BA and Navua will face off in the Pillay Garments Champion v Champion clash early next year.
The Fiji Football Association confirmed this yesterday, a departure from the usual tradition of having the winner of the Fiji FACT and the Inter-District Championship face off to start the new football season.
Fiji FA CEO Mohammed Yusuf said since Ba had won both tournaments this year, this meant the runner-up in the IDC would be the challenger in the clash.
Navua faced the Men in Black after a heroic comeback campaign mounted under the guidance of head coach Rodicks Singh to flip the script after an early exit from the 2026 Extra Battle of the Giants in Ba last month.
Navua failed to break out of the pool stages and returned home with little backing, except for the support of the Turaga na Tui Namosi Ratu Suliano Matanitobua and IDC sponsors Vantex Solutions.
Meanwhile, Ba broke the tradition of meeting another champion in the one-off clash due to a rare clean sweep of Fiji football’s major tournaments; the 2026 BiC Fiji FACT, the Extra Battle of the Giants, the 2026 FMF IDC and the Extra Premier League.
The last time Ba achieved this feat was 20 years ago in 2006 under the leadership of then-president Rishi Kumar.
Current president Praneel Dayal led Ba to their clean sweep this year with the help of Ba football head coach Ravinesh Kumar.
