Moving on with time

Opinions / Analysis

After many years of significant decline, football in Fiji seems to be on its way up now.

The word around is that it has something to do with the aura of freshness brought about by the change of guards at Fiji Football Association during the election last year.

Great leaders make things happen. They set standards, strive for excellence and are result-driven individuals but bad leadership not only breeds failure, it causes disasters.

While new president Rajesh Patel seems to be handling the responsibilities and challenges of the top job very well, he certainly has his hands full because his predecessor’s 20-year or so master-plan did not bear results in terms of improving the standard. ‘A sinking ship’ has probably been the best description of football in Docsville! This is entirely based on Fiji’s FIFA ranking which is a harsh reality of how the sport has struggled in the past. Since the Pacific Games disaster in Noumea last year, Fiji has been relegated to fourth in Oceania and is 160/205 overall.  Fiji’s worst-ever ranking was 170 (2007) and the best spell in 1994 (94).

All hopes of redemption are therefore on Patel’s broad shoulders now. Literally, based on results of the recent Oceania U-23 Olympic play-off in New Zealand, it has taken him just a couple of months to put Fiji back on top - at least among the Pacific Islands. The play-off was the first major competition for Fiji since Patel became president and it was a great outing by the national U-23 team. The Esava Naqeleca-captained team was unstoppable in pool play and lost to New Zealand in the final by a single goal through a penalty kick. Fiji’s football teams have a notorious history of not being disciplined during camps and tours but this set of players were well-behaved in New Zealand.  There has also been a sharp improvement in the Fiji Sun / GP Batteries National Football League competition and if it wasn’t for the devastating flood last month then next month’s Vodafone Fiji FACT would have been played for 90minutes. The Battle of the Giants will be played for 90minutes and it doesn’t stop there as some Brazilian greats like Cafu are on their way to Fiji for exhibition matches. This is excellent news.

Of course, Patel is not doing all this alone. But he has the wisdom of a respected leader and is the face of change that everybody wanted. Patel has his own hand- picked team. He believes in transparency and has strong PR skills. His interviews on radio and television are excellent. They’re very informative and this reflects really well on the quality he brings to the role.  Patel is a people’s person and the people of Ba love him a lot.

More importantly, Patel is a successful businessman. The other day Shaka Hislop was on the ESPN SoccerNet Press Pass show on television and something he said, got me thinking.  The former Newcastle United stopper made it absolutely crystal clear with a clever remark while analyzing the mid-season slumps of Chelsea and Liverpool in the English Premier League.

“Football is business,” he said while referring to the substantial investments made by respective club owners Roman Abramovich and John Henry. Shaka’s statement justifies that Fiji FA does not need some honorable lawyer or some doctor to save the ‘sinking ship’ but a proven businessman like Patel.  Indeed! Shaka’s right. ‘Football is business’ and the sooner all stakeholders in Fiji realize and adapt this philosophy, the faster and easier it will be for the sport to progress. The players are the biggest assets. Districts need to invest in players through proper contracts, generate sponsorship and derive revenue from the team for reinvestment. Players need to be contracted at both district and national team levels.  Bad management and poor leadership will only incur huge losses for the business and add to liabilities. Development of playing infrastructure, academies and match officials (referees and linesmen) are absolutely vital as well.

Fiji FA is no doubt enjoying a rejuvenating spell because suddenly there seems to be a lot of unity and positives surrounding the much-loved sport while the usual mud-slinging and the kachkach (quarrelling) against the parent body is definitely like a thing of the past.