Suva Utility Filipe Baravilala will lead host nation Fiji in the 2023 Melanesian Futsal Cup which gets underway at the Vodafone Arena in Suva tomorrow.
Speaking to FijiLive, Baravilala said he is taking the leadership role to challenge himself and the team to put on a better performance this week.
“We have been preparing since last year and this is the fourth week that we have been in camp. We are looking forward to this tournament. The team morale in camp is high because we are the host nation. They know how important this tournament is for us. The boys are eager to give their best and give a better result this year.”
“I’m really happy and it’s a big achievement for me. I thank the coach and officials for believing in me. It’s not easy to lead the team but I’ll give my best and do my part in the tournament. It’s a challenge that I have taken for myself and also a challenge to the team to better our position from where we finished last year in the OFC Futsal Cup.”
Baravilala said playing Vanuatu will not be a walk in the park and the Fijians will need to be alert and execute their game plan on time.
“My message to the team is that we have been camping for a long time and we are no longer a team. Once we are part of this team, we are family. I tell the players that you have left your family to come and play in the tournament and this camp is our family.”
“Whatever our coach says, the boys have been following that and we’ll take each game at a time. Vanuatu is a very good team and we expect a tough encounter from them. We played them last year and know how hard it will be to beat them but we have prepared to beat them.”
“We have to work according to our gameplan that the coach has set and through that we can secure win and progress in the tournament.”
Fiji opens its campaign against Vanuatu at 4pm.
