“The men have been invited to a tournament in Australia and the Singapore series,” Sorovaki said.
Crest Fiji men’s goalkeeper (GK) Nacanieli Goneyali and goal defense Atonio Bakaniceva (left) defend against Australia Under-20 goal shooter during the Men’s Nation Series final in Singapore on December 8, 2024. Photo: Fiona Chong
The Crest Fiji men’s netball Nations Cup win in Singapore last month has opened up more opportunities.
The side was invited to return to next year’s Men’s Nations Cup and they will also be part of an Australian tournament.
This was confirmed by Netball Fiji president RubyAnn Sorovaki.
Sorovaki said the men’s 55-54 win against the Australia Under-20 side to win the Merlion Cup was one of the highlights for the federation this year.
She added the 2025 calendar also includes the Pearls’PacificAus Sports series.
“The men have been invited to a tournament in Australia and the Singapore series,” Sorovaki said.
“Our Baby Pearls have an intense preparation schedule before the Netball World Youth Cup (NWYC) in Gibraltar.”
Sorovaki added NF is grateful to Government through the Fiji National Sports Commission (FNSC). They’ve received funding for local tournaments, a Under-21 Tri Nations Cup and an international men’s tournament.
“We will also look to hosting-funding and sponsorship provided, a 17 & under tournament to start looking at out next crop of U21 players as this current lot transition into the Pearls now and following the 2025 NWYC.”
Other NF’s successes included Fiji Pearls maintaining their 14th ranked last year and winning organisation of the year at the 2023 National Sports Awards.
“The U21 first outing in the Cook Islands was a huge eye opener in terms of the level we were playing at,” Sorovaki indicated when asked of other highlights of 2024.
Other achievements were upskilling of technical officials, top umpire Litia Rabitu officiating at the NWYC regional qualifiers in the Cook Islands and receipt of funding from World Netball under the Strategic Development Fund for work in the governance space.
Training have also been lined up for administrators, technical support officials and volunteers; rallies countrywide have also been scheduled to ensure netball is being played in as many places as possi-ble throughout the year.
Meanwhile, Netball Fiji new chief executive officer and Pearls head coach are expected to be named soon.
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