Historic Partnership between Māori Football Aotearoa and Hui Kanaka Pōwāwae
WAILUKU, MAUI – It is with great honor that we, Māori Football Aotearoa and Hui Kanaka Pōwāwae (the Hawaiian Football Federation) announce our formal partnership – mutually founded to strengthen the national and international character, identity, and relationship between Kanaka Maoli and Māori through the sport of football.
In the coming years, Kanaka Pōwāwae will select youth and adult teams – in both genders – for the purpose of competition and cultural reciprocation between Aotearoa and the Hawaiian Islands. The international, intercultural exchange between sides will commence with Hawaiian National Teams touring Aotearoa to compete in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), communal in Kaikohe, and attendance of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023. Hosting honors will turn to Hawai‘i with a Māori delegation of Men and Women traveling to the Hawaiian Islands in 2024.
PHILLIP PICKERING - PARKER | KAITIAKI, MĀORI FOOTBALL AOTEAROA
It is an undeniable fact that sport has a significant social impact on society. Many lives have been impacted and transformed through sport – and countless with football. Football has science to back up the health benefits of 30 minutes of play in the reduction of heart-
related illnesses; and is a vital social connector for the sense of belonging amongst communities, families, and people.
A Māori first approach by Māori Football Aotearoa alongside the Sport New Zealand’s Te Whetū Rehua development model will encourage and support the delivery of football as Māori, for Māori, by Māori, to participate in the beautiful game. Working alongside and with Kanaka Pōwāwae will only enhance the mana (pride) of the organizations as Polynesians and ancestors in our service to the people. Tihei Mauri Ora!
VERNON KAPUA‘ALA | PRESIDENT & CEO, KANAKA PŌWĀWAE
Our partnership recognizes the importance of sport as culture – shaped by the people who practice it. These international fixtures create a platform from which both sides can live aloha ‘āina (“pride of country”) – in a way that reshapes our shared histories and represents
the values and sense of self that is uniquely Kanaka-Māori.
Speaking from the Kanaka-side, our organization’s vision to form Nā ‘Ālapa Hawai‘i is starting to take shape. Our Hawaiian athletes shall become a modern symbol of national pride. As Oceanic states, this is more than just a relationship with our Pacific cousins – it’s controlling our own football development and destiny.
TRISHA KAPUA‘ALA | CHAIR & SECRETARY GENERAL, KANAKA PŌWĀWAE
We are incredibly grateful for Phillip and Māori Football Aotearoa. These competitions ignite our mission. It creates intercultural relations that cut across all nation-state boundaries and divisions of identity – such as race, class, religion, and politics.
Our teams are purposed to challenge the dominant realities of our two countries – where access and aspirations in sport generally favor those who can afford it. We know we can do better to improve the lives of the families we serve, and they are most deserving of the honor of representing their own flag.