FOOTBALL HISTORY: Nadi 1, Labasa 0, in Labasa (late-1980s or early-1990s), Henry Dyer remembers

Henry Dyer (left) & Emasi Koroi ("Bacardi") in recent years

Henry Dyer remembers

Playing away in Labasa
By Henry Dyer

Playing in Labasa was always something to look forward to. It was good to get out of Viti Levu and go and set foot on the Vanua Levu soil. This had been a dream always from childhood to get to Vanua Levu as if it was going to New Zealand or Australia. So going to play for the district at premier level it showed that you had gained what you set out to achieve in life and in soccer. Any team from Viti Levu would have this same kind of relaxed attitude. The same applies vice-versa when Labasa comes to Viti Levu.

I can’t remember which exact year. However, I think this match was in the late-1980s or early-1990s. On the eve of the match against Labasa we were going for a walk from the house we were staying down to the town-centre. This was about a ten-minute walk. Meeting people from Labasa, walking the streets we had not walked before, and listening to the Vanua Levu dialect was interesting and joyful for us to experience. This would have been my tenth time to play in Labasa. While walking the streets of Labasa some of the Labasa supporters noticed some of our senior players (such as Rusiate Waqa and Savenaca Taga) and invited them for the night out to show them around. The players wanted to go out for the night with the Labasa supporters. However, we were hesitant when we thought of the game on the next day so we were double-minded. A deal was stuck that we could not go out with them but they could buy us some beers for us to drink outside our camp. However, we did not realize that these supporters and officials wanted us to get drunk and to be incapable and out-of-form on the next day. We were thankful that the Labasa supporters came to visit us in the Vanua Levu custom and spirit. They wanted to warmly welcome us as the visitors but possibly they had two purposes. We cannot say that they wanted to get us drunk as it was a welcome. The responsibility was on us to think carefully and be smart. As the hours rolled on during the night until the early hours of the morning we had consumed around four or five cartons of beer. There was only around seven of us. It was not the whole team but I was there.

Our coach, Mani Naicker, was the national coach. He gathered his luggage and told the captain that he had nothing to do with the team now and that everything to do with the team from then until the game at 1pm the next day was totally out of his hands and not his responsibility. However, Mani came in a professional manner and spoke in a professional manner to the boys. He realized that nothing could be done now and only the players could redeem the situation out on the field. The boys felt for the coach because of how he faced the situation and how he talked to the boys. He did not panic or show anger. He kept all of his emotions to himself in a professional manner.

We had some food before going to sleep in the early hours of the morning. At about 11.30am on the next morning we were awoken to have breakfast and shower to freshen up. When we woke up to have breakfast and shower we had realized that everything was like a bad dream which had now disappeared only to be replaced by reality. After freshening up I realized that I had made a major mistake and it would not be easy to overcome. I was not sure about how the other players would perform in the Labasa heat. I think the other players would have been feeling the same way not knowing how the others would perform. However, amongst ourselves, we were encouraging each other to be strong at heart and to do whatever it took to perform well and not to give in easily. We were known for these characteristics during this era. As mentioned previously, I think this match was in the late-1980s or early-1990s. While walking around our camp, gathering our sports gear getting ready to go down to the park, I could feel that I was not as fit and mentally prepared as I usually would be. Half of my strength had disappeared from the long night and the consumption of beer. While walking down to Subrail Park, which is about 500 metres away from our camp, I could feel the tiredness creeping into my body. I was wondering to myself what I would be able to do now to get through the match and not disgrace the team and the Nadi Soccer Association. Only we players, the coach, and the Lord above knew what thoughts were running around inside our heads. While walking down to the park we were still encouraging each other to perform how we usually would. We were reminding ourselves to face tight situations in the manner in which we had done in the past. There were still some of us who were tipsy or under the influence. The players who had not joined us the night before gelled in with us and did not blame us because we were the core of the team. I’m sure this event gave those innocent boys a scare as they were newcomers. They were not familiar with facing such situations unlike the senior core of experienced players.

Subrail Park Labasa

While entering Subrail Park we could feel the warm welcome from the fans as we were one of the champion soccer teams of this era. We could hear the fans and supporters mentioning the names of the Nadi players in respectful tones. They were very impressed to see the star players of Nadi and Fiji there in the flesh in their own home stadium. However, little did they know that we were still suffering the adverse effects from the previous night’s alcohol consumption. We were trying to recover our brains after coming down to earth again. The crowd was around 1,000 to 1,500 people. Subrail Park at that time just had ropes around the playing arena. The distance between the ropes and the sidelines of the pitch was only about two steps. We could almost hear whatever they were saying behind us or in front of us. We were playing with so many things on our minds, not only the cheering but we could hear every individual comment which was made in the crowd. Hearing these things made us snap out of our relaxed mood. It was like psyching up a player to perform. When a person is provoked he snaps back at you.

Labasa

While warming up before the game, towards the river-side end of the park, there was this gentleman from Namotomoto Village in Nadi. We all called him Wadi Tom. He was Inosi Tora’s (our centre-back) dad. He just happened to appear at the 11^th hour of our walking on to the field because he was visiting his wife’s family in Labasa. He had not travelled with the team. This gentleman had played for the Nadi rugby team and he had experience of playing away from home. He gave us some words of encouragement. He asked us if he could have a word with the boys after we had finished warming up and the boys agreed. We did not want him to smell the liquor on us. We all had realized that here was a true Nadi man here with us. We respected him for being at the ground. After warming up he said: “Wherever you are from, maybe from Tailevu or Nadroga or Indian or Vanua Levu, today is an important day because you are the ambassadors for Nadi here in Labasa. You are ambassadors for your family and for your supporters and fans and when you leave from the shores of Vanua Levu you will be the victors and you will go back with victory”. Just his presence and his belief in us gave the boys a boost in spirit. So quietly we told each other that we had to prove ourselves today and not let our supporters and fans down as well as that old man who was there that day at the park.

At the beginning of the game Labasa tried in vain to penetrate our defence. We could hear them saying that it won’t be long before we give in because of the heat. However, to their surprise, we scored in the last quarter of the first-half. This really created doubt amongst the Labasa team as they had given their all in the first three-quarters of the first-half.

Subrail Park Labasa

In the second-half, we controlled much of the play and at times it was clear that the Labasa team had become discouraged and frustrated. It was our experience as a team that took us through to the last quarter of the game. By then we had taken control of the game. They had thought that we would not play well because we were drunk. They had been told about the previous night’s events by the supporters and officials. While playing their minds were not fully on the game. They had been surprised that our playing performance was not consistent with what the supporters had told them. On the way to the Labasa Airport the Labasa soccer fans followed us down to the airport and bought us some beers. They mentioned in a joking manner: “We bought you some beers, you beat us and we are still buying you beers? How can this work?” We said to them: “No, this is what you want”.

In this match, the relaxed and professional attitude of the coach Mani Naicker (with no panic but trust) assisted us in maintaining a positive mutual approach to the game. Secondly, the old man from Namotomoto Wadi Tom’s words of encouragement acted as a strong motivator for the boys and boosted our performance. Therefore, in sports, a lot of small things can work together to influence the result and the performance of each individual and team. The drinking incident clearly should not have happened. I ask our fans and supporters to forgive us for the events of that trip. This should never happen again.

Labasa town

A team should arrive a day before the match in order to get accustomed to the new environment and to get a full day’s rest. On that occasion we arrived in Labasa about 6pm on the eve of the match. Word got back to Nadi because of our performance. There was a big welcome for us at the Nadi Airport. We were greeted as if we had won the South Pacific Games. We were greeted with garlands by the President of Nadi Soccer Association, Sri V. Chetty, and his family and fans. Because we had won that game we were the winners of the national league title.

The players of tomorrow should keep away from these types of temptations and always have strong willpower to make decisions. The opportunities to succeed in soccer overseas are greater now than they were then. One of the major downfalls of a sportsman in Fiji is the consumption of beer. This can be because of the customary ties and the traditional expectations. When you meet up with your family after a long time you cannot pull out of a celebration even though you have a training session scheduled for the next day. Another reason these events continue is that we are not professionally paid yet. However, some athletes have the willpower to keep away from late nights and the consumption of liquor and luckily they may secure a professional contract. All in all, liquor and long nights with less sleep are not good for an athlete’s body and would not allow you to attain and retain maximum physical condition.

L to R: Cheetah, Epeli Kosa & Henry Dyer @ Fiji training, Suva

It is always important to be very simple and down-to-earth, with a good and humble attitude, if you have become a well-known athlete in the public eye. It is very easy to think you are someone extra special without realizing that you can crush down to earth in a very short space of time. My advice is if you are training and you have made a living through any sport it is wise to always remember how you climbed the ladder to reach what you have achieved. Do not forget that training is the main determinant of your performance. Do not be surprised that your achievement may slip out of your hands if you do not remember the importance of training and a professional attitude and a humble state of mind. One of the necessary qualities is to listen to and to respect what you have been told so that you can achieve your goals as an athlete. I believe that any sportsman who keeps these qualities and values would benefit and agree that he has made the right decision in rejecting temptations and hindrances. One of the personal training points is to train on your own so as to test your own endurance. You should push the yards when your body tells you that you cannot take it but your mind presses you to go on. This makes you a stronger athlete. When I’m saying to push the yards, I mean to push your body until your soul or your spirit says that you cannot take it anymore. Now you would be mentally satisfied that you have personally achieved without a trainer behind you or someone pushing you other than your own spirit or soul. I believe that Mike Tyson and Cassius Clay (Mohammed Ali) had the same attitude, before getting professional trainers and these attitudes allowed them to become world champions. I learned over the years while training in a team that every individual has a strength and weakness. It was always good to have strengths in all the areas I have already mentioned.

Some mates of mine were very talented in many cases. A lot of my friends could not make it because it seems that they did not do their personal individual training (mentally, spiritually, and physically). I wish that my friends had done this training. This would have made life much better for them in sports. As I mentioned, other factors were that we were not professionals and there were always customary and traditional ties and obligations. I was unfortunate not to strike up a contract with an overseas club. That was an era when communications were not so rapid or global as they are today and opportunities were fewer.

[By the former Fiji national team player Henry Dyer, as told to Dr Kieran James of University of Fiji in Nadi, 19 September 2014.]

Emasi Koroi "Bacardi" (left) and Peter Dean at the Nadi Soccer Alumni's 2013 Sportsone Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Nadi. Photo: ASUAD ALI

FOOTBALL HISTORY: Nadi 2, New Caledonia 0 @ Prince Charles Park Nadi (1983), Henry Dyer remembers.

Nadi 2, New Caledonia 0, Prince Charles Park, Nadi (1983), by Henry Dyer.

When Nadi was at the height of its winning streak, New Caledonia toured Fiji and Nadi beat them here at home. This was one game where the Nadi soccer team players clicked and gelled so well together that we were able to outplay the New Caledonians. New Caledonia was a strong team. They were positioned second or equal first to the Tahitian team as Kings of the Pacific Soccer. In this game we used Rudi Gutendorf’s methods. It was very easy to implement his pattern of play as most of the Nadi team players were seasoned and matured. The methods included one-on-one tactics where you stick to them in defence and create hidden attacking football patterns which are hard to pick up and detect. I guess, because we had a winning combination during the season, we did not have much difficulty. As the game progressed we became more confident with our strategies and we were able to control and dictate play. The home crowd had much to do with our positive performance because of its continual cheering. Some of the players in the Nadi side were Tela Qoro, Inosi Tora, and Kini Tubi. They were a tower of strength in defence along with Peter Dean. Their attacking play from the back kept the New Caledonians back-pedalling most of the time. The final score was: Nadi 2, New Caledonia 0. Rusiate Waqa scored both goals (as confirmed in phone conversation with Rusiate Waqa, 5 June 2014). One goal was scored in the first-half and one goal was scored in the second-half.

In the New Caledonia game here at Prince Charles Park Nadi beat New Caledonia 2-0. New Caledonia had just played Fiji and drew before playing another two matches against Fiji which were also drawn. We had just come out of the Fiji camp to play for Nadi. This was New Caledonia’s build-up for the South Pacific Games. The four players from Nadi to be released were Savenaca Waqa, Rusiate Waqa, Peter Dean, and me. It was because of our return to Nadi from camp that we lifted the standard and the morale of the team even further. Nadi had been a championship winning team. Our manager then was Mohammed Azaad. He was a very professional coach who liked to come and talk to the boys and bring them up to an emotional peak just before the start of the game. He was a very soft-spoken and down-to-earth guy. He was always willing to help when a player needed help with family at home. He was a guy that made sure that the management did their bit to keep the players happy at camp.

Nadi had a camp for that game to prepare as this game was very important for the Nadi soccer supporters. It was the first time Nadi had played an international match against any other team. It was a different feeling to come out from camp with Fiji and play for your district team. You could feel the expectations of the fans for you to create a miracle whilst playing for Nadi. That day Prince Charles Park was totally full of spectators for the first time. This is one of the days I will never forget – playing my heart out because I was playing in front of my home crowd. The day was more memorable because of my young age. The whole of the Nadi community, especially the people from the villages (which are very close to each other and also close to Prince Charles Park), were present at the stadium to watch the game. You could tell by the calls in the Nadi dialect.

Henry Dyer (left) and Emasi Koroi (Bacardi).

New Caledonia, to my surprise, did not control the game at any point. I don’t know why. It could have been because of the cheering from the crowd. It may have been because we had just expertly read the game. Our central midfielder, Emasi Koroi (“Bacardi”), played a major role in this match. Our defence was really strong with Inosi Tora holding them together. Savenaca Waqa made quite a number of brilliant saves which caused the confidence of our team to increase. Everybody played their part. Peter Dean used his height well to outjump the New Caledonia attackers and to clear the ball. This encouraged us to believe that we could win a victory in every position even before half-time. At the half-time break I, as a young player, was already feeling very confident that we could dominate the second-half and win the match. This was my first international game. This game was where I gained the confidence to play at this level of competition. I was lucky to have broken into the limelight, as I have already said, playing alongside the matured and capable soccer players of Fiji. I think that this was the first time for some of us to play against an international team too. When people ask “how did you do it?” I must reply: “I don’t know, it just happened”.

Rudi Gutendorf, Fiji coach, 1983.

At the beginning of the second-half they came back to show that we were going to be in for a difficult 45-minutes. They almost scored an early goal but, unfortunately for them, the kick missed its target. This event made us wake up and mentally rebuke ourselves for falling asleep. This made us start to communicate with each other with a view to shutting off their attacking moves. It took us about 15-minutes to contain the impetus of their attacks. After this we were able to take back the control of the game. We had been able to defeat the New Caledonia forward thrusts. Straight after this our ability to handle this situation, and the cheers of the crowd for us, were the factors which allowed us to psychologically dominate the opposition. Therefore, I really think that in any sport the crowd plays a major role and can even make the difference between winning and losing. But only a team which can play against a hostile crowd will be able to go on to reach their full potential and win more games than they lose. So I guess New Caledonia did not have these qualities on that day. So to win a game is about being mentally stronger as well as about being more talented. To gain all this success is the result of taking all of the hard knocks, training hard, and being mentally aggressive and determined. It is not only about having these qualities but being able to work together in harmony as a team.

We became heroes in town after this match especially for the two Indian boys, Navaneeda K. Gounder and Manu Pokar. I would walk past the shops in town and I would hear “is that really him?” as I was a very small guy then. Today they see me but it’s not like then. As with any sportsman of the day, people would be eager to talk to you and to know who you really were. They wanted to know where you originated from and who your parents were. Then the gossip would go around. Today nobody wants to know you with the same eagerness. I think this is where Fiji soccer has declined, not only in terms of performance but in terms of atmosphere and passionate support. It is a pity that there is nothing being done to bring the former football players together as they have done overseas at club level. Maybe they have more money overseas but still there is a way to bring the old players back together. Even the fans from those years do not want to know anything about soccer now. I would see most of the fans from that era watching rugby and supporting Nadi Rugby. This includes the Indian fans as well as the Fijian fans.

[By the former Fiji national team player Henry Dyer, as told to Dr. Kieran James of University of Fiji in Nadi, 22 May and 5 June 2014.]

Henry Dyer with hardcore Nadi fans as the excitement builds prior to a big night game at Prince Charles Park.

Nadi legends Henry Dyer (left) and Vivekanand "Boy" Reddy (who played in Nadi's first IDC win in 1969).

Nadi legends Seremaia Tale, Henry Dyer, Savenaca Waqa @ Namotomoto Village Extension, 27 August 2015.

Henry Dyer (left) and sister of Savenaca Waqa / wife of Inosi Tora @ Namotomoto Village, Nadi Town, 27 August 2015.

Your Love is Endless!

Prince Charles Park, Nadi, for Nadi versus Labasa.

FOOTBALL HISTORY: "Sweats Soccer Club (RIP) / Nadi Legends Football Club", by Henry Dyer, 10 July 2014.

Henry Dyer (right) with a former Sweats Soccer Club player who is resident in Namotomoto Village, Nadi, late 2014. The picture was taken at Aanvi's Fast Food (now closed).

During the 1990s I started Sweats Soccer Club with a few of my close relatives in the village. Fortunately they played for the Nadi Soccer team too such as Rusiate Waqa, Rusiate’s two brothers Dawai and Peni Bubuta, and Sosiceni Kaitani. We started from junior grade in the first year. In the second year we went to the senior grade and in the third year we were playing in the premier-league competition. So, when we formed the club, we knew that the raw talent that was around the village and nearby villages was not being exposed. This was due to the fact that there were no clubs around to play for. There were only clubs in other settlements and clubs which had the backing of companies. The only club that was village-based was the Tanoa Soccer Club which had players from three villages Namotomoto, Navoci, and Nakavu. There was too much youth talent around and they were being left behind. As a result they played other games such as volleyball and cricket. It is a pity that boxing has faded out because the giants or the champs have retired and there is no-one else to restore the sport.

The Sweats club did well in the three years to reach the premier-league club competition and to represent the Nadi district in the fourth year. We named the club Sweats because I had a T-shirt with the word “Sweats” on it. We did not use the name of one of the villages for the club name because we wanted the club to be neutral. However, we asked the late village headman (Inia Namua) for his blessings. We used to train mostly at Kennedy Avenue Park which was too small. It was half of half of a full ground. The matches were played at Prince Charles Park. The players came mainly from our village and from the surrounding settlements. We were registered under Nadi Soccer Association.

When we were playing in the Sweats Soccer Club, the Indian boys from the neighbouring settlements that joined the club felt very pleased to be playing in a village-based team. This showed that they had confidence in us. We are very happy to meet each other today although some have moved to live overseas and some have their own families. The coaches were Rusiate Waqa, Sosi Kaitani, and me. We only ever had one team. We were on the verge of setting up a junior team but then we ran out of finance. The club president was the village headman mentioned earlier.

The club lasted for about five or six years. It was a pity that the main sponsor of our club, Sheik’s Rental Car, closed down and we had difficulty finding a replacement sponsor. We were not aware and were still new in the area of soccer management. We were not prepared for what was to come. Being prepared for the worst and having emergency backing when you are down are vital ingredients for running any club. I am sure that every club has its own internal bickering and differences. However, the bottom line and platform is finance to keep a club on its feet. We did not have that. I sometimes think and feel for the club that we had formed. We would have been one of the strongest clubs in Fiji had we been able to continue. The players mostly switched back to rugby or joined other soccer clubs. There was a club from Namaka that was interested in drafting our players into their club. They approached me and I said it was very hard for me to part with the boys even though we were not a professional club. I thought this club wanted to take the cream away from our hard work. Later on I thought I did the wrong thing. I should have let the players go to play as that would have helped the sport more.

We got a few boys from our club into the Nadi team. However, they did not stay for long or stamp their mark at district level maybe because the club died. Two lessons to be learnt when you are running a club are to be very careful about finances and to always have somebody behind you who is going to move the club on after you die. He may lift it up to another level. You need to look for talent like that to be beside you. You need people with vision who will be faithful to the club. After you depart you need to know that you have someone to carry on the club and you need to be confident that he/she will find someone else to succeed him/her. Without the strong clubs the sport dies and then the talent is not discovered and is left idle. Soccer management is the only area of Fiji life that the government has shown no interest in. In the long run, for Fiji soccer to survive, it needs to attract more native Fijian supporters and players. With so many Fiji-Indians leaving the country how can Fiji soccer stop from declining even further? There should be a few village-based clubs playing in the Nadi club competition. At the moment there are no village-based clubs playing in either the Nadi or Lautoka competitions. This is to strengthen the club competitions and to extract the raw talent. The sugar-cane is harvested and so the local soccer talent should also be harvested.

L to R: Cheetah, Epeli Kosa & Henry Dyer.

In the sense of sporting fair play Nadi Soccer Association also did not do much to help. If they were really happy about the Fijian guys forming a club they would have come to see us and worked out ways to help. They waited for us to drown. They did not offer us a hand to escape the deep water. They possibly thought that we were too good for the other clubs and so they began to work for the other clubs. The other village-based club Tanoa had nose-dived too. There are many soccer clubs in Nadi which died for financial reasons including Airport, Union, Young Ones, and a few others. Nadi Soccer Association did not have the insight to give them amnesty periods of two years of no fee payments to keep these clubs alive nor did they give the clubs advice about what they should do. It’s a pity that there have been no village-based teams in the competition from that time up until today. We are trying our best to resurrect a Fijian-based soccer club. This is where the strength of the sport of soccer is.

I believe that financial backing from a corporate body would lift the morale of any village club and be the backbone of the club. It’s not that we were greedy or wanting to take over the Association. It is just that soccer management should be acting in the best interests of the sport instead of serving and protecting vested interests. I believe that is one of the reasons why Fiji soccer has nosedived from the time we were playing until today. Imagine that Fiji was beating Solomons 10-0 in 1983 but now our top clubs cannot beat Vanuatu’s clubs in the Oceania Champions League. It is true that time has changed and the other nearby nations have improved. Fiji is ranked #188 in the world now (as at date of writing this chapter) according to the FIFA World Rankings. I hope that we will not hit the bottom ranking.  I am not aiming to speak negatively against Fiji Football Association but just to talk facts. They are thinking about making money by having these tournaments going year in year out. The downfall of our club is symptomatic of the problems of Fiji soccer management. It was right in front of their faces but they couldn’t see it. They had a life-jacket which they could have thrown out. However, FIFA, because they are such a huge organization, would not even be aware of grassroots problems like this.

The soccer body here is not working effectively at all. In Fiji Football there should be people with insight who are trying to develop the sport. The raw material we have here is too much to be left undeveloped sitting around the grog bowls back in the villages rather than making a name all around the world in Uruguay, in Chile, etc. Why is this? The insight is not there. We have not heard of any Fiji players playing in South American or English teams and making a name and a living for themselves in these countries. We are close to 100 years in Fiji soccer now with the first IDC being held as long ago as 1938. How much longer do we need to stamp our mark on the world in soccer terms? Before I die I hope I will hear of Fiji boys making their mark on soccer in South American countries. I believe this is where the depth and strength of soccer is. It would also be good if our players could make it in England or Europe.

Henry Dyer (far right) with hardcore Nadi fans.

The former players of Nadi Soccer Association want to form a club using the name of Nadi Legends Football Club. We are now trying to get the name registered with Fiji Football. This is being done by one of the former Fiji players John Grey (a former Fiji goalkeeper). He now works as an architect here in Nadi. It is just that we want to lift the game up while we are still alive and pass it on to the younger generation. If our club gets off the ground and starts running we would like to win our competitions. We would see that whatever I am talking about has come to pass. You can see the club competition in soccer is not very lively here in Nadi, and probably all over Fiji, as compared to 20 or 30 years ago. When you look at the rugby club competitions you can see more supporters and spectators who are more vocal and expressive in their ways of cheering as compared to the soccer district competition. One has to ask why this is. This is something which urgently needs to be addressed. There was a crowd of around 3,000-4,000 at the 2014 Fiji FACT Final in Nausori. You can see the same crowd at the Nadi club rugby knockout competition at Prince Charles Park played among the local village teams. Yet Nadi Soccer has a clubhouse under the pavilion at Prince Charles Park and yet they cannot see or comprehend this. It may be that they are blind or someone has to dream the dream for them. In our time native Fijians used to pack the stadiums for soccer games. There are villages very close to the Nausori Stadium but we did not see many villagers in attendance at the 2014 Fiji FACT competition finals in Nausori. We used to get crowds of 2,000 to 3,000 at the Nadi club competition (or a little less) when the Sweats club was playing (and Tanoa Soccer Club). The crowds have gone down significantly at both club and district soccer levels since the end of the Sweats era.

With Nadi Legends Club we just want to do the same thing again but we have learned some important lessons since the first time around. I said to the boys that we need to get the Nadi Legends Club to actually field a team rather than just being a social club so that we have something to pass on to the younger generation after we die. We will pass it on with some associated wisdom and networks so that it will be easier for the younger generation to continue with the running of the club. It’s just like doing the same thing with and for your family.

[By the former Fiji national team player Henry Dyer, as told to Dr Kieran James of University of Fiji in Nadi, 19 June and 10 July 2014.]

Kieran James and Henry Dyer (second and third from left in top row) with Fiji Football President Mr Rajesh Patel (second from left, seated) and friends @ The Central Club, Ba, late 2014.