Football and education motivate Princess Fetalaiga

By Vaelei Von Dincklage 01 November 2020, 7:00AM

A young female football player has encouraged other females to take up the sport and aim high.

Seventeen-year-old Princess Dawn Fetalaiga, who is a student at Avele College, said there are a lot of benefits to the sport but she loves the challenge of staying healthy and taking on some of the best footballers in Samoa. 

Fetalaiga joined Lotopa FC in 2007 and she is getting better every time.

"Soccer is really important to me because I get to socialise with other girls," said the Vaimoso resident.

"When I'm at home I never have anyone to talk to so I enjoy the company of other players and developing my skills."

Fetalaiga plays fullback and it's a position she is still getting used to.

"My responsibility on the field is to prevent the ball from reaching our goal so I am more of like a guard before the goalkeeper," she said.

"The fullback position is very challenging because I know that I have to protect the ball from reaching our goal and our goalkeeper."

Like most things in life, she has had to work very hard to develop her talent.

"When I started out I didn't know how to play soccer," she said. "But I kept training and kept playing and I think I'm getting better."

Playing in the main league, she said the competition is tough.

"All the teams are very competitive so there is no easy or tough opponent, all teams are competitive in their own ways," she said.

So how does a young footballer juggle being a student and a sportswoman.

"Time management is never an issue for me. I always budget my time, for instance, I go to school I do my assignments then I get home, rest for a while then prepare for my training. My training has never been a hindrance to my education," she said.





By Vaelei Von Dincklage 01 November 2020, 7:00AM

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