Greetings to all on the occasion of the Inaugural Tournament of the Radio Apna Fiji Cup 2011.
I wish to express my gratitude to the New Zealand Fiji Football Association, in particular to its President Mohammed Imran for inviting me to the inaugural function of this Tournament.
It is a great honour for Fiji Football Association and for me to be present at the First Radio Apna Fiji Soccer Cup 2011. This indeed will be the start of many greater events concerning our two Associations.
I congratulate the New Zealand Fiji Football Association for this wonderful and meaningful initiative. Fiji FA accepted NZFA as an affiliate last October. I must acknowledge that in this short period, NZFA has made a tremendous contribution to the Fiji FA. I pray the Almighty that our relationship will be permanent.
I can assure you that we will certainly do our utmost to ensure the continuance of this relationship and work together for the betterment of football and our friendly and fraternal relationship.
A Tournament of this nature will strengthen ties between the two Associations and most importantly will give an opportunity for fans living in New Zealand to witness the performance of Teams from Fiji.
I encourage all former Fiji citizens now residing in New Zealand to come out in good numbers and support the Radio Apna Fiji Cup 2011. This is the start of something special and the NZ Fiji Association needs your prayers and support to make the Tournament a success.
Radio Apna has sponsored this Tournament and I hope they would continue to do so in the future. I thank and congratulate Radio Apna Managing Director Sahil Shah for facilitating this Tournament with this sponsorship. I have always stressed that without a sponsor, it will be very difficult for any sporting body to host such a Tournament. This Company has proved that it is indeed a wonderful corporate citizen and has taken sincere interest to assist in the development of football as Mr Shah has done in other fields in Fiji.
This Tournament will certainly unite football fans as a family under one roof for four days. This will set a platform for our communities and prove that every sporting activity is a tool for unity.
The Tournament will witness winners and losers but I encourage all players and officials to show true sportsmanship, respect match officials and join hands to make football the ultimate winner.
We look forward to an exciting Tournament, with friendly clash of teams leading to the emergence of a true champion of the Tournament.
I wish all participating teams, officials and fans an enjoyable Tournament.
May God Bless All
