Margaret Aka

Oughtta Be Otters: added Category:Papua New Guinean football managers using HotCat

---

'''Margaret Aka''' (born 1976<ref name=":0">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> The first woman in Papua New Guinea to coach a male league team, she is also only the third to do so worldwide.<ref name=":0" />

== Early years ==
Aka is from the village of Guhi, in [[Kimbe]], [[West New Britain Province]].<ref name=":1">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref name=":2">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> Growing up, Aka heard stories from her father about playing soccer.<ref name=":3">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> She did not play soccer as a child, however, as it was widely considered a sport for boys.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref name=":2" /> She discovered the game for herself in 1991 at Kimbe High School.<ref name=":3" /> She then received an offer to study at [[Sogeri#Education|Sogeri National High School]], a boarding school for grades 11 and 12, and play on their team in the 1992 Women’s Division 2 of the Port Moresby Soccer Association competition, where they won the grand final<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>

== League play ==
Aka built a career as a striker.<ref name=":5">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> Aka began the 1996 season with Telikom Football Club. Playing with them until 2006, she helped the team win seven grand finals in the Port Moresby Soccer Association competition, and nine club championships.<ref name=":6">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> From 2006-2008 Aka played in [[Brisbane]], [[Australia]], with Gap Football Club in the [[Brisbane Women's Premier League|Brisbane Women’s Premier League]], through [[Australian Aid|AUSAID]].<ref name=":1" /> When Papua New Guinea's Women’s National Soccer League (WNSL) launched in early 2011, Aka was back, playing for the Bizprints Angels<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>

== International play ==
In 1998, Aka played striker on the PNG national team in the [[OFC Cup]] in New Zealand.<ref name=":3" /> She represented PNG on the national in the 2003 and 2007 [[South Pacific Games]], as well.<ref name=":3" /> In each, she contributed to the PNG Women's team winning a gold medal.<ref name=":3" />

== Player development work ==
Aka's playing career came to an end in 2011, when she required an operation.<ref name=":6" /> She shifted her focus to development of interest in soccer among the youth of Papua New Guinea.<ref name=":6" /> In 2014, the [[Oceania Football Confederation]] (OFC) in cooperation with the [[Papua New Guinea Football Association]] put Aka in charge of the "Just Play" program in PNG.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5" /> <ref name=":6" />The Just Play program strives for gender equality, encouraging everyone to play soccer.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>

Similarly, FIFA's Live Your Goals initiative, launched globally in 2011 to strengthen girls' and women's opportunities and interests in soccer,<ref></ref> came to PNG in 2016. Aka served as the coordinator<ref></ref> for this "legacy program," which was intended to help maintain momentum in women's soccer after PNG hosted the [[2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup|2016 Women's World Cup]].<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>

By January, 2017, Aka had taken the role of PNGFA women’s football development officer.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> She is still in that position as of 2020.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>

== Coaching career ==
Frederica Sakette, a past PNGFA women’s football development officer, recruited Aka as a volunteer coach in 2013.<ref name=":7">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref name=":4" /> She got the opportunity to coach the national U-15 girls’ team when they won the spot to represent Oceania in the 2014 [[Youth Olympic Games]] in [[Nanjing]], [[China]].<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7" /> So, too, did Aka coach the Papua New Guinea U-17 women’s team for the OFC U-17 Women’s Championship in 2016. They won the silver medal.<ref name=":7" />

[[Papua New Guinea women's national football team|PNG's national women's team]] maintains a high ranking in international competitions, and Aka is often involved in some level of coaching. In 2015, she helped the team prepare for Olympic trials.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> In November, 2018, Aka assistant coached the national team for the [[OFC Women's Nations Cup|OFC Women’s Nations Cup]], where they won the bronze medal.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> In 2019 she assisted mentor Frederica Sakette who was coaching the women's team for the Pacific Games, at which the team won their fourth consecutive gold medal.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>

The Erima Flyover, PMSA Division 2, was the first men's team Aka coached. They made it to the grand final. That achievement led to her coaching position with the all male Southern Strikers in 2018.<ref name=":4" /> FIFA noted that coaching the Southern Strikers makes Aka the third female to coach a male league team, just behind Chan Yuen Ting of Hong Kong and Corinne Diacre or France.<ref name=":0" />

=== OFC B Licence ===
Also in 2014, Aka and male colleague Harrison Kamake began the process of training to earn their B Licenses, through which they became accredited coaches -- the first Papua New Guineans to earn an OFC coaching license. Notably, Aka was the first woman from any country other than New Zealand to earn this distinction.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> Aka noted that the support she got from national and international soccer organizations made it possible for her to complete the accreditation process.<ref name=":7" />

== References ==


== External links ==

[https://ift.tt/36n5qhK Image of Margaret Aka]





[[Category:Papua New Guinea]]
[[Category:Papua New Guinean footballers]]
[[Category:Papua New Guinean women's footballers]]
[[Category:Papua New Guinea international footballers]]
[[Category:Papua New Guinean football managers]]

from Wikipedia - New pages [en] https://ift.tt/3tbxCh6
via IFTTT