THE Bula Boys just cannot get over the hump.
Their double outing was yet another sobering reminder of football’s drift in the country.
A 3-0 defeat to Thailand and 8-0 thrashing from Hong Kong in the King’s Cup came as no surprise.
Once again, the gulf in knowledge, style, and standards was laid bare exposing the very shortcomings that continue to hold Fijian football back.
It is clearer by the day: while the Fiji Football Association claims progress in training and development, the results on the field tell a very different story.
The sport’s powerbrokers — many of whom have never kicked a ball — remain legends of failure.
Obsessed with clinging to power and indifferent to results, they sell the illusion of progress while every match delivers nothing but shame.
For coach Marika Rodu and his technical staff, the issue is football knowledge.
Rodu was a capable player, even a fine one by some accounts, but building a competitive side requires more than past glory. The gulf between playing the game and coaching it at the highest level is proving too wide for him to bridge.
Indiscipline as downfall
Fiji lacked professionalism on the field. Captain Tevita Waranaivalu, a red card repeat offender and Ilisoni Logaivau were both sent off for dangerous play, cited for reckless use of the elbow in heated contests.
The OFC Professional League
With the Bula Boys set to feature in the OFC Professional League, serious questions loom. The team needs players, and with the current batch, one can only imagine what lies ahead.
The Drua Comparison
The Drua, Fiji’s professional rugby franchise in Super Rugby, faced their own early struggles from player arrangements to coaching, technical staff, and sponsorship. Results were hard to come by, and still are, but the Drua unearthed genuine talent, with several players now worthy of Flying Fijians selection.
The same cannot be said for football.
If Fiji has struggled for years to assemble even a competitive national team, what suggests there is a pool of players ready for a league reserved for elite clubs?
CEO, wishful
CEO Mohammed Yusuf’s attempt to draw inspiration from the Drua model rings hollow.
The belief that rugby’s pathway can somehow lift football is, at best, wishful thinking.
For now, Fiji football’s pomp and pageantry remain confined to the domestic game — where noise is too often mistaken for progress.
