THE Fiji Football Association has confirmed that the next national head coach will be a local.
This was announced by Fiji FA president Rajesh Patel during a media conference in Ba yesterday.
Patel said the decision marks an important step in strengthening local football development and ensuring continuity in the national program.
“The new head coach will be a local coach to be based in Fiji,” Patel said.
He revealed that Fiji FA had received 38 applications for the role, which became vacant following the departure of former coach Robert Sherman.
From that pool, six candidates have been shortlisted, with the possibility of trimming the list further to four.
“We have shortlisted six and we might drop two further as we want the coach to be local based,” Patel explained.
The appointment of a local coach is expected to boost confidence among players and supporters, while also highlighting Fiji FA’s trust in homegrown talent to lead the national team forward.
