futsal Championships, with New South Wales clinching the winner in the dying seconds of the game.

‘We’re going to do a lot of work on defence while we’re here,’ said coach Wai’ai ‘Saturday will be a good test to see where we are at; we’ll be taking the game seriously,” he said prior to their match last Saturday.

Meanwhile, the team will leave Thursday for Brazil via Dubai. From Dubai they will travel to Sao Paulo then to Brasilia to acclimatise and play a series of practice matches against local club sides before the competition proper starts.

Kurukuru beaten 4-3 in friendly

Solomon Kurukuru lost narrowly to a strong New South Wales side 3-4 last Saturday in their friendly match at the Dural Sports and Leisure Centre, Sydney.

Though they lost they could still take plenty of positives out of the game.

On a freezing cold and rainy day in Sydney, it was always going to be hard for the Kurukuru to find their rhythm, but they still started the better of the two teams and Micah Lealefa soon found the back of NSW’s net after some good defensive pressure gave him a clear shot at goal.

But a number of defensive lapses saw the home side equalise and then go 1-3 up at half time. The pivotal moment of the match came late in the first half when the Solomons leaked two goals in one minute, which proved to be too large a gap for Kurukuru to overcome.

The second half saw the boys thaw out somewhat and their play improved as a result. Passes met their target and there was an overall lift in intensity. Early on captain Elliot Ragomo scored after a neat pass exchange with Jack Whetney, but NSW soon hit back to keep their two-goal buffer intact.

Kurukuru then threw everything they could at the home side and looked like they could manufacture an unlikely victory after Whetney finished off a classy Ragomo run. To their credit though, NSW remained strong in defence, with their keeper forced to make a number of crucial saves to secure his team the victory.

Despite the loss, coach Victor Wai’ia was happy with the result, ‘The boys played very well,’ he said, ‘they took their time to get into the game, but when there were some very positive signs for us. The line-up we used meant that the whole team got game time, which was important in the lead-up to Brazil.’

Ragamo was also upbeat, ‘it was a good game. The New South Wales side was physical and strong and we weren’t focused in the first half and the boys were finding it very cold, but in the second half I think we started to play our game and we were unlucky in the end not to win. It was a good start for us to prepare for this world cup and we can learn a lot from it.’

The team will continue to train at the Dural centre and also use the Blacktown gym before leaving for Brazil on Thursday evening

Source : Oceania Football Confederation
Published : 8/9/2008

A capacity crowd of nearly 500 spectators packed the grandstand at the Dural Sport & Leisure Centre to watch the young Solomon Islands Kurukurus do battle with the NSW Thunder Men’s team in preparation for their tilt at the 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup.

As soon as World Cup bound referee Scott Kidson got the game under way the young Islanders had the NSW team under enormous pressure with their quick passing, ¾ court pressure defense and speed around the court. However by the time Micah opened the score for the visitors they had wasted several clear cut scoring opportunities which could have put the game beyond the NSW team. As the clock ticked on the tide begun to turn and the Jamie Amendolia / Steven Knight coached team grabbed control of the game and exposed some weaknesses in the Solomon’s defense. None more so when Danny Martinez found himself with a simple tap in chance from 2 metres out following a corner kick that the defenders failed to clear. From then on the first half belonged to the State team with Dylan Maloney scoring after a great pass from Rhys Giovenali and Toby Seeto making it 3-1 after dispossessing a Solomon Islands defender near their “D” and giving the goal keeper no chance with a fine individual goal. The teams went to a well deserved rest with NSW clear leaders by 2 goals.

NSW dominance continued at the start of the second half as they created several good chances which they could not convert. They were made to pay for the missed opportunities as brilliant Elliot Ragomo punished the NSW defence in a lightning counter attack that showed all his skill and class making the score 3-2. From then on the Solomon took control of possession but the resolute NSW defence, aided by some brilliant saves by Peter Spathis, a strong contender for Man of the Match, held them out. As it is usually the case in Futsal, the team under territorial pressure hit back with some great counterattacking play. NSW, against somewhat the run of play, increased their lead when Marino Musumeci scored following an incisive pass from Rhys Giovenali. The goal seemed to affect the young Kurukurus and NSW created a few more chances but failed to seal their win with another goal. In the final few minutes the Solomon Islands team fought back but due to some great saves by Spathis again had to wait until the last minute of play to narrow the margin to 4-3 with a goal by Jack Whetney. The game ended with the Solomons pressing the NSW goal but the locals held firm for a nice win. As the full time went, the appreciative crowd gave both teams a standing ovation.

The game provided much needed match practice for the visitors, while for the local coaches it was a great opportunity to see how their charges are progressing as they prepare in their quest to regain the title of Australian champions to be decided in January at the Nationals in Canberra.

NSW 4 (Danny Martinez, Dylan Maloney, Tobias Seeto, Marino Musumeci) vs. Solomon Islands 3 (Micah Lea’lafa, Elliot Ragomo, Jack Wetney)

NSW Starting 5: 2 Peter Spathis (c), 3 Andrew Nolan, 24 Tobias Seeto, 25 Rhys Giovenali, 10 Adrian Vissari

Subs: 1 James Gullotta, 8 Marino Musumeci, 23 Dylan Maloney, 9 Daniel Fogarty, 6 Ross Fazzalaro, 12 Danny Martinez, 5 Shervin Adeli, 30 Dean Lockhart

Solomon Starting 5: 22 Junior Kogua, 3 Elliot Ragomo (c), 5 Lenson Bisili, 7 James Egeta, 12 Jack Wetney

Subs: 2 Philip Ttou, 4 Jenan Kapu, 6 Moffat Sikwa’ae, 8 Francis Lafai, 9 Micah Lea’lafa, 10 Samuel Osifelo, 11 Ron Gino, 13 Stanley Puairana, 14 Junior Lipka

Source : Robert Varela
Player List via Football NSW Futsal
Published : 8/9/2008

The Womens National Futsal Team is preparing for the first Womens Futsal World Cup to take place in Reus Spain this year. The tournament will run from the 29th September to the 6th of October and Australia is in a group with Italy and Paraguay group,with the top two progressing to the quarter – final.

The World Cup will be attended by 12 teams that qualified last month, Australia is going as the top team in Asia. The countries involved are: Argentina, Australia, Brasil, Colombia, Eslovakia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Paraguay, Czech Republic, Russia and Venezuela.

The players representing Australia are:

Melissa Barbieri – GK – VIC
Sarah Hasted – GK – QLD 
April Mann – QLD
Sarah Garven – QLD
Lailey Tanson – QLD
Jo Burgess – QLD
Jodie Hammond – QLD
Jade Banks – QLD
Greta Kennedy – SA
Seyma Enrely – VIC
Kate Lutkins – QLD
Jasmine Kent – QLD

Coach: Gui Costa – QLD
Assistant Coach: Jeff Hawkins – VIC
Manager: Jennifer Vanderstam – QLD

The team will have a camp from the 22nd to the 25th of September at Acacia Ridge (Brisbane). All are welcome to come and watch or say hello, with players available for photos and autographs after sessions (around 10.30am after the morning sessions or after the afternoon sessions around 4.30pm) .

Coach Gui Costa is happy with the progress of trainings and hopes the team will be ready for their 1st game on the 30th of September in Reus when they face Italy.

“We have a good bunch of players that have been playing the game for a long time. It won’t be an easy task playing against the powerhouse of Futsal in Europe, but I think that we can surprise a lot of people”

Source : Vikings Futsal
Published 6/9/2008 

Solomon Islands begin their World Cup preparations with a camp at the Dural Sports and Leisure Centre. The Oceania Champions are getting ready for their first ever Futsal World Cup to be held in Brazil, this coming October.

The Solomon’s will be taking on the NSW thunder at Dural Sports and Leisure Centre this Saturday.

Come and watch the exciting Kurukuru as they play their entertaining brand of Futsal which seen them qualify for the FIFA World Cup

Solomon Islands vs. NSW Thunder

Dural Sports and Leisure Centre

Saturday 6th of September

Kick Off: 4:30pm

Solomon Islands Squad: Elliot Ragomo, Alick Lioka, James Egeta, Micah Lea’lafa, Jack Wetney, Philip Houtarau, Jenan Kapu, Moffat Sikwa’ae, Francis Lafai, Ron Gino, Stanley Puairana, Lenson Bisili, Samuel Osifelo, Junior Kogua.COACH: Victor Wai’ia

Groups for the upcoming FIFA World Cup

Group A: Brazil, Russia, Japan, Cuba, Solomon Islands
Group B: Italy, Portugal, Thailand, Paraguay, USA
Group C: Argentina, Ukraine, China PR, Guatemala, Egypt
Group D: Spain, Czech Republic, Iran, Uruguay, Libya

Source : Football NSW Futsal
Published : 4/9/2008

If you are not a Solomon Islander, you may have wondered about the name ‘Kurukuru’ as used by the Solomon Islands National Futsal Team.

Kurukuru is actually a Solomon Islands term for the Pigeon bird.

The Kurukuru bird is a common Solomon Islands household pet with a stout body and red feet. It is usually in the dark grey or black color.

The Kurukuru bird is commonly found in the temperate and tropical region and feeds only on seeds and fruits, its favourite being the famous Solomon Island’s Ngalinut fruit.

You may have also wondered why Solomon Islanders picked the name Kurukuru as it sounds nothing like its common name the ‘Pigeon.’

According to Mr. Barry Samson from the famous Marovo Lagoon, the name Kurukuru originated from the Western Province, way before people knew the original name of the bird.

The name came about because of the sound the pigeon bird makes that is ‘Kuru kuruu kurukruu.’ This then resulted in ‘Kurukuru’ which stuck and is now widely used throughout the Solomons.

Even today, most Solomon Islands do not know what the actual name of the Kurukuru is. But hold up a picture of the bird and you will get “ohh, yes Kurukuru.”

The Kurukuru bird is one of the harmless bird creatures, the reason why it is a preferred household pet.

However, because Solomon Islanders also eat this bird, the amount of these birds being killed for food is high, the reason for it being rarely sighted.

According to Mr. Samson, Solomon Islanders should take more consideration for this bird and protect them.

Source : Solomon Times Online
Published : 3/9/2008
By : Gina Maka’a

Prior to leaving for the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Brazil, Prime Minister Dr. Derek Sikua invited the Kurukuru Futsal Team to the National Parliament as an acknowledgement for the team’s achievement.

Dr. Sikua said that the Kurukuru team has done the Nation proud for “representing the Oceania region and the Solomon Islands at the 7th FIFA Futsal World Cup in Brazil in October, 2008.”

Dr Sikua spoke on behalf of all Solomon Islanders, in wishing the Futsal Team every success in their games and stated that the team will depart knowing that they are supported and have done Solomon Islands proud.

Dr. Sikua then went on to acknowledge sporting organizations in the Solomons.

The Kurukuru team will leave this afternoon to fly our flag higher in the upcoming Futsal World Cup.

Prior to the games, the Kurukurus will spend two weeks in Australia and another two weeks in Brazil as part of their training camp, before the World Cup begins in October.

Good Luck Kurukurus!

Source : Solomon Times
Published : 2/9/2008
By : Joanna Sireheti

The Kurukuru made history again today when they became the first sporting group to have been acknowledged in the National Parliament.

Hon. James Tora the Minister of Home Affairs congratulated the Futsal team as they prepare to travel to the World Cup this afternoon.

“I would like to wish them a safe journey and all the best in their preparations towards the World Cup in Brazil,” says Mr. Tora.

The Kurukuru Futsal Team received SBD$155,000 towards their trip.

“I would like to thank the Minister of Finance for ensuring that the money was given to the team as they prepare to travel,” says Hon. Tora.

Kurukuru Coach Victor Wai’ia told Solomon Times that they have been quite honored to receive the money and to have been the first sporting team to have been congratulated in Parliament.

He said that what the Government did for them was unexpected and they have been touched by the support.

“My boys were very excited to meet the decision makers of the country,”

“Solomon Islands will put in the best that we can to win our games. As we continue to trust in the Lord, we hope to make this nation proud,” concludes Coach Wai’ia.

Source : Solomon Times
Published : 2/9/2008
By : Gina Maka’a

Kurukuru captain Elliot Ragomo promises they will give their best in the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Brazil.

The team leave Tuesday for Sydney and where they’ll spend a week playing friendly games with New South Wales sides before flying to Brazil.

Ragomo, who captained the team in the OFC qualifying round and now to the World Cup, says the boys are full of confidence.”From our training sessions everyone has shown great commitment and we are prepared to meet our opponents,” he said. “We know we have no proper facilities to build us up but we will try and prove we can play,” he said.

Kurukuru head Coach Victor Wai’ia says his boys are well prepared and now focus on the first match against Cuba on September 30, Brazil on October 2, Japan on October 4 and Russia on October 6.

He said every participating country has their aims and objectives and that is to win. “Likewise we too have the same aim and objectives. What I want from the boys is to put their best,” he said.

Players are: Elliot Ragomo, Alick Lioka, James Egeta, Micah Lea’lafa, Jack Wetney, Philip Houtarau, Jenan Kapu, Moffat Sikwa’ae, Francis Lafai, Ron Gino, Stanley Puairana, Lenson Bisili, Samuel Osifelo, Junior Kogua.

COACH: Victor Wai’ia

Draws for FIFA

Group A: Brazil, Russia, Japan, Cuba, Solomon Islands
Group B: Italy, Portugal, Thailand, Paraguay, USA
Group C: Argentina, Ukraine, China PR, Guatemala, Egypt
Group D: Spain, Czech Republic, Iran, Uruguay, Libya

Source : Solomon Star
Published : 2/9/2008
By : Charles Kadamana

The Solomon Islands National Futsal team – Solomon Kurukuru left this afternoon for Sydney where they will spend about a week there before they depart for Brazil.

The Kurukuru are traveling to Brazil to participate in the FIFA Futsal World Cup making them the first ever island team to have qualified for this renowned competition.

This morning they paid a visit to the National Parliament where the Prime Minister Dr. Derek Sikua tabled a special congratulatory motion.

Among other speakers who showed words of encouragement was the Leader of Opposition Manasseh Sogavare, Minister of Education Hon. Job Duddley Tausinga, Minister Responsible for Sports Hon. James Tora and other two MPs.

It was a moving moment and members of the Kurukuru Futsal team and their management really appreciate the gesture and respect given them by Members of Parliament.

Source : Solomon Star
Published : 2/9/2008