The top eight teams in the Digicel Fiji Premier League have secured their places in next month’s Super Premier Division of the FMF Inter-District Championship, scheduled to take place at Churchill Park in Lautoka. The confirmed teams are Rewa, Labasa, Lautoka, Ba, Nadi, Navua, Suva, and Nadroga.
Tailevu/Naitasiri and Nasinu have been relegated and will compete in the Premier Division, joined by Bua, Tavua, Lami, and Seaqaqa. The Senior Division will feature teams including Savusavu, Taveuni, Nadogo, Dreketi, Rakiraki, and Northland Tailevu.
The pool draws for the 2024 FMF IDC will occur on Tuesday, October 1, at the FMF Gymnasium in Suva, starting at 11 a.m. The championship will take place from October 15 to 20.
In other news, three players have been added to the national men’s football team for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Oceania qualifiers, as confirmed by head coach Rob Sherman. The new members are Leroy Jennings, a midfielder from Sydney United FC; Gabrieli Matanisiga, a defender from Wellington Olympic AFC; and Kavaia Rawaqa, a defender from Suva FC.
These players are part of a 27-member squad preparing for the qualifiers, which will begin with the first round on October 10 at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva. National team manager Kartik Reddy stated that their inclusion aims to bolster the team’s strength for a competitive qualifying campaign.
Reddy expressed the aspiration to secure the 1.5 spots available to the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) for qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The squad will commence training on September 29 at the Fiji FA Academy in Ba, with a final 23-member team to be announced on October 5. Veteran defender Remueru Tekiata and Muni Shivam Naidu will miss out due to work obligations.
National team captain Roy Krishna is expected to join the squad on October 5 after fulfilling his commitments with Odisha FC in the Indian Super League. Fiji has been placed in Group A with the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, and New Caledonia. The national team will kick off its campaign against the Solomon Islands on October 10 in Suva at 7 p.m., followed by matches against Papua New Guinea on November 14 and New Caledonia on November 17, both to be held at the PNG Football Stadium.