Fiji Football Association - Fiji Indians Take Up Football

Fiji Indians Take Up Football

Schools run by missionaries, also taught students to play football. Brother Mark, a Marist missionary from New Zealand introduced football to Marist Brothers Indian School in Toorak, Suva and organised games with students from other schools. As the students grew up and left school, they started playing football socially on their own.

When the Colonial Sugar Refining Company(CSR) set up sugar mills in Fiji it also set aside land for recreational activities. Some mill managers actively encouraged workers and farmers to play the game. The Nausori mill manager provided a full sized playing field in 1925 and in the 1930s erected temporary enclosure to enable the collection of entrance fees during tournaments. In Ba, the mill manager provided a trophy, in the 1930s, for the local league competition. In 1930, the Governor made available two playing fields in Suva for use in football competitions. In 1922, the Sunshine Club was established in Suva and the Sitare Hind (Stars of India) club established in Rewa. These two teams played each other on a regular basis. Gradually other teams, like Morning Star, Nausori Central, Vuci and Wainibokasi, were established in Rewa and played at the Dilkusha Grounds. There were also four teams in Suva who played at the Marist Brothers School grounds in Toorak.