Home of football handed over on time and on budget

Football, the most popular sport in Solomon Islands and a prominent part of the country’s national identity now has a permanent home, thanks to this morning’s handing over by the government of Papua New Guinea of the new Solomon Islands Football Federation Academy to the Solomon Islands Government.

The multi-million dollar facility will be used during next month’s Pacific Games; to be handed to SIFF post-PG2023.

 

The government of Solomon Islands has the fiscal backing of the governments of Papua New Guinea and Japan towards the project’s completion, a total contracted cost of just above 72 million. With additional costs covering UXO, Geotech, access and fencing, the budget for this whole development stands at a pricy 88 million. Of the sum, more than 47 million is bankrolled by the government of Papua New Guinea.

The government of Papua New Guinea also provided a further 45 million which enabled the National Hosting Authority to meet other critical PG 2023 priorities. In total, PNG contributed more than 92 million to the 2023 Pacific Games, making it the fourth largest funder for the 2023 Pacific Games behind PRC, Saudi Arabia and Australia.

Prime Minister Sogavare congratulated JED Enterprises and JQY for successfully delivering their first major project amidst unending challenges in a period of 658 days.

The SIFF football Academy comprises two full-sized, FIFA compliant football pitches, one beach soccer court, one futsal court, one 2 – storey administration building, and one 2-storey dormitory accommodation building with fifty beds together with associated services to ensure SIFF’s long-term legacy after the 2023 Pacific Games are over.

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