Cook Islands appoint new men’s head coach
Former New Zealand coach Kevin Fallon has been named as the man in charge.
Former New Zealand coach Kevin Fallon has been named as the man in charge.
The Cook Islands Football Association confirmed the appointment on Tuesday in a press release.
Fallon has signed a two-year deal that will see him lead the Cook Islands Men’s National Team through the 2020 OFC Nations Cup, should they qualify.
The 69-year-old, who coached the New Zealand national team from 1985 to 1989, has already conducted two training sessions with his local players and says he is keen to bring in players residing outside the Cooks to bolster the squad.
“The plan is obviously to get recognition of what the squad is inside the Cook Islands and then contact the people outside the country and try and get it in mind a working squad for later on,” Fallon said in the press release.
“We have got to identify which players want to play for the national team and which players are good enough – simple as that.
“The players have got to want to do better and maybe be one of the first Cook Islands’ teams to get to the next round.”
The Cook Islands have been to the Nations Cup on two occasions, in 1998 and 2000, but have failed to qualify for the tournament since then.
For the 2016-edition, under the guidance of Drew Sherman, they missed out on qualifying to Samoa by a single goal.
