LaLiga project sees Pedro L. Mateo make history with the Solomon Islands U20s

The Solomon Islands Under-20s have made history with a Spanish coach thanks to a collaborative project between LaLiga and the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF), which was promoted by Fernando Sanz, LaLiga's MENA office manager and director of international projects. This initiative, which culminated in a positive outcome, began back in June with the objective of selecting a national team coach and preparing the Under-20s for the World Cup qualifying tournament played in early September in Vanuatu.

This was the first project of its kind involving a Pacific island nation and saw a LaLiga coach train the Under-20s side over the past few months. The coach in question was Pedro L. Mateo, who holds a degree in Sports Science and boasts strong international experience. Mateo was selected to take charge of the team by LaLiga's Sporting Projects department from amongst a large number of candidates. The programme, which took place during July and August 2016, saw the U20s play friendlies against teams from the top flight of Solomons football, the full Solomon Islands national team, as well as professional sides from Australia who were visiting the capital, Honiara. Speaking upon his return to Spain, Mateo commented that, "This project marks the first step towards future collaboration between the two countries. Very strong links have been established, and not solely on the sporting side of things."

Mateo had full responsibility for selecting the squad and all areas relating to player development and training, including fitness and the technical and tactical aspects of the game. At the end of this phase of the qualifying campaign, the players visited a children's hospital in Honiara, where they sought to pursue the alternative objectives of such LaLiga programmes, namely the promotion of sporting values, including teamwork, the ability to overcome obstacles and respect. In Mateo's words, "Both the players and the members of staff at the football federation displayed a clear understanding of the importance of showing a professional attitude both on and off the field and we're extremely satisfied with the experience."

This project represents the first initiative in the quest to see the Solomon Islands become one of the leading footballing nations within the Pacific. The LaLiga coach revealed that, "They really rate LaLiga in the Solomon Islands, they know our teams and many of the players and associate LaLiga and the Spanish brand with excellence." This project, which is part of LaLiga's internationalisation strategy, takes its place alongside the other programmes that the organisation is currently working on with various leagues and federations across the world, which relate not only to on-field issues, but also to aspects of security, the fight against piracy and violence, and best practice on governance, transparency, marketing and management.