Arveen Sharma
Four New Zealand Fiji soccer teams participated in a six-team International Veterans’ Soccer Tournament at the Sydney United Ground from November 23 to November 25, 2018.
The NZ teams were Labasa and Rewa from Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington.
It was an excellent opportunity for overseas teams to showcase their talent by engaging with former National and District Representatives.
Team Hamilton was supported by Canberra based players, while Rewa and Labasa had some of Fiji’s famous icons in their teams including Esala Masi, Stuart Bola, Ramendra Dutt, Sameer Ali, and many others of international repute.
Surprise Package
The surprise package for the tournament was Team Wellington which relied totally on its local Wellington-based players.
Two of the veterans in Wellington team, Jayant Lal and Arjun have been on the Soccer scene since the early 1980s.
Wellington’s highlight of the Tournament was a nil-all draw against a star-studded NZ Labasa Lions team.
Wellington’s Arunesh and Iliyas Musa combined well in defence with their goalkeeper to avoid NZ Labasa Lions from scoring.
Team Wellington’s performance throughout the tournament was well recognised and it received the best and fairest team award.
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Photo Caption:
Labasa Lions official Avi Kumar presenting the Team’s Appreciation Award to Zuber Kaiyum for his excellent services to the Team.
