THE dawn of the 2026 Extra Premier League is set to unveil a new and exciting chapter in Fiji’s football history.
The exodus of over 20 of Fiji’s top footballers to the OFC Pro League marks a significant transition in the local football landscape from armature to professional.
The Pro League means that local players now have a clear pathway to a professional football career.
Considering this, Fiji Football Association has introduced a youth quota policy that mandates each team to have three aged players (two U19 and one U17) to be included in the teams starting line up for each match with at least one of the players required to play the full 90 minutes.
This is to fast-track upcoming age grade talents to the premier level – filling the vacuum left by players moving to the professional league.
Football Association chief executive officer Mohammed Yusuf has commended the response of districts teams with all teams complying to the youth quota mandate.
“Teams have registered the players they will be using; they have registered a large range of players for each week which is good so they are exposing younger talents to top level competitions,” he said.
The vacuum left by the Bula FC players and others has many ardern fans questioning its impact on the competition.
But Yusuf is adamant that there are sufficient talents in the districts to maintain intensity of the league.
And with the new youth quota he is optimistic of unveiling more hidden gems destined for football fame.
“There will be zero impact on the league, there are only 20 plus players who have gone to Bula FC they will be replaced by the players on the bench from last year. They will get an opportunity to showcase their talents,” he said.
The Extra Premier League will begin this Saturday with Labasa FC taking on Nasinu FC at Subrail Park in Labasa.
