FIJIAN football players plying their trade in the futsal and 11-a-side codes will need to make a firm decision on which code they will adopt when they play in a Fiji Football Association-organised competition.
A board paper tabled at the council meeting of the Fiji Football Association in Vatuwaqa, Suva on Sunday stated this in an amendment to transfer legislation approved at the Board of Control meeting on Saturday.
In the paper, it stated players could enter both codes at a regional or district level, however in a Fiji FA organised futsal competition for instance, only registered players in the code could play.
It then firmly pointed out that no player in the 11-a-side code is entitled to playing futsal or both codes at the national level.
Fiji FA chief executive Mohammed Yusuf said the choice of playing in either code was up to the players.
“Any player that is playing at futsal code at Fiji FA competition, cannot overlap and also play at 11-a-side,” Yusuf said.
“The players will need to choose if they want to be a 11-a-side player, then they cannot play futsal at a Fiji FA competition but we have allowed at a regional district level.”
He added players could play both codes at a regional level in light of the need warranted by these regions to form at least six clubs to feature in their respective local futsal leagues.
For instance, a football player cannot play in a national futsal team if they are already part of the national 11-a-side team however they can opt to play in either code at district level.
The move as the new football season gears up with what is expected to be a busy one for Fiji football since the Extra Bula FC’s appearances in the OFC Pro League will feature for much of the season.
With this meaning more notable players starring in the white jumper there, it opens up the opportunity of including other players in either code to step forward at either a Fiji FA-organised futsal or 11-a-side to make their mark.
Meanwhile, the Fiji FA futsal zonal competition starts next month.
