IT’S going to be quite a hectic weekend of sports action starting today around the country.
In Lautoka, the top teams of Fiji soccer will clash in the semi-finals of the Battle of the Giants tournament at Churchill Park.
Nadi are scheduled to take on the might of Ba and Labasa are billed against Suva in the other semi-final.
In the Capital City, high schools around the country will converge here for the elimination rounds of the annual Deans Trophy competition.
Organisers of the competition have made an offer that looks quite interesting.
The first 3000 students in uniform will pay $5 entry fees to watch and support their teams in the 2018 Powerade Super Deans Rugby Championship at the national stadium today.
Fiji Secondary Schools Rugby Union officer Solomone Seru confirmed this offer yesterday.
There is a catch though, the students must come in early because the offer expires at 11am.
For soccer lovers, attention shifts firmly to Lautoka for the clash of the giants of the sport.
The recent FIFA World Cup in Russia has placed the sport on a rather high platform.
The challenge though is for the powers that be to lift the standard of the sport in Fiji to the level of the top teams around the world.
We witnessed exciting soccer at the World Cup.
Fans will no doubt be keen to see an injection of enthusiasm to lift the sport to heights that place it alongside the world’s top teams.
It will be interesting to see how soccer develops as a team sport in Fiji. We must have a dream to reach out for a spot at the FIFA World Cup.
We should be nurturing enthusiasm in the sport. We should be reaching out for the stars so to speak.
National coach Christophe Gamel has lifted the profile of the sport, laying down the base for a more constructive brand.
It is a breath of fresh of air.
The onus though is on our district coaches to continue to drive the message of quality soccer on the field.
We must learn from the best sides in the world. We must take a leaf off the pages of the world champions France and aspire for great things.
In high schools rugby, attention will focus on defending champions Ratu Kadavulevu School who are represented in all grades again this year.
The challenge is on them to repeat last year’s amazing campaign.
Whatever the results are this weekend, we hope you will have a fun-filled sporting end to another working week.
