The Ba Football Association has confirmed the appointment of a new interim board committee as part of its ongoing restructuring efforts.
Praneel Dayal has been named Interim President, stepping into the role after the current president, Dr. Diva Singh, was granted a leave of absence. This change in leadership marks a crucial phase in Ba Football’s transition towards full compliance with the statutes of the Fiji Football Association.
Working alongside President Dayal are three Vice Presidents: Farhad Bhamji, Zaim Ali, and Zahida Hussein. Sabrina Khan has taken up the role of Interim General Secretary, while Alex Singh has been appointed Treasurer. The committee is further strengthened by the inclusion of Faiz Javed Jan, who will oversee ethics, disciplinary and legal matters, Vincent Ali, who will manage the Local Regional League, Deepesh Prasad, who will focus on futsal and beach soccer, Charlene Lockington, responsible for women’s football, Krishneel Singh, who will lead youth development and team matters and Mobin Jan, who joins as a general board member.
This is the third consecutive year that Ba Football has operated under an interim committee.
Addressing the extended transitional period, Fiji Football Association Chief Executive Officer Mohammed Yusuf explained the reasons behind the prolonged use of an interim board.
“Under the statutes of Fiji football, Fiji football has the right to nominate, we call it normalisation committee, for a district to ensure certain things are restructured and the organisation is in full compliance with our statutes.
“So as a result, the other nominees that we appointed earlier, some did half work and then they quit. So, this one we appointed earlier this year, is for this year and next year we will, after everything is accomplished, then we will have an AGM with the registered clubs,” Yusuf said.
He further clarified that the clubs themselves are not yet in compliance with the necessary requirements to participate in elections and delegate voting.
“The clubs are also not in compliance, so you know, who votes the delegates in. So the clubs need to be in full compliance as well, this is not a new entry, it’s just a reshuffle,” he added.
According to Yusuf, Dayal’s appointment was not an unexpected move, as he was already part of the committee. Dr. Diva Singh’s leave of absence was prompted by threats made to him and his family on social media.
“Praneel Dayal was already in the committee, so he has taken over as president and Dr. Diva has taken leave of absence because of the social media threat on him and his family and all that. Because he’s a doctor by profession, he did want to do this problem. So there’s no changes except a few names have been added who are contributing to the welfare of the players and all that.”
This marks the third and final year of Ba’s interim governance under the current Fiji FA-led structure. The transition will only be completed once the association, and its clubs fully comply with the mandatory provisions of membership outlined in the national statutes.
” Next year January or February we will have AGM and will elect the new board.”
Similar restructuring efforts have already been successfully carried out in districts such as Tavua, Nadogo, Bua, and Savusavu, which now operate under fully elected leadership. Ba hopes to follow suit by next year once all compliance milestones are achieved.
