2012 Oceania Football Confederation Men’s Olympic Playoffs #The final 20-member Fiji Under-23 Olympics playoffs men’s squad was named this past Monday during the presentation night which was held at the National Football Academy in Ba. The team was farewelled and encouraged at the same time to do us all proud. A winner of the playoffs which will be held in New Zealand qualifies for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The players are well aware of what is at stake and I’m sure they will give more than their best. Preparation was affected in the past weeks due to the flooding and a series of bad weather but the team officials and players put that behind them to focus on the task. We face Solomon’s in our first match and a win will no doubt boost our campaign for the remainder of the playoffs. The boys look in good shape and our chances looks pretty good but a positive result in the first match will be a vital one. I urge the general public to throw their support behind our national side. #Nicholas Rounds #Fiji Football Association was saddened to learn of the sudden passing away of former national rep Nicholas Rounds last week. Rounds gained recognition as a player during his playing career since his debut for Lautoka in 1969. He later on featured for Rewa and then the national side. #His notable outing was with the Fiji team to the Oceania Cup in 1973 in New Zealand. He was also part of the Rewa side which won the Inter District Championship in 1972. In the past recent years he has been a development officer for Lautoka soccer and assisted their senior side on numerous occasions. #Nicholas is one individual who will not be forgotten as his memories should be inspiration to other young players. #On behalf of the Fiji FA board of control, staffs, officials and volunteers I would like to extend our sincere condolence to Mr. Nicholas Round’s family. # #OFC Men’s Nations Cup#The 2012 Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Men’s Nation Cup which is the second stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup playoffs has been moved from Fiji, as OFC have made the decision. The new venue has not been decided yet. # #Fiji Football Association Administration#The new regime since coming into power last October is headed in the right direction. Often we are being crticised but one has to be realistic that things cannot change overnight and it will take time.#It is important that the districts administration gets better at the same time. We would like to see things straightened up so that their registrations, operations, accounts and other tasks are in order. Once this is done it will rule out protests, disputes and at the same time help the national body. There are plans to have seminars and courses which will be aimed to help officials better their administrations skills which at the end of the day will be a positive move towards the development of football in the country. #Finance is still a major concern for Fiji Football Association. The 2011 Courts Inter District Championship as well as the 2012 Pillay Garments Champions League did not meet our expectation as expected. Money is a vital factor in our operations and accommodating the various national sides. The new Fiji FA administration is working overtime to look at means and ways to improve our finance. #Labasa Football Association#Setting up an interim committee was the best way forward for Labasa Football Association at the moment. When people are elected and they do not perform it affects football in the district and I’m happy that the interim committee has stepped and will get things in order before an annual general meeting is called. #Nadroga #I would like to urge district officials to be more careful with the food given to the players. It was an unfortunate case with Nadroga and we are hope for their quick recovery. Players welfare is important and we hope this sort of incidents do not occur with any other teams. #Vodafone Fiji FACT#The first round of the Vodafone Fiji FACT will be held in the Southern division and we will be shortly announcing the venue. Tournament starts proper at Churchill Park in Lautoka, as stated earlier only eight teams will qualify for a spot and all matches will be played over 90 minutes. There will be a text promotion with Vodafone to win a 4wd during the Vodafone Fiji FACT this year. Fans will get a chance to win a VolksWagon Tiguan 4WD German made by texting .The promotion will start on 1st April 2012 and end during Vodafone Fiji FACT final.#
