Simione Tamanisau waved goodbye to his team-mates at Nadi International Airport last week a broken hearted man.
Denied a visa by the New Zealand Government because of family links to the Fiji military – Tamanisau accepted the decision with calm dignity before he returned to his
village with a sense of emptiness.
“It was very frustrating and surprising. At first I didn’t know what to say. But every country has a right to choose who comes into their country. It’s their (New Zealand
Government) country and I had to accept the decision. But my personal belief is sport and politics do not mix and I do not have bad feelings toward anyone,” Tamanisau
says.
Tamanisau’s father-in-law to be was held as the reason the visa was turned down because of his links to the Fiji military.
“The problem for me is I filled in the supplementary form on my visa application that asked if I had a relative or associate in the Fiji military.
I wanted to be honest and I wrote down my partner’s father.”
The result left Tamanisau stuck at home as his team-mates boarded an aircraft for Auckland minus the country’s number one choice goalkeeper.
“My parents were both frustrated by the situation.
It would have been easier to have written down another answer that had a different outcome, but I didn’t.”
Tamanisau has been entering New Zealand on and off over the past five years and played two seasons of Northern League football for Mangere
United.
He has also played in several Fiji New Zealand Inter-District Cup competitions over the past few years without ever encountering an issue with a visa
application.
“It was frustrating because my partner’s father was not in Fiji when the crisis happened – he was serving as a UN peacekeeper overseas,” Tamanisau
says.
Tamanisau – who plays for Rewa in the New World National Soccer League – has had a difficult season to date with Rewa languishing in the bottom four of the
competition.
“At Rewa it hasn’t been a good season we have not played well and have been near the back of the competition.”
Despite this, the young goalkeeper has been the subject of transfer speculation linking him with, ironically, an NZFC club in New Zealand.
“There was a strong interest shown in Simi from a provincial club in New Zealand but with the visa situation now it will not happen,” Fiji coach Juan Carlos Buzzetti
said.
The likeable glove man is adamant that Saturday’s deferred match will not have a detrimental effect on his preparation.
“There will be extra motivation for me to play well, especially with everything that has happened. I have a great deal of faith in my team-mates that if we follow the game plan
the coach has for us then we can compete,” Tamanisau says.
Speculation about Fiji’s hopes of pulling off a major upset has not affected Tamanisau despite the extra media attention with the amiable Rewa goalkeeper preferring to talk
instead about the inspirational performances of Fiji at the Rugby World Cup.
“Our team is trying to stay focussed. We’ve watched the heroics of the Fiji rugby team at the Rugby World Cup – they’ve really laid a platform for the whole country and we will
try our best to reach that benchmark,” Tamanisau says.
Can Fiji beat New Zealand?
“Good question!” Tamanisau says laughing. He pauses thoughtfully before continuing, the laughter
replaced by a more serious tone “Yes. Provided we stick together and play to the game plan. In this life, nothing is impossible.”
OFC Nations Cup/2010 FIFA World Cup™South Africa Qualifier
Fiji vs. New Zealand
Churchill Park
Lautoka
Fiji
Kickoff: 4:00pm (Fiji Time)
Live match coverage on Fiji TV from 4:00pm onwards
Match highlights covered on TVNZ at 10:00pm
Live text updates at www.oceaniafootball.com