Opening ceremony set for Friday as organisers target 16 teams for the inter-faculty competition at Kukum Campus
BY RICHARD MENANOPO
The Solomon Islands National University (SINU) Sports League 2026 Soccer Competition is set to get underway this weekend, with organisers finalising registrations ahead of the opening ceremony on Friday.
Sports Coordinator William Tuhaika said the competition will officially open on Friday before matches kick off on Saturday, June 6, at the SINU Kukum Campus field.
“We will have the opening on Friday and games will start on Saturday. Preparations are progressing well and we are looking forward to getting the competition underway,” Tuhaika said.
He said organisers are considering extending the registration deadline until Thursday this week to allow remaining faculties to complete their team registrations before the official opening.
“Some faculty teams are yet to submit their registrations, so we may extend the deadline until Thursday to give them an opportunity to be part of the competition,” he said.
According to Tuhaika, the inter-faculty tournament is expected to feature around 16 teams, including male and female teams representing various faculties, an overseas students’ team largely made up of students from Vanuatu, and a staff team.
“It is an inter-faculty soccer competition. Each faculty is expected to have two boys’ teams and one girls’ team. We will also have a team representing overseas students, mainly from Vanuatu, as well as a staff team,” he explained.
Matches will be played under a pool format, with teams divided into two groups where each side will play against the others within their respective pools before advancing to the next stage of the competition.
Tuhaika said the university is using the competition as a platform to revive organised sporting activities among students following the transition from the former Solomon Islands College of Higher Education (SICHE) to SINU.
“Since the transition from SICHE to SINU, there has not been a major sports event of this nature. During the SICHE days, sports activities were very active, and now the university is working towards rebuilding that culture,” he said.
He added that SINU is aiming to establish and strengthen its own sports programmes while creating pathways for students to engage with national high-performance programmes through the National Sports Council (NSC) and the Solomon Islands National Institute of Sport (SINIS).
“The vision is for the university to run and manage its own sports programmes and eventually build stronger links with high-performance training opportunities. This will contribute positively to students’ health, social wellbeing and even their academic learning,” Tuhaika said.
Tuhaika said the response from students and faculties has been encouraging, with most teams having registered before the official call for registrations was announced.
“Most of the teams were already organised and registered before the public announcement. They are now eagerly waiting for the competition to start, and we are committed to making it happen this weekend,” he said.
The SINU Sports League 2026 Soccer Competition is supported by the Solomon Islands National University Students Association (SINUSA). Current registrations stand at 15 teams, with organisers seeking a small number of additional teams from several faculties and staff categories to complete the competition lineup ahead of the opening ceremony this Friday.
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