Laced with experienced and potential players, the Lupe o le Soaga squad is ready for the Oceania Champions League, this weekend.
The 22 players and six management left for Auckland on Monday night, where they will play Tongan club Veitongo on Saturday and Cook Islands club Tupapa Maraerenga the following Tuesday.
Forward Jarvis Filimalae from Vaiala certainly fits into the former category.
The 16-year-old attends Hastings Boys’ High School in New Zealand on a football scholarship facilitated by the Football Federation of Samoa.
He made his national team debut last year ahead of Samoa’s Pacific Games campaign on home soil.
“It was a good experience, high level high standard.”
“It’s been a long time since I started playing football, it’s like my main thing,” Filimalae said.