KNEELING and weeping tears of joy on the sideline of the pitch at the 4R Electrical, Govind Park in Ba, Rewa Football Association president Nazeel Buksh’s shoulders were relieved of a lingering 15-year winless jinx when his team won 1-0 over Ba to lift the IDC trophy on Sunday.
And in that moment, Buksh wept unashamedly as he knew the days of having to deal with public criticism over another major tournament loss for Rewa had come to an end.
Speaking to this newspaper yesterday, he relayed what went through his mind in that moment, as Rewa players ran off to the sidelines to celebrate their newfound fortune.
“All sorts of thoughts were going through me when we scored, and when that final whistle blew, I just couldn’t handle it and I just fell down to my knees,” Buksh recalled.
He shared what it felt like to be at the helm of an association like Rewa.
“Well, as the leader of the association, everything falls back on me. If the team loses, I take full responsibility for it,” Buksh said.
“The pressure was immense on me personally.
“All sorts of emotions, all sorts of thoughts were going through my mind.”
The prestige of the IDC and its added level of exposure made it even more sweet for him.
“I’ve been in this situation before, but IDC is a very different ball game and winning IDC in front of such a big crowd and audience worldwide – the match was live,” he shared.
Sunday’s grand finale against Ba was attended by 13,118 people and seen by thousands more on pay-per-view in Fiji and around the world.
While he said he got many messages and calls from Rewa fans the world over, heading into the final against a dedicated home team was quite the journey for Buksh.
“Going into the closing stages of the match, when we were a man down and basically hanging by a thread, it was an emotional rollercoaster for me.”
Meanwhile, the IDC trophy was taken around Nausori, and plans are in place to take it to schools in the area, with bigger celebrations expected.
