Fiji Face Vanuatu, PNG In Tokyo 2020 Olympic Qualifier
The Fijian national football team are pooled with Melanesian rivals Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea in the OFC Men’s Olympic Qualifier 2019 to be played here on September 21 to October 5.
The draw was done at the OFC Academy in Auckland, New Zealand on Monday night.
During the draw, OFC competitions director Chris Kemp was assisted by Fiji Football Association president Rajesh Patel, who are the hosts of this year’s tournament.
According to OFC Media, the Fijians will be joined by seven other member associations with the winner securing the rights to represent OFC at the Men’s Olympic tournament at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
The Vodafone Fijian Under-23 represented the Oceania region at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In Group A, top seeded New Zealand will face fourth ranked Solomon Islands as well as American Samoa and Samoa, while second seeded Fiji will need to overcome third ranked Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Tonga in Group B.
Kemp is confident the tournament would be a success both on and off the field.
“We have no doubt Fiji will be a fantastic host and the participating teams as well as the fans will all contribute to delivering a competitive and exciting tournament,” said the OFC competitions director.
“The stakes are very high as qualification for a global sporting event such as the Olympics is a major prize.
“We expect all the participating teams to prepare and perform to their best ability and we also anticipate plenty of interest both in Fiji as well as across the entire region,” he added.
Patel shares these sentiments and can’t wait to welcome the competing teams in Fiji.
“We are very excited and looking forward to putting on a great tournament, said the Fiji FA president.
“Following our national team’s fantastic experience representing Oceania at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil it was important for us to bid for the hosting rights of this qualifying tournament.
“Fiji are in a very tough group and it won’t be easy but we are confident our team will do well, the fans are excited and we hope for a closely qualifying event,” Patel insisted.
POOLS
Group A: New Zealand, Solomon Islands, American Samoa, Samoa
Group B- Fiji, Vanuatu, PNG, Tonga
Edited by Anasilini Natoga
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