THE ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR MINISTRY OF YOUTH AND SPORTS
THE HONOURABLE ILIESA DELANA

• The International Youth Football Academy members and Officials
• Award recipients
• Invited Guests
• Ladies and Gentlemen
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Good Evening, Bula Vinaka, Namaste and Salaam Aleikum to you all.

It is indeed a privilege to be here this evening celebrating in the achievements of our budding soccer players.

I sincerely thank the International Youth Football Academy for inviting me to be part of your success story.

I also would like to thank the founder of the International Youth Football Academy (IYFA) for developing the Academy which has gradually grown after its initial establishment from a handful of players to over 80.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this Academy attracts kids from Kenya, Canada, Uzbekistan, USA, Spain, France, PNG, NZ, Australia, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, India and Fiji.

The goal is to develop our young football players for Fiji and other teams starting from an early age from 5 to 15 year olds.

To the aspiring soccer players, remember that in sports, you are often told that perfection does not exist – that it is unattainable.

From personal experience, there is always that one time when you are close to perfection. To get there, you require hard work and discipline. It is bitter sweet – as it is tough physically and mentally but it is so sweet when you make it.

The harder you practice doing something the right way, the more likely you are to execute it properly in a game.

You may receive the ball and control it with a spectacular header or your teammate may make a very accurate pass to his or her teammate. These things can be perfected through practice so that doing them the right way becomes a habit.

When you get in the habit of doing things the right way in a game, you will also find yourself winning more often – or perhaps improving your performance bit by bit.

In your sport, it is always easier to train as you have teammates. I come from an individual sport and it is a lot harder requiring at least as much mental and physical toughness.

You have to be 100% committed to your sport. You have to be 100% committed to your team, your coach and manager.

However, I would like to share a few words of warning. The first is to the parents. Do not push your children too hard too fast. They may lose their appetite for the game and then we lose a potentially great player.

The second, and I say this with deep respect and as a parent myself – please set a good example for our youth as you support your child on the field of play. Far too often, we have seen parents become abusive to referees.

This sets a wrong example for our youth when they see their parents questioning the authority in sport. Please do not expect your child to respect the authority in the house!

I leave you all with a quote that I strongly believe in “you don’t win once in a while; you don’t do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time.”

With those words I congratulate you all on your achievements and wish that all of you succeed in achieving your goals.

Vinaka, Dhanyabad, Shokran and Thank you all.