From a humble beginning, Antonio Tuivuna’s love for football has enabled him to make progress in life. The Navala native from Ba, today plays for the Labasa football team also known as the Babasiga Lions.

For Tuivuna his football journey began in 2003 at the Rarawai Muslim Primary School ground before he moved on to attend Ba Sangam College.

With maternal links to Nadarivatu in Tavua, Tuivuna says, he was blessed since he could not attend any tertiary institution but instead his God given football talent has given him the opportunity to make things happen in life.

“Looking back it was an achievement that I didn’t expect but I thank God for his blessings,” he said.

Tuivuna indicated that he was committed to training right from the first day he played at primary school.

“For me it was something I had to do to fulfil my dream in life and once I started there was no turning back.”

From secondary school level, he progressed on to represent the country- in the national Under-20 and U23 teams.  Tuivuna played at the FIFA U20 World Cup in Auckland, New Zealand in 2015 where he scored a goal in the 3-0 historic win over Honduras in their pool game.

The solid midfielder was also part of the U23 side that played at the 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea where they qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Tuivuna said so far hard work, discipline and faith have been the ingredients of his success.

“My family has been my inspiration and I always want to be a successful football player mainly to help my family progress,” Tuivuna said.

“Growing up and witnessing the struggles we had to endure motivates me to become a successful sports person. I thank the Lord for answering my prayers and the opportunity to play at the Olympics has been an experience I will always cherish in life.”

Through his football achievements, Tuivuna is always grateful in making his parents proud as he is able to assist them from whatever he earns from his contract.