King of Solomons Futsal moves his empire to Brazil

He was dubbed as the king of Futsal in Oceania, and was named young Solomon islander of the year in 2009 – and now he’s turned his sights to Brazil.

Elliot Ragomo, the inspirational captain who led the national Kurukuru side to three consecutive Futsal World Cups and five Oceania titles, is now playing with professional Brazilian club Minas Tênis Clube, based in Belo Horizonte.

He is the first Solomon Islander to ever reach the professional level.

“I’m proud to represent my country here in Brazil, and to be the only Solomon islander playing here is just a dream come true for me” – Ragomo on his move to Brazil.

Since arriving in Brazil, Ragomo has played two games for his club, and in an exclusive interview with SIBC he said he was adapting to the grueling professional training regime in his new club.

Speaking from Brazil, Ragomo said he was adapting to life in Brazil and the transition from amateur Futsal to professional Futsal.

“Life in Brazil is just awesome, the way they love Futsal and football in general is similar to us back home,” he said. “I’m a crazy Futsal fanatic myself, but the way people here in Brazil love it is just on another level”.

Ragomo said the level of training and expectation at the club was phenomenal. He said he was giving everything he had to make sure he contributed to his club and made his country proud.

The gifted captain left for Brazil on the May 3, arriving at the club he trialed with earlier last year with fellow Kurukuru teammate, George Stevenson.

Ragomo was the player called back.

“Every day we have to train from 10am in the morning to 3pm later in the day”, he said. “This training regime is good for me and I’m always working hard, everyday I’m giving 150 per cent of hard work for my team.”

He said playing in Brazil professionally was an honor, especially coming from a country that loved Futsal, and playing with some of the best Futsal players in the world was a dream come true for him.

“Over here is not about who you are or what you can do, it is about how you perform,” he said. “And if you perform well then you’ll get the chance to play often.”

He said that he was hoping to get a lot of experience from his time in Brazil to assist the development of Futsal in his home country.

“I’m proud to represent my country here in Brazil, and to be the only Solomon islander playing here is just a dream come true for me,” he said.

“I want the little kids back home to learn from me, I want them to know that I made it here, and they can too.”

By Lowen Sei