Patel led the Fiji U-17 team delegation to the 2011 Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) U-17 playoffs in New Zealand which concluded last week.
Fiji missed out on a spot in the final following losses to Papua New Guinea 1-0, Vanuatu 3-0 and NZ 1-0. There only managed a 9-0 victory over American Samoa.
“We have realised that our preparation, development and planning needs to be done well in adavance. At the playoffs we were up against teams which came of a strong two to three development programme and I believe we need to do the same. We cannot just prepare a team in a few months and expect a miracle,” Patel said.
“I’m not saying that we put a squad in camp full time and spend thousands of dollars. Players could train in their own zones under the guidance of development officers who are all around the country and then probably the whole squad to come together few weekends or during school breaks.”
Patel says he will be submitting his report during the Fiji FA board of control meeting this Saturday at the Dr. M. S Sahu Khan Academy in Ba.
Next in line the national side will participate in the 2011 OFC Beach Soccer World Cup playoffs in Tahiti and later in April the national U-20 heads to NZ for the OFC playoffs.
Fiji FA MEDIA
We need more time: Patel
