Minister for Industry, Trade, Tourism, Local Government, Housing and Community Development Premila Kumar congratulated Fiji men and women’s football teams for winning bronze medals during the Pacific Games.
Speaking while officially opening the 2019 INKK Mobile Battle of the Giants Tournament at Nausori’s Ratu Cakobau Park in Nausori on Friday, Kumar said despite being a small country, Fiji had done very well in selected sports such as Golf –reaching number 1 status; Rugby Sevens – Olympic Gold Medalist, and a World leader in the HSBC Rugby 7s series and also making a mark in the 15’s Rugby, to name a few. This without a doubt, has put Fiji on the international map.
“In football, we have in the past surprised teams like Australia and done relatively well in the Pacific region.
However, I want to say to the football officials and players at all levels in this country that we have not been consistent with our performance. The talent in football is in abundance but we have not reached where we should be,” said Kumar
“When we look at our ranking in the world, there is more needed to be done to uplift our status. Football started in Fiji many decades ago and we are still struggling to make a mark in the international arena.”
She urged FFA to seriously look at its strategy and targets and work towards a determined goal to take football to another level, and to improve its ranking globally.
“At least, Fiji’s aim should be higher than few of its competitors from the Pacific. Take a step, which incrementally contributes to uplifting the standard of Fijian football. We must create an environment in which we identify talent, nurture these talents and set targets to ensure players and officials connected to football know clearly, what we are trying to achieve.
“I therefore urge and challenge the FFA to work towards further enhancing standard of football in Fiji. We may be good but “good is not good enough”.
We need to be recognised internationally and that should be our goal, “said Kumar
Kumar said Fiji was well positioned to benefit from the amazing talents we have. We have football players who have become brand ambassadors of Fiji in the tourism, trade and investment frontier.
“Our very own national team captain Roy Krishna is a good example. We all know his achievements in the A-League and his success in joining a new club in India.”
“Another good example is our female footballer Sofi Diyalowai, who has been called in for trials in France. Then we have players like Scott Wara and Nicholas Prasad, who are playing in top clubs abroad,” she added.
