Uphill task on their debut
For the first time, Fiji's Men's Football National Team will take the role of an ambassador for the 900,000 Fijian people at the Olympic Games.
Fiji have clinched and Olympic berth following their successful OFC Men's Olympic Tournament Qualifying.
Fiji have been drawn alongside South Korea, Mexico and Germany in Group C. They will begin their journey on the 4th of August against the Asian side at the Fonte Nove Arena. Three days later, Mexico will be their second opponents at the same stadium while they will be ending their group phase journey against a strong German side at the Mineirao, in Belo Horizonte.
Dramatic Qualification
Their qualification journey was not a straight-forward task. To start with, their qualification campaign was doubled with the 2015 Men's Pacific Games, with the tournament composed of two groups containing four sides each.
The first couple of teams in the group, who are members of the IOC, advanced to the semi finals of the qualification.
Fiji encountered Papua New Guinea in the last four, with Napolioni Qasevakatini covering himself in glory as he registered an important hattrick which enabled his nation to cross swords with Vanuatu in the final.
A nerve-wrecking final ended in a stalemate and eventually a penalty shoot-out was needed to find a winner. This time around, Qasevakatani was not the hero as he missed his penalty but Fiji still managed to book a place in Rio, courtesy of a 4-3 win from the penalty spot amid the celebrations of the Fijian supporters.
Defender Antonio Tuivuna, who is Qasevakatani's companion at Suva FC, finished as Fiji's highest goal-scorer during the tournament with 11 goals, including the goals scored during the other tournament.
Antonio Tuivuna is the leader
Tuivuna, a highly rated defender, will have the opportunity to shine on the biggest stage in the hopes of earning a move to a club in Europe.
The Suva FC defender fired his nation towards Olympic qualification, netting 11 times on the road.
He was also the hero of the Fiji Under-20 National Team during their 2015 FIFA U20 World Cup expedition in New Zealand, where the Bula Boys managed to register a famous victory over Honduras. In a nutshell, he will worth a couple of sleepless nights in order to observe him closely against stronger opponents.
In the meantime, Fiji also boast a strong attacker in Iosefu Verevou who scored five times in five caps with the U23 selection. He also formed part of the World Cup team, where he found the net twice, including in their opening match against a stiff German side.
Among other important players, defender and skipper Jale Dreola and midfielder Savenaca Nakalevu will also strive to have their say during this tournament.
Fiji will be led by Australian coach Frank Farina, who took charge of Fiji's National Team last year, having previously served as a Technical Director and Assistant Manager at U20 level. Farina needs no introduction, as he famously coached Australia between 1998 and 2005, leading them to various surprising results and achievement, including a couple of wins over France and Brazil and a third place finish in the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup. He will be guiding this U23 selection in their first ever Olympic appearance and he will be relishing this opportunity of facing giant nations.
Looking forward
Their Rio 2016 preparations did not start in a pleasant way as they were brutally beaten by Bolivia, 14-2 in a friendly match.
Yet, coach Farina and the association are confident that this tournament can serve as a massive helping hand in order to continue to improve football on the Fijian islands.
The association has already reaped what it had sown, courtesy of the Fiji U20 selection's qualification to last year's FIFA World Cup. They are investing in their younger players who will eventually be part of the Senior team, ready to write the next chapter: qualification to a FIFA World Cup.