Both of the Fiji Football Association Presidential candidates for tonight did not reveal the amount of funding the Fiji FA received on an annual basis from the World Soccer governing body, FIFA in our special talkback on our sister station, Radio Sargam.
A lot needed to be done as many soccer fans say we need to improve our World soccer ranking and ensure that developments are heading in the right direction.
The Fiji soccer team is currently ranked 147th and its ranking always hovers around 140th to 160th.
Domestically, a lot more needs to be done as the standard of soccer is very low when it comes to the local tournaments.
Many have even compared the local tournaments to bazaar tournaments where many teams just play kick and chase soccer.
The Fiji soccer team lost to Solomon Islands in the semifinals of the Pacific Games this year.
In 2007 we lost to New Caledonia in the Pacific Games in Samoa while in the 2003 SPG in Fiji, our National team won gold after beating New Caledonia.
Qualifying for the Soccer World Cup for Fiji is almost unthinkable at this stage.
We asked Rajesh Patel who is one of the Presidential candidates and a former Vice President of the Fiji FA, on how much funding the Fiji FA receives from FIFA and his view on whether it is being spent in the right areas.
He had this to say.
Patel said the district representatives know the information and that is why they are supporting him in the elections tonight.
The other Presidential candidate, Shalendra Prasad said he is currently unaware about the level of funding from FIFA but he said upon questioning that Fiji FA’s income and expenditure will be made public by early next year if his team is elected tonight.
He also said that the Fiji FA’s annual accounts will be put in the public arena if he is elected.
The Presidential elections begin at 6 o’clock tonight.
Story by: Vijay Narayan
Feature
How much does Fiji FA get from FIFA?
