Diaspora

Trial games are being organised for male and female players in Auckland on August 23rd, when they will have the opportunity to show Samoa's head coaches what they can do.

If they're good enough, they could be pulling on a Samoan jersey in games against other Pacific island nations in 2022.

Former Wellington Phoenix star, Paul Ifill, who coaches Wairarapa United in New Zealand's W-League, is in charge of the women's team, and he is absolutely certain there are players out there who can help take Samoa to another level.

But those from the Pacific make up only slightly more than half of one percent of the Australian population. Almost half of our Pacific immigrants are from Fiji, and one-fifth from Samoa. It is not surprising that Fijians dominate Pacific migration to Australia: there is a long tradition of skilled migration from Fiji to Australia. But Samoa is a very small country with a population of just 200,000. Why and how are so many Samoans migrating to Australia?