Samoa off to China for Pacific Games preparations

The Samoa national men and women’s teams have gone to China where they will hold a training camp in preparation for the Pacific Games, which they will host in July

The camp is organised by the Samoa Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (SASNOC) and will last for two months.

Most of the women’s team arrived today with the men’s team and the rest of the female players set to arrive tomorrow, Football Federation Samoa wrote on their Facebook page.

The project that allowed for this to happen is called China Sports Initiative and will see 290 athletes and coaches from a multitude of sports travel to China.

“We can’t understate the importance of that given that we don’t have the venues to train on,” Team Samoa chef de mission for the Pacific Games, Nynette Sass, told newspaper Samoa Observer.

Many of Samoa’s venues are closed until June due to renovations currently ongoing for the Pacific Games.

SASNOC’s Chief Executive Officer Tuala Matthew Vaea believes the facilities in China will be a big help.

“That is one of the benefits of this initiative, to be able to mobilise 10 sports to the southern region of China to be able to have access to high performance facilities,” he said.