Plans for Women’s League Comp in place
The Fiji Football Association has plans of introducing a Women’s League competition next year.
This will boost and help women football in the country to prepare and adapt to the 2022 Professional League.
Speaking to SunSports Fiji FA president Mohamed Yusuf said women should be treated equally as men.
“The board has just approved that from 2021 there will be a women’s Senior League played alongside the Vodafone Premiere League,” he said.
“The Vodafone Senior Men Premiere League will be played alongside the Women’s Senior League.
“We have got six teams in the top tier competition, one is Labasa plus the other top five from Viti Levu which we are still working on. They will play home and away with most matches will be a curtain raiser to the men’s game. “They get to play in front of big crowds and again Fiji FA will fund their transport, match day meals and coaching allowances as well so this is a great opportunity for the women to display their talent in this high level of competition,’
“When we go professional in 2022 with the Professional League we want to be professional for both men and women.
“Once the women IDC is over then will see how we will work our way around this plans and make it work.”
Yusuf added this year’s IDC will see the women competition played alongside the men’s in the ANZ National Stadium in Suva. “For the first time ever the women’s will play at the same stage as the men’s during the Courts Inter District Championship (IDC) in Suva where will have eight Super Premiere men’s team, eight teams in the Senior Division and thewomen’s competition,” he said.
“Fiji FA is determined that women get the same treatment and benefits given to men so we are going to step forward in paying for all the expenses in the women’s competitions unlike the men we don’t pay all.
“We look after them by providing transport to the match venues, provide meals on match day, we will provide coaching allowances for the coaches who train the women throughout the week. “Not only in the senior women , but in the youth as well so this is what Fiji FA has intended to do moving forward.
“This is one reason why we are working very hard in initiating this programme in helping the girls adapt to pro football that is coming soon.
“In the second tier we have Savusavu and the next five Viti Levu teams they may be in home and away or may play as a tournament in a venue every three weeks.
“The fourth tier will be balance of the teams the last lot. We will be going over to Vanua Levu this week to have conversations with Nadogo and Bua for them to form a team.”