OFC | |
---|---|
Founded | 1984 (2007 as FFAS) |
FIFA affiliation | 1998 |
OFC affiliation | 1998 |
Website | http://www.ffas.as/ |
Football Federation American Samoa (FFAS) is the governing body for competitive football in the nation of American Samoa.
It came into existence following inaugural elections held in late 2007. The new general secretariat took office under newly elected FFAS President Iuli Alex Godinet in the first elections for the national body since 2005. Previously its name was the American Samoa Football Association.
Godinet headed off four other candidates in the race for the top job that included Pou Supapo, Tony Langkilde, Malia Perelini and Maselino Tautu.
American Samoa's national football team has struggled on the pitch since it was admitted to the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) in the 1990s with a 31-0 defeat against Australia in an OFC Nations Cup match an unwanted blemish in its short history.
American Samoa is currently ranked 186th (Prev 204th (November 2011) in the FIFA world rankings (as December 2011). This was due to recent results and American Samoa's first competitive victory against Tonga by 2 goals to 1 on 23 November 2011. There is hope for the territory with the completion of work on the Pago Stadium Goal Project that was inaugurated prior to the XIII South Pacific Games - Samoa 2007 under the watchful eyes of former FIFA World Cup winner and OFC Player of the Year Christian Karembeu.
Senior eleven-a-side competition for both men and women recommenced in 2007 with Konica FC winning the men's title after a 4-2 victory over Peace Brothers.
The FFAS also organises the islands football league, the ASFA Soccer League, which began in 1981. PanSa are the most successful team in American Samoa, winning the league 5 times. The winners of the league used to qualify for the preliminary rounds of the OFC Champions League up until the 2008-09 Season.