Surrey Stars players raise aloft the Jayden Memorial Cup, the team beat Rewa 3-0 in the final at the Bear Creek Park in Surrey

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Footballers deserve better

Opinions / Analysis

WHEN it comes to choosing a playing surface, teams take a deep look at how good the field is.


Labasa’s Subrail Park, the host of the Fiji FACT, is certainly not a footballer’s ideal pitch.

It never has since the beginning of the tournament on Wednesday.

The teams have been struggling to play consecutive football from the very get-go, as it only worsened by the game.

The Fiji Football Association should have relocated the tournament after the first day of the matches but chose to play it out, with the hope the weather conditions improve.

Heavy rain over the next two days only made the field unplayable.

The waterlogged condition did not help footballers play structured game.

The first semifinal between Nadi and Rewa was much more a water polo match.

Footballers found it hard to connect a string of passes and play in the space.

Nadi’s first half 1-0 lead came on the back of some wild, kick and chase football, much of the same would have been on display between Labasa and Suva, the other semifinalists.

Fiji FA lacked foresight when they decided to continue with the game, and later the behest of the match officials abandoned it to Sunday.

Instead, they should seriously consider moving the semifinals and the grand finale to the West.

Give the footballers what the beautiful games is all about, that is for them to radiate that skills, play entertaining football and minimizing serious injuries

A 2017 Fifa study showed that 82 percent of players thought that field contributed to injury and almost 90 percent believed playing on these surfaces were more likely to shorten their careers.

Footballers deserve better football pitch one that will get them draw their best.


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