Gallery: Soccer scars drive devotion to disability

Lafaele's earliest memories of football are not happy ones. Three decades ago, he was a three-year-old obsessed with football, hanging around the players in his Tongan village.

"The older players put me in front of them and attacked me with the ball," he recalls like it was yesterday, the pain still evident on his face.

"They'd try to kick me with the ball, to hit my forehead or my stomach, I don't know why they did that to me."

It would've been hard to convince that traumatised toddler all those years ago, but that cruel formative experience may ultimately have been a gift to the future of Tonga.

Lafaele is now a Just Play Sport for Development officer at the 'Ofa Tui 'Amanaki centre for people with an intellectual disability and admits the pain he once experienced is, at least in part, responsible for his gentle and compassionate approach to his vulnerable players today.

"I think that is what encouraged me to do what I love with all my heart," he says, before adding something in his native Tongan, a well-known saying which roughly translates to: "It is better to bleed than to hold in pain."

By contrast, there is only joy during Lafaele's soccer sessions. People of all ages, squealing with delight, clapping and cheering each other on. One player is wearing an evening gown with matching shoes, another is playing a mouth organ.

Games involving balls and hoops and teamwork are hotly contested. When a winner is declared, there are both howls of victory and complaint. Like a referee under heavy attack, Lafaele clarifies his decision.

"These are the winners," he says pointing to one team, theatrically. "And you are number one," he laughs, pointing to the other and getting a huge cheer.

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This story was produced by ABC International Development as part of the Pacific Sports Partnerships funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.