Fiji football

The win means New Zealand have confirmed their place at the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup to be held in the Dominican Republic.

With only seconds remaining, Katie Pugh sealed the title for the Kiwis to break Fijian hearts, who had put in a herculean effort.

As expected, New Zealand started the brighter and dominated possession in the opening stages. To their credit, Fiji were resolute and well-drilled and it was notable that the Kiwis were struggling to string passes together in the manner seen earlier in the tournament.

The Bula Boys now face New Zealand in Saturday night's final after the Oly Whites thrashed Vanuatu 8-0 in the first semi-final at Mt Smart Stadium.

Captain Etonia Dogalau was the hero for the Fijians scoring twice.

Substitute Brendan McMullen scored Fiji's third at the end.

The result is perhaps a small surprise as the Solomon Islanders were in great form coming into the match, beating Vanuatu and Samoa 3-0 and Tonga 5-1 in their group matches.

The trio were dismissed in their U-20 match against Indonesia in the PSSI Invitational tournament.

Pawan Pratap Singh, who was sent off for punching opponents as the fight broke out in the game's final minutes, has been sent home by the Fijian FA.

Team captain Melvin Singh was also red-carded while an Indonesian player was sent off for retaliation.

In a statement, Fiji Football Association president Rajesh Patel said the team management has been directed to work on the discipline of the team, both on and off the field, in preparation for the next match and onwards.

The Baby Bula Boys have a win so far under their name while Tonga lost 6-0 to Samoa over the weekend.

A win will take Fiji through to the quarter-finals.

The match against Fiji and Tonga will kick off at 7pm (Fiji Time) in Suva.

Krishna will play alongside Indian captain Sunil Chettri in the forward line.

He was linked with a return to A-League side Wellington Phoenix but told FBC Sports he has a lot of hunger to prove himself in the Indian League.

Krishna spent three season with another Indian side, ATK Mohun Bagan, the first Fijian to play in the top division in the country.

He was the joint top goal scorer twice and the winner of the golden ball in the 2020-21 season.

The 19- year-old became the first Fijian woman to sign a professional sports deal after joining Israeli side ASA Tel Aviv University SC in March.

But the Women's Premier League was cancelled earlier this month with two games still to play, after fighting broke out between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants.

Davis, who is also a US citizen, had been due to fly home to her family in Seattle next month, but booked an earlier flight to return to the US last Friday.

A 30 man training squad began a week-long camp in Ba yesterday under new head coach Flemming Serritslev, with around the half the players yet to play for the Bula Boys at senior level.

"This time we have some young players in the squad. It's not because they are present national team players but we want to see them among the experienced national team players how they are doing," he said.

"Mostly likely next time we will try some other very young players in the camp. If they are good enough then they are also old enough."

Danish national Flemming Serritslev arrived in Fiji over 12 weeks ago before agreeing to take charge of the Bula Boys on the road to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

His first matches in charge were set to be as part of an international tri-series against Solomon Islands and Tahiti in March before the fixtures were postponed because of Covid-19, while it was confirmed this week that the OFC Nations Cup in June had been scrapped.

The Danish national coached the PNG Kapuls for 18 months, a period highlighted by a runners-up finish in the 2016 OFC Nations Cup, where they lost the final on penalties against New Zealand.

Serritslev left PNG three months before the end of his contract, after the PNGFA failed to pay him for the final year of his tenure, and is currently based in Armenia.

The 72-year-old, who has also had spells in charge of the Denmark and Armenian Under-21 sides, is set to replace former Fiji head coach Christophe Gamel who resigned in August last year.

FFA chief executive Mohammed Yusuf hoped to develop women's football in the country and said providing equal pay was a step forward.

"It will encourage Fijian girls to come and play football because, you know, Fiji women are also in the rugby 7s and 15s with the Fijiana, so hopefully we can encourage these people to come and join us," he said.

The Association also expected to appoint a national futsal coach soon - pending the Fiji Sports Commission decision on funding the position.