An overseas team walked away with the Veteran Soccer (Over 40) title at the Veteran Soccer Tournament organised by the New Zealand Fiji Football Inc at Bill McKinlay Park in Panmure over the Auckland Anniversary weekend.
Melbourne Masters won the final match defeating Nadi by five goals to one.
In the Over 35 category, NZ Masters defeated Nadi (2-1).
Ramendra Datt Sharma of Melbourne Masters won the Golden Boot (Top scorer), while his team-mate Kini Villame Tamani was named the ‘Most Valuable Player.’
Levaka won the Best Disciplined Team award.
In the semi-finals, the team won over Suva (4-0) while Nadi scored 2-1 against the Men in Black Ba.
The Over 35 matches were equally exciting.
In the semi-final matches, NZ Masters beat NZ Lautoka Masters (2-0), while Team Nadi overcame Melbourne Masters (2-1)
Pita Rabo of NZ Masters was the wearer of the Golden Boot. His mate Akuila Usenio Logaivau won the Most Valuable Player Award, while Levuka was the Best Disciplined team.
The Tournament gave an opportunity for football fans to watch professionals play the game, which they would have witnessed since their formative years.
The five-day event also gave friends and families to come together and enjoy the long (Auckland anniversary) weekend.
The International Veterans Football Tournament 2013 kicked off on January 25.
The first match in the Over 40 Division was between Nadi and Tavua.
This match saw Nadi come away with a hard-fought 1-nil win, setting the tone for the entire tournament as each match was a battle in its own right.
The standard of football in the two divisions has gone up over the years.
Our Tournament has teams of players who have represented Fiji in national and district levels.
Most of these players who have not played at that level for a number of years some even decades, showed their skills to the public making it seem like they have not missed a beat.
These players included Henry Dyer, Patrick Wise, Kini Viliame, Waisake Rasoki, Michael Mudaliar, Ramen Datt, Arjun Pillay, Akuila Usenio Logaivau, Pita Rabo, Vinod Kumar, Kini Doidoi, Esala Masinisau, and Poasa Tubuna.
The teams enjoyed themselves in an environment that promoted healthy competition and some of them said that they would return next year for unfinished business.
Raneet Prasad is Chairman, International Veterans 2013, organised by the New Zealand Fiji Football Inc
