The Digicel Baby Bula Boys will march into camp full-time at Ba Academy this Thursday in preparation for the OFC U17 Championship which will be played in Fiji early next year.
Head coach Sunil Kumar said they have named a 26-member squad.
“We have selected 26 players from our trials and they will be at Ba Academy for two and half months and will also attend school from there,” said Kumar
He confirmed five players were coming from New Zealand for trials.
“Some players from New Zealand have shown their interest so they will come for trials with the squad and if they do show their potential they will be included in the squad.”
“We have three months to prepare and with the support of Head Coach Flemming Serristlev and Technical Director Timo Yankowski we will plan our preparations accordingly.”
It is the first time the tournament is being played since 2018 due to the COVID-19 pandemic with fixtures taking place at the Ba Academy in Ba and Suva’s HFC Bank Stadium.
Not only will teams be hunting for regional glory but also global recognition with the two finalists qualifying for the FIFA U-17 World Cup™ in Peru next year.
Fiji will start its campaign against Samoa on Thursday, January 12 at HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.
Four teams will contest Group A, host nation Fiji, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga.
Group B consists of reigning champions New Zealand, New Caledonia, and American Samoa.
In Group C, Tahiti, Vanuatu, and the Cook Islands will battle for a place in the quarter-finals.
Each team will play the other once in their respective groups. The winners, runners-up, and the two highest-ranked 3rd placed teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals on January 21 and 22.
The semi-finals will take place on January 25 with the tournament final set for HFC Bank Stadium on January 28.
1 Kartik K Sharma LABASA
2 Peni Raicola LABASA
3 Saheel R Deo LABASA
4 Rishav A Lingam LABASA
5 Salimone Ravonokula LABASA
6 Inoke Bera LABASA
7 Vilikesa Vosagaga SEAQAQA
8 Luke Salavakavatu SEAQAQA
9 Petero B Maivalenisau SEAQAQA
10 Watisoni Batirereqa DREKETI
11 Mohammed Farun BA
12 Isimeli Gavidi BA
13 Salestino Vuase BA
14 Ilisoni Koro BA
15 Sekove Luma LAUTOKA
16 Isimeli Tuvusa LAUTOKA
17 Aron Naicker NADI
18 Vinayak Rao NADI
19 Jacob Seninawanawa NADI
20 Savenaca Driu Nabati TAVUA
21 Mohammed Zafran Ledua NAVUA
22 Ibraham Dean SUVA
23 Raneshwar Goundar SUVA
24 Delon Shankar REWA
25 Neeraj Sharma REWA
26 Nirav Nihal Kumar NASINU
