The Fiji Men’s 23&U team held its official induction last weekend at the Vodafone Arena Events Lounge where a total of 21 players were inducted into the Fiji Men’s 23&U team on Saturday 6th April.
Netball Fiji has officially elected former Fiji Pearls mid court player Vaiti Waqatabu to lead the Mens 23&U team as head coach.
The team were addressed by Netball Fiji President, Mrs. RubyAnn Sorovaki; Fiji Open Men’s athlete and Netball Fiji Vice President Kitione Waqavonovono; National Coach Unaisi Rokoura and Fiji Men’s 23&U coach, Vaiti Waqatabu.
The Men’s 23&U team are gearing up as training partner to the Baby Pearls, the National 21&U team, as buildup to the Netball World Youth Cup Regional Qualifiers which will be held in Rarotonga, Cook Islands in September.
The Baby Pearls have begun their campaign for the Netball World Youth Cup which will take place in Gibraltar in 2025. Twenty teams will compete in the World Youth Cup. New Zealand, as current world youth champions and Fiji qualify from the Oceania region leaving 2 spots remaining for the September Qualifiers. Fiji finished 4th in the last Netball World Youth Cup.
Netball Fiji CEO Ms. Vivian Koster explained that the Men’s 23&U team are the best training partner for the Baby Pearls in terms of providing high level competitive match play for them as they continue their World Youth Cup campaign.
“The Men’s U23 will bring flair and elevation to the game and that’s what we need our girls to be experiencing, we’ll need them to experience some quality and competitive match play, and the Men’s U23 is the best fit for that.”
The Men’s 23&U will also be preparing for the Fiji Men’s Invitational Championships later in July.
The Men’s Invitational Championship will feature the Men’s Open team and Papua New Guinea. Invitations have also been Samoa and Tonga.
