Much of the Solomon Islands' chances of earning a third straight OFC Futsal Championship title this month will fall on the young but highly-talented shoulders of Elliot Ragomo.
The captain of the Kurukuru, as the team has been nicknamed by its fanatical fans, is still only 19 but already has a wealth of experience tucked under his belt.
The Western Province star has played in the FIFA Futsal World Cup, won two OFC Futsal Championship titles and even picked up an international Golden Boot award for his goalscoring exploits at the Al Fateh Intercontinental Futsal Championship in Libya in 2009.
This impressive set of achievements led to Ragomo being a nominee for the 2009 OFC men’s player of the year award but he was pipped to the honour by All White defender and Auckland City captain Ivan Vicelich.
Ragomo could earn another medal to go with his ever-growing collection though if the Solomon side play to their potential next week.
The OFC Futsal Championship is being held in Suva, Fiji, from August 8 to 14 and the Solomons are aiming to become the only non-Australia team to pick up a hat-trick of titles.
Ragomo thinks he is in good shape for the event and is confident his side can live up to their billing as favourites.
“Overall, the team has improved and I believe the 2010 championship will be our best showing yet,” he says. “I think I am maturing and working harder every year so I believe I will improve on my performances in past championships.”
That is a scary prospect for opposition defences.
Ragomo hit eight goals in the 2008 campaign and followed that up with five more strikes a year later. He also proved he can hit the back of the net outside Oceania by finishing top-scorer at the Al Fateh Intercontinental champs, a feat he singles out as the highlight of his career.
“The golden boot award came out of the blue,” he says. “What made it so special is that I won it against competition from some of the best players in the world. To be from the Solomon Islands and win against the top players is amazing.”
The midfielder also rubbed shoulders with some of the world’s best during a stint with Spanish professional futsal club Playas De Castillon in 2007-08. Earlier this year, he was called over to Australia to play for Dural Warriors in New South Wales. He was then called into the New South Wales Thunder team that represented Australia at the Asian Football Confederation Futsal Club Championship in Iran.
But his story began in the Western Province region of Roviana. He is the first star to be produced in the area since the likes of John Wheatley, Donald Bennett, Nelson Boso and Mark Lae in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
He is the third child in his family and shares the Ragomo home with three sisters. One of these, Sarah, is also a futsal fanatic and is one of the most talented players in the country.
Sadly, Ragomo’s mother has passed away but her legacy remains strong in her son.
“The support I got from my mother is one of the reasons I am where I am today and I can never thank her enough,” he says. “I dedicate all that I achieve to the memory of my mother, she is the driving force in my life.”
Ragomo first kicked a futsal ball when he was 11-years-old and has been hooked on the small-sided, indoor version of football ever since.
“The first team I played for was my school team, Chung Wah Primary School,” he says.
From there, he went on to represent Solomon Islands as a 12-year-old in the Australian Futsal Championship.
“From my first taste of international futsal I never looked back. As a youngster, you are ambitious and I just put everything into playing futsal.”
He remains as passionate about the game as ever but has already begun to think about his future outside of futsal.
“I have my sights set on becoming a property developer. My focus would be on building residential property,” he says. “We have not yet gotten to a stage where you can make a living playing football in Solomon Islands so one has to think about education and getting a qualification.”
Ragomo plans to continue his studies at the University of the South Pacific, where he intends to major in economics.
“I also hope that I can return to Australia and maybe even Spain to continue playing at the professional level,” he says.
But the skipper is not about to turn his back on his beloved Kurukuru.
“It is a great honour to represent your country and I will always be available,” he says. “I hope I can help bring Kurukuru to another World Cup and show the world how much we have improved since 2008, the last time we were there.”
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