The tournament begins on the oval ground at Auckland’s North Harbour Stadium next Wednesday and runs until October 8.
The winner will qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011 and Begum can’t wait to test herself against the best female players in the Pacific region.
“I have been working very hard and am confident that I will get a spot in the side,” she says.
“It will be tough though as there are a lot of good players in the squad and I believe everyone has an equal chance to don the national jumper.”
The 23-year-old is so committed to the cause that she moved from her Nadi home to the national women’s squad training camp in Suva last month. Her employers have been generous enough to transfer her to the Jacks Fiji Adidas branch, located in the Mid City complex in Suva, so that she can pursue her dream of representing Fiji.
The striker says living in her new surroundings has been hard at times but it will all be worthwhile when she steps onto the pitch in Auckland.
“I sometimes miss home but the chance to play for your country does not come very often and I need to make the most of it.”
Begum last wore the black and white of Fiji during the OFC U-20 Women’s Championship in Samoa four years ago. She missed out on the 2007 South Pacific Games side, which broke new ground for Fiji by winning the bronze medal, due to personal circumstances.
But she has long been earmarked as one for the future since first catching the eye during her school days at Nadi Muslim, where she starred for the school’s U-16 boy’s side.
“The Nations Cup is not the end but the beginning,” she says.
“The 2011 Pacific Games in New Caledonia is a major tournament to look forward to. I have set my personal goals and the support of my family should help me prosper.”
The rising star is no stranger to New Zealand – she travelled to the country as part of the Fiji Football Association (Fiji FA) delegation for the 2010 Pacific Youth and Sports Conference in Manukau.
Story and photo courtesy of Fiji FA Media.
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