Known as a rugby and athletics-oriented school, Sila Central College is now encouraging its students to venture into other sports.
Sila Central introduced futsal to its students this year and is one of the 16 schools taking part in the inaugural Fiji Football Southern Fiji Secondary School Futsal Championship which started last Saturday in Vatuwaqa, Suva.
The Nausori-based school fielded teams in the under-16 and 18 grades with plans of also forming a girls’ team soon.
“For the past three years we were playing 11-a-side football but, for the first time we are introducing futsal. Most of the players were not aware of what futsal is and they thought we were going to play with soccer boots,” Sila Central School teacher Simon Sunil Lal stated.
“We had to educate them, we had to bring them to Fiji Football to expose them to this sport. They have gained valuable knowledge so far and I’m sure that in the coming years we can field teams which will be very competitive.”
Lal said they wanted their students to realise their potential and not to be confined to the two traditional sports.
“Sila is very rugby oriented as well as athletics. This is exposure to the boys who are not so good in the two sports, we have really good talent and I think it’s important that they use their full potential at the right place. “We want students to know that Sila Central also encourages sports like football and futsal which can be their pathway to district and national representation.”
Round two of the Southern Fiji Secondary School Futsal Championship will commence on Saturday at the Futsal Court in Fiji FA, Vatuwaqa.
Sila U16 will face DAV in Pool A while their U18 team will meet Gospel High School in the first game and DAV College in the second match up.
