OFC and UN Women to continue collaboration to drive gender equality in the Pacific

[Press release]

OFC uses the power of football, through programmes such as Just Play, to drive gender equality and empower women and girls throughout the Pacific. UN Women is proud to continue its partnership in Phase II of the Pacific Partnership to End Violence Against Women and Girls programme. Photo: Courtesy of OFC

Suva, Fiji — Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and UN Women are pleased to announce an extension of their partnership.

First signed in 2022, the renewed memorandum of understanding will see OFC and UN Women continue to collaborate to improve gender equality, working to prevent and end violence against girls and women, and empowering women and girls through football.

“In the Pacific Islands, sports play an important role in shaping attitudes, values and behaviours that can promote gender equality and prevent violence against women and girls. UN Women is pleased to support OFC and the member associations in their commitment to make football safe, equal and inclusive,” said Delphine Serumaga, Representative, UN Women Fiji Country Office.

UN Women’s support is through Pacific Partnership to End Violence Against Women and Girls (Pacific Partnership) programme, funded primarily by the Government of Australia, and the European Union, and is coordinated by UN Women and the Pacific Community (SPC), in strategic partnership with the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).

Continuing the partnership with UN Women means that OFC can continue to leverage UN Women’s expertise to help develop Oceania-relevant resources, content and gender equality campaigns.

This work is key for OFC to continue working towards a future free of violence against girls and women, and gender equality in football says OFC General Secretary Franck Castillo.

“We’re pleased to continue working with UN Women,” he said.

“Gender equality has taken an even greater focus in our region following the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, the first senior FIFA World Cup to be held in Oceania. The development and launch of This Is How We Football as one of our legacy programmes is a testament to this,” he said.

“Using the power of football to drive gender equality also means continuing to develop women’s football from grassroots to the elite level. Ensuring girls and women have the opportunity to perform on the field is a key part of our work to change attitudes and perceptions.

“We’ve achieved a lot in our partnership with UN Women so far, and are excited to continue building on those foundations.”

This Is How We Football is a Football for Good programme that breaks down barriers for women and girls to play football and maintain a life-long engagement with the sport. Aimed at teenage girls, the programme has launched in eight countries in 2024 (Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu, Samoa, New Caledonia, Fiji, Tonga and Kiribati), with Papua New Guinea set to follow in 2025.

Along with OFC’s flagship Just Play programme, This Is How We Football has also created opportunities for capacity building for women off the pitch, with 65% of the nearly 600 participants on volunteer and coach training courses for these programmes being female in 2024.

In addition to launching This Is How We Football, to date the OFC-UN Women collaboration has seen the Gender Equality Playbook published in 2022 and the Just Play Gender Equality curriculum introduced. OFC’s first social responsibility strategy, The Power of Football, was launched in 2023, and has increased participation in the game for women and girls as a key indicator of success. UN Women also assisted in the delivery of regional training of trainer courses and will be collaborating with OFC on a campaign for 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence Campaign starting with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November.