Mataiasi to continue family tradition

Young Mataiasi Toma wants to continue on from where his uncles have left off. In actual fact, he knows that it is not going to be an easy feat but is confident that he will achieve it. The Yako native from Nadroga is the nephew of football stars and brothers- striker Veresa and midfielder Viliame Toma. Mataiasi who had just turned 19 will be representing Nadi at the 2016 Oceania Football Confederation’s Champions League in Auckland, New Zealand. “It is a proud moment to play for the Green Machine,” he said. “My uncles played for Nadi and were part of the team that brought many memorable victories and I’m here to continue on that family tradition.” Mataiasi said he has learned a lot from playing alongside senior players like Eliki Ravosai, Ame Votonui and Lekima Gonerau. “The team officials always back us up but we need to put our minds together and create a winning team.”

Nadi are top favourites in pool C where they are billed against AS Magenta (New Caledonia), AS Tefana (Tahiti), and Kiwi (Samoa) in the OFC Champions League in Auckland, New Zealand next month. “We can do it as we have been playing together for a while, but all teams are prepared too. This is the Champions League so therefore they have done all their homework. On game day we expect them to be tougher,” he said. Mataiasi made his debut for Nadi in 2013 against Navua in the National League at the ANZ Stadium, Suva and was a member of the Vodafone Fijian Under-20 team to the FIFA U20 World Cup last year. Edited by Leone Cabenatabua