The Fiji Football Association has raised concerns over the limited playing opportunities for young national representatives in district football.
Speaking at the Fiji FA Districts and Clubs Technical Workshop in Suva, Head of Talent Development Sunil Kumar and Technical Director David Baltase highlighted the need for districts to provide more opportunities for emerging players.
Figures presented at the workshop showed that only nine of 48 Fiji under-16 and under-17 internationals from 2024 to 2026 were playing regularly for senior district teams.
Another 20 players were recorded as inactive, while seven had played briefly before dropping out.
The presentation also revealed that 46 youth and women’s league matches had been cancelled or forfeited during the 2026 season.
The technical department stressed that districts needed to invest in their own young players, provide regular competitive matches and establish stronger links between youth and senior teams.
Fiji FA also called for greater district ownership of development programmes to ensure promising players continued progressing after representing Fiji at age-group level.
