The Public Consultation on Review of the Immigration Act 2003 included submissions from the Fiji Football Association today.
This relates to the proposal for legislative amendments that will enable Fiji to recruit athletes with Fijian ancestry.
According to Mohammed Yusuf, chief executive of the Fiji FA, because these players don’t have Fijian passports, they can’t be recruited by professional football teams abroad.
Yusuf clarified that a person can only represent a country if they are in possession of that country’s passport, under FIFA criteria.
We even spoke with the minister, and one of the issues that still need attention is one or two paragraphs in the modification. We have submitted this to them for a favourable review so that the sport organisation may take use of these skilled Fijians who were born abroad. Our young girls and boys are now qualifying for FIFA world cups, so they may return and play for Fiji and leave their mark on the global map. We need the finest for these important events, and by having these international players, our team will perform better and become more formidable.
The CEO adds that it is challenging for them to attract these athletes into the nation due to a certain provision in the Immigration Act.
He notes that in order to be eligible for a Fijian passport, athletes must have lived in Fiji for more than five years.
Dan Hall and Tempest-Marie Norlin are two important players they hope to sign.
Norlin plays in Sweden, and Hall will play in the inaugural A-League season for Auckland FC.
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