Fiji recovered from an opening 4-1 loss to Tonga to post consecutive wins over Guam and Cook Islands, thus topping Group A and booking a semi-final meeting with defending champions Papua New Guinea.
It was there that Fiji’s run came to an end, the Papua New Guineans showing their class in a 4-0 win before going on to an an historic third straight title by beating hosts New Caledonia in the final.
The margin of the Papua New Guinea defeat showed that Fiji still have plenty of work to do to match the Pacific’s top female sides but Logaivau believes that day may not be far away if his youthful charges can continue their current rate of progress.
“We took a very young side to the Pacific Games and for them to finish third is an achievement,” he says.
“We have to be realistic in that we were up against sides that were better prepared and more experienced than us but this achievement has set a platform and given us something to work on.”
With this year’s Pacific Games now consigned to the history books, the attention of Logaivau and his players has already turned towards qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics, a quest that begins when Fiji hosts the first stage of Oceania qualifying in March next year.
New Zealand will be seeded to the second stage while the eight other OFC member associations who are International Olympic Committee (IOC) members – American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu – will play a tournament based on a league system with semi-finals and a final.
The winner of the preliminary stage final will then play New Zealand in a one-off match hosted by the preliminary winner. As was the case for the 2008 Olympics, the winner of this match will qualify for the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament London 2012.
Logaivau thinks his side will compete well in qualifying but says developments must take place on the home front to ensure the future strength of women’s football in Fiji.
“We have to look at the structure we have for women’s football at the moment in order to better our performances on the international stage,” he says.
“To compete at that level we need more exposure to international football and a strong local competition.”
For more on Fiji football go to www.fijifootball.com.fj

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