Defending Digicel Premier League champions Lautoka will face an uphill battle against Suva in the opening round of the competition this Sunday.
The recent adverse weather has disrupted the Blues preparations.
The side started training last week but had to cut it short because of the unavailability of a training venue.
The Lautoka Football Association (Lautoka FA) has appointed Oceania Football Confederation B License holder Anginesh Prasad to spearhead the district team’s campaign this season.
Lautoka FA interim director administration Muni Rajan said things had started off pretty slow for them.
Rajan said they were forced to cancel training last week because of the heavy rain which caused vast flooding in the Western Division.
“Fitness should not be much of a problem because several of the players were part of the national training squad preparing for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup Oceania qualifiers,” he said.
“Others were part of the Lautoka team which participated at the Digicel Futsal Inter District Championship.
“However, the major concern is building the combinations as the boys haven’t had much training time together.”
Rugged defender cum midfi elder Dave Radigai and Malakai Rakula have sought for transfers to other districts.
Rajan said both players were leaving but needed to fulfill certain conditions.
“Suva will be the team to watch this season with a host of new recruits,” he said.
The battle of the two cities will kick off at 4.30pm.
