The Digicel Baby Bula Boys side knows this is the “best opportunity” for them to qualify to a FIFA World Cup.
The Sunil Kumar-coached side will take on the best in the Pacific during the 2023 OFC Under-17 Championship which will be held in Suva and Ba next week.
Two football nations in the Pacific – the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea – will not compete at the tournament.
PNG failed to submit their registration on time while FIFA had banned the Solomon Islands from competing after they were found to have fielded over-aged players at a previous tournament.
If anything, this will increase Fiji’s chances to make it to the FIFA U17 World Cup in Peru in November.
To qualify, Fiji needs a top two finish at this tournament.
“We have been encouraging the boys from day one. This is our chance. We are not being over-confident but the home crowd support and the opportunity at hand can only inspire us,” Kumar said. The Ba schoolteacher added the team was focused on the task at hand.
“We will take each game at a time. We only have two pool games and then wait who we face in the quarters.
“Our aim is to reach the final and once that is done we know our spot at the World Cup is secured.”
The Baby Bula Boys have been drawn in Group A with Tonga and Samoa.
They start their campaign against Samoa on January 12 at 7pm at the HFC Bank Stadium.
Their final group match is against Tonga on January 18 at 7pm.
The top two teams from all three pools qualify to the quarter-finals with the best two third-placed teams.
Quarter-finals will be played on January 21-22, semi-finals on January 25 while the final is scheduled for 7pm on January 28.
Pools
Group A: Fiji, Samoa, Tonga
Group B: New Zealand, New Caledonia, American Samoa
Group C: Tahiti, Vanuatu, Cook Islands
Fixtures
Wednesday, January 11
- 3pm New Zealand v New Caledonia (FFA Academy, Ba)
- 7pm Tahiti v Vanuatu (HFC Bank Stadium)
Thursday, January 12
- 4pm Fiji v Samoa (HFC Bank Stadium)
Saturday, January 14
- 3pm New Zealand v American Samoa (FFA Academy, Ba)
Tuesday, January 17
- 3pm New Caledonia v American Samoa (FFA Academy, Ba)
- 7pm Vanuatu v Cook Islands (HFC Bank Stadium)
Wednesday, January 18
- 7pm Tonga v Fiji (HFC Bank Stadium)
