Fiji Pearls rankings prop, pressure on new leadership

The incoming Netball Fiji chief executive officer and Pearls head coach have a mammoth task to improve Fiji’s ranking. 

The Pearls who has been without a head coach for a year is ranked 18th according to the latest World Netball ranking. 

The current ranking does not qualify the Pearls to the 2026 Commonwealth Games making it their second consecutive exclusion. Only the top 12 teams qualify for the Commonwealth Games which was confirmed last week with Tonga the only Pacific team. 

Netball Fiji former chief executive officer and presently a consultant Vivian Koster said they acknowledge that the latest global ranking positions. 

“With that said, our focus now remains firmly on the future —to secure a berth for the NWC (Netball World Cup) 2027 in Sydney via regional qualifiers, set to be held in September 2026 in Tonga,” Koster said. 

She added that the hunt for the Pearls head coach continues after a recent successful candidate was unable to relocate to Fiji. 

“We are now head hunting for a coach and have reached out to contacts in Australia and New Zealand in particular given their proximity to Fiji,” she said. 

“Netball Fiji has conducted an extensive search for a Fiji Pearls coach and received interest from highly experienced coaches from around the world.” 

The same goes for the chief executive officer post following Koster’s departure in December last year. 

“We had received two rounds of applications for the position and conducted interviews, however , the panels advised that a headhunt continue. 

“The position is for local candidates only. 

“Netball Fiji continues to welcome expressions of interest in the CEO position.” 

In the meantime, Koster is the consultant acting CEO to ensure continuity of the work of Netball Fiji until the role is filled. 

Meanwhile, men’s head coach Jioweli Vakamoce and Under-21 assistant coach Vaiti Waqatabu will be in charge of the Pearls extended squad regroup on Saturday. 

The duo had attended a week-long PacificAus Sports netball coaches development programme at the Australian Institute of Sports in Canberra. 

“As to the Fiji Pearls regroup, we are excited at the mix of seasoned and newer athletes especially those who competed at the recent Netball World Youth Cup,” Koster said. 

U21 players include Nina Nakula, Alisi Neisulu, Hannah Sotutu, Eseta Waqaira and Solei Toganivalu. 

More than 50 members of the squad including overseas-based players will be part of the regroup session.