Courtesy: Solomon Star News

Local fan urges OFC to reconsider decision

By PHILIP LILOMO

A LOCAL football fan has appealed to the Oceania Football Federation (OFC) to reconsider their decision to switch from Sky Pacific to Mai TV.

Ate Teraka from Gizo, in a letter to Solomon Star, said this is for the purpose of transmitting football signals to islands nations of the Pacific.

“Mai TV is a new comer to the industry hence luck the experience and the know how to effectively televise football matches throughout the region as experienced during the last OFC Futsal Championship in Fiji.

“We in the Solomon Islands are yet to view even the Solomon Islands Vanuatu Game. It has been advised that the final will not be available at least for the next six weeks.

“The first match was aired in Solomon Islands seven weeks after the tournament! This only goes to show that Mai TV is technically incapable of relaying matches”, he said.

Teraka added not only that but the TV channel is only available to residents of Fiji but by signing up with Mai TV, OFC has infact denied the residents of other nations from watching the game they most loved.

This in effect is a failure on the part of OFC.

“The right thing to do now is to switch back to Sky Pacific as it's the only TV channel available throughout the region.

“OFC is a regional organisation and as such must embark on a project that benefits the entire region and not just Fiji as was demonstrated during the last OFC Futsal Championship”, he added.

Meanwhile, a delegation from OFC is expected to leave the country this week after attending the 2009 Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) Congress in Gizo over the weekend.

June this year, OFC announced a partnership with Fijian broadcasting Mai TV to provide comprehensive televised coverage of the OFC Futsal Championship.

In announcing the partnership OFC General Secretary said the new partnership shows OFC’s ongoing commitment to providing greater exposure of football throughout the Pacific region.

“The appetite for televised football – including alternative forms of the game such as Futsal and beach soccer – continues to grow within Oceania and OFC is committed to delivering extensive coverage for the fans,” said Nicholas.







Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com