Come when we call…

WAILUKU, MAUI – Hui Kanaka Pōwāwae released a social media campaign titled “Come when we call...”  The ninety second video targets the organization’s primary stakeholders – those who are not just ethnically kanaka, but also Hawaiian Nationals.

In 2017, Hui Kanaka Pōwāwae (the Hawaiian Football Federation) was formed with the vision of cultivating Hawaiian national consciousness through association football (soccer).  We joined CONIFA (the Confederatin of Independent Football Associations) on November 28, 2019, in commemoration of Lā Kū‘oko‘a (Hawaiian Independence Day).  Through our National Teams, Hawaiians can now be represented on the international sporting stage, under our own flag, through the world’s most beloved sport.

When Kanaka Pōwāwae’s Founder and President, Vernon Kapuaʻala, was asked how the idea of a Hawaiian Football Federation came about, he responded by saying that, “learning the distinction between being Hawaiian, and being Kanaka, changed everything for me.  When I realized that I am not just ethnically a Kanaka, but also a Hawaiian National; that my country’s international identity and my nationality has been preserved and remains intact, everything clicked into place.  I know immediately, my kuleana (responsibility) to my people and my country – through the Hawaiian Football National Teams.

Kanaka Pōwāwae’s mission is leverage the power of football to unify and create solidarity, to provide a modern symbol of patriotism (aloha ‘āina), and to promote Hawaiians and Hawaiian players internationally.