The football year that 2022 was
Roy Krishna appointed Oceania FC ambassador
Fiji’s Roy Krishna was chosen as Oceania Football Confederation ambassador. Krishna has played for clubs like Waitakere, Auckland City and Wellington Phoenix, and won awards. He became the first Indian from Fiji to play in the Indian Super League with ATK Mohun Bagan and currently plays for Bengaluru FC.
Bula Boys miss World Cup qualifier
The Bula Boys missed out on a spot from the 2022 World Cup football in Qatar. The side beat New Caledonia 2-1, but lost to the All Whites. PNG beat New Caledonia and Fiji 1-0 and 2-1, respectively, but lost to the All Whites 1-0 in their opening match. The Bula Boys started well with an early goal to Tevita Waranivalu, but PNG scored two goals to beat Fiji 2-1. NZ qualified after beating the Solomons 5-0.
Our top goal scorer
Roy Krishna became Fiji’s all-time top goal scorer with 33 goals, two more than Esala Masi, who made a massive impact in Ba’s jersey. Roy scored two goals for the Bula Boys in their 2-1 win over Vanuatu.
Real Madrid wins Champions League
Real Madrid won an incredible 14th Champions League title, following the 1-0 win over Liverpool in the final. Vinicius Junior’s second-half goal coupled with a man-of-the-match display from goalie Thibaut Courtois ensured Carlo Ancelotti’s side followed up its La Liga triumph with win in the epic final in Paris.
Suva crowned Fiji Fact champions
The Capital City boys were crowned 2022 Fiji Fact champions after defeating Labasa 2-0 in the final over the weekend. Goals from Malakai Rakula and Samuela Drudru ensured Suva retained the title although Drudru and Anish Khem were shown red cards late on. Suva had booked their place in the final, after a brace from Azariah Soromon helped the Whites defeat Lautoka 2-1 in the semi-final. The Babasiga Lions edged out Ba in a sevengoal thriller in their semifinal, coming back from two goals down to win 4-3.
Auckland City wins OFC Champions League
Auckland City defeated Venus 3-0 in the OFC Champions League to win its tenth title. Rewa qualified from Fiji after beating Lautoka 4-0. Rewa beat Nikao Sokattack, but lost to Auckland City and Hienghene.
PNG wins OFC Women’s Nations Cup
Papua New Guinea won the OFC Women’s Nations Cup for the first time after beating host nation Fiji 2-1 in the final in front of a boisterous crowd. Goals from Meagen Gunemba and Ramona Padio secured the trophy. Cema Nasau nodded her header goal-bound to reduce PNG’s advantage, but the Kula lost.
Labasa wins BOG after three years
FARMTRAC Labasa made history after clinching its third BOG title after beating defending champions Rewa at Churchill Park. Ashneel Raju scored the first goal for Labasa, but Tevita Waranivalu equalised. Both teams were tied 1-all at the end of the second half, and France Catarogo scored the winning goal.
Man City beats Liverpool to a dramatic PL title triumph
The 2021/22 Premier League campaign was ranked as one of the most thrilling as Manchester City successfully defended its title, securing a sixth Premier League title and eighth English league title overall on the final day of the season. Liverpool went behind to Wolves, but quickly equalised. Aston Villa took a shock 2-0 lead. City then scored three goals in under six minutes to take the lead in the match. Two late goals from Liverpool meant it won 3-1, but City was crowned champs for the fourth time in five seasons.
Xavier College creates history in secondary school’s football
Xavier College created history, making a clean sweep of the Digicel Fiji Secondary School’s Football Championship. The Ba-based school won the U-19 title beating Labasa Muslim College 1-0. In the U15 grade, Xavier College beat Vashist Muni College 4-3 in penalty shoot-outs, and in the U17 final, Xavier College beat Korovuto College 1-nil. Xavier took out the open girl’s division, beating Vunimono High 4-1.
Rakiraki U14 wins primary school’s IDC
The Rakiraki U14 football side won the 45th primary schools IDC tournament at Garvey Park. The side edged Nadi 4-3 in penalty shootout. In the semis, Rakiraki defeated defending champs Rewa 2-0, while Nadi beat Lautoka 1-0. Rakiraki prepared well for the tournament and their hard work was rewarded.
Delta Tigers nail 2022 DPL title
Rewa won the 2022 Digicel Premier League title after beating Lautoka 1-0. Setareki Hughes scored the winning goal for Rewa. This was Rewa’s first league title. Rewa and Suva both finished the season with 35 points. However, Rewa won the title due to better goal differential. Tavua and Seaqaqa won the Viti Levu and Vanua Levu senior division titles, and then Tavua edged Seaqaqa to make it into the top flight.
Suva crowned Courts IDC champs
The Rams Cleaning Services/ All Freight Logistics Suva team won the Courts IDC title after beating the Koromakawa Rentals and Tours/GO2 Solutions Navua side 4-0. Suva’s goals were by scored Samuela Drudru, Waisake Navunigasau, Azariah Soromon and Remueru Tekiate. Nasinu and Bua won the premier and senior division titles on a high note after beating Seaqaqa and Lami 3-0 and 2-1, respectively.
PNG tops MSG Prime Ministers Cup
PNG came out on top of the MSG Prime Ministers Cup. The tournament, which was previously known as the Melanesia Cup and reborn this year, was held in Vanuatu. In the semifinal Vanuatu B beat Solomon Islands on penalties, while
PNG beat Fiji. In a rematch of the group stage game, PNG beat Vanuatu in the penalty shootout, after being locked 3-all. Fiji beat the Solomon Islands in the third-place playoff.
Fiji U19 qualifies for U-20 World Cup
The Digicel Fiji U19 team qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup after beating New Caledonia 1-0 in the U19 Championship semi-final in Tahiti. Nabil Begg scored the winning goal. Fiji lost to NZ in the final.
Blues rule disciplined forces football
Police retained the Sukuna Bowl trophy beating Army 3-1. Police led 2-0 with goals by Tevita Waranivalu and Azzu Zahid. Christopher Wasasala pulled one back for Army, but Ratu Anare sealed the deal.
Argentina wins incredible World Cup final
Argentina ended a 36-yearold World Cup hoodoo to beat defending champs France 4-2 in the penalty shootout. Lionel Messi scored twice in a 3-3 draw that featured a hat-trick for Kylian Mbappe. It was an extraordinary night of drama, high emotion and fluctuating fortunes, delivering one of the all-time great finals to cap a wonderful tournament. Emiliano Martinez saved Kingsley Coman’s effort and Aurelien Tchouameni fired wide and Gonzalo Montiel converted. Croatia finished third, beating Morocco by 2-1.
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