The Nadi Football Association fraternity came together last Wednesday to celebrate the achievements of their former president Navneeda Gounder.

The event was held at the revamped Nadi Club and it also coincided with the NFA’s official brand launch with sponsors Jack’s of Fiji.

Gounder will remain in the hearts of the NFA fraternity for his involvement of football since 1977.

NFA president Javed Ahmed during the event said, “Most importantly I’m standing here today to honour a man who has been a loyal servant of Nadi FA– a man who was instrumental in bringing back the lost glory to the district.”

“We honour and recognise Navneeda, thank you and this is a small token of our appreciation which will not match all your achievements but we hope it will give you the recognition that you rightfully deserve.”

Historically, since the establishment of Nadi FA in 1938, Gounder has been part of the entire wins either as a player or coach, except for the victory of 1969, 1971 and 1974.

“I thank Javed Ahmed and the board for the appreciation as a player and official for NFA,” he said.

“As I always say it is not because of me but it was the team made up of players and officials. That is the challenge.”

BRANCH LAUNCH

The NFA in collaboration with their sponsors also had their brand launch in a bid to increase their fan base and likewise improve their branding.

“The brand launching is a step towards making the Nadi Football brand known as Green Machine in partnership with Qaqa and Jack’s of Fiji, a known brand that our fans all over the world can proudly wear.

“This is the biggest sponsorship given to Nadi FA by Jack’s of Fiji. We are working closely with the Jack’s of Fiji team to ensure our partnership grows from strength to strength over the years,” Ahmed said.

“We are proud of this initiative which I think is the first in Fiji for soccer and we hope we can take our brand to a higher level that our fans can associate themselves with.”

Some of our plans and initiatives for the season are:

-Season pass which is for our fans worth $50- this includes a Nadi football jersey, secure parking, entry etc.

Youth development U16 and U18

Nadi is currently leading the Vodafone Youth League western conference.

“Our target is to win this for the first time. We have also introduced two youth players into the senior team and we expect another two or three players to be promoted this year,” he said.

Jack’s of Fiji Group of Companies general manger Avinesh Prasad said, as the company cherish their on-going partnership with NFA having pledged and will do all their best take the brand to another level.

FACT FILE: NAVNEEDA G GOUNDER

He was born in Saweni, Lautoka and moved to Suva when he was a teenager. He attended Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High before pursing his career as dental technician when he moved to Nadi.  However his football began in Suva as he played for the League club in the Suva FA competition from 1975–1976.

There he played with former Suva and national reps like as Ramesh Shankaran, Victor Koya, and John Murthi.

He made his debut for the Green Machine in 1977 and left in 1987.

The right link was well-known for his lethal right boot and is well documented in an incident where his powerful volley led to a fractured hand of a Rewa goalkeeper Sonny Koi during the 1979 Interdistrict Championship where Nadi won 3-1.

“it was a loose ball outside the penalty box and it was a bullet shot with the keeper thought to have caught the ball but he did not realise what happened to his hand,” the 52-year-old said.

He was part of the champion Nadi team which ruled the local soccer fraternity in the late 1970s and early 1990s.

Incidentally, it was in his reign as the president of Nadi FA that bought back their glory days.

Under his leadership from 1995, Nadi managed to win the Vodafone Fiji FACT, Inkk Mobile Battle of the Giants and the then Girmit tournament.

In addition to that, Nadi team was also triumphant in the National League and IDC.

AS A PLAYER:

League Championship (For Districts) 5 –                   1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983.

Battle of the Giants: 3 – 1978, 1980, 1983

AS AN ADMINISTRATOR/PRESIDENT:

League Championship (for

districts) 3: 1998, 2000, 2015

Battle of Giants: 1 -1996

Fiji Fact: 4 – 1996, 2013, 2014 and 2016

Inter-District Championship:

3 – 1998, 1999, 2002

Fiji Football Association Cup

tournament: 1 – 1996

Pacific Cups: 3 times – 2014, 2015,2016