Fijian FA launches ‘strategic talent development plan’
Fijian FA launches ‘strategic talent development plan’. Fiji is the perfect case study to understand the true difficulties that arise when there are no professional sports teams nearby.
Fiji is determined to develop their footballing potential. For example, the FFA has been uncompromising in its efforts to make sure that the nation’s best interests are represented, even when vying for a seat on FIFA councils. Furthermore, Fiji will be able to take advantage of FIFA’s guiding hand as it seeks to shift from small time player to regional powerhouse.
As the Fijian national team continues to develop in the next 10-15 years, they will have players ready for the European and Asian markets. Management at Fiji Football Association realizes that time to act has come, after their report revealed many factors about their situation.
After thorough evaluation, the FFA has implemented new measures.
There are now 10 teams in the Fiji Premier League, generating more games among a wide variety of top-level professional clubs. Starting at $2 USD, any fan can now pay to watch their favorite players compete.
Timo Jankowski stated that the rule about having a U-19 player in the starting line-up and another on the bench is already assisting in developing homegrown talent, as more players are able to accumulate important experience.
Standards of coaching are also improving. All people who will coach the Premier League must have an OFC Senior C License. Previously, people were able to walk in and coach any team. However, a similar policy will soon be enforced at the youth level.
To increase the competitiveness of youth soccer leagues, the system has been simplified and restructured. For the first time, there are leagues for U13 and U15 children.
A football national curriculum has been developed following a consultation process with key stakeholders all over the country, and Vanua Levu, Fiji’s 2nd-largest island and home to Labasa FC, is receiving their first football academy. More academies are needed, said Jankowski. There’s so much talent across Fiji but because of geography and lack of an academy, nothing can be done. With just this 1 new academy, there will be more talented players.
Jankowski found out that the average Fijian player received 400 hours of training by the time they were 18, while European players received about 3,000 hours of training.
Previously, nothing formal existed outside of schools for the U-8 – U-15 demographic. In order to combat this issue, three new staff members have been appointed to train local players.
With the lack of international competitions, it is hard for Australian players to exhibit the talent they have. Yusuf believes that if they had more exposure to higher level competition, they would be more competitive.
Roy Krishna, the captain of Fiji’s national team, said that it would be helpful if more players from Fiji could play in countries like Europe. If a player can find success there, this would inspire the rest of the team and keep the ball rolling for Fiji.