Fiji Football Association president Rajesh Patel says the organisation remains financially stable despite operating in a challenging environment, according to its financial results for the period January to December 2025.
Patel said that although Fiji FA had budgeted for a deficit of around $300,000, the final outcome reflected prudent financial management.
He also rejected criticism that district associations were not receiving adequate funding, saying such claims were misleading.
“If you look at the summary of district payments, including prize money and grants, the figures speak for themselves,” Patel said.
According to figures presented, Rewa received $118,000 after winning several tournaments during the year, while Labasa received $129,000 through a combination of tournament winnings, league participation payments, travel grants and other forms of support.
Patel said senior division teams also benefited significantly, with some receiving more than $42,000 during the year.
“People say we are not giving enough money. That is a total lie,” he said. “We spend over $800,000 on districts.”
Patel also outlined the distribution of gate shares from the FMF Inter-District Championship (IDC), which will be finalised once calculations are completed. He said the top four teams in the Premier Division would receive approximately $10,000 each, while the bottom four would receive more than $6,000. In the senior division, the top six teams are expected to receive around $5,000, with the bottom four receiving about $3,000.
Addressing criticism of Fiji FA’s move into pay-per-view broadcasting, Patel said the initiative reflected modern trends in sports consumption.
“As the CEO has said, we had more than 45,000 people through the gates, and pay-per-view generated $170,000 in gross income,” he said.
Patel said the model also allowed fans who could not attend matches in person to access the competition.
“If you give the right product, if the teams are good and the competition is better, people will come and people will watch,” he said.
He stressed that revenue generated was not retained solely by Fiji FA but reinvested into national team programmes, youth development and district football.
“At the end of the day, all the districts benefit,” Patel said. “This is how we ensure development continues and that future players keep coming through for our national men’s and women’s teams.”
