FIFA's Football for Schools turns dreams into reality for Fiji teen

• The life of a Fijian schoolgirl was revolutionised the day FIFA’s Football for Schools visited.

• In just 18 months, Adi Ulamila has improved her education and been taken under the wing of the Fiji Football Association.

• Her next goal is a shot at FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ qualification.

FIFA’s Football for Schools (F4S) overarching goal is ‘A programme where football meets education, inspiring children to learn life skills through fun football sessions’.

A successful nexus between education, life skills, and football is ambitious, but Fijian teenager Adi Ulamila proves that Football for Schools can deliver life-changing benefits.

The day Adi’s life changed can be pinpointed to Friday, 17 November 2023, when Fiji’s F4S launched at Varavu Muslim Primary School in Ba.

Adi immediately stood out and was awarded a prize on the day, not only for her football ability but also for her demonstration of life skills.

At the time, Adi’s father had just passed away, and in her spare time, she scaled trees to pick coconuts to help the family’s finances before returning to help with housework.

Even football at school was mainly off the radar, with only boys permitted to play in a formal team.

Fijian teenager Adi Ulamila hopes to don the national soccer jersey one day. Photo/FIFA

Fast-forward just 18 months, and, still only aged 14, Adi has travelled throughout the region thanks to football, trains with the Fiji FA Academy, represented the national youth side in FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers, and now wears the jersey of Fiji glamour club FC Ba, who are set to feature in next month’s OFC Women's Champions League.

But perhaps off the field, Adi’s life has enjoyed the biggest fundamental change. Thanks to her footballing abilities, Adi is now attending Xavier College in Ba, one of the best educational institutions in Fiji.

Adi says Football for Schools and former Fiji FA technical director Timo Jankowski played a pivotal role in her new life trajectory.

“I was struggling selling coconuts and I climb(ed) the tall trees to pick and sell them,” said Adi.

Photo/FIFA

“I helped my family with it, helped my mother. The day I was selling coconuts, Timo came. He saw I was selling coconuts and bought one. I used that money to buy football boots.

“Before Timo came with the FIFA [F4S] schools, my father passed away, and it was hard for me to get on. He helped me to pursue my dreams and go for the U-15 and U-16 national teams.

“It’s really hard to find the time because I have housework and schoolwork to do. But I always find the time to go to training, come back, have dinner, study, wake up again, go to school, come home in the afternoon and go to training again.

“I feel quite overwhelmed. It’s hard, but I also have to pursue my dreams and get to the top. Now I’m going to the best school in Fiji. It’s really good.”

Adi Ulamila and her proud family in Ba. Photo/FIFA

As is traditional in the Pacific, family is everything, and Adi is no exception. She talks emotionally about her mother and siblings.

“She (my mother) always encourages me. She always encourages me to go and train every day and she sacrifices everything for me and my siblings because my dad passed away and she’s not in employment.

“She’s just at home because I’m always helping her with everything, and I want to pursue my dream to give her everything. She’s the main person, really important to me, and I really love her.

“It’s important to play because I want to support my family - my mother - and I’m in a position to play.”

Adi believes F4S has helped her social life as well as her education. “Meeting other people is really good - travelling around,” she said. “It’s an experience for me and other people too. It’s really new to me.

“At Muslim schools, they don’t allow girls to play, so I played with the boys. They thought I was a boy. But I was the only girl.

“To other Muslim girls, you should pursue your dreams. Even if you’re not allowed to, you have to play and keep on trying until you achieve it.

“Football brings happiness to my life and it’s fun to play with others, get to know other people and experience places that you’ve never been.

Photo/FIFA

"My other dream is if I cannot make it as a football player, I could be a nurse, a doctor or even an engineer.”

Adi’s next goal is to represent Fiji in this year’s OFC U-16 Women's Championship. The Melanesian nation has been grouped alongside Samoa, New Caledonia and Tahiti. Success at the eight-team tournament would ensure Fiji's debut spot at the newly-expanded FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup next year.

“For us in Fiji, it (FIFA’s support) is really big and it helped us through things, because it's hard to play here, going through some challenges and we need some help from FIFA, because Fiji is not a developed country and it means a lot to be getting help from FIFA."