Fiji Football Association Photo: Facebook / Fiji FA
A civil society activist and former football administrator has written a blistering commentary calling for major reforms within the Fiji Football Association (Fiji FA), accusing "a small clique of long-tenured officials" for keeping Fiji football "locked in a permanent slump".
Nilesh Lal, who is also the head of Dialogue Fiji and describes himself as "a passionate football enthusiast" and "a longtime campaigner for reforms" at Fiji FA, is calling for football administration in the country "to be liberated".
"The Fiji FA needs a shake-up from top to bottom (a peaceful revolution of sorts) to oust the complacent power-brokers and usher in visionary leaders who actually care about elevating Fiji's game," he wrote in a damning article published in the Fiji Sun.
"If that happens, we could finally see real development: better coached players, stronger domestic competitions, and national teams that Fijians can be proud of."
RNZ Pacific has contacted Fiji FA for comment.
Fiji is currently ranked 152nd in the FIFA Men's Ranking. Photo: Hagen Hopkins
'Beautiful game held hostage'
Lal believes that without change, Fiji soccer is "doomed to remain in the doldrums, watching our football dreams suffocated by the very people who were supposed to nurture them".
"The beautiful game in Fiji has been held hostage for too long; it's time to set it free. Nothing less than the future of Fijian football is at stake."
Lal pointed to the Fijian national team's recent "humiliating losses" to Hong Kong and Thailand in the King's Cup. He said the 8-0 and 3-0 defeats "were the latest reminders of how far behind our football has fallen".
He wrote that Fiji FA has been governed by "presidents-for-life" who have enjoyed "extraordinary tenures" that would be unthinkable in most sports organisations.
Lal described Fiji FA's constitution as "deliberately undemocratic", and claimed it has created a leadership structure that "remains impenetrable".
"In a healthy sporting body, constitutions are meant to ensure fair play and democratic governance. In Fiji FA's case, the constitution became a tool of exclusion - a way to erect barriers to entry and cement an oligarchy. The net result is that Fiji's football leadership today has no real accountability to its stakeholders or fans."
Lal said the stranglehold on Fiji FA leadership has stifled progress. Photo: OFC via phototek / Shane Wenzlick
According to Lal, Fiji football has not come close to reaching its potential and by many measures the sport has regressed. He pointed to the dismal world ranking of the national men's team, zero FIFA World Cup appearances, humbling defeats on the international stage, and consistent underperformance at Oceania Football Confederation competitions.
"Fiji is a nation of immense sporting talent, with rugby players conquering the world stage, yet in football we remain perennial underachievers," he wrote.
"The root cause goes beyond players or coaches: it lies in an administration that has been captured by a small clique of long-tenured officials more interested in holding power than developing the sport. This stranglehold on Fiji FA leadership has stifled progress, breeding poor governance and keeping Fiji's football dreams locked in a permanent slump."
According to Lal, Fiji football has not come close to reaching its potential and by many measures the sport has regressed. Photo: OFC Media
'Opaque, undemocratic, self-serving' - former sports editor
Lal's critique of the sport's governing body in Fiji has been supported by former The Fiji Times sports editor Dr Shailendra Singh.
Singh, who is now the head of The University of the South Pacific's journalism programme, said Lal's deep dive into Fiji FA's "serious and systemic failures... exposes what seems like a mafia-style operation serving the few - opaque, undemocratic, and self-serving," he wrote in a Facebook post.
"The question is, who's reading this article? Will it lead to long overdue change? Or will this abomination continue for the next few decades?"
Fiji is currently ranked 152nd in the FIFA Men's Ranking, having dropped two places last month. The nation's best ranking was 94th in the world, achieved more than three decades ago in 1994.
