Fiji Football Association Technical Director David Baltase says increasing participation and improving the development pathway for women’s football are major priorities for the Association this year.
Speaking at the Fiji FA Council meeting, Baltase said Fiji FA is working to expand the female player pool, strengthen talent identification and provide equal access to high-level training for girls.
“Our development centres will be open not only for boys, but for girls as well,” Baltase said. “We want to see girls training in these centres.”
He said there is also the possibility that one or two elite female players could join the FIFA Academy in the future, potentially as early as next year.
“It is not impossible,” Baltase said. “We will see how it can be done.”
Baltase said one of the key drivers of growth in women’s football has been the Under-14 school leagues, which currently involve 47 schools and around 500 players.
“These are very positive numbers,” he said. “We need to continue developing the girls’ programme.”
He said Fiji FA will continue to launch and expand competitions and leagues for girls as participation grows.
Baltase also praised the success of the Just Play programme, describing it as one of the strongest development tools currently operating in schools.
“The Just Play programme is running really well in Fiji,” he said. “Schools are very happy to receive it.”
He said Just Play continues to promote the values of football, basic skills and participation at grassroots level, particularly in schools.
Baltase also highlighted the importance of safeguarding, noting that FIFA places strong emphasis on protecting participants in football.
“With Filomena Liku travelling to Switzerland for safeguarding training, we will come back stronger,” he said. “Safeguarding is essential to ensure everyone can practise football in good conditions.”
He said Fiji FA will continue to strengthen safeguarding systems across the country to provide protection for all players, officials and participants.
Concluding his address, Baltase said quality would be the Federation’s key focus this year.
“It is good to have a large pool and many programmes,” he said. “But the quality of the work is what really matters.”
Baltase said FIFA’s guiding principle of “giving every talent a chance” remains central to Fiji FA’s development strategy.