Fiji is currently experiencing its worst wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with the number of daily infections rising in their thousands.

With entire communities locked down and children isolated within their household bubbles, the Fiji Football Association (Fiji FA) Social Responsibility department has rallied it’s Just Play staff in an effort to keep the children of Fiji active and engaged.

Fiji Just Play Programme Manager Swastika Devi said with the opening up the country still some way away, she and her team are keen to continue the in-person work they usually do, by taking the programme online.

“We have come up with an online skills challenge which will run over three weeks,” she said.

“We as a team came up with the skills challenge idea, as the programme staff cannot go out into the communities and schools to highlight our messages. This approach allows children to participate in their own ‘safe zone’.

“We encourage children to participate in the skills challenge, and parents to support this initiative, to keep their children physically fit and healthy, and also keep them mentally engaged.”

The Just Play Skills Challenge has separated children into two age groups, 6-12 and 13-18 years, and participants are encouraged to create home videos showcasing their football skills such as juggling, passing, shooting, and running with the ball.

For ideas of what to include in their videos, children can take a look at the Fiji FA produced video featuring Fiji international and Just Play volunteer, Cema Nassau, who guides viewers through the various skills.

All videos should be created in the safety of the child’s home areas and within their bubble, and entering is as easy as posting the finished product to the specially created “Just Play Video Challenge” Facebook page, stating your name and age category in the post.

The five best entries in each category will be awarded a prize.

Running alongside the Just Play Skills Challenge is a Drawing and Colouring Challenge under the Health and Wash theme.

For more information, visit the Fiji FA website, or the Just Play Video Challenge Facebook page.

Remember to get your entries in before August 20th!