The National Football Premier League kicks off with four exciting matches at four venues this weekend.
Fiji FA competitions manager Amitesh Pal says all the four matches in the opening round will be exciting.
“Well I would say it is going to be a thrilling and exciting matches as all the eight premier division teams had more time to prepare for the league this season, “said Pal
“The delay in the competition gave teams to test their strength in the friendly matches and work on their weakness,”
Pal said it would be hard to predict the winners in all the matches.
“All teams are equally strong and it will be hard to predict who will win the matches,” said Pal
“The fans will surely see some nail biting matches this weekend as fireworks are expected to explode in every match,”
Pal said to add more flavor to the league there will be curtain raiser matches for the fans to enjoy this year.
“Fans will also have opportunities to see the women’s team playing in the Fiji FA Super League as curtain raiser to all the matches at four venues, “confirms Pal
This Saturday Labasa will host Ba at Subrail Park in Labasa at 1.30pm while Labasa women team will play Ba women at 11.30am as curtain raiser in Labasa.
Labasa is on high after winning the Pillay Garments Champion vs Champion series under new coach Ravneel Pratap and with the inclusion of Solomon Islander Marlon Taihoa, Nasinu’s Naivakananumi, Jone Naraba and Isikeli Ratucava, the Babasiqa Lions will be a strong outfit against the traditional giants of Fiji Football in front of their home fans while the Men-In Black under coach Kamal Swamy will be out to upset the CVC champions and start the season with a win.
Three interesting matches will be played on Sunday at different venues at same time.
At Lawaqa Park in Sigatoka, Nadroga will host Nadi at 3pm which is expected to be a nail-biting fixture. Nadroga returns to the top-level competition after five years and has been preparing well for the season under coach Ramesh Sharma. They have recruited some players and will be playing with the support of their home crowd while Nadi is coached by former Ba and national rep Shalen Lal. Suva women and Nadroga women will play as curtain-raiser for the match at Lawaqa Park in 3pm.
Lautoka will host Navua at Churchill Park in Lautoka. This will be the feature match of the opener as both teams have recruited some players and under new coaches. Former Lautoka assistant coach Amit Prakash is in charge of Navua while former Nasinu and Tailevu Naitasiri coach Tagi Vonolagi will stand for the Blues this season.
Both teams have been playing friendly matches and have tested their players with mix results but it is going to be a big test for both coaches this Sunday.
Before the Lautoka vs Navua match, the official opening of the 2021 National Premier League will be done at 2.30pm.
At ANZ Stadium in Suva, Suva will host Rewa which is also expected to be an interesting match. Suva will come out firing after their loss against Labasa in the Pillay Garments Champion vs Champion series last weekend. Suva is only district that has retained its coach and have signed some new players as well this season while Rewa is mentored by Rodick Singh who was the coach for the baby Tigers last season.
Rewa women will take on Tailevu Naitasiri women team before the Suva vs Rewa match in the 2021 Fiji FA Super League at 1pm.
The ticket price at all the venues for two matches will be $5 flat while a child under 10 is free.
