Fiji’s 13th man Sireli Maqala may see himself feature faster than anticipated at this year’s Olympic Games as COVID-19 continues to take effect even at the world’s biggest sporting event.
Amendments by the International Olympic Committee in regards to the 13th player has seen coach Gareth Baber include Maqala as an option for any game on match day.
“Maqala is part of the 13 and any of them is selectable and I will select 12 players out of 13 every game,” Baber said.
Baber said with the Tokyo Olympics Games already marred by the pandemic in a number of players and officials testing positive, they were working a tight knit unit to avoid such calamities in the Fiji camp.
“It’s about player welfare and player safety, and it doesn’t mean that if you test positive you are out of the tournament but it does apply a huge amount of pressure.”
“We are getting tested everyday and as long as those tests come back negative we will carry on with the objective in this tournament.”
