Palu Uhatahi Tu’amoheloa from Tonga Football Association, became the first Pacific Island-based graduate of the FIFA Guardians Safeguarding in Sport Diploma, which aims to further develop and professionalise the role of safeguarding officers within football.

Palu and nine others from Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Samoa, as well as staff from FIFA and Team Up, will join Team Up’s own safeguarding specialists to offer support across four Australian cities at the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023.

“This is a great opportunity to put into practice what I have learnt from the FIFA Guardians Safeguarding in Sport Diploma,” she said.

Palu works on the Team Up-supported "Just Play" program in Tonga.

Through her role at Just Play, she also helped contribute to the development of the global FIFA Guardians Safeguarding Toolkit in 2019, PacificAus stated.

“I have been working on reviewing and compiling our safeguarding policy for Tonga Football Association since starting the diploma. The diploma, combined with the safeguarding education provided by Team Up, has strengthened my understanding of why safeguarding is crucial at all levels of sport." Palu said.

“With FIFA and Team Up placing such a priority on safeguarding, this provides us in the Pacific with a bigger opportunity to promote our work and continue to empower, learn, and create a safe space for all in sport, especially with the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 being hosted in our region.”