$180k budget for team

THE Fiji Football Association has spent in excess of $180,000 for the Vodafone Fiji under-23 team’s preparation for the Oceania Football Confederation Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship that starts in the country this weekend.

Fiji the defending champion is in Group B with Tonga, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. Favourites New Zealand head Group A with the Solomon Islands, American Samoa and Samoa.

All Group A matches will be played at the ANZ Stadium in Suva while the Group B matches will be held at Churchill Park in Lautoka.

The Marika Roducoached Fiji U23 team recently played two matches against its Singapore counterparts with the tour costing around $80,000.

Despite losing both games to the hosts, the short tour gave the players the much needed overseas exposure and the coaching staff a chance to test them with the different combinations and gauge their fitness level.

The Fiji FA will the announce the 20-member Fiji U23 squad in Ba this evening.

Under the guidance of Ravinesh Kumar, Fiji took out the 2015 edition of the OFC Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship tournament in Papua New Guinea.

Fiji defeated Vanuatu 4-3 in a sudden death penalty shootout to qualify for the Olympics for first time in Rio, Brazil in 2016.

Fiji FA chief executive officer Mohammed Yusuf said they would love to continue the winning tradition from 2015 and book a spot at the Olympics.

Fiji kicked off its campaign against Tonga this Sunday and will face PNG on September 25 and Vanuatu on September 28.