Nadi Football Association uproar, team misses Fiji FACT

The failure of the Nadi football team to qualify for next month’s BiC Fiji FACT tournament has not gone down well with former officials, players and fans.

This is the first time Nadi will miss out on the Fiji FACT tournament since it began in 1991, prompting calls for current Nadi Football Association officials to step down.

Nadi is one of the country’s top football teams and has produced star players such as Mani Naicker, Savenaca Waqa, Rusiate Waqan, Emasi Koroi “Bacardi”, Manu Pokar, Prem Chand, Marika Ravula, Kini Tubi and Peter Dean, among others.

Former Nadi FA board of control executive and current Nadi Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Lawrence Kumar said missing out on the Fiji FACT after 35 years marked a “historic collapse” and the current management should resign.

“The fans, likewise the business community, are shattered to note that for the first time in the history of local football, the Nadi team has failed to qualify for the Fiji FACT,” he told SUNsports yesterday.

Nadi’s hopes of qualifying ended after a 2-1 loss against Lautoka in Sunday’s Extra Premier League clash. The top eight teams in the EPL qualify for the Fiji FACT.

Kumar said despite repeated calls for the management to resign, officials had chosen to remain.

“We call on all club delegates to urgently convene a special meeting to remove the president and his management. Our former players and administrators must be rumbling in their graves over our continued dismal performances over the last decade.”

Relegation threat

Former Nadi captain Maika Kasami said missing out on the Fiji FACT was a major disappointment for the district.

“It is a big disappointment for the district of Nadi to miss out on the Fiji FACT. Historically, the Fiji FACT has been one of Nadi’s favourite tournaments and the team has enjoyed success there. A lot of work needs to be done,” he said.

Kasami said the team should now focus on the National League campaign because it faced the threat of relegation to the Senior Division.

“We must focus on the National League, which is important, and keep our team in the Super Premier League,” he said.

Die-hard Nadi fan Ranjinesh Lal described the result as heartbreaking.

“This is not on. It is a sad day for football in Nadi. As fans, we cannot believe what we are seeing now,” he said.

Another fan, Sarwan Kumar, said sweeping changes were needed within the Nadi FA.

“It is a very sad day for Nadi. It is time for a total clean-up. Either the officials resign or they are voted out. Wake up, Nadi local league administrators,” he said.

Businessman Sher Ahmed also criticised the current set-up.

“We have the same sponsor and the same players under the current management. Give the team to us and we will prove it can perform better,” he said.

‘We’ll bounce back’

When contacted, Nadi FA president Mohin Rafiq said it was unfortunate the team missed out on the Fiji FACT and vowed they would regroup ahead of the Battle of the Giants tournament.

“We did our level best in all the games,” Rafiq said.

“In our last game, we missed opportunities and we were disappointed with some of the referee’s calls, especially the offside decisions. We will come back stronger and try harder to qualify for the BOG,” he said.

The Fiji FACT tournament will be played at Subrail Park in Labasa from June 19 to 21.

The teams confirmed for the tournament are Ba, Rewa, Lautoka, Suva, Navua, Nasinu, Nadroga and hosts Labasa.