Courts IDC, Fijian football’s Premier event, set to be another thriller this year
The Courts Interdistrict Championship 2017 gets underway at Churchill Park, Lautoka next Tuesday.
This is the most important football tournament in the Fiji Football Association's annual calendar.
This is the tournament where the prestigious Lloyd Farebrother Trophy is at stake. The trophy was donated by the first Fiji FA president, A.S. Farebrother and Lloyd and Company. The first IDC tournament was played in 1938 in Suva where Suva, Rewa, Ba, Levuka and Lautoka participated.
From 1938 to 1975, the IDC was played in a knockout format but pool play was introduced in 1976. In 1985, the IDC was played in two divisions with the introduction of a second level tournament known as the Premier Division.
The Ba football team have won the IDC title the most, 24 times followed by Lautoka with 16 and Suva in third spot with 13 wins.
The Men-In-Black have also set a record of winning the IDC title in 6 years-in-a-row from 1975 to 1980, a feat which will be around for some time let alone being equalled.
The Babasiga Lions-Labasa- are the current IDC champions after they beat Ba 2-1 in the final at the ANZ Stadium, Suva last year.
This is the tournament that every football player in the country wants to participate in with the aim of doing honours for their respective districts.
Last week the football fraternity mourned the passing away of one of our football legends Kini Mocelutu. Mocelutu along with his brother Inia Bola made their mark in the IDC while playing for Ba during their 6-year reign.
As the years went on their younger brother Ravuama Madigi continued from where they left off and in 2001 smacked in the winning goal for Rewa when they upset Ba 1-0 in the IDC final in Suva.
From the brothers, the IDC has also seen the emergence of other top players like Mike Thompson, Mun Lal, Josaia Tubuna, Meli Vuilabasa, Farouk Janeman, Feroz Khan, Manu Pokar, John Grey, Bale Raniga, Anand Sami, Jimmy Okete, Rusiate Waqa, Mohammed Salim, Jeremaia Ladawa, Abdul Mannan, Jone Ratu, Hirdesh Prasad, Robert Mark, Sam Work, Aisea Mocelutu, Savenaca Waqa, Jimmy Zoing, Epeli Levaci, Tevita Tukania, Radike Nawalu, Robin Simmons, Tagi Vonolagi, Simon Peters, Taniela Tuilevuka, George Koi, Terio Vakatawa, Mun Lal, Gordon Leewai, Anand Sami, Vula Wate, Nicholas Rounds and the list goes on. Again, we're expecting a lot more promising players to be identified in this year's tournament.
And not only that, from the movement of players during the recent Transfer Window coupled with the hiring of overseas players, the IDC champions are going to be crowned again by the end of next Sunday, if the Babasiga Lions play their cards right again.