Perennial underdogs, Nadroga last won the Fiji FACT in 2001 at home and have not made the finals since then.
Gone are the days when the Stallions had some of the best players in the country including Radike Nawalu, Petaia Naitasiwai and Abraham Watkins.
Apart from experienced striker Krishneel Dutt and goalkeeper Parmesh Prasad the current team is mainly based on young players.
That however doesn’t dampen the confidence of Nadroga Football Association President Vijay Singh.
“As everyone knows Nadroga are always unpredictable in tournaments and I am more than 100 per cent confident that my boys will fulfil my dream,” he said.
Singh said the association has been working hard to identify new talent after a number of players, including rising star Anish Khem, moved to other districts during the transfer window.
“We will rely on our young boys after losing some of our players but we are proud to say that we are always good at building our team.”
Singh admits Nadroga’s opening match against Labasa will be tough, but he believes the team is more than capable of upsetting the hosts.
“We know our first match is very important and we know what we are going to do to face the Babasiqa Lions in front of their home crowd,” said the former Nadroga and national team representative.
“But we are preparing well for the tournament and will be treating every match as the final.”
Following Friday’s opener the Stallions face Group B rivals Lautoka on Saturday and Suva on Sunday.

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