Exposure woes worry Fiji FUTSAL officials June 05, 2008
Lack of international exposure and match practice has been the major setback for the Fiji FUTSAL team, which will compete in the Vodafone OFC FUTSAL Qualifiers at the Vodafone Arena starting on Sunday.
Fiji FUTSAL secretary Jainendra Sukhu said the only worry for the host nation was the lack of exposure for its players.
Otherwise, he said, the team was fully prepared and raring to give in their best at the tourney.
“We faced problems in getting the team together in camp because of the Fiji FACT tournament but it’s good to see the boys are all in shape after the tournament and there are no major injuries in the team,” Sukhu said.
“The boys got into camp on Monday and went through a pool session to cool off and relax before starting the final phase of preparations under coach Intiaz Khan, who has been putting a lot of effort into preparations.
“We are expecting tough competition because the other nations have been playing competitively and also have international experience while our team is totally new and is yet to gain international exposure,” he said.
“This should not really be a problem as we will be playing on our home turf,” he added.
While the entire forward and defensive players featured for their respective teams in the Fiji Bitter FACT tournament last weekend, the two goalkeepers in the national team did not feature at all and it will be interesting to note their performances in the playoffs.
Rewa’s Wasim Ali was on the bench for the Delta Tigers in the FACT while Azmat Begg was dropped from the Labasa team.
Fiji will open its campaign against New Caledonia in the last match on Sunday evening.
In the opening match, New Zealand will play Solomon Islands while Vanuatu faces Tuvalu.
Fiji team: Goalkeepers- Azmat Begg (Labasa), Wasim Ali (Rewa), Defenders- Ashish Chand (Nasinu), Siga Ali (Navua), Vikash Prasad (Suva), Sandeep Nair (Labasa) Midfielders- Dinesh Mudliar (Labasa), Mira Sahib (Suva), Alvin Avinesh (Lautoka), Strikers- Kamal Hassan (Rewa), Arvindra Naidu (Lautoka), Intiaz Begg (Labasa).
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