Fiji to face Futsal champs

The Vodafone national futsal team are among the eight Oceania contenders that will compete over the coming week with the aim of becoming the first nation to join host nation Lithuania at the 2020 FIFA Futsal World Cup.

The Fijians captained by striker Setareki Hughes and assisted by Filipe Baravilala flew out of the country yesterday.

New Caledonia will play host to the OFC Futsal Nations Cup, with the sole ticket to the world stage to be determined next Saturday. Fiji are in Group B with favourites Solomon Islands, who are looking to extend their successful qualification record to 12 years. The Melanesians, appropriately enough given their Brazil-inspired yellow and blue strip, have long had a strong affinity with the indoor variant of the game, as well as beach soccer. According to OFC Media, the Solomons have not lost a match at the tournament– other than against invitational opponents– since 2004.

The Kurukuru are also buoyed by a strong showing on the recent tour of Australia, losing by onegoal margins in both internationals against the hosts. However, the confederation has put a strong focus on broad-based development programmes across the region over the past few years. The result is tournament debuts for American Samoa and Tonga, while OFC believe the tournament will see significantly heightened competition.

“It has been very encouraging to see the commitment the MAs (Member Associations) have made to the preparations of the teams for this important tournament,” said OFC Futsal development officer Paul Toohey. “Whoever prevails in Noumea will be a worthy champion because this Nations Cup will be a closely contested and tough tournament.”

The tournament gets underway tomorrow,

GROUPS

Group A: New Zealand, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, American Samoa Group B: Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tahiti, Tonga.

FIJI SQUAD

Players- Emori Ragata, Manasa Levaci, Filipe Baravilala, Setareki Hughes, Tevita Waranivalu, Bruce Hughes, Iosefo Verevou, Kaliova Tivulu, Shahil Dave, Vineet Nadan, Rajneel Kumar, Anish Khem, Christopher Wasasala, Akuila Mateisuva.

Officials- Head of delegation: Jitendra Reddy, head coach: Mira Sahib, technical advisor: Jerry Sam, assistant coach: Aman Sharma, physiotherapist: Varoon Karan, manager: Nishaal Prasad

Photo: Fiji FA Media Members of the Vodafone national futsal side with sponsors and officials at the Fiji Football Association headquarters in Vatuwaqa, Suva.