Where to from here

AFTER the grand speech by the chief guest at the primary schools soccer inter-district tournament, something arose again. Where to from here?

I’d pick a phrase from an old worn-out skidding disc, development at grassroots level. In Fiji, soccer development has been ongoing for an eternity.

The problem is before the roots mature, the grass wilts. There is simply no continuity.

At the primary schools inter-district tournament, Bua also participated but where was the Bua senior team during the senior IDC this year which was held days before?

Which team will these budding Bua youngsters go on to represent?

What happens to the immense talent on display during the secondary schools IDC and religious tournaments such as the Sangam convention every year?

What has become of the fantastic team which participated at the under 20 world cup in New Zealand?

That team was quite good and should have formed the core in the following world cup qualifiers at the senior level. That team brilliantly played the 4-4-2 pattern.

Its mid-field had the ability to attack and defend in a line as done by elite teams.

For the growth of any sport, interest is utmost important.

Fiji soccer has been losing its appeal while smaller nations are making it big and producing heroics at the world cup finals.

As a matter of fact, soccer is shrinking locally. The number of clubs participating in local leagues are diminishing.

Teams in the top flight of the national league have been cut. Teams which were participating in the senior level have disappeared.

There were special challenge matches as well. What has happened to the Jimmy Pratap trophy match which used to be played between Nadi and Lautoka during the Sugar Festival?

That single match played in the mid-week attracted bumper crowds. For the growth of soccer, funding is necessary as well. Along sponsorship, gate-takings also rake in revenue.

National league matches and tournaments have been struggling to attract large audiences.

At this year’s Fiji FACT, the organisation’s president had asked fans to come out in numbers to support their teams.

Similar sentiments were echoed by the organisation’s CEO during the BOG tournament.

At the IDC tournament, the president mentioned his disappointment at low crowd turnout.

Soccer is a lustrous world game but at the local scene, it has been losing its lustre.

Instead of heading towards the brightness of Qatar, it is drifting towards the darkness of Antarctica. In the scorching tropics of Fiji, soccer is freezing to death.

Fiji soccer needs a brand new, up to date, present day and futuristic approach.

MOHAMMED IMRAZ JANIF Natabua, Lautoka