Micah Lea’alafa: possible next steps of his career

Solomon Islands international Micah Lea’alafa recently left Maritzburg United from South Africa and returned to his homeland. Since then he was training to play futsal as he was in the Solomon Islands’ provisional squad for 2020 FIFA Futsal World Cup that was schedule to begin in September.

However the Futsal World Cup was postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemics and it changes everything when it comes to National Team’s preparation, specially for Lea’alafa who is currently a free agent.

Micah recently turned 29 and now the forward faces a new reality in his career as he is now forced to change his plans due to World Cup’s postponement. So what is next on his career?

Football leagues are slowly resuming around the world including in Oceanian countries like Fiji, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea and now he needs to think carefully about his next step as a footballer. Oceania Football Center appoints some possibilities:

1- Play 2020 Telekom S-League
Micah is already in Solomon Islands so it would be easier to keep himself active by playing the main football league from his homeland.

2- Return to New Zealand
He is well known in New Zealand and it would not be difficult for him to return as he has already proven his quality there. However the 2019-20 ISPS Handa Premiership is over which means that he would need to join a winter league’s club while he could aim a return to Auckland City.

3- Try a professional football league once again
Micah has recently left a professional league (in South Africa) and he is good enough to fit in some leagues in Africa and Asia. Obviously that moving into pro football is not so easy but he should not give in.

It is important to emphasize that many countries still have strict rules about immigration due to COVID-19. However time marches on and Lea’alafa is already 29. He must take a good decision soon in order to keep playing in a decent level.