Naoero Soccer Federation
The Nauru Soccer Federation are delighted to announce the appointment of former Premier League star Dave Kitson as our new national team manager and international ambassador.
Mr Kitson enjoyed a glittering career in the English Premier League, most notably at Reading, but also with Stoke City and Portsmouth. He is still a well known character within the game and aside from punditry also runs the prestigious Dave Kitson Academy.
Dave Kitson as Nauru national team manager
While the move into international management at Nauru might come as a surprise to some, according to Nauru Director of International Development Gareth Johnson the move has been in the works for some time: "I first came into contact with Dave during 2020 through our mutual interest in travel when we began discussing a few projects, one of them being Nauru. As things have quickly progressed I am now happy to be in a position to offer him the management role".
And as to what the role would involve? "As people know we are planning a training camp in Nauru this summer, as well as hopefully playing against American Samoa among others. Dave will hopefully be there to not only share his knowledge as a former professional, but also through his experience at running the Dave Kitson Academy".
You can read about the potential friendly with American Samoa here.
This is the second major staff announcement from the Nauru Soccer Federation after Cambodian based Charlie Pomroy was announced as national coach of the nation.
What next for Nauru soccer?
As to what next for Nauru and their national team, according to Johnson the work has only just begun: "While we are extremely excited to have both Dave and Charlie on board, to make our dreams come true we now need to raise money. Generally speaking we want to avoid going down any kind of charitable route, so we are encouraging fans to buy shirts when they become available".
The NSF were also open to media collaborations according to Johnson, with him adding: "We have seen the success of Up Pohnpei and Next Goal Wins and we believe that our story is very much worth telling. Therefore we invite producers, filmmakers and documentary makers to get in touch for a chat".
Regardless of what happens next though, Nauru Soccer is well and truly on the football map.