The President of the Football Federation of American Samoa, Faiivae Alex Iuli, says there has been slow progress on getting the new Tafuna Soccer Stadium project off the ground, but construction should be underway in the next few months.
The world governing body of football or soccer, FIFA, has allocated $5 million for the project which will include a soccer field that meets international FIFA standards, a stadium, technical offices, and hospitality spaces.
FIFA selected Roy Mallari, owner of RM Construction, as the project manager. His company is finalizing designs for the facilities, and the project is anticipated to be put out for bidding in September.
Faiivae told KH News that while FIFA usually brings in an off-island contractor to carry out a project of this size, he has urged that a local company be given the opportunity to build the soccer stadium.
The Tafuna Soccer Stadium, which is to be built between the Tony Solaita Baseball Field and the Veterans Memorial Stadium, would have a seating capacity of between 800-1,000 and will incudes spaces for officials, media, and communications. It will also feature VIP and hospitality spaces, public amenities, parking, storage, floodlights, and security features.
The Football Federation of American Samoa has a 55-year lease with ASG for use of the land where the stadium will be built. The lease covers 53 acres of land.
Faiivae said there’s an opportunity for FIFA to provide funding to develop sports fields on the acreage fronting the road next to Veterans Memorial Stadium. These fields could be used for other sports aside from soccer. However, he said the current lease only covers the acreage next to the Tony Solaita Baseball field.
