The Extra Supermarket Melanesian Futsal Cup 2023 will be used to prepare the Fiji Futsal team for the upcoming OFC Futsal Championship in New Zealand later this year, says Fiji Futsal head coach Jerry Sam.
Extra Supermarket Melanesian Futsal Cup 2023 begins today at the Vodafone Arena in Suva where four teams will be competing.
“We will be using the tournament to help us pick our best-performing players for the OFC Futsal Cup later this year,” the Digicel Fiji-sponsored coach said.
With a handful of new players in his squad, Sam hopes the competition will provide a fair idea of where they are as a team.
“It will be a good opportunity to test some of our new players, just to see where we are, competitively, as a team.”
The FIFA-sanctioned four-day tournament will feature Fiji, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.
Meanwhile, Fiji faces Vanuatu in their first match of the tournament and promises their fans a thrilling display of futsal for the next three days.
“We will be approaching each game very competitively, as we are not underestimating any teams in the tournament.
“We are also calling out to our fans to come and show support for the boys.” Fiji Football Association president Rajesh Patel said they were happy to be hosting the tournament as it would help all four teams prepare well for the upcoming qualifiers. “We are more than happy to be hosting the tournament and we can’t wait to get the games started,” he said.
“I just want to encourage the public and futsal fans to come out in numbers to the Vodafone Arena and support your respective teams.”
