'This is only the beginning'

Thanks to artificial intelligence and an ambitious coach, Samoa's women have an exciting future – starting with this year's Under-17 World Cup

- STEVE MENARY

Samoa's surprise appearance at this year's Under-17 Women's World Cup in Morocco will be the first time that a side from the Pacific island, with a population of just 225,000, has ever appeared in a global tournament.

Their appearance benefitted from FIFA's decision to expand the tournament from 16 to 24 teams for this year, which gave the Oceania Football Confederation two slots. But the team's hopes were also boosted by an incredible digital global trawl for players.

The Samoa side was bolstered by a number of players from the island's diaspora, who were identified by the UK-based International Football Consultancy (IFC) ran by Russell Gurr and Alastair McLae. The duo use artificial intelligence to identify players with qualifying ancestry and began looking for eligible potential players after being brought on board by Jess Ibrom, the head coach of Samoa's men's senior side, during his previous role as the national technical director.