FOR Ba lass Luisa Tamanitoakula, winning the Golden Ball award at the 2017 Oceania Football Confederation U19 Championship was a bittersweet moment.
The captain of the Vodafone under-19 football women’s team will celebrate her 19th birthday this Friday but she will do so without her friend and teammate, Francine Lockington, who passed away after a short illness this month.
“I am just dedicating this entire tournament, my award and our second place achievement to our families and the Lockingtons,” she said.
Tamanitoakula was dominant throughout the championship, netting seven goals in five matches to claim the coveted Golden Ball prize.
“This was a really challenging tournament for us. We received word of Francine’s passing after our game with New Zealand and everyone was saddened by this.
“We had a meeting after that and decided we needed to go on, make her (Francine) proud and keep fighting until the last battle.”
She said the goal for the team remained the same for tournaments to come — become the best women’s football team in the region.
“We want to be the best and this is something that has created history for women’s football. I believe this is a turning point because women’s football will get more recognition.”
